UAE hospitality sector continues to achieve advanced growth rates

The Hospitality Advisory Council held its first meeting of 2026, chaired by Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, and attended by representatives from the public and private sectors, including executives and heads of major national and international hotel establishments in the UAE.

- Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

The Council reviewed a range of new tourism initiatives and their pivotal role in driving the growth and sustainability of the UAE's hotel sector in 2026. Discussions also covered performance developments in the sector regionally and globally, along with future supply and demand projections for the upcoming period.

Bin Touq affirmed that the UAE's hospitality sector continues to perform exceptionally, thanks to the vision and directives of the wise leadership. The sector is one of the key pillars enhancing the competitiveness of the national tourism ecosystem, he noted.

Hotel occupancy reaches 79.5 per cent he emphasised that the hotel occupancy rate in the UAE reached 79.5 per cent during the period from January to November 2025, along with an increase in the average length of stay to 3.42 nights. Coinciding with the continued expansion of the sector's capacity, the number of hotels reached 1,260, while the total number of hotel rooms increased to around 216,900. These figures reflect the robustness of the sector and its pivotal role in supporting national tourism growth.