The number of Chinese visitors to Dubai has surged ever since the country began offering visas-on-arrival for free.

Mainlanders paid 540,000 visits to Dubai in 2016, a 20 percent jump over the previous year, according to Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

It was the first time that the figure crossed the half-million mark.

Dubai attracted 14.9 million overnight visitors in 2016, a five percent increase over 2015.

The country aims to achieve 20 million visits by 2020.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council remained the top source of visitors for Dubai in 2016, delivering a total of 3.4 million travelers who spent the night, up five percent over 2015.

Of these, 1.6 million travelers were from Saudi Arabia, and 1 million from Oman.

Western Europe was the second largest source of tourists and contributed 3.1 million visitors, representing a four percent annual growth. The UK was Dubai's number three market, bringing in nearly 1.25 million visitors, while Germany remained in the top 10, with 460,000 visitors.

"2016 was another milestone marker for Dubai's travel sector, as we rallied strongly, and ramped up the momentum to significantly outpace the four-year global industry average," says Helal Saeed Almarri, the director-general of the Dubai tourism and commerce marketing department.

"With our international overnight traffic reaching 14.9 million, Dubai has cemented its ranking as the fourth most visited city in the world," Almarri adds.

Dubai recorded the highest tourist consumption per capita among all the members of the United Arab Emirates.

"The recent opening of the Etihad Museum, Dubai Opera and the development of the Dubai Historic District, all deliver strong appeal to travelers seeking art, culture and heritage," Almarri says.

Separately, the Dubai Retail Calendar program will feature shopping festivals, promotions and seasonal offer periods, mega-sales and clearance events.