Dubai is in the top 5 most visited cities in the world due to the prosperity of short-term rentals

Dubai is in the ‘top 5 most visited cities’ in the world amid the flourishing of short-term rentals. After the UAE relaxed its rules regarding mask-wearing, tourists are turning their eyes to Dubai to visit or choose as a place of permanent residence, especially in the run-up to the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

According to experts, there is a “strong demand” for short-term rentals in the county. While there has been a global boom in short-term rentals for a long time, the UAE became the preferred destination for this purpose only in 2016, after its legalization.

The growth of the short-term rental market in Dubai is far from over. The emirate of Dubai still trails major markets like, for example, London, which has double the number of vacant rental listings. But the fact that Dubai is one of the top 5 most visited cities in the world, as well as in remote and work-from-home models, means that this will continue to influence the flourishing of the short-term rental market in the emirate.

A key contributor to the short-term rental market in the emirate was Expo 2020 Dubai, which ran from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. During this time international visitors had the possibility to skip long-term tenancy contracts in order to retain their “freedom of mobility” and to save costs during the exhibition.

Currently, there are 10,000 active vacation rental listings in Dubai. Their occupancy rates rose by 32% from December 2020 to December 2021. Average daily rates have increased between 15 to 28% and monthly rates are rising to 94%.

Experts have said that most travellers are ready to visit Dubai in the coming months, which will contribute to the growth of the short-term rental market in the emirate. The World Cup has placed the emirate of Dubai as a preferred destination to accommodate visitors before, during, and even after the event. In addition, the fast and easy access to Qatar and the fact that rents have increased 30% in Qatar compared to a year ago, significantly benefit the situation in Dubai.

Recently, the emirate of Dubai has demonstrated a record in the number of sales transactions worth over AED 100M (USD 27.22M) in the real estate sector.