Dubai Tops Global Travellers’ List For Shopping, Hotels – TripAdvisor

Dubai has been ranked as the top city worldwide for shopping and hotels by travellers, according to a new survey compiled by travel site TripAdvisor.

The second annual cities survey, which received over 54,000 responses from travellers, included 16 categories including cleanest streets, best value for money, best public transport and best for restaurants.

In the shopping category, Dubai beat New York and London, which came second and third respectively, while Cancun and Bangkok were voted as the second and third best cities for hotels.

As Dubai aggressively promotes tourism, retail has been booming in the city, and most of the malls are currently undertaking expansion programmes to improve their offerings. The Dubai Mall, which welcomed over 75 million visitors in 2013, claims that it is the world’s most-visited shopping destination.

On the hotels’ side, Dubai is ramping up supply to keep pace with the expected rise in demand. The number of hotel room units at the end of 2013 amounted to 84,534 (611 establishments), an increase of over five per cent over 2012. The city also boasts the world’s tallest hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis, the uber-lavish Burj Al Arab and a range of other luxury chains.

However, the TripAdvisor survey also found that the emirate ranked in the third last place for culture.

Overall, Tokyo emerged as the best city for travellers, ranking among the top 10 in 13 of 16 categories in the survey. New York City and Barcelona rounded up the top three on overall rankings.