Dubai has established itself as a leading global hospitality destination

Dubai attracted 7.8 million hotel guests and 2.1 million serviced apartment guests in 2012, representing a total of 9.9 million guests over the 12 month period. As set out in Figure 1, this translated into demand for 26.0 million hotel guest nights and 11.4 million serviced apartment guest nights in Dubai in 2012. Total guest night demand in Dubai in 2012 was thus 37.4 million, up 64% from 22.8 million in 2008.

The Global Destination Cities Index 2013 ranked Dubai as the world’s seventh most visited destination for international overnight visitors, ahead of Hong Kong, Barcelona, Milan and Rome. Dubai experienced the strongest growth in international overnight visitors of indexed cities (along with Bangkok) over the 2012 to 2013 period.