Tourism Spending in Dubai and Abu Dhabi is Increasing
A report released earlier this week by the World Travel & Tourism Council reveals positive signs of recovery for the Travel & Tourism sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as overseas visitors return, providing a much-needed boost to economies across the country.
The report, produced in collaboration with Oxford Economics, examined key indicators such as travel and tourism’s contribution to GDP, employment, and traveller spending.
The analysis of the impact of the travel and tourism sector in both cities reveals that direct GDP contribution, jobs, and visitor spending are all rebounding.
According to the WTTC Cities Economic Impact Report, the travel and tourism sector contributed nearly AED 51BN to Dubai’s economy and AED 12.5BN to Abu Dhabi’s economy in 2019.
Despite the fact that the pandemic had a negative impact on many countries around the world, the UAE demonstrated remarkable resilience.
Travel and tourism’s GDP contribution in both cities fell by more than half by 2020. It fell to AED 19.5 billion in Dubai and AED 6 billion in Abu Dhabi.
However, according to the global tourism organization’s research, both cities are on the mend.
Dubai’s travel and tourism sector is expected to have reached AED 46BN last year, only 10% lower than in 2019, and Abu Dhabi’s travel and tourism sector is expected to have grown to AED 11BN last year, only 12% lower than in 2019.
WTTC president & CEO Julia Simpson said: “City destinations in the UAE continue to grow in popularity for travellers from around the world.
“Although these key cities were heavily affected by the pandemic, they have shown incredible resilience and signs of growth. The UAE’s Travel & Tourism sector is on the road to recovery, demonstrating the wide appeal tourist destinations across the region continue to hold for international travellers.
“But it’s crucial that the national and local governments continue to recognise the economic importance of Travel & Tourism for the local and national economies, jobs and businesses.”
Jobs are becoming more plentiful.
The report also shows that, in the key cities studied, employment in the Travel & Tourism sector is on track to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
According to the report, there were just under 262,000 Travel & Tourism jobs in Dubai in 2019 and nearly 43,000 in Abu Dhabi.
The following year, job numbers in Dubai fell to just under 211,000 (-19%) but increased slightly to just under 44,000 (+2%) in Abu Dhabi.
In 2021, employment in Dubai increased by 10% to more than 231,000, but fell by 4% to slightly less than 42,000 in Abu Dhabi.
WTTC predicts more job opportunities.
Dubai employment is expected to increase by 13% to nearly 262,000 jobs in 2022, while Abu Dhabi employment is expected to increase by 0.4% to just over 43,000 in 2022, representing a 0.4% increase in job numbers since the pandemic began. WTTC forecasts an AED1.5 billion increase in international visitor spending in Dubai in 2022, to AED108 billion (+1.4%), compared to 2019.
Source : ttrweekly
