Dubai expects 2.5m Saudi tourists by 2020

David Thompson, May 22nd, 2016

Numbers of Saudi tourists arriving into Dubai is expected to increase by almost 100%, reaching 2.5 million by 2020, an Emirati official has said, citing current economic forecasts.

Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) CEO Issam Kazim was quoted by local media saying: "The number of Saudi tourists in Dubai was 1.5 million in 2015".

Kazim said that visitors to Dubai from the GCC countries topped the list of arrivals, making up 25% of the total number of tourists from around the world in the first quarter of 2016.

456,000 Saudis visited the emirate between January and March this year, a 14% increase as compared to the corresponding period last year.

"Markets that are within four hours of Dubai by plane, especially the GCC countries and India, are still an important focus for us. Dubai tends to attract a huge number of tourists because of efforts to promote tourism potential based on the wide list of festivals and other attractive events," Kazim added.