The tourism sector is forecast to contribute AED130 billion to the national economy of the United Arab Emirates in 2015, up by four per cent compared with last year, industry sources reveal.

Local tourism bodies project the number of inbound tourists to soar by 20 per cent this year to reach 20 million. Strong indicators and figures related to tourism-related activity in the country are driving the upbeat projections in the first quarter of the current year, Al Bayan reports.

Tourism is a major underpinning of the national economy of the United Arab Emirates, which seeks to lessen dependence on oil by diversifying non-oil economic activities. In 2014, the tourism sector added AED124bn or eight per cent to the nation’s gross domestic product. According to government figures, about 20 million tourists visited the country in the past year.

Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb Al Muhairi, Director-General for the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities says that the country has achieved a quantum leap in the tourism sector and is now one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

Al Muhairi adds that the country’s total investments in this key sector reached approximately AED105bn in the previous year, noting that tourists spent AED111bn inside the country last year. He indicated that tourists’ expenditure is expected to hit AED113.8bn by 2022.

Hilal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, says 2014 was the best year for the tourism sector in the emirate, which welcomed 13.2m tourists, up by 8.2 per cent compared with the past year.

Source: http://ameinfo.com/transport-and-tourism/tourism/hospitality/tourism-to-contribute-aed130bn-to-uae-economy-in-2015/