The number of visitors to Dubai from the UK fell by 7 percent in the first quarter of 2009, according to the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). The UK is the emirate’s largest source of visitors.
The number of visitors from both the UK and Ireland fell to 195,000 for the first quarter of the year, from 210,000 for the same period in 2008. The fall was reported by Ian Scott, the director of the DTCM office in the UK and Ireland. “A lot of people were predicting that it would be a lot worse,” said Mr. Scott. “The UK is by far the number one market, so we’re talking about big volumes.”
For all of 2008, the UK and Ireland market saw more than 900,000 visitors come to Dubai. Overall, the emirate’s hotels and visitor accommodations saw 7.5 million guests in 2008, up from 6.9 million in 2007. The emirate hopes to attract 15 million tourists a year by 2015.
Useful Resources
