Figures collated by the Department of Culture & Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has revealed the number of international visitors exploring the UAE capital in 2019 is estimated to have reached 11.35 million.
This number includes 2.83 million overnight and 8.53 million same-day visitors and is a 10.5% increase over 2018.
The final figures include official international hotel guests, plus estimates for overnight visitors from overseas staying with friends or relatives and an estimate for the number of same-day international visitors.
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Clearly there has never been a better time to explore this diverse city on a stopover to Europe, or as a destination on its own.
Exploring Abu Dhabi
DCT Abu Dhabi’s official 2019 hotel figures also reveal that Abu Dhabi’s 168 hotels and hotel apartments posted the highest number of guests – to date (5.1 million), with robust growth across key revenue metrics including Total Revenues, Average Room Rate (ARR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR).
The Hotel Guest numbers represented an increase of 2.1% over the previous year, whilst Hotel Occupancy was up 1.6% (to a rate of 73%), Average Length of Stay (ALOS) for 2019 was up 1.8% (to 2.6 nights) and Total Revenues were up an impressive 6.6% (to AED 5.8 billion). ARR metrics were up 4.7% and RevPAR also increased across the year by 6.4%.
India, China, the UK and the USA remained the top four non-UAE source markets for hotel guests, with Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and Bahrain the fastest growing markets between 2017 and 2019. The Indian market performed especially well, with an 8.2% increase over 2018 – with more than 450,000 hotel guests arriving – and the USA posting a 5.1% increase over the same time period.
“These 2019 results reflect the hard work and dedication that DCT Abu Dhabi, its tourism stakeholders, and its partners have put into offering a ‘must-see, must-visit’ leisure and business destination to not only the international visitor but to domestic guests also,”
Saood Al Hosani, Acting Undersecretary at DCT Abu Dhabi.
“These outstanding results were underpinned by some world-class, exceptional events presented in the UAE capital across 2019, including the inaugural Abu Dhabi Showdown Week and Summer In Abu Dhabi events as well as the Eid Al Adha celebrations. We also saw a fantastic edition of the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Art, ADIPEC 2019 and concerts from global superstars such as Eminem, Bruno Mars, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”
“These events helped elevate Abu Dhabi’s global standing and reputation and contributed massively to our guest metrics, resulting once more in a record-breaking year in terms of visitation to the UAE capital,” continued Saood Al Hosani.
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