Dubai continues to set the pace for tourism in the United Arab Emirates.
Mohammad Khamis Al Muhairi, director general of the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA), the federal government’s tourism regulatory body, said, the UAE’s tourism industry grew 15% to 14.5 million guests in 2011.
Europeans led in guest nights with 10.5 million followed by Asians at 9.3 million and GCC nationals at six million.
“The tourism sector’s contribution to the UAE GDP reached 7% in 2011 and we expect it to grow further this year,” Al Muhairi said.
Hotel room capacity is expected to reach 20,000 rooms by 2015 and 70% of these hotels are located in Dubai, he added.
The tourism sector’s contribution to Dubai GDP reached 31% last year, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said.
Khalid Bin Sulayem, director-general of DTCM, said it expects a 10% rise in hotel guests in 2012 against the previous year’s 9.3 million hotel guests and cruise passengers.
