Abu Dhabi welcomed more than 10 million international visitors in 2018, and has also witnessed an increase of 13.62% in hotel guests since the beginning of 2016.
With increases across the cultural, business, family-focused and medical sectors, the cruise sector notably provided more than 350,000 visitors to the emirate in 2018. The emirate’s cultural assets also attracted more than 2,672,732 people to the emirate.
Figures released by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) have shown more than 10 million visitors came to experience the UAE capital last year, made up of both day-trippers and overnight guests, with these hotel guests increasing by 3.94% compared to 2017 at one of the emirate’s 168 hotels or hotel apartments. In the last three years, Abu Dhabi has posted record numbers of hotel guests every year, regularly exceeding DCT Abu Dhabi’s annual targets.
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The key markets of India, the US and China have all posted double-digit growth for hotel guests in 2018. India and China remain the two top markets for overseas visitors, with the UK - the top European source market – rounding out the top three markets for overseas visitors.
HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman at DCT Abu Dhabi, said in a statement: "The past three years have seen countless significant additions to Abu Dhabi’s structural, touristic and cultural landscape. Most prominent amongst these include the recent reopening of the Al Hosn cultural site, which now offers visitors new experiences of heritage and artistic creativity, and the stunning Louvre Abu Dhabi. The annual Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has gone from strength to strength, and has attracted millions of visitors to the Emirate since it launched in 2009."
He continued: "Other entertainment options have also proved popular with our overseas visitors. In the last three years our infrastructure has been boosted with many new additions, including Warner Bros World, which has added a new dimension to the entertainment offerings on Yas Island, which is in itself a massive success story for the emirate.
"On the business side of our mandate, we have also had considerable success, with our Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau continuing to secure high-profile conferences and events for the emirate, further establishing us on the global business world’s radar. Since 2009 we have welcomed thousands of delegates from overseas to our conferences, meetings and exhibitions, which have included such notable successes as the World Skills event, which took place in 2017 and attracted more than 100,000 visitors to Abu Dhabi from a multitude of overseas schools and universities.
“As a mark of how far we’ve come, we’re also looking forward in 2019 to hosting the biggest humanitarian event in history when we welcome the Special Olympics to Abu Dhabi.
“We have also courted cruise tourism with the opening of the new Mina Port and the Bani Yas Island beach cruise stopover. We have also just signed a memorandum of understanding with the Emirates Medical Association to tap into the booming sector of medical tourism."