UAE Tourism and Transport Sector Update

Passenger traffic at the Dubai International Airport (DXB) rose to 55.9 million in Jan-Aug 2016, up by 6.9% y/y. In August alone, 7.7mn passengers passed through DXB, up by 6.1% y/y, recording the highest monthly traffic figure in DXB’s history.  August traffic is traditionally boosted by the seasonal rush of travelers, including inbound residents returning for the start of the academic year. Passenger traffic is expected to exceed 85 million at DXB by the end of 2016, according to Dubai Airports.

Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region in August 2016, up by 67.9% y/y, followed by Asia (13.0% y/y) and South America (11.7% y/y). India remained DXB’s biggest market in August with a total of 924,256 passengers. UK ranked second with 584,508 passengers followed by Saudi Arabia with 535,280 passengers. London topped the list of destination cities, followed by Doha, Kuwait and Baku.

Separately, freight volumes at DXB fell by -3.1% y/y in August 2016 to 201,100 tons. Year to date volumes totaled 1,686,278 tons, up by 2.5% over Jan-Aug 2015.

The number of tourists coming to Dubai and staying in hotels as well as holiday rentals and onboard cruise ships for at least one night reached 9.6mn in Jan-Aug 2016, up by roughly 2.0% compared to the same period last year. GCC remained the lead tourist region for Jan-Aug, accounting for 25% of the total figure, followed by Western Europe (21%) and South Asia (16%). In terms of country specific volumes, Saudi Arabia is Dubai’s top source market with over 1,117,00 tourists, an increase of 5.0% y/y. India ranked second with 1,085,000 tourists (10.0% y/y) followed by UK with 798,000 tourists (4.0%) and Oman with nearly 781,000 tourists (18.0% y/y).

Passenger traffic at the Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) rose to 16.4 million in Jan-Aug 2016, up by 6.1% y/y. In August alone, 2.3mn passengers passed through AUH, up by 2.3% y/y. Passenger traffic to India rose by 14.3% y/y in August 2016, maintaining its position as the top destination, with 378,675 passengers. Passengers to the UK totalled 153,208, up by 4.2% y/y, while several destinations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt have also seen a rise in passenger traffic for the same period. Passenger traffic at AUH is expected to double, exceeding 40 million passengers by 2020, according to Abu Dhabi Airports.

Freight volumes at AUH declined by -3.0% y/y in August to 68,728tons. Year to date volumes totalled 524,274 tons, also down by -5.4% over Jan-Aug 2015.