In 2015, some 77.5 million international passengers passed through its existing main hub, making Dubai International the world’s busiest airport in this category in Airports Council International’s (ACI) list.
With its robust traffic growth in recent years, the airfield also climbed to the third position in terms of overall traffic with only Atlanta and Beijing beating it to the top spot.
Taking into account the emirate’s 10.7 percent annual growth rate – the only double-digit increase in the top 10 in 2015 – Dubai is well on its way to become the busiest hub globally.
Considering that in the first six months of the year, the airport welcomed more than 40.5 million travellers, up 5.8 percent, it is likely to be yet another record-breaking year for Dubai International.
Traffic has been also skyrocketing at DWC with over 410,000 travellers on record in the first half of the year, an astonishing year-on-year surge of 95.4 percent. The fast-growing airport is already served by 17 passenger airlines, including flydubai, operating an average of 174 services per week and traffic at the airfield is set to continue to soar year after year.
Considering that according to ACI, passenger volumes in the Middle East and Africa are expected to rise 7.7 percent between 2014 – 2040, versus the 4.9 global average, as the region’s busiest air hub, Dubai is set to witness a major boom in arrivals and demand over the coming years.
To this end, Emirates plays a crucial role in achieving the destination’s ambitious goals by linking it with over 150 key business and leisure locations in 82 countries across six continents.
Having commenced operations in 1985 with just two aircraft, today, the airline offers over 1,800 flights per week from its hub at Dubai International.
Demonstrating Dubai’s rising global status as both a leisure as well business destination, Emirates has in recent years significantly expanded its network well-beyond the region.
Taking the US as an example, since launching services to New York in 2004, the airline has carried more than 14 million customers on US flights, prompting steady investment in the market.
Raising the bar in terms of passenger experience, the carrier also continues to expand its Airbus A380 coverage to new territories. As the largest operator of the double-decker aircraft, Emirates’ fleet of 83 A380s now fly to over 40 locations from Dubai.
Considering the growing air links connecting the emirate to the world, it comes as no surprise that hoteliers are witnessing the emergence of new markets with Andorff reporting notable interest from beyond the GCC, especially from the Indian subcontinent and Far East.
Likewise, Arora is also looking to penetrate new segments with a strong focus on Eastern Europe, while also maintaining existing levels from well-established markets, such as Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in general.
LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS
In recent years, Dubai has heavily invested to effectively, and even more, innovatively raise the international profile of the destination’s tourism and commercial offering.
By pioneering multi-dimensional, next-generation experiences, the emirate has come to inspire people to visit and return to Dubai, thus, further strengthening the local economy by attracting tourists and inward investment.
As Kuhn noted, visitors planning a trip to Dubai set the bar high and arrive with firm anticipations, thus, as ambassadors of the destination, all industry stakeholders need to make sure that these expectations are met.
To that end, ensuring an efficient and qualified workforce is of high priority, especially for a destination like Dubai which already caters to guests of almost five times its population.
“As the number of visitors increases year-over-year and gets closer to the expected 20 million for Expo 2020, the population of the emirate will continue to expand beyond what we currently have in order to service the needs of these [guests],” suggested Jones.
However, quantity is not everything.
“All hoteliers and business operators have a responsibility to ensure their teams of today continue to learn and develop new skills that can prepare them to take on bigger roles in the future.
This can even include roles outside of their current organisation. We cannot be so naive as to think that we can retain 100 percent of our staff.
As much as we might like that, the reality is that with many new businesses opening to meet the demand of Expo 2020, opportunities will present themselves and many people will be lured away by the prospects of continued growth and better prosperity,” admitted Jones.
Although 2020 will mark a major milestone for Dubai, the destination is likely to use the date to usher in a new chapter since the emirate, as Arora said, never stops innovating.
“Dubai is already on the world’s top tourism map and it will only get better after 2020 as the emirate gears up to host more international events in the future,” asserted Arora.
Kuhn looked back at the past decade to recall what a long way the emirate has come and to underscore how ambition and firm determination can propel development and innovation, saying that Dubai did not stop setting new goals even after the completion of such globally famed landmarks like Palm Jumeirah or Burj Khalifa.
Giving a sense of what it feels like to be part of such an unprecedented development, Sokhon said, “I have been in the UAE since 1985 and have witnessed the growth step by step.
Given the positive energy and attitude of its promotors encompassed with the vision of its rulers, I believe Dubai will always have room for growth and will surprise us with what it will offer in the near future.”
As Wehbe noted, though 2020 certainly signifies a major turning point, the emirate is set to continue to evolve and reach new objectives well beyond that date.
“The good thing about Dubai is the forward thinking and the execution, which is always done professionally in a timely manner,” asserted Wehbe, expressing high hopes for the future.
“I think Dubai has already plans for 2030 and 2020 is only a stop along the way.”
