Dubai reinforces status as one of the world’s most open cities

It has proven itself to be one of the world’s safest environments in a post-pandemic world…

After a successful conclusion of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022 last week, Dubai has proven its ability to provide one of the world’s safest environments in a post-pandemic world. The gathering pace of its economic growth has made it a preferred international destination for business, tourism and events.

ATM was the first full-capacity event since the pandemic and attracted more than 23,000 visitors from across the world. The four-day event had double the visitors from last year with 1,500 exhibitors and attendees from 150 countries.

According to Dubai Media Office, ‘The increasing confidence of global travellers in Dubai is borne out by the fact that key indicators in its tourism, hospitality and MICE sectors are now meeting and even exceeding pre-pandemic levels.’

Tourism

Dubai International (DXB) recorded its busiest quarter since 2020, with 13.6 million passengers shuttling through its gateway in the first quarter of 2022. Passenger traffic in the emirate’s airports surpassed the 10 million mark for the second consecutive quarter in Q1 2022. In March this year alone, Dubai International Airport saw 5.5 million visitors.

Several popular family-friendly events helped raise Dubai’s profile. Global Village welcomed a record-breaking 7.8 million visitors. Residents and visitors have the 25th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises coming up guaranteed to attract tourists.

A leading MICE destination

In the last six months, Dubai hosted major industry congresses and conferences including the Congress of the Société Internationale d’Urologie, Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, International Astronautical Congress, World Chambers Congress and Gastech, bringing together industry leaders from all over the world.

Expo 2020 Dubai was a huge success in spite of the pandemic, drawing in over 24 million visits in the six months global event. Other events that helped drive international visitors include Dubai World Cup, Dubai International Boat Show, and Dubai Shopping Festival.

This year’s World Government Summit in Dubai brought together more than 4,000 international participants.

Sports tourism

Over the past year, the sports sector in the city boomed with several huge events taking place: Dubai Desert Classic in January 2022, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February 2022, and the month-long ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup which took place in November last year.

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