The emirate's travel and tourism sector exceeds pre-pandemic levels. Adds 30.7K jobs

AED 108 billion in international visitor spending in Dubai in 2022, a growth of 74%

  • The contribution of the tourism sector to Dubai's GDP rose to AED 45.8 billion last year. Cinematographer: Ahmed Arditi

  • Julia Simpson: "The UAE's travel and tourism sector is recovering at a rapid pace, proving the UAE's continued attractiveness for international travellers."

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The volume of spending of international visitors in Dubai increased from AED 62.1 billion in 2021 to AED 108 billion last year, an increase of about 74%, exceeding pre-pandemic levels in 2019, when spending reached AED 106.5 billion, while domestic tourist spending in the emirate increased from AED 10 billion in 2021 to AED 13.6 billion in 2022, with a growth rate of 35.3%, to also exceed the levels of 2019, where spending reached 10.7 billion Billions of dirhams.

Dubai's travel and tourism sector added more than 30,7 direct jobs last year, according to estimates by the World Travel & Tourism Council, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

The Council estimated the total number of jobs at the end of last year at about 262,13 direct jobs in the emirate, a growth rate of 3.2021% compared to the previous year <>.

Direct contribution

According to the market monitoring report issued by the Council, a copy of which was obtained by Emirates Today, the direct contribution of the tourism and travel sector to Dubai's GDP increased from AED 29.8 billion in 2021 to AED 45.8 billion last year, with a growth rate of 53.8% year-on-year.

Abu Dhabi

The Council pointed out that the travel and tourism sector directly contributed nearly AED 11 billion to the Abu Dhabi economy during 2022, compared to AED 8.3 billion in 2021, with a growth rate of about 33.4%.

According to estimates, the Council predicted that employment figures in Abu Dhabi will reach more than 43,2022 jobs in 41, compared to about 2021,3 jobs in 2, with a growth rate of 15.5%, while the volume of international visitor spending will increase from AED 20.8 billion to AED 33.9 billion, a growth rate of <>.<>%.

U.A.E

The World Travel & Tourism Council predicted that the travel and tourism sector in the UAE will reach a peak in 2019 this year, noting that the sector is set to contribute AED 180.6 billion to the country's economy by the end of 2023, which is almost equivalent to the highest level of 2019 when it reached AED 183.4 billion, representing approximately 10% of the total economy.

In the sector's annual economic impact report, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, the Council predicted that the sector will create 7000,745 jobs this year, surpassing the pre-pandemic peak of 1.758 thousand jobs to reach a total of more than 2023,<> employees in the travel and tourism sector by the end of <>.

The report pointed out that the contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the GDP grew by more than 60% last year, reaching nearly AED 167 billion, representing 9% of the country's economy.

Recuperate

Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the Council, said: "The UAE's travel and tourism sector is recovering at a rapid pace, proving the country's continued attractiveness for international travellers. Simpson added: "The future of the sector appears to be positive, as by the end of this year, the sector's contribution will reach the level of 2019, while growth will exceed the national GDP over the next decade, and will create more than 114,<> new jobs, one in nine jobs."

60%

The travel and tourism sector's contribution to the country's GDP grew last year.

• The sector is expected to contribute AED 180.6 billion to the UAE economy by the end of 2023.