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Who are the top tourists to Dubai this year so far?

Tourists from India, Saudi Arabia and the UK formed one-third of the total number of tourists during the first three months of 2017, according to a report from The National.

Quoting the Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), The National said India become the first country to record almost 580,000 visitors in any quarter.

The report said the first quarter growth in Dubai tourism is “ further evidence of improvement in economic activity for both the emirate and wider nation.”

“In the first three months of the year, Dubai hosted 4.57 million tourists compared to 4.1 million a year earlier. The growth was more than double the rate registered in the same period last year,” the report said.

Russia and China were said to be the top growth markets for the first quarter of 2017, recording 106 per cent and 64 per cent increases in visitor numbers.

This is said to be linked to new rules allowing citizens from these two countries to obtain visas when they arrive in Dubai.

“The 11 per cent increase in tourism figures in Q1 reported by Dubai Tourism is consistent with the message contained in our Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker that shows the tourism sector enjoyed strong demand growth and output in the first quarter,” Tim Fox, head of research and chief economist at Emirates NBD, was quoted as saying.

In the Middle East and the North African region, the United Arab Emirates is considered the most competitive country in terms of travel and tourism.

The country ranks 29th among the 136 countries profiled under the World Economic Forum Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index.

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