Dubai prepares for spike in Saudi tourists

Dubai has long been a popular destination for Saudi tourists, who still account for the largest share of Gulf visitors to the emirate.

Yet, as the city has continued to build up and diversify its retail and entertainment offerings, the number of visitors from the kingdom has steadily grown in recent years and is on track to exceed 1.54 million, according to the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Based on current market trends, this figure is set to surge 100 percent to 2.5 million by 2020, Issam Kazim, chief executive at DTCM, predicted.

Kazim recently told Argaam that this growth will stem from four key factors – geographic proximity, an increase in low-cost carriers, new retail experiences and a large number of mega-parks and attractions currently in the pipeline.

“We are constantly expanding our festivals and events calendar, while also launching new retail destinations and attractions, thereby evolving our propositions to ensure that visitors have more reasons to return time and time again,” he said, adding that he is expecting see many return visitors from the country over the next five years.

While Dubai remains a top choice for wealthy tourists from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, there is still plenty of room for more affordable and midmarket hotels that could cater to a whole new market of price-conscious consumers in the region.

Kazim said plans are in the works to provide a “wide range of accommodation choices to suit every budget, and streamlined entry to the UAE for GCC nationals.”

Dubai Tourism recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbnb designed specifically to meet this market need.

“Dubai’s growing holiday homes segment offers a further accommodation option that is particularly attractive to families, who benefit from the added flexibility and convenience afforded by holiday homes,” he explained.

Visitors from the Gulf are still at the top of the list of tourists flocking to the emirate, as they accounted for 25 percent of all visitor arrivals in the first quarter of this year. Around 456,000 Saudis made trips to Dubai during that period, followed by 322,000 Omani nationals.

This trend is seen to continue, especially due to the expectation that economic conditions will keep many Russian and Chinese tourists away for the time being.

However, with Expo 2020 fast approaching, the emirate will be working at full-speed to scale up its infrastructure in order to meet its goal of accommodation 20 million visitors by that timeframe.

“To build on this, both the private and public sectors are working together to ensure that Dubai is able to cope with the anticipated increase in demand, he added.

Write to Joumana Saad at joumana.saad@argaamplus.com