The UAE is innovating the tourism of the future with smart technologies that transform tourists’ journeys into imaginative experiences

The UAE continues to consolidate its leadership in employing technological solutions and artificial intelligence in the tourism and hospitality sector, strengthening its position as an innovative and digitally advanced global destination, as it is one of the first countries in the region to adopt digital solutions, which have contributed to enhancing the efficiency of all sectors. It has also topped digital competitiveness indicators regionally and globally, thanks to its advanced infrastructure and fiber-optic networks that cover most parts of the country.

The Most Beautiful Winter in the World campaign, which came this year under the slogan “Our Winter is Leadership,” highlights the vital role played by the UAE’s world-leading digital infrastructure in enhancing the services of companies operating in the sector and creating the appropriate environment for their development and improving their quality.

Tourism in the UAE relies heavily on advanced digital infrastructure, and companies operating in the tourism sector harness artificial intelligence applications and technologies to enhance the tourists’ experience, whether through booking facilities, transportation, or fulfillment of services. The country has also strengthened its leadership position as an incubator for emerging and new digital companies, by combining a large customer base with advanced digital infrastructure that has accelerated the growth of companies’ businesses, and has harnessed the best digital and innovative practices to enhance this growth.

The UAE has benefited from its digital infrastructure in the tourism sector by enhancing the visitor experience through easy and fast services (such as smart visas and digitized facilities), improving the management of tourist movement thanks to advanced transportation systems, and providing real-time data to travelers, which has strengthened its position as a global center for innovative tourism, supported by huge investments in technology and communications.

The tourism sector in the UAE is witnessing an increasing reliance on digital services, smart personalization of guests, smart data analyses, smart check-in procedures and mobile services, with reliance on smart applications to enhance tourism through official platforms such as “Visit Abu Dhabi,” “Visit Dubai,” “Visit Sharjah,” “Visit Ajman,” “Visit Ras Al Khaimah,” and others, which contributes to improving the visitor experience and enhancing tourism performance. The UAE has also made advanced strides in employing technology within the hospitality sector, which affects the way services are designed within the sector, the mechanism of teams’ work, and the guests’ experience at every moment. Cloud platforms, artificial intelligence solutions, contactless check-in and mobile services are raising guests’ expectations for speed, convenience and reliability.

The Ministry of Economy and Tourism and its partners, including local tourism development bodies and departments and stakeholders in the tourism sector at the federal and local levels, and in partnership with the private sector and international tourism entities and organizations, worked to develop an integrated national strategy for tourism development and strengthening the UAE’s position as a sustainable tourism destination by focusing on anticipating the future, innovation and technology in the national tourism sector, ensuring the introduction of tourist destinations, developing the UAE tourism product and enhancing tourism investments in the country.

The UAE has placed digital transformation at the heart of its “National Tourism Strategy 2031”, and this is evident in continuing to invest in modern aviation networks, integrating multimodal transport systems, and modernizing infrastructure, in addition to adopting digital travel solutions that contribute to facilitating global mobility. Harnessing modern technologies in the tourism sector is evident in providing a smooth visitor experience by providing integrated and fast digital government and tourism services such as issuing visas and providing tourist information, providing smart transportation services, and advanced digital public transportation networks, such as the metro and buses equipped with modern technologies, which facilitate movement within cities, providing advanced tourism data available to tourists, and developing the hospitality sector, which is demonstrated by the integration of artificial intelligence and technology in hotels and entertainment destinations to provide innovative and customized experiences for visitors.

Many hotels in the UAE have relied on smart virtual systems to answer routine inquiries from tourists and visitors, with 39% of hospitality operators using chatbots, or virtual assistants, to provide around-the-clock support, make recommendations, and handle administrative tasks, allowing employees to focus on more complex interactions.

Within the framework of smart tourism infrastructure, Abu Dhabi seeks to be the first government in the world to rely entirely on artificial intelligence by 2027, as it aims to automate 100% of government operations, supported by an investment of 13 billion dirhams in digital infrastructure, through the Abu Dhabi Digital Government Strategy 2025-2027, with support from major projects, such as Zayed International Airport, which launched the “Smart Travel” initiative, using biometric recognition technologies, which improves the travelers’ experience by reducing the period of completing travel procedures in the country. Airport by 70%.

Dubai has also established a strong base through digital infrastructure, 5G networks, and paperless government services, which are initiatives that support secure data exchange, provide real-time insights to the tourism sector, and promote sustainable smart city practices. Digital hotel check-in technology has also been adopted to become one of the main channels approved in all Dubai hotels and holiday homes, providing a smart, fast and secure check-in experience for local and international guests.

These initiatives contribute to raising the efficiency of operational processes, reducing waiting time, and developing a more flexible hospitality system that responds to the requirements of the modern traveler. The new technology allows guests and visitors to Dubai from around the world to complete check-in procedures before traveling via smartphones, by documenting identity data and recording biometric information only once, without the need to repeat these procedures on subsequent visits.

Upon arrival at the hotel, the guest passes through a digital access path that does not require standing at the reception desks, where previously authenticated data is used securely, and is only re-requested when the ID expires. As for subsequent visits, all that is required is quick biometric authentication, such as verification through facial recognition to confirm entry within a few seconds, which enhances the comfort of visitors, especially those with repeated visits within 12 months of their previous trip, whose percentage constitutes nearly a quarter of the total annual visits to the emirate, and increases the efficiency of hotel operations. This mechanism is also consistent with the advanced technical infrastructure in Dubai, including the smart lanes at Dubai International Airport, which reduced the time period for processing passport control to a few seconds.

The new technology is designed to be easily integrated into existing hotel applications and electronic platforms in existing hotel establishments, noting that it can also be used in many direct contact points with guests, such as car rentals, which paves the way for providing an integrated and customized tourism experience throughout the emirate.

To support emerging companies in the tourism sector; The Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai signed a memorandum of understanding with MasterCard, the global leader in payment technology solutions, with the aim of establishing a digital partnership for the city of Dubai, the first of its kind for the global company at the city level.

The memorandum allows for the development of small and medium-sized companies, providing them with digital tools and resources, and guidance and guidance, to enhance innovation, competitiveness and sustainability, and to enhance growth in the tourism system by taking advantage of digital technologies to develop the tourism sector in Dubai, while providing innovative payment solutions and improving visitors’ experiences will contribute to supporting the emirate’s vision to become among the top three cities in the world for visitors for entertainment, business and specialized services.