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UAE ranks among the top 20 countries in the world in tourism competitiveness

In a year as dismal as 2020, UAE has managed to leave a mark with its commitment to building tourism. The country was recently ranked among the top 20 countries in the world during the year 2020 in five indices related to the competitiveness of the tourism sector in the country, according to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC).

The World Economic Forum issues the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, which included the indices that the country has excelled in, apart from the World Competitiveness Yearbook.

As per the report, the UAE ranked first in the world in the index of the presence of the largest car rental companies, while it came sixth in the sustainability and development index and seventh in the quality of tourism infrastructure index. According to the report, the country also ranked eighth in the world in marketing effectiveness to attract tourists. However, the World Competitiveness Yearbook ranked the country 17th in the tourism revenue index.

Thanks to the tireless work of the government in the last few years, the UAE has a distinguished infrastructure and huge facilities that are the largest in the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf region.

UAE witnessed a growth of 158.3 percent during the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of the same year

Reclaiming Former Glory

UAE has displayed remarkable resilience during the pandemic and the ensuing economic meltdown, managing to return to achieving good growth rates and quickly reversing the depreciation in the tourism and travel sector, which reflects the strength of the national economy in general.

According to statistics issued by FCSC, the tourism and hotel sectors in the UAE witnessed a growth of 158.3 percent during the third quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter of the same year, indicating the quick resuscitation of the sector.

A similar jump was seen in the footfall of hotel guests in the country, increasing to about 3.385 million in the third quarter compared to 1.31 million in the first quarter of 2020.

As guests increased, more commercial establishments saw the virtue in returning to business, hiking up the number of “hotels and hotel apartments” that returned to work, from 929 facilities by the end of Q2 2020 to 1,032 by the end of Q3 2021. The number of hotel rooms too saw a significant jump during the same time periods.

The well-balanced economy of the UAE has taken great initiative and dedication to cultivate initiatives at the federal and local level, to develop the tourism and travel sector. The sectors have grown to a degree where they can contribute to the economy and enable diversification of income in the country.