Even in 2025, the UAE thrives as an innovative and attractive region for travel and tourism, building on their strong record of year-to-date growth achieved from both 2023 and 2024. It is estimated that there were over 32,340,000 guests who stayed at hotel properties in the United Arab Emirates during 2025, making this a new all-time record of visitors. This also represents a year-over-year increase of 5.2% from the total number of guests that stayed at hotel facilities throughout the United Arab Emirates for the same time period in 2024, which was 30,750,000 guests and represents a new record low for total guests staying at hotel facilities in the UAE over the previous 10 years.
In addition to a continued increase in the number of visitors, guest nights in the UAE for the year 2025 grew to 110.62 million, compared to 104.45 million in the previous year. Total hotel revenue in the United Arab Emirates for 2025 was approximately AED 49.21 billion, reflecting a 9.7% year-over-year increase. In addition to the continued growth in the number of guests and guest nights, the average occupancy rate of hotel properties in the UAE was reported at 79.3%, which indicates that the demand for accommodation was broad-based throughout the year, rather than concentrated during the peak seasons. As of year-end for 2025 (extrapolated), there will be a further 217,000 hotel accommodations in the UAE, indicating that the tourism industry is continuing its growth momentum with record volumes of inbound tourists each year (400+% increase).
The significant impact of these growth figures is not only about scale but also about how the strategic discipline associated with them will shape the future of tourism development in the UAE, based on its global development model applied to crisis interventions while maintaining the safety of visitors and ensuring continuity and delivery of services (logistics). This combination of preparedness and coordinated efforts has proven to be one of the UAE’s most significant competitive advantages given that global travel patterns will continue to be influenced by conditions in the region.
At the second convening of the UAE’s 2026 Council for Tourism, which took place in Ras Al Khaimah, officials continued working under the framework of the forward-thinking agenda focused on recovery from COVID-19, social sustainability, and more excellent coordination between federal and local tourism authorities. Collectively, the message is clear; the UAE is more than just a participant in the global tourism competition; it is beginning to set the global benchmark for how a modern destination scales, adapts, and remains appealing in such an unpredictable environment.
