Dubai has been increasingly emerging as a popular summer destination due to its popularity as a shopping hub, as the emirate has been ranked among the top 10 most searched destinations for long-haul travel this summer.
According to data released by ForwardKeys, Dubai is the seventh most searched destination for long-haul travel in summer 2023, up one position from last year.
The top 10 list includes Bangkok, New York, Bali, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Tokyo, Madrid and San Francisco.
This was not the first time that Dubai has been rated among the most popular summer destinations. Condé Nast Traveller recently ranked the emirate prettiest city in the region and sixth globally. This proved that the emirate is increasingly becoming a popular summer destination as well.
In addition to Dubai Shopping Festival, the Dubai Summer Surprises has also become a popular choice for tourists who want to cash in on major discounts.
The ForwardKeys study added that popular urban destinations have seen growth almost double of traditional ‘sun and beach’ destinations as compared to the previous summer.
“This shift in consumer preference has been influenced by the return of Asian megacities as potential destinations, as well as an increase in indexed demand for global shopping hotspots like Dubai, Singapore, Paris and New York, creating significant opportunities for travel retailers,” said ForwardKeys, a travel intelligence firm.
In addition, Dubai is also benefitting this year from the return of Chinese tourists after three years of pandemic-induced restrictions.
“All eyes have been on China since it reopened to international travel earlier this year — but reactivation of Chinese outbound travel has faced challenges, including targeted restrictions, passport and visa processing delays, limited air connectivity, and high airfares.
“Despite these obstacles, there are positive signs of recovery, such as the pilot programme for group tours to approved countries, strong demand for regional destinations during the Labour Day holiday, and the popularity of long-haul destinations like Dubai,” said ForwardKeys.
