A 5% rise in the average length of stay of UK visitors to Dubai means that many are now staying for seven nights.
Second quarter statistics from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing show that overall hotel and apartment bookings were up to 170,452 from 154,180 in the same period last year.
Self catering apartments saw the most dramatic surge in bookings, with year-on-year increases of 33% for the three month period.
“The significant rise in the popularity of apartments can be attributed to the growing appeal of Dubai amongst the family market, as an increasing range of accommodation options, gives families even more flexibility and makes holidays more affordable,” the DTCM said.
UK and Ireland director Ian Scott said: “Increasingly, families are realising that Dubai can offer them a fun and affordable family holiday with a relatively short flight time of only seven hours.”
He said he was confident that visitor numbers will continue to be positive throughout the year.
Dubai claims to have the largest number of new hotel rooms under development in the Middle East and Africa region at more than 11,000, of which 4,000 are due to open by the end of the year.