Abu Dhabi welcomes 11.35 million visitors in 2019

Abu Dhabi welcomed an estimated 11.35 million international visitors in 2019, inclusive of the 2.83 million overnight and 8.53 million same-day visitors, official news agency WAM reported.

The 2019 visitor figures grew 10.5 per cent year-on-year, according to data collated by the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi, a statement said.

Abu Dhabi’s 168 hotels and hotel apartments hosted 5.1 million guests in 2019 – its highest to date – increasing 2.1 per cent over 2018, while hotel occupancy surged 1.6 per cent to reach 73 per cent.

Average length of stay (ALOS) for 2019 was up 1.8 per cent to 2.6 nights while total revenues posted an increase of 6.6 per cent to reach Dhs5.8bn.

The average room rate (ARR) went up by 4.7 per cent while revenue per available room (RevPAR) also increased across the year by 6.4 per cent, the statement said.

India, China, the United Kingdom and the United States remained the top four non-UAE source markets for hotel guests.

Meanwhile, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea and Bahrain remained the fastest growing markets between 2017 and 2019, the statement said.

“These 2019 results reflect the hard work and dedication that DCT Abu Dhabi, its tourism stakeholders and its partners have put into offering a ‘must-see, must-visit’ leisure and business destination to not only the international visitor, but to domestic guests also,” said Saood Al Hosani, acting under-secretary, DCT Abu Dhabi.