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Abu Dhabi / WAM
Tourists arrival in Abu Dhabi and Dubai grew 3.4 percent in H1 2019 on year according to officials figures released by the official tourist departments in both emirates.
With tourists and hotel guests surging to 10.86 million by the end of June, according to the official figures, Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to be the country’s preferred tourist destinations thanks to their advanced infrastructure and high tourist potential.
In more detail, tourist arrivals in Dubai increased by around 260,000, during the period from January through June 2019, a growth of 2.3 percent on year, according to the statistics of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai, with hotel foreign guests up 7.9 percent – around 330,000 guests- as compared to the corresponding period in 2018.
Up to 53.7 percent of Dubai-bound tourists – around 4.5 million- stayed in the Emirate’s hotels, according to DTCM’s figures.
In Abu Dhabi, foreign hotel guests increased by 4.5 percent — around 84,000- during the same period, leading to a significant rise in hotel revenues thanks to the momentum created by key exhibitions and activities hosted by the UAE capital during the first half of the year, including the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 (Idex), the Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 (FIA) World Rallycross Abu Dhabi 2019, and Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.