UAE travel: Peak tourism season getting longer; here's why
The UAE's seasonal travel and tourism sector is getting longer as it benefits from the extended pleasant weather, say industry executives.
Similarly, staycation is increasingly becoming popular among residents due to the pleasant weather becoming longer.
Mamoun Hmidan, chief business officer at Wego, said winter travel has become very solid for this part of the world, this year.
'What we saw at the end of last year and beginning of January, it's like a serious wave of seasonality happening around that. The occupancy rate in Dubai even during Ramadan is plus 80 per cent which has never been the case before. Weather is good so people want to experience new attractions as Dubai is very well established now,' he said.
He added that the peak inbound seasonal travel for tourism used to be until February-March and now it has extended till April because the weather is good.
'There's always something new in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah is trending as well.'
In 2024, Dubai welcomed 18.72 million international overnight visitors from January to December 2024, a 9 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase that surpassed the previous record of 17.15 million in 2023, according to data from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).
Moreover, DET's global campaigns and in-market activities highlighted the city's multi-faceted touristic appeal and kept Dubai top-of-mind for international tourists. Notable global campaigns in 2024 included 'Dubai, What's Not To Love?', which positioned the city as a destination of choice for winter, while the latest campaign, 'If You Go, You Know', took a fresh approach, with Dubai's residents showcasing their favourite parts of the city to encourage their compatriots to experience all it has to offer.
The UAE initiatives around cloud-seeding rains have helped improve the weather in the country, bringing more water levels underground and improving overall weather as well.
Staycations growing
Subair Thekepurathvalappil, senior manager at Wisefox Tourism, said that there is an extended inbound tourism period because of the pleasant weather.
He noted that because of better weather, residents are also increasingly opting for staycations, which has resulted in hotel prices increasing locally.
'Nowadays, families are looking into staycations as 4-5 families jointly rent a villa where they have a barbecue and have a good time. We expect this trend will stay in strong demand in the coming few months,' he said.
Sudheesh TP, general manager at Deira Travel, echoed his industry peers, confirming that inbound tourism is growing due to pleasant weather in the country.
'Inbound tourism keeps increasing because UAE is the top attraction point as far as the whole Mena region is concerned, because of easy availability of visa, proximity from key the geographical points, strong connectivity from the UAE carriers,' he said.
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