Visa cardholders spend $4.7bn

Visa cardholders spent $4.7 billion on their cards while visiting the UAE in 2012, a 17.1 per cent increase compared to the previous year, according to data issued by Visa Inc..

The results collated by company’s VisaVue® Travel data service in its latest ‘Tourism Outlook UAE’ report also indicated that the total number of transactions increased by 20 per cent year on year, reinforcing UAE’s reputation as a shopping destination for tourists.

The top ten source markets – the United Kingdom, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United States, China, Qatar, Angola, Kuwait, India and France – accounted for 62.6 per cent of total tourism spend, according to the latest data.

The ‘Visa Tourism Outlook UAE’ report was unveiled at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference [AHIC] 2013 – the Middle East’s annual meeting place for the region’s hotel investors, developers, operators and advisors, currently under way at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai.

The data was presented by Marcello Baricordi, General Manager – UAE at Visa as part of his address to hospitality and tourism experts during the conference.

The data revealed that the UK continues to be UAE’s top source market with British citizens spending $540.4 million on their Visa cards in 2012, up 10.4 per cent on the previous year. Russia came second with its visitors spending $444.6 million on their Visa cards, 29.8 per cent more in 2012.

Saudi Arabia jumped ahead of the US to take third spot in 2012, with its visitors spending $420.4 million on their Visa cards, an increase of 28.8 per cent, followed by tourists from the US and China. Qatar entered the top 10 league for the first time in 2012, experiencing a 56.9 per cent increase in tourism receipts from their Visa cards to $196.9 million.

During 2012, Visa cardholders spent $1.4 billion in the retail category [up 25.2 per cent], $75.3 million in restaurants [up 27.6 per cent], and $15.1 million in fast food restaurants [up 122 per cent]. Tourism receipts in accommodation category remained robust, with spending by Visa cardholders in the UAE reaching $1.1 billion [up 19.6 per cent over last year].

Visa cardholders recorded the highest value of tourism receipts in January [up 36 per cent to $485.1 million], November [up 6.6 per cent to $479.3 million] and December [up 13.5 per cent to $463.2 million].

Outbound travel also rose significantly during 2012, with Visa cardholders from the UAE spending $2.5 billion internationally in 2012, a 12.2 per cent jump year on year. The top five tourism destinations where UAE Visa cardholders spent the most were Britain [up 16.7 per cent to $402.3 million], the US [up 13.6 per cent to $273.4 million], Germany [up 16.3 per cent to $138.4 million], France [up 11.7 per cent to $124.7 million] and Saudi Arabia [up 26.6 per cent to $120.4 million].

 

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