"Emirates Tourism" It reviews the sector’s performance and mechanisms for utilizing data to support growth and sustainability
Abu Dhabi, December 18 / WAM / The Emirates Tourism Council held a meeting chaired by His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, and with the participation of the heads and directors of all local tourism bodies in the country.
The Council reviewed the performance of the tourism sector during the current year, and discussed a number of strategic files related to developing tourism governance, enhancing the data system, and supporting the sustainability of the sector, in addition to following up on the outcomes of the previous meeting.
His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri confirmed that the tourism sector in the UAE continues to record strong performance indicators during the year 2025, which reflects the effectiveness of national policies and the level of coordination existing between federal and local tourism agencies. He pointed out that this positive performance strengthens the country’s position as a global tourist destination, and confirms its ability to achieve sustainable growth based on diversifying tourism products, improving the experience of visitors from various countries of the world, and benefiting from the competitive elements possessed by the seven emirates of the country, which provide global destinations that meet the increasing global demand, including It consolidates the UAE’s position as one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the world.
He reviewed the most prominent results achieved by the tourism and hospitality sector in the country during the period from January to October 2025, noting that the recorded indicators reflect the strength of the sector and the continuity of demand for tourist destinations in the various emirates of the country, as hotel establishments received 26.1 million guests, an increase of 5% compared to the same period in 2024, and more than 89 million hotel nights were recorded, an increase of 6%, in addition to an improvement in the average length of stay and an increase in occupancy rates to reach 79.3%, and hotel revenues reached about 40 billion dirhams, which confirms the sector’s ability to continue sustainable growth.
Bin Touq said: “In the next phase, we are working to develop tourism governance, strengthen the national data system, support the shift towards more sustainable tourism practices, and employ accurate data, statistics and future analyzes to support planning and decision-making, in addition to enhancing integration in marketing efforts at the national level, which contributes to maximizing the economic impact of the tourism sector, and supports the objectives of the (We Are the Emirates 2031) vision.”
The meeting reviewed the launch of the sixth edition of the “The Most Beautiful Winter in the World” campaign, which came this year under the slogan “Our Winter is Leadership,” and aims to stimulate domestic tourism and enhance the diversity of the tourism product in the various emirates of the country, in addition to its role in stimulating entrepreneurship in the tourism sector, and enabling small and medium enterprises and emerging companies to contribute to the development of innovative tourism experiences, which enhances the attractiveness of local destinations, supports achieving a balanced distribution of tourism traffic, and contributes to the growth and sustainability of the national tourism sector.
The meeting reviewed tourism expectations for the year 2026, in light of the analyzes provided by Euromonitor, which indicated the continued growth of tourism at the regional and global levels, with an increasing focus on experience-based tourism, sustainability, and the integration of digital solutions, in a way that supports strategic planning efforts for the tourism sector in the country during the next stage.
The Council followed up on the progress made on a number of important issues, most notably the reactivation of the Tourism Statistics Committee in coordination with the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics, and the Tourism Marketing Committee, and working with local tourism bodies to improve national tourism indicators and make them more accurate, and their role in unifying tourism data methodologies at the national level, creating an integrated digital database, and enhancing coordination in promotional and marketing efforts locally and internationally, which contributes to supporting the UAE’s position as a global tourist destination.
The Council discussed cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the aim of strengthening governance and sustainability policies in the tourism sector, and developing the national tourism data system, in a way that supports decision-making and improves the sector’s competitiveness.
The Council touched on the preparations for the UAE’s hosting of the first Gulf Tourism Conference, scheduled to be held in Al Ain in February 2026, which aims to strengthen Gulf tourism cooperation, support a unified Gulf tourism vision, and accelerate digital transformation and innovation in the sector, reflecting the UAE’s pioneering role in supporting tourism integration at the regional level.
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