Abu Dhabi – The number of tourists who visited Abu Dhabi (picture above) and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from January to August 2018 grew 1.6% compared to the same period in last year according to information released this Thursday (27) by the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Room occupancy rates increased by 4.2% over the same period, according to data from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism.
Over the period, hotel prices decreased by 5.3% in Abu Dhabi and 5.5% in Dubai. According to WAM, this happened because of offers and discounts by hotels.
The number of tourists from Russia increased by 64.8%, supported by the loosening of entry visa requirements, despite a plunge in the value of the Russian currency against the Emirati dirham.
On the other hand, the strengthening of the yuan and the euro against the dirham helped to increase the number of visitors from China by 11.6% and from Germany by 14.7%.
The number of tourists from India increased by 2.3%, but the number of British, Egyptian, Pakistani and Filipino decreased.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
