UAE Hotels Had a Record 2024. Now They Face Global Recession Risks

The UAE’s hotel sector posted record results in 2024 — before the recent global market turmoil. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, UAE Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, announced that hotel revenues in the country reached approximately 45 billion Emirati Dirhams (US$12.3 billion) last year — a 3% year-over-year increase.

Hotel occupancy hit 78%, one of the highest globally, supported by the launch of 16 new properties. That brought the total number of hotels to 1,251 and boosted the country’s room supply to nearly 217,000.

In 2024, hotel guest numbers reached 30.8 million — a 9.5% rise.

“We are focused on building capacity, fostering Emirati participation, and driving greater investment across all areas of the tourism ecosystem,” said Bin Touq.

In January and February, Dubai, the most popular emirate in the UAE for tourism, had a 4% year-on-year rise to 3.82 million international visits.

It's unclear whether the momentum can carry into 2025. Hospitality career profile Research has lowered its 2025 global travel growth forecast to 2% to 5%, down from the 6% to 9% projected at the start of the year.

Dubai's tourism is less tied to the Americas than from European and Asian markets. Up to February this year, 260,000 travelers from the Americas visited Dubai, compared to well over a million from Asia and Europe.

In 2020, while global travel tanked, key Middle Eastern destinations managed to stay afloat through domestic business. In Dubai, domestic tourism accounted for 52% of all hotel guests, or 4.55 million. Domestic travelers had previously accounted for 20-25% of Dubai's hotel guests. Across the UAE in 2020, domestic tourism accounted for $11.3 billion of the $19.4 billion tourism generated that year.

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