The hospitality sector in the UAE has surpassed its pre-pandemic performance, as hotels’ combined revenue is up 20% from 2019 levels, totalling 11 billion dirhams ($3 billion) in Q1.

The growth in revenue was bolstered by an increasing number of visitors from international source markets including the U.S., UK, India, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Around six million people stayed in hotels in the UAE between January and March this year, according to the Ministry of Economy data, a growth of 10% compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Hotels in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the UAE are now back at full capacity after coronavirus restrictions were eased. Average hotel occupancy over the period was 80%, the highest in the world, according to the data.

One of the UAE economy’s priority sectors is travel and tourism, contributing close to 180.4 billion dirhams or 11.6% of total GDP in 2019, as per government figures.

Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and Small and Medium Enterprises, and Chairman of the UAE Tourism Council, Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi said the quarter one 2022 figures, which also surpassed those last year and 2020, confirm that the tourism industry made a “strong comeback” following the impact of the Covid pandemic.

The hotel industry also received a boost from major events held in the UAE in recent months, such as Expo 2020 Dubai, which attracted more than 24 million visitors over six months.

In addition, Al Falasi highlighted the importance of the further integration of roles amongst tourism development entities to provide optimum tourism services and products for domestic and international tourists. This is key to strengthening the UAE’s position as a preferred and sustainable destination for tourism, investments and tourism projects.