UAE Tourism Economy Soars to Dh251.3 Billion in 2025, Driven by Strategic Growth and Sustainability

The UAE's tourism industry is demonstrating robust growth, with its economic contribution reaching Dh251.3 billion in 2025. This figure represents a 3% increase compared to 2024 and a significant 22% rise from pre-pandemic levels in 2019. International visitor spending contributed approximately Dh209 billion to this total.

The sector's expansion is underpinned by a strategic focus on diverse experiences, including cultural, leisure, nature, and hospitality offerings, bolstered by world-class infrastructure and strong air connectivity. A key development in 2026 was the adoption of the National Ecotourism Policy, designed to integrate economic development with the conservation of natural resources and highlight the UAE's 55 nature reserves.

Efforts to brand the UAE as a unified tourism destination include the ‘Visit UAE’ identity and the ‘UAE Grand Tour’ platform, which offers multi-emirate itineraries of up to 14 days. Individual emirates have also launched initiatives to boost visitor numbers:

• In Dubai, the ‘A Dubai Invite’ programme allows residents to offer special benefits to invited friends and family until October 31, 2026.
• Ras Al Khaimah's ‘RAK Ambassador’ initiative encourages residents to promote the emirate to international relatives and friends.
• Abu Dhabi’s ‘Hayyakum’ campaign combines theme park attractions on Yas Island with cultural experiences in the Saadiyat Cultural District.

These initiatives align with the National Tourism Strategy 2031, which aims to elevate tourism's GDP contribution to Dh450 billion, attract Dh100 billion in new investment, and welcome 40 million hotel guests annually. Domestic tourism also showed strong performance, with the ‘World's Coolest Winter’ campaign generating Dh12.5 billion in hotel revenues and attracting five million guests.

In 2025, the hospitality sector recorded 32.34 million guests, a 5.2% increase from 2024, with hotel revenues rising by 9.7% to about Dh49.21 billion across approximately 217,000 rooms in over 1,240 establishments. The aviation sector also played a crucial role, with UAE airports handling 156.8 million passengers, a 6.1% increase, and Dubai International Airport maintaining its status as the world's busiest for international passenger traffic with 95.2 million passengers.