Visitors to Dubai outspend tourists in other major cities across the globe.
And the huge influx of holidaymakers bolsters the city’s population on average by 10 per cent, which equates to 500 people per sq. km.
The data was revealed in CORE’ 12 Cities H2 report, which lays bare how crucial tourism is to the world’s top cities.
According to the study, visitors to Dubai in 2015 – the emirate can host an average of up to 210,000 tourists each day – spent a total of $4.7 billion (Dhs17.2 billion) on food and beverage and $9.7 billion (Dhs35.6 billion) on retail.
London had the second highest spend with $3.26 billion (Dhs11.97 billion) on F&B and $9.23 billion (Dhs33.9) on retail.
The average spend by a tourist in Dubai is $2,050 (Dhs7,529). Sydney was next on $1,707 (Dhs6,270).
As for swelling the population of a city, only Paris scored higher than Dubai with daily visitors boosting presence in the French capital by 12 per cent.
David Godchaux, CORE CEO, said the figures are even higher than the report authors expected.
He told 7DAYS: “Dubai has a profile as a luxury location – hotels here by their nature are five-star and five-star hotels aren’t cheap.
“Even at that, I didn’t expect the spend for tourists to be higher than New York and Paris combined.”
The report also found that Dubai has experienced a population growth rate of 59.1 per cent since 2008.
The next step in Dubai’s growth is creating an environment that encourages expats to put down roots here longer-term, Godchaux added.
He said: “One side of Dubai is all about being the biggest in the world to attract tourists. “But when you live here you don’t care that Dubai Mall is the biggest in the world, you just want to get about your day.
“That’s why there has been a shift in the mindset to try and keep expats rather than attracting new people.”
He said a shift towards European-style outdoor street retail will be the next focus.
He said: “Just look at City Walk, you’ll see more examples in a few years too. Jumeirah One is going to be huge. You’ll see examples of European-style cities inside a city to make sure people stay for longer.”
The report said that while world cities are “great places” to live, work and play, they have their own challenges.
“It is also notable that the biggest visitor cities are also the most expensive for living and workspace – all this demand puts pressure on scarce land supply”, the report added.