Dubai witnesses 10 percent increase in tourist arrivals in first half of 2017

The first six months of 2017 saw about 8.06 million foreign tourists arriving in Dubai, an increase of 10.6 percent compared to the same period in 2016, revealed figures released by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai (Dubai Tourism). India continued to be the top source market, as 1,051,000 travelers arrived from that country between January and June, a rise of 21 percent over the same period last year. They were followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK. The regulatory changes effected to nationals of China and Russia, granting them visas on arrival bore fruit, as the tourist arrivals increased from both these countries by 55 percent and 97 percent, respectively, in the first six months of 2017 when compared to the same period last year. While 413,000 Chinese visitors entered it, 233,000 tourists came in from Russia. SignUp for Free Counselling Barring Oman, visitor arrivals from all the other top 10 source countries increased. While tourist arrivals from the US increased by six percent, their numbers from Pakistan, Iran and Germany increased by 11 percent, 27 percent and six percent, respectively. Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general, Dubai Tourism, was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying that they were happy to see that Dubai managed to sustain the growth momentum it had achieved in the first quarter to deliver a double-digit increase in first half of 2017. If you are looking to travel to the UAE, get in touch with Y-Axis, a reputed consultancy for immigration services, to apply for a tourist visa.