UAE climbs to 30th rank in world tourism

The UAE has been ranked 30th among 139 countries covered by the ‘Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011’, issued by the World Economic Forum under the theme ‘Moving beyond the downturn’. The UAE ranked first in the Middle East among countries with most advanced travel and tourism sectors, having achieved 4.78 points. The report estimated the contribution of travel and tourism sector to the State’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 to be around 16.6 per cent, amounting to $42.56 billion (Dhs156.3 billion). Noting that Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah accounted for 93 per cent of the total contribution of tourism sector in the country’s GDP. The report predicts that the average growth of the sector’s contribution to the GDP in UAE, will be more than 8.1 per cent annually during the period from 2011 to 2020, indicating that the total number of workers in this sector, exceeds 429 thousand persons, comprising 13.8 per cent of the total labor force in the country.  The report predicts that the demand for jobs in the tourism sector will grow by 5.7 per cent per year until 2020. The progress of the UAE is mainly due to the improved classification of cultural resources, as UAE had stepped up in this sub-index from the 84th rank in 2009 to 34th position this year, backed by the unique characteristics for tourists and travelers in the ‘familiarity index’, as it was ranked 25th globally. The continuing development of tourism infrastructure in UAE has enhanced the country’s ranking and position, especially in the structure of the air transport sector as, it ranked 4th globally in the competitive index. The UAE has assumed the place globally in destinations marketing campaigns, through its distinguished presence in major travel and tourism international exhibitions. It also occupied third place for government priorities in this sector. Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) statistics show that the number of hotel guests and hotel apartments in Abu Dhabi has risen by 10 per cent during the first four months of this year, compared to the same period last year. This was accompanied by an increase of 26 per cent in the number of hotel nights and an increase in occupancy levels, revenue and average periods of stay. In Dubai, the hotels registered a growth of 14 per cent in the number of visitors in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, and achieved an occupancy rate of 81 per cent.