Airport figures show 4 million passengers took Dubai holidays in august 2011

Dubai International Airport has recorded four million passenger arrivals for the sixth time in eight months.

Traffic statistics released by Dubai Airports revealed that during the month of August this year, 4,019,230 passengers arrived to their Dubai holidays at Dubai International Airport. This To date, the number of travellers who have taken leisure Dubai holidays and business trips this year has reached 33.3 million; an eight per cent rise on the 30.8 million visitors during the same period last year.

The CEO of Dubai Airports, Paul Griffiths, said: "It's clear four million passengers per month is the new standard at Dubai International. We are on track to meet our projection for 51 million passengers by year end."

The figures showed that the majority of tourists taking holidays to Dubai originated from the AGCC, North America, the Indian sub-continent and Russia.

However, not all were rising figures as also during August, air freight volumes dropped by 7.9 per cent as Dubai International Airport handled just 182,781 tonnes of freight compared to 198,543 tonnes during the same month last year.

Image by: gadha, on Flickr.

Earlier this month, a report from global consultancy firm Ernst and Young, revealed that occupancy levels in Dubai hotels reached 80.8 per cent during July compared to 70.3 per cent in the same month last year.

According to the report, beach properties in Dubai saw an occupancy level of 83 per cent in July and a higher than average room rate of Dh662.

Yousef Wahbah, MENA Head of Transaction Real Estate, Ernst and Young, commented: "Dubai remains one of the most steadily growing markets in the region."

Dubai is a popular destination for luxury holidays due to its wide collection of upscale and exclusive hotels and resorts, tourist attractions and events.

Image by: Burj Alarab, Dubai by thetravelguru, on Flickr.

The city boasts golden beaches, fantastic shopping facilities, gourmet dining options and attractions such as the Wild Wadi Water Park; the Burj Khalifa, one of the world's tallest buildings; the Jumeirah Mosque; Dubai Museum; Dubai Fountain; Dubai Marina; the Dubai snow skiing centre; the traditional Gold Souk; and the manmade Palm Islands.

Annual events in the city include the Dubai World Cup in March, the UAE Desert Challenge, Dubai Summer Surprises, and the Dubai International Jazz Festival.

About the Author

Born in Cuba and having lived and studied in London for over 5 years, Susana is a recent university graduate with a passion for travel who has taken much inspiration from the exotic destination she has visited throughout the years.

Upon graduating she has ultimately come to join an important UK tour operator specialised in Cuba holidays to share her love for travel with holidaymakers as the company's very own travel reporter and news editor. Her interest in the tourism industry was formed from a very early age, following her father's footsteps, a travel representative and manager, who worked for Cuba's national air carrier and whose travelling job was also the reason she found herself travelling from an early age and living in different parts of the world with her family.

Having travelled extensively herself, throughout her home country in Cuba, Europe and other faraway destinations in Asia and the Middle East, including exotic hot spots like China and Egypt, she continues to nourish and build upon her tourism knowledge to bring our travel readers with a fresh outlook on the latest happenings in the holiday industry.