by Mohamed Abdalla Al Zaabi, group CEO, Miral
We stand at the threshold of an exciting year for tourism, with tremendous opportunities ahead of us to accelerate positive transformation and development. Guided by the visionary foresight of our nation’s great leadership, the UAE is ideally placed to cater to increasing global demand, generate economic growth, and constantly raise industry benchmarks.
The latest World Tourism Barometer by UN Tourism recorded an estimated 1.3 billion international arrivals across global destinations in 2023. It spotlighted the Middle East as one of the leading regions that witnessed a trend for significant tourism growth.
Further accelerating this momentum in the UAE are national strategies to welcome 40 million hotel guests by 2031 and attract AED 100 billion in additional tourism investments, while increasing tourism’s GDP contribution to AED 450 billion.
Closer to home in Abu Dhabi, record-breaking visitors are…