Dubai crowned world’s number one destination for third consecutive year
Dubai becomes the first city on the planet to receive the prestigious accolade from TripAdvisor, the world’s largest independent travel reviews website
In another major milestone, Dubai has been declared the world’s leading destination in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Destinations Awards for 2024.
It marks the third consecutive year Dubai has received the award – the first time any global destination has managed this feat.
TripAdvisor’s annual awards programme ranks among the industry’s most respected, largely by virtue of the fact winners are selected based on feedback from millions of individual travellers posting reviews on the travel website.
This year’s programme assessed the quality and quantity of TripAdvisor reviews and ratings for hotels, restaurants and experiences in select destinations worldwide in the period spanning October 2022 to September 2023.
Discussing Dubai’s achievement, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said the award “underscores our success and reflects the outcomes of our developmental efforts in this crucial economic sector”.
“Dubai has earned the prestigious title of the No.1 global destination in the 2024 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for the third consecutive time, establishing the emirate as the first city worldwide to achieve such recognition… Our strategic goal is to prioritise visitor happiness and satisfaction, and we pledge to continue our efforts in ongoing development, supported by a strong partnership with the private sector. Committed to maintaining and surpassing these achievements, we look forward to even greater successes in the future.”
TripAdvisor honour caps 2023 milestones
The TripAdvisor recognition caps off a remarkable 12 months for Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors. According to the latest data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy & Tourism (DET), Dubai welcomed 15.37 million international overnight visitors between January and November 2023, a 20% increase over the same period in 2022 and a 3.5% rise compared to 2019, a year that saw a record 16.73 million international travellers visit the city.
Dubai received a number of important accolades in 2023, including ranking second overall in Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index, and being named one of the top 10 cities in the Global Power City Index, published by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s Institute for Urban Strategies in Japan.
Dubai was also named the No.1 city in the world to relocate to, in a report by financial services provider Remitly, and was ranked the best city in the world for remote workers by property consultancy Savills in its 2023 Executive Nomad Index.
In addition, the UAE was named the second safest country in the world in 2023 by Numbeo, the world's largest database of user-contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.
“We are honoured by the continued appreciation and encouragement of our international visitors,” commented HE Issam Kazim, CEO of DET. “As consumer demands and trends further evolve, and aided by the feedback we receive through TripAdvisor and other digital platforms, as well as directly from tourists within the city itself, we will continue to work with our stakeholders to maintain the highest standards across city’s offerings and services, and ensure visitors have an unrivalled experience in Dubai.”
The First Collection marks TripAdvisor recognition
TripAdvisor’s reputation as the world’s largest independent traveller reviews website makes it a vital source for information on key destinations, including Dubai.
In 2022, the website named The First Collection at Jumeirah Village Circle – the first property to launch in Dubai under The First Group’s dynamic lifestyle hotel brand, The First Collection – one of the world’s Top 25 Hottest Hotels.
Its status as one of the city’s best business and leisure hotels is also reflected by the fact TripAdvisor reviewers have provided it with an average maximum five-star rating, while it currently ranks 10th overall out of 796 hotels listed in Dubai.
Since then, two new properties have joined the portfolio – The First Collection Business Bay and The First Collection Waterfront – with both receiving a five-star rating and ranking among the top 100 most-popular hotels in Dubai, according to TripAdvisor reviewers.