The UAE is preparing to be the world’s leading destination for travellers over the next six months during Expo 2020 Dubai, while the local hotel sector has regained its pre-pandemic reservation rates.

 

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) revealed the total number of passengers travelling to the UAE grew in August 2021 to over 2.5 million, compared to 814,000 in the same period of 2020, surging by 207 per cent.

 

In a statement to the Emirates news agency WAM, the GCAA highlighted increased figures in national air traffic statistics for August, which recorded 45,953 flights.

 

The preventive measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic are one of the significant factors that helped boost the country's stature as a safe travel destination.

 

The UAE leads the list of countries in terms of vaccine distribution rate, with 79.3% of population being fully vaccinated until September 13, with the number of coronavirus tests conducted being 78,651,247. The percentage of those who received the first dose is 90.5.

 

Tourism experts and specialists predict the coming period to be a breakthrough for the tourism sector after it regained its balance following a series of critical decisions made by the UAE government, most notably allowing fully vaccinated individuals to apply for an entry visa.

 

From October 1, the UAE will witness the start of Expo 2020 Dubai, which will make the country the top tourist destination over the next six months. The expo is expected to receive over 25 million local and foreign visitors.

 

It will also play a key role in advancing the tourism sector and positively affect many other sectors, including aviation and transport.

 

In general, hotel reservations in the UAE already witnessed significant growth prior to the expo. Hotel booking website Wego registered over 500,000 searches for flights and hotel reservations for Dubai during the period of the event.