During the first meeting of the Council of the UAE on tourism in 2025, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Council Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri confirmed that the tourism sector in the country continues to achieve positive results within the framework of the leadership's visionary perspective. He noted that revenues from hotel establishments in the country reached 37.1 billion dirhams for the period from January to October 2024, which is 4% more than in the same period of 2023. The occupancy level of hotel establishments was approximately 78%, which is 2.7% higher than in the same period of 2023.
"These indicators reflect the constant growth of tourism in the UAE in various sectors, which supports the achievement of the national tourism strategy for 2031, aimed at increasing the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP of the country to 450 billion dirhams over the next decade, which corresponds with the vision 'We are the UAE 2031'. He suggested that this sector will continue to grow this year due to innovative tourism projects in the country and initiatives that are currently in the process of being implemented.
The Council discussed the results of the fifth campaign 'The Most Beautiful Winter in the World' and its important role in strengthening the competitiveness of the UAE’s position as a leading global tourism destination. Various initiatives and tourism projects planned for implementation this year to stimulate growth in the tourism sector in the country were highlighted.
Abdullah bin Touq emphasized the need to continue efforts to strengthen cooperation with concerned tourism organizations both inside and outside the country for the realization of tourism projects serving the national objectives of the tourism industry. Since Al-Ain was selected as the capital of tourism in 2025, this supports strengthening the UAE’s position as a leading global tourism destination at the regional and international levels.
The council considered various activities and marketing programs that will be conducted in connection with the selection of Al-Ain as the capital of tourism in 2025. The last updates on a major tourism project, mega-trace, which has completed the first phase including five tourist routes across all seven emirates, were also discussed, contributing to the diversity of tourism opportunities for visitors and residents of the country, especially in ecological and cultural tourism, including adventure tourism, festivals, and events. The importance of UAE's participation in events, conferences, and meetings at the regional and international levels this year to strengthen partnerships in the tourism sector with different countries and organizations worldwide was also discussed at the council.
