Dubai ranks 2nd most attractive city for tourists

December 15, 2022 at 5:26 PM

Dubai is the second most attractive city destination in the world for tourism, according to Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index 2022.

The annual study looks at six key pillars – economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, and sustainability.

“Dubai performed very well in terms of tourism performance, health and safety and has a good standing in terms of tourism policy and attractiveness and tourism infrastructure. Therefore, the city ranked so highly within our Index,” Nadejda Popova, senior project manager at Euromonitor International, said in a statement to Khaleej Times.

Barring Paris, which retained the first position, Dubai was ahead of Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, London, Munich, Berlin, Barcelona and New York among the top 10.

In 2021-22, travel and tourism sectors bounced back very strongly in the emirate due to ease in Covid-induced travel restrictions.

The latest World Travel and Tourism Council study projected that the emirate will record the highest tourist spending among all the cities in the world in 2022, reaching $29.4 billion (Dh108 billion).

Another interesting data released by OAG showed Dubai emerging in five places among the top 10 busiest air travel routes this year.

In the Middle East and Africa, according to Euromonitor, Dubai remains the top city destination for a second consecutive year.

In 2022, 14 destinations from the Middle East and Africa featured in the Top 100 City Destinations Index, compared to 16 in 2021.

“Dubai has had a stellar 2022 following the revival of the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism segment post-pandemic and Expo 2020 Dubai,” it said.

Casper Urhammer, the CEO of wholesale tour operator group FTI, said at the Skift Global Forum East the emirate is a destination that can offer pretty much anything to any traveller. “There is so much more in the region to offer,” he said. (NewsWire)