Dubai claims it will buck the recession next year despite a relatively poor 2009.
The emirate believes new developments, including the opening of the Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, will restore tourism numbers.
Dubai representative office UK and Ireland director, Ian Scott, said the first half of 2009 had been “slow” and the third quarter “very hard”.
He added: “Hopes of a recovery in the fourth quarter have been confirmed, everybody has said that November will be by far the best month of the year.”
He admitted that revenues had fallen due to the amount of tactical offers, including free-child places, in the market, particularly this summer.
He added Dubai would this year at best maintain its 2008 UK visitor numbers of 800,000.
“This is new territory for Dubai, because it has always had it so good,” he admitted.
The UK provides 10.5% of all Dubai’s visitors and Scott said he was looking for “significant” growth in 2010.
“The market will be back, and Dubai will reap the rewards of investing in this recession, particularly with travel agent training and with our trade website. In the UK we are aiming for 10% growth in a good market – and I think 2010 will be a good market.”
As well as the Burj Dubai, which opens on January 4 and which will be more than half a mile tall, new hotels carrying the Armani and Versace brands, as well as some budget properties, are due to open next year.
Scott said the downtown Burj area was now complete and that images of it dotted with cranes were now out of date.