Dubai says it is on track to achieve to achieve the ambitious targets set out in its Tourism 2020 Vision so has taken on an additional challenge – to become the world’s most visited city.
Last year at Arabian Travel Market, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) unveiled the plan to double visitation to the emirate to 20 million arrivals per year by 2020 with the aim of tripling tourism's contribution to its economy.
In 2013, it achieved growth of 10.6% year on year equating to 11 million hotel guests.
“If a growth rate similar to that achieved in 2013 is maintained… Dubai will achieve its Tourism Vision targets,” DTCM said.
As a result, it is setting itself a new goal – to snare the title of most visited city in the world currently held by London.
In January, the UK capital was named the world's number one for tourism arrivals welcoming 16 million tourists in 2013. Paris took the title in 2012, with 15.9 million.
Speaking ahead of the opening of this year’s ATM, DTCM director general Helal Saeed Almarri highlighted the achievements of the last year. These include Dubai’s Expo 2020 win, the opening of the first phase of its second international airport and a number of new hotels and attractions along with “major” legislative changes expected to benefit tourism.
“The Vision has been embraced to its fullest by both governmental departments and the private sector – and this first year is just the beginning,” he said. “During this year’s Arabian Travel Market the Dubai presence and the exhibits and announcements of our stakeholders will demonstrate that while the city is already seen as a must-visit destination, a continuous drive to innovate will lead to a constant reinvention of the visitor experience, creating one that is unrivalled anywhere else in the world.
“It is this collective industry commitment that makes us confident that we will be able to achieve our targets of attracting 20 million annual visitors by 2020, and inspires the ambition to eventually become the world’s most visited city.”
