European, CIS countries dominate Dubai visitor numbers

Western Europe dominated tourism traffic in Dubai last year, with overall year-on-year visitor numbers up 5%. 

Arrivals from Western Europe stood at 4.1 million in 2025, making up a fifth of total visitor numbers, and up from 3.74 million in 2024. 

Visitors from CIS and Eastern Europe totalled 2.89 million, making 15% of the total visitor pool, followed by tourists from South Asia (2.89 million), Northeast and Southeast Asia (1.85 million; 9%), the Americas (1.40 million; 7%), Africa (897,000; 5%) and Australasia (401,000; 2%). 

Nearly three million tourists from the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and 2.17 million from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region visited Dubai last year, constituting 15% and 11% of total arrivals, respectively.  

Dubai hosted 19.59 million international tourists in 2025, up 5% year-on-year from 18.72 million arrivals the previous year, as it solidifies its position as a regional and global tourism hotspot. 

Strategic partnerships, global marketing campaigns and major events contributed to the emirate hosting such a colossal visitor pool, Dubai’s media office said in a statement on Monday. 

The city welcomed a record 2.04 million international overnight visitors last December, rising 6% year-on-year and edging past last January’s record of 1.94 million tourists. 

“By further enhancing the city’s exceptional infrastructure and forging