Features such as high Covid-19 vaccination rate, strict health safety measures, increased confidence of local and international tourists visiting the emirate, and high disposable income of the residents have placed Dubai as the world’s top best city in Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destinations Index 2021.

The index includes six sub-indexes - economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism policy and attractiveness, tourism infrastructure, health and safety, and sustainability.

Since July 2020, Dubai has opened its gates to international tourists. Furthermore, government efforts to provide all support to the travel and tourism sector have been pivotal in bringing the emirate to this position. Dubai is the only city from an emerging country to feature in the top 10, noted Rabia Yasmeen, consultant – project lead at Euromonitor International.

The emirate has slipped from 1st position in 2020. Dubai ranks highest in health and safety among the top 10 cities in the index. The top list includes Paris, Dubai, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, New York, London, Munich and Barcelona.

“The vaccination process is easy, and vaccination rates are high and stringent safety measures are in place for all public places and tourist spots. As a result, increasing visitor confidence among international and local tourists to the city,” she added.

Dubai, the commercial and business hub of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, is the only emerging market city included in the top 10 for economic and business performance sub-index. Furthermore, Dubai has one of the highest levels of disposable income globally, with great potential to witness improved expenditure on leisure, recreation and hotels.

For the sub-index of tourism performance, Dubai leads in terms of international tourist arrivals but is second, after Paris, in the overall pillar due to a smaller domestic travel market. The emirate is rated the fourth-best in area of tourism policy and attractiveness.

In health and safety sub-index, Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were ranked second, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destinations Index 2021. In the Middle East and Africa region, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Sharjah, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Cairo, Marrakech, Riyadh and Makkah are the top 10 city destinations.

The Middle East and Africa have the lowest number of cities that have featured in the Top 100 City Destination Index 2021. There are 16 cities in the overall ranking and only Dubai and Abu Dhabi have featured among the top 25 globally. Most of the regional cities have ranked below 75 in the index.

“Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi showed strong performance on Health and Safety and Tourism Infrastructure pillars. Dubai successfully initiated the long-awaited Expo, opening doors to both international and domestic visitors and boosting investment in Dubai and the wider region,” said Rabia Yasmeen.

“Abu Dhabi remains the first choice for many global events, especially sports. Its stadiums hosted the Indian Premier League as well as the ICC World Cup in 2021. Abu Dhabi has established a strong reputation for being the best ranking destination for health and safety,” she added.