Dubai's hotel industry posted its strongest performance in months as the city gears up to host Arabian Travel Market 2026, with new figures from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism pointing to sustained momentum across the tourism sector.
Hotel occupancy climbed to 66% in August, up sharply from 36% in March and reaching 89% of last August's levels. Room inventory grew alongside that demand, approaching 149,000 keys by the end of the month even as several properties pushed ahead with renovation work. Occupied room nights for the first eight months of the year totalled 21.61 million.
International visitor numbers told a similar story. Dubai welcomed around 869,000 overnight visitors in August, its strongest monthly total since February and the latest in a string of double-digit monthly gains since March. That brought year-to-date visitation to 6.97 million.
The visitor base remained broadly spread across regions, with Western Europe leading at 20% of arrivals between January and August, followed by South Asia at 17%, the GCC at 16%, and CIS and Eastern Europe at 14%.
Issam Kazim, chief executive of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said the results reflected the industry's resolve during a difficult period for global travel, crediting hospitality partners and the wider city for sustaining momentum.
Running from September 14 to 17 at Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM's 33rd edition brings together more than 115 co-exhibitors from across Dubai's tourism ecosystem alongside over 300 international buyers from more than 40 countries. Earlier this year the government rolled out an AED2.5 billion support package for tourism and hospitality, while Emirates has restored 97% of its global network as connectivity continues to recover toward 2025 levels.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
