The 2021 passenger figures are encouraging for the
tourism-driven economy of Dubai, regarded as a critical link between East and
West. The numbers are sign that international travel has picked up somewhat
since the coronavirus pandemic spawned unprecedented global lockdowns and
border closures in 2020. Last year’s figure represents a 12% increase in
traffic at Dubai International Airport compared to 2020, which had recorded
nearly 26 million travelers.
Still, even with 29.1 million passengers crisscrossing last
year through Dubai International Airport, or DXB, the figure is nowhere near
the pre-pandemic milestone of 86.4 million in annual traffic logged by the
airport in 2019.
Dubai is currently hosting the six-month-long World’s Fair,
which was delayed by a year due to the pandemic. Expo 2020, which opened in
October and runs until the end of March, has attracted millions of visitors as
well as heads of state, royalty and celebrities, helping to further cement
Dubai’s reputation as a global destination. It’s unclear, though, what the
overall contribution of the Expo has been to Dubai’s economic recovery.
Just over 70% of Dubai’s airport traveler figures last year
represent arrivals, with much of that likely residents traveling to and from
the emirate. Prior to the pandemic, around half of all passenger figures were
transiting through Dubai.
CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, said DXB forecasts 57
million travelers to come through the airport this year, and a full recovery to
pre-pandemic figures by 2024.
“Dubai has done such a good job in reassuring travelers.
It’s a safe city to visit and to come and holiday and do business. So I think
the the actual trends to recovery are very encouraging, indeed,” Griffiths
said.
It marks the eighth consecutive year that Dubai
International Airport clinches the mantle of the world’s busiest for
international travel, surpassing London’s Heathrow and Atlanta’s
Hartsfield-Jackson for global travelers, although the latter is among the
busiest in terms of overall passenger traffic.
The largest share of traffic to Dubai came from India, with
4.2 million travelers, followed by Pakistan, with 1.8 million travelers last
year. A key growth market for travel to and from Dubai is neighboring Saudi
Arabia, which is actively working to attract business and tourism in direct
competition with Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates.
The UAE is home to more than 100,000 British citizens.
Dubai’s main airport logged 1.2 million passengers from the U.K. last year,
including 77,000 in December alone.
Dubai, under orders from the United Arab Emirates aviation
authority, was forced to ground all passenger flights and close its airports
for eight weeks in spring of 2020. Unlike the UAE’s capital of Abu Dhabi,
though, Dubai quickly reopened its doors to travelers. Dubai has not required
proof of COVID-19 vaccination to enter and does not require a negative virus
test to enter most places. This approach has not come without a cost. The UAE
was red-listed as a “do not travel” country by the U.K., U.S. and other nations
for much of last year.
“What we’re now trying to do is campaign globally for the
relaxation of travel restrictions and testing,” Griffiths said. “But we now see
the requirement for that is receding. We just need to get governments to
recognize that fact and act quickly to remove the remaining travel
restrictions.”
Overall, coronavirus infection figures remain relatively low
across the UAE. The country has been aggressive in inoculating its population
of more than 9 million people against COVID-19, most of whom are foreign
residents and all of whom have been able to receive the vaccine free of charge.
While masks in public spaces are still required in Dubai,
life in the city-state can otherwise feel unhindered by the pandemic. Just this
week, Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic stepped onto the tennis court to
compete in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis championship, his first tournament since
being ejected from Australia and missing the year’s first Grand Slam event over
his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19. -AP