Tourism is one of the UAE’s most visible diversification successes and a cornerstone of the We the UAE 2031 economic agenda. The federation is targeting 40 million international visitors annually by the end of the decade, a figure that would place it among the five most visited countries on earth. Dubai alone welcomed over 17 million overnight visitors in 2023, driven by a hospitality infrastructure of more than 150,000 hotel rooms, two major airports, and a global airline in Emirates that serves as the single largest feeder of inbound traffic. The city’s tourism model — built on retail, entertainment, events, and business travel — generates over 12 percent of Dubai’s GDP.
Abu Dhabi is pursuing a parallel but distinct strategy anchored in cultural tourism and premium experiences. The Saadiyat Island Cultural District, home to Louvre Abu Dhabi and the forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum, positions the capital as the region’s most significant cultural destination. Yas Island adds theme parks and motorsport events to the mix, while the emirate’s desert and mangrove ecosystems support an expanding ecotourism segment. Beyond the two dominant emirates, Ras Al Khaimah is emerging as the federation’s adventure tourism hub, leveraging Jebel Jais — the UAE’s highest peak — and a growing portfolio of outdoor and wellness offerings to attract a visitor profile distinct from the urban-luxury model.
This section provides analytical coverage of the UAE’s tourism and hospitality sector. It tracks visitor volumes, hotel performance metrics, airline capacity, mega-event strategies, and the policy frameworks governing tourism development across all seven emirates. Each article connects operational data to the national targets embedded in We the UAE 2031 and the emirate-level tourism strategies that feed into them.