In the first half of the year, Russian tourists set a record for visits to Dubai and were among the top five main guests of the emirate.
Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing has published data on the incoming tourist flow to the emirate for the first half of 2018. In total, 8.1 million tourists managed to visit Dubai during this period.
Although the three key markets for Dubai have remained the same - India, Saudi Arabia and the UK - the top five have undergone major changes, and the Russians have contributed to them.
Tourists from Russia not only entered the top five in the number of tourists (405 thousand people), but also took first place in terms of growth in tourist flow with a record 74% compared to the same period last year. Such growth ensured a spurt to five places in the overall ranking.
In fourth place was China with 453 thousand tourists. As in the case of Russia, the country's high position is explained by the facilitation of visa procedures - citizens of China and the Russian Federation can recently receive visas upon arrival.
India, the market leader, has provided Dubai with a million tourists. This is three percent more than in 2017.
