Dubai Will Not Face Overtourism In The Foreseeable Future, Say Industry Experts

"Dubai is a large city and highly developed with excellent infrastructure. Areas of interest are well spread out. The entertainment options are in each of the city's different zones. There is no overcrowding in one area. In Venice and Barcelona, the problem happens in key areas as parts of the city are empty,” she added.

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Khowala was speaking to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Future Hospitality Summit taking place in Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

Currently, there are around 93 cities across over 60 countries facing overtourism. European cities are much smaller from a size and scale perspective and that is where the problem arrives.

Venice has a 50,000 local population but it gets 2.5-3 million visitors; Barcelona has a 1.6 million local population and it get 32 million visitors. Santorini in Greece has a 15,500 local population and it gets 2 million visitors, out of which 800,000 are cruise passengers. Similarly, Iceland's 370,000 residents receive 2-3 million visitors.

Dubai's 3.6 million residents received 17.1 million visitors last year, but its diversity, wide range of tourist offering and excellent infrastructure don't make it overcrowding for tourism. The emirate will also plan different downtowns across the city to ensure that one area is not cluttered with people and vehicles.

JS Anand, founder and CEO of Leva Hotels, echoed Khowala's views.

“I don't see overtourism in Dubai. It has the right amount of tourism and infrastructure support and it is able to handle the tourism. For overtourism, you should go to Rome. There is no place to walk. But Dubai is well-planned,” said Ananad.

Overtourism happens when people in one area crowd out residents, impacting the environmental and ecological aspects of the city. This puts a lot of pressure on natural resources and residents of the city, as they can't afford a good life due to traffic jams and the high cost of living.

Aradhana Khowala said the capacity that Dubai has means it can take a lot more tourists and the amount of funds it is investing to create an attractive destination has the potential to grow immensely.

“We have to recognise that the UAE government has done well with so many good things. Ras al Khaimah is a destination itself. People looking for Shariah-compliant holidays go to Sharjah. All of these emirates have come up with their own compelling value proposition. The airlines – Emirates and Eithad – are so well connected that I could fly into Dubai and fly out of Abu Dhabi. It is a seamless experience as a tourist which works very well,” said the CEO and founder of Aptamind Partners.

Praising Dubai, she said the city is the best-marketed destination globally because when it promises an experience, it delivers on that experience.

“The cycle of creativity which policymakers have implemented is interesting. It caters to both mass and expensive markets. There is something for everybody. Dubai is always ahead of the curve when it comes to marketing and creating attractions and experiences. If Dubai keeps at its current pace of coming up with new attractions, I don't think we will have overtourism,” said Khowala.

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