If 2025 had a travel trade headline for the UAE, it would be “momentum with purpose”. Not just more visitors, but smarter growth, deeper collaboration and a very clear signal about where the region is heading next.
The last few weeks saw both Dubai and Abu Dhabi wrap up the year with their flagship City Briefings, and taken together, they read like a progress report and a playbook for travel trade professionals, tourism boards, DMCs, airlines, hoteliers, attraction operators and anyone actively selling the UAE and the wider Middle East.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s happened, what’s coming, and why you should care.
Dubai boasts big numbers, and bigger intent
The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) hosted its second and final City Briefing of 2025 on 9 December at Global Village, bringing together more than 1,200 stakeholders across hospitality, aviation, airlines, retail, F&B, government entities and media, making it one of the largest tourism stakeholder briefings in the region.
The enhanced, interactive format underscored just how central public-private partnerships are to delivering the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, and cementing Dubai’s status as a global hub for business and leisure. In the presence of His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of DET, His Excellency Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), set out the city’s performance and its growth strategy looking ahead to 2026.
The headline stats speak for themselves, and demonstrates sustained demand across the board:
- 18.72 million international overnight visitors in 2024 (a record)
- 15.70 million international visitors between January–October 2025, up 5% year-on-year
- Average hotel occupancy of 79.4%, up from 77% last year
- ADR up 6% to AED 531
- RevPAR at AED 421, a 9% YoY increase
- 152,875 rooms across 820 establishments as of end-October
Doubling down on collaboration, conversion and long-term growth
According to leaders at the City Briefing, Dubai’s tourism momentum in 2025 is being driven less by headline numbers and more by strategic focus, collaboration and conversion-led growth. Addressing stakeholders, His Excellency Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said Dubai’s performance reflects a maturing destination strategy built on diversification and partnership.
“Our strategic market diversification, year-round campaigns, and emphasis on sustainability and accessibility have strengthened Dubai’s position as a world-leading destination, while opening new opportunities for residents, visitors and investors. Undoubtedly, this performance reflects the strength of our public-private partnerships.”
The message for the travel trade is that Dubai is prioritising year-round demand, smarter source-market mix and campaigns designed to convert, not just inspire. Events and retail continue to play a central role in driving visitation and spend. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), highlighted the impact of experience-led programming:
“By maintaining a vibrant calendar of events that align with trends and expectations, we are maintaining our competitive edge as a world-class destination, contributing to Dubai’s ongoing success by attracting global and regional visitors and increasing spend across sectors.”
A key announcement at the briefing was DET’s Hotel Incentive Programme, launched in October, offering 100% reimbursement of the Dubai Municipality fee and Tourism Dirham for two years post-opening for qualifying new hotels in Dubai South, Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Parks and the Dubai Islands.
Dubai’s long-term confidence is also reflected in a robust development and infrastructure pipeline, including Ciel Dubai Marina, Mandarin Oriental Downtown, Therme Dubai, Dubai Museum of Art (DUMA) and the expansion of Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC), alongside major transport projects such as the Dubai Metro Blue Line. Sustainability and accessibility remain central pillars, with progress on the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) Stamp, DUBAI REEF, and Dubai’s position as the first Certified Autism Destination™ in the Eastern Hemisphere.
Closing the briefing, Kazim said Dubai is well positioned to build on its momentum through 2026 and beyond, supported by “continued trust and collaboration” across the tourism ecosystem.
Abu Dhabi flaunts depth, diversification and serious pipeline energy
In Al Ain, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) hosted its third annual City Tourism Briefing at the iconic Al Jahili Fort, welcoming around 400 industry leaders from hotels, attractions, DMCs, developers, airlines and tourism stakeholders.
While celebrating growth, the focus was on strengthening collaboration and accelerating progress towards Tourism Strategy 2030. As Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, put it:
“In collaboration with our industry partners, we have continued to drive success across every segment: culture, leisure, business, and live entertainment. The City Tourism Briefing provides a vital platform for us to celebrate these milestones with the entire ecosystem, and to align on goals and strengthen the collaboration that will further steer momentum toward the ambitions of Tourism Strategy 2030 and ensure that Abu Dhabi remains a world-leading destination shaped by innovation and excellence.”
