DUBAI, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of guests staying in hotels in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), during August increased by 10.5 percent from last year, said Abu Dhabi's tourism authorities Saturday.
A total of 477,606 visitors stayed at Abu Dhabi's 162 hotels during August, an increase of more than 45,000 people from August 2017, said Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi in a statement.
For the first eight months of this year, the figures showed that Abu Dhabi has recorded more than 3.31 million visitors, a 5.8-percent increase in the total number of hotel guests from last year.
The number of Chinese visitors stepped up by 9 percent year on year despite summer heat of over 40 degrees Celsius in August, said the statement.
China has remained Abu Dhabi's number one tourist source market, with an increase of 13 percent in total in 2018 compared with 2017, it said.
Saif Saeed Ghobash, undersecretary of the official tourism body, said the performance of the tourism sector in 2018 was boosted by "the enduring popularity of Abu Dhabi summer season from June into August."
