UAE’s travel and tourism sector has significantly expanded its job market, especially after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted to rejuvenate the country’s struggling economy. UAE was among the first ones to reopen to foreigners.
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reported that jobs in the tourism sector of Dubai and Abu Dhabi reached 305,000 in 2022, up from 273,000 in 2021, a 32,000 increase.
Dubai has recently emerged as one of the most attractive tourist destinations. For two consecutive years, in 2022 and 2023, TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards has listed it as the best vacation spot in the world. In addition, Euromonitor also declared it 2nd most attractive city for tourists in 2022.
Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET) revealed that the number of international tourists increased by 97% to 14.36 million in 2022. However, it was still lower than 2019’s pre-pandemic levels, 16.73 million.
President and CEO of WTTC, Julia Simpson, said that UAE’s tourist destinations continue to grow despite being impacted by the pandemic, adding that it’s critical for the government to realize the economic significance of the tourism sector in terms of jobs and businesses.
This year, Dubai’s tourist spending is likely to increase by 46% to AED 158 billion ($43 billion), up from AED 108 billion ($29.4 billion) in 2022.
Dubai’s and Abu Dhabi’s tourism sectors fell to only AED 19.5 billion ($5.265 billion) and AED 6 billion ($1.62 billion), respectively, in 2020, due to worldwide travel restrictions.
