The number of tourists visiting Dubai was up by 9% to almost 4.2 million in the first half of the year.
The UK accounted for the largest number of travellers to the emirate at 382,356. European arrivals reached 1.25 million, a 3% rise over the corresponding period in 2009.
Statistics from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) show that the number of hotels operating in the Gulf state has reached 566, up 7% per cent from 530 in the first half of last year.
The number of rooms rose by 16% to 67,369 from 58,188 in 2009. There was an 18% increase in the number of hotel nights to 12.5 million, compared to 10.5 million in the same period last year.
Hotels achieved an occupancy rate of 71.7% despite the increase in the number of available rooms in the six months to June.
DTCM director general Khalid Ahmed Bin Sulayem said Dubai was still able to achieve impressive results in terms of tourist arrivals, hotel revenues and tourism related events despite the challenging conditions faced by the global tourism industry last year.
Bin Sulayem congratulated the private sector in Dubai for the achievement and said that “this would not have been possible without their sincere efforts and co-operation, especially given the challenges faced by the global tourism industry in general”.