Abu Dhabi’s numbers show a destination hitting its stride, building on last year’s momentum with stronger yields, longer stays and broader geographic spread:
- 4.9 million hotel guests between January – October 2025
- Average length of stay up to 2.8 nights
- Hotel revenues up 18% YoY, with occupancy holding strong at 80%
- RevPAR up 21% YoY
Crucially, growth isn’t just happening in the city. Al Ain and Al Dhafra also posted strong increases in guests and RevPAR, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s emirate-wide, diversified strategy.
Connectivity is king … and it’s expanding
A major theme of the Abu Dhabi briefing was connectivity, because without it, ambition goes nowhere. A heavyweight transport panel featuring Antonoaldo Neves (Etihad Airways), Adel Ali (Air Arabia), Nathalie Jongma (Abu Dhabi Airports Company) and Azza Al Suwaidi (Etihad Rail) highlighted just how aggressively the emirate is investing in access and infrastructure. Key takeaways include:
- Etihad Airways will significantly expand its destination network in 2026
- Abu Dhabi Airports continues to post double-digit growth
- Rail, road and air are being planned as one joined-up visitor journey
If Dubai is about scale and pace, then Abu Dhabi is doubling down on depth and distinction. A developers’ panel featuring Modon Hospitality, Aldar Hospitality and Miral gave a glimpse of what’s coming down the line, including Disneyland Abu Dhabi, National History Museum Abu Dhabi, Enhancements to Al Ain Zoo, Harry Potter themed land at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi’s first Nobu hotel, Surf Abu Dhabi, and a new velodrome cycling project.
Layer that with culture, and the results are already visible, with 6+ million visitors to cultural sites and museums (Jan–Oct 2025), and around 1 million festival and programme attendees across the emirate. And yes, Abu Dhabi is firmly in its MICE era too, with 14 mega-scale events hosted in the first 10 months of 2025, nine more in the pipeline, and an expected 1.75 million MICE visitors by year-end (up 13% YoY).
What does this all add up to?
Across both briefings, a few themes are impossible to ignore, particularly when compared to last year’s updates:
- This is ecosystem growth, not siloed success: aviation, culture, hotels, retail, events and infrastructure are moving in lockstep.
- Experience-led travel is no longer optional: culture, entertainment and lifestyle are now core demand drivers.
- The UAE is selling confidence: long-term strategies like D33 and Tourism Strategy 2030 aren’t abstract; they’re being actively delivered.
Abu Dhabi’s 2030 ambitions alone tell you how serious this is – they are targetting 39.3 million visitors annually, looking to create 178,000 new tourism jobs, aiming to offer 52,000 hotel rooms, and is laser focused to contribute AED 90 billion to GDP by the end of the decade.
What to watch in 2026?
Looking ahead, both briefings made it clear that 2026 will be less about recovery or growth-for-growth’s-sake, and more about precision, partnerships and performance. Key things for the travel and tourism industry to watch closely include:
- Airline capacity and new routes: Etihad’s network expansion and continued aviation growth will reshape source markets and itineraries.
- Mega-attractions coming online: Projects like Disneyland Abu Dhabi, new museums and themed lands will materially change product mix and length of stay.
- MICE acceleration: Mega-scale events will drive midweek demand, premium inventory uptake and year-round visitation.
- Culture-led travel growth: Museums, heritage sites and festivals are now core demand drivers, not add-ons.
- Smarter selling, not louder selling: Both cities are prioritising yield, experience and ecosystem value over raw visitor numbers.
The friendly checklist for the trade
If you’re selling the UAE, or planning to, here’s what you might like to consider:
- Update your narratives because the old clichés don’t cut it anymore.
- Sell multi-emirate journeys, as the UAE is shifting from being a stop-over to an end destination.
- Pay attention to culture, events and niche experiences (sports, music, arts, etc), that’s where growth is accelerating at mega-speed.
- Align your products with connectivity expansions coming in 2026.
So as we can see, not only is the UAE moving forward at the speed of lightning, it is also sharpening its focus. And if 2025 was about proving what’s possible, then 2026 is about outpacing expectations, yet again.
