Officials in Dubai have revealed the emirate hopes to attract over 5.5 million overseas visitors this year.

Dubai Tourism chief executive, Issam Kazim, said he hoped that new markets can help make up for the loss of visitors from key outbound markets where travel continues to be restricted.

Dubai welcomed 5.5 million overseas visitors last year, compared to 16.7 million arrivals in 2019.

Visitors from India, traditionally a top source market, are largely banned from the United Arab Emirates due to the latest outbreak of Covid-19 in the south-Asian nation.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, the third biggest source market in 2019, has barred direct flights and requires travellers from the UAE to hotel quarantine.

Kazim said visitor numbers from newer markets in Europe, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were performing well.

“All of these markets will start to add up and hopefully fill the gaps and give us a much stronger foundation to build a confident rebound going forward,” he explained.

The Middle Eastern destination reopened its borders to international visitors last July and was a popular holiday spot over the New Year.

With Expo 2020 also set to start in October, there are hopes for a recovery in the tourism sector over the coming months.