Dubai Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Tourism Numbers in First Half of 2023

Dubai has raised its benchmark once again, officially surpassing its pre-pandemic tourism numbers for the first half of 2023.

The emirate welcomed 8.55 million in the first half of 2023 compared to 8.36 million in the same period in 2019. The number of hotels rose to 810 from 714 in 2019. The number of hotel rooms increased from 118,345 in first half of 2019 to 148,689 this year. Average length of stay of guests increased to 3.9 nights from 3.5 nights in 2019. Dubai’s average hotel occupancy of 78% in first six months of 2023 ranks among highest in the world.

Markets: Western Europe emerged as a significant contributor to tourism arrivals, making up 20% of the total international visitation.Gulf countries and Middle East and Africa regions delivered a combined 28% of the regional share.South Asia held a 17% share of the total visitation.Russia, CIS, and Eastern Europe combined contributed 14%.North Asia and South East Asia contributed 8%.Americas 7%, Africa 4% and Australasia 2%.

Saudi Arabia Adds 8 Countries to E-Visa List

Saudi Arabia will grant visitor e-visas to travelers from eight newly-eligible countries for leisure, business and religious (Umrah only) travel. The countries are:

Albania Azerbaijan Georgia Kyrgyzstan Maldives South Africa Tajikistan Uzbekistan

How to Apply? The visa can be applied via the official e-visa portal at visitsaudi.com/en/travel-regulations

Validity: The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries and permits a stay of up to 90 days.

The Launch: Since launching the e-visa program in 2019, Saudi welcomed 93.5 million visits in 2022, a 93% increase compared to 2021, resulting in a tourism spend of SAR185 billion ($49 billion).

In 2022, Saudi extended regulations to provide a visitor e-visa to holders of valid Schengen,