Dubai saw an exceptional year in terms of tourism in 2023 as it received a record-breaking 17 million international tourists, according to the emirate's Department of Economy and Tourism.

Dubai welcomed 17.15 million overnight visitors in Jan - Dec 2023, with an increase of 19% compared to January-December 2022, according to the Tourism Performance Report citing data from January-December 2023.

Total international visitors in 2022 stood at 14.36 million in 2022 and 16.73 million in 2019, according to the report.

Total volume by region

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, also revealed the latest figures on Wednesday, writing: "In 2023, Dubai welcomed a record-breaking 17 million international visitors. This remarkable growth of 19.4% firmly established Dubai as a leading destination," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"The city is at the forefront of the global tourism sector, with one of the world's highest hotel occupancy rates of 77.4% and hotel capacity expanding to over 150,000 rooms."

"These achievements align with the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, aiming to position Dubai as one of the top three cities worldwide for business and tourism," he added.

In December 2023, he had said that tourism was a key part of the economy and in achieving the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. He made the comments at a briefing held by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

Back then, Pakistan emerged in tenth place with a total of 286,000 visitors to Dubai between January and October, 2023.

India was in top place (1.9 million), followed by UK (954,000), Saudi Arabia (930,000), Russia (917,000) and Oman (860,000).

Recently, Indians also emerged as the top buyers of Dubai real estate in 2023, while Pakistanis were placed seventh -- surpassing previous purchases.

Recently, Dubai ranked as the third-richest city among all countries that come in the BRICS bloc, according to a report published by investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners in partnership with global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth.

Dubai’s GDP grew 3.3% between January and September 2023, according to data released by state news agency WAM recently.