Dubai International Airport handled 4.7 million passengers in July, an increase of nearly 10 percent on the same month last year, and a new record for monthly traffic.

Year to date traffic reached 29,291,927, up nine percent compared to 26,870,440 in the corresponding period in 2010.

The fastest growing regions were the GCC (up 34 percent), North America (up 28.3 percent), Eastern Europe (up 24.3 percent) and South America (up 18.5 percent).

On a country level, the largest gains were seen on traffic to and from Saudi Arabia, the United State and Qatar, operator Dubai Airports said in a statement.

Aircraft movements during July totalled 27,166, up 4.2 percent compared to the same period last year, the statement added

Year to date aircraft movements numbered 317,664, a rise of 6.8 percent from 297,355 posted during the first seven months of 2010.

July air freight volumes dipped by 2.7 percent as Dubai International handled 192,538 tonnes compared to 197,845 tonnes during the same period in 2010.

Year to date, Dubai International has handled a total of 1,250,489 tonnes of cargo, compared to 1,252,505 tonnes during the same period last year, a contraction of 0.16 percent.

“This latest milestone further illustrates Dubai International’s emergence as a preeminent global hub,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

“Not only did we set a new record, we surpassed the previous high point by over 400,000 passengers…Combined with Dubai’s burgeoning attractiveness as a centre for business and tourism, this is sure to fuel future expansion.”

He added that Dubai International was hopeful of overtaking Hong Kong International as the world’s third busiest airport by the end of the year.

Dubai International connects over 220 destinations across six continents on more than 150 airlines.

Passenger numbers are projected to top 51 million by the end of 2011 and reach 98 million by 2020.