Page 108 - MOE ENGLISH PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2024 (International)

emirates reached approximately 15.3 million during the first six months of 2024, reflecting a 10.5
per cent growth.

H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism
Council, said: "The latest results demonstrate the effectiveness of the country's efforts and
strategies in enhancing the tourism sector, in line with international best practices. They also
underline the competitive advantage of the UAE's tourism offerings both at regional and global
levels. These indicators are crucial in realising the objectives of the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031,
which aims to boost the sector's contribution to the national GDP to 450 billion dirhams and attract
40 million visitors to hotel establishments by the next decade."

His Excellency added: "Thanks to the directives of the wise leadership, UAE tourism has been able
to maintain its growth in terms of both revenues and hotel capacity. The hotel occupancy rate in the
country reached 79.5 per cent in H1 2024, which is among the highest globally, growing by 3.7 per
cent compared to H1 2023." His Excellency noted that national efforts continue to support joint
action in the implementation of tourism-related plans and strategies and solidify the UAE's position
as one of the best destinations in the world, in the light of the We the UAE 2031 vision.

H.E. Bin Touq explained: "In terms of travel and aviation, the country's airports recorded an increase
in passenger numbers during the first half of this year. This echoes the international confidence and
trust in the quality and efficiency of travel services in the UAE, as well as the quality of air transport
infrastructure. The UAE has invested in aviation infrastructure development projects, increasing
airports' capacity to accommodate larger numbers of passengers, with a total capacity now
estimated at more than 160 million passengers. In addition, the UAE has entered cooperation
agreements with 188 countries around the world in the air transport sector. This facilitates inbound
and outbound flights to these destinations and consolidates the UAE's position as a leading
regional and global destination for travel and aviation."

Significant expansion in number of hotel rooms
The total number of hotel rooms in the UAE has increased significantly, reaching 213,741 by the end
of the first half of this year, with 3 per cent growth compared to the same period in 2023. The total
number of hotel nights in the seven emirates increased to over 53 million nights, up 10 per cent
compared to the same period last year.

Travel and aviation activity
Passenger traffic at the UAE's airports grew by 14.2 per cent in the first half of 2024. The total
number of passengers received by UAE airports during the first six months of this year reached over
71.75 million from 62.79 million in the same period last year. The number of arrivals in UAE airports
was 20,274,694 passengers, departures totaled 21,090,750 passengers, while transit passenger
numbers totaled 30,391,978.

https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/51444260/uae-tourism-sector-witnesses-
steady-growth-with-hotel-establishment-revenues-increasing-by-7-per-cent-to-reach-aed-246-
billion-in-h1-2024