The travel & tourism industry plays a key role in the UAE’s economy. According to GlobalData, driving increased visitor numbers and income from touristic activities are key areas of focus for the country’s government. GlobalData provides a complete picture of travel to the UAE in its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Source Tourism report. Buy the report here.

In 2023, international arrivals in the UAE grew by 20%.

The UAE does not exhibit an overreliance on any single source market, but intraregional travel is a noticeable trend. In the case of the UAE, four of the top ten source markets are located in Middle East.

However, even when focusing only on the top ten, not all source markets are equal in size. Understanding the relative size of these and identifying high-potential markets outside of this list is key to identifying promising growth markets for the UAE as a destination.

According to GlobalData’s report, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Source Tourism, the country’s leading source markets include India, Russia, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Oman among others.

For more detailed analysis of the source markets for the UAE, buy GlobalData’s Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Source Tourism report.

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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.  

GlobalData’s Travel & Tourism Intelligence Center provides tracks tourism demands and flows, expenditure, and competitor KPIs across 180 countries. It also segments over $26 trillion in expenditure by accommodation, foodservice, retail, transport, and entertainment. GlobalData’s analysis reports provide detailed insight into key source and destination markets with real world examples of success to support recommendations.