Recent research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed that the Travel and Tourism sector in Dubai and Abu Dhabi has shown positive signs of recovery.
The WTTC research also points out that overseas travelers have returned to UAE, providing a much-needed boost the country’s economy, VisaGuide.World reports.
Based on the Economic Impact of Cities report, WTTC shows that the Travel and Tourism sector contributed almost AED 51 billion to Dubai during 2019 and AED 12.5 billion to Abu Dhabi’s economy.
In addition, a year later, the GDP contribution of Travel and Tourism in these cities fell by more than half, so in Dubai it fell to AED 19.5 billion and in Abu Dhabi it fell to only AED 6 billion.
However, WTTC has revealed that in 2022 Dubai’s Travel and Tourism sector will reach AED 46 billion, or just ten percent below 2019 levels. At the same time, Abu Dhabi’s Travel and Tourism sector is expected to be increased to AED 11 billion last year, just 12 percent below 2019 levels.
In this regard, Julia Simpson, President and CEO of WTTC, said that city destinations in the United Arab Emirates continue to grow in popularity for travelers from around the world.
“Although these key cities were heavily affected by the pandemic, they have shown incredi-ble resilience and signs of growth. The UAE’s Travel & Tourism sector is on the road to re-covery, demonstrative of the wide appeal tourist destinations across the region continue to hold for international travelers,” she also noted.
Simpson also calls it essential that national and local governments continue to recognize the economic importance of Travel and Tourism to local and national economies, jobs and businesses as well.
According to the WTTC report, before the pandemic there were just under 262,000 jobs in Dubai, and almost 43,000 in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile in 2020, the number of jobs fell to just under 211,000 in Dubai or -19 percent, but rose slightly to just under 44,000 or two percent in Abu Dhabi.
By a total of ten percent during 2021, employment in Dubai increased to reach more than 231,000 jobs, but fell by four percent to just under 42,000 jobs in Abu Dhabi.
The WTTC forecast says that last year employment numbers are expected to grow by 13 percent to reach almost 262,000 jobs in Dubai and employment numbers in Abu Dhabi are set to reach just over 43,000, marking an increase of 0.4 percent in the number of jobs since 2019.
In addition, WTTC also predicts that last year in Dubai there was an increase of AED 1.5 billion in spending by international visitors, compared to 2019, to AED 108 billion or +1.4 percent.
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