Top 3 Headlines
Dubai’s third record year hits 19.59m international overnight visitors
Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism published its full-year performance update, flagging 19.59m international overnight visitors in 2025 (+5% YoY) and positioning the results as a platform for continued destination marketing and trade engagement through 2026. As the third consecutive year of record-setting figures, December 2025 alone saw 2m visitors in a single calendar month.
Qatar projects nearly 7% growth in Indian visitor numbers for 2026
After welcoming 439,000 Indian tourists in 2025 (up 6% YoY), market analysts project Qatar will see a near 7% uptick in Indian arrivals this year. To attract and retain these travellers, Qatar is featuring a packed events calendar featuring sports, culture, and medical tourism specifically catering to the Indian market.
Saudi Ramadan travel campaign extends to Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan
Saudi Arabia’s “Ramadan Campaign” has been amplified with luxury-travel offers across several regional gateways, an attempt by Saudi Tourism to stimulate cross-border visitation and packaged travel demand from traditional and emerging markets. The campaign offers unprecedented discounts to big-named attractions like The Red Sea and AlUla.
Noteworthy
- Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism announced a major promotional push in the Turkish market aimed at boosting autumn/winter bookings and showcasing Red Sea coastal experiences, signalling stronger demand-generation focus on key source markets and potentially adjusted seat and hotel inventory strategies.
- Visit Qatar confirmed ticket sales have opened for ‘Shakira Live in Doha’ taking place 1 April, Stadium, 947. This is framed as part of the destination’s major events pipeline, relevant for tour operators packaging peak-demand inventory around large-scale entertainment.
- Bahrain’s Tourism and Exhibitions Authority held its first board meeting of 2026, an official governance signal typically tied to forward programme planning across events, promotion and destination delivery. Discussed during this review was the progress made in implementing the Tourism Sector Strategy 2022-2026 and noting the arrival of 15m+ visitors to Bahrain during its implementation.
- Oman, Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have been participating in the UN Tourism Regional Commission for the Middle East in Kuwait. During which, commitment to international and cross-border cooperation, building stronger tourism ecosystems, and sustainable tourism were all discussed.
- Bahrain is set to host the 3rd International Tourism Investment Forum (ITIF) in October 2026. Announced during the UN Tourism Regional Commission, it marks a key milestone for developing the tourism sector in the Kingdom, as well as the supportive investment environment in the region.
- Doha has just been named the GCC Tourism Capital for 2026, with the capital of Qatar set to host a packed calendar of cultural, entertainment and sporting events aimed at boosting international visitation throughout the year.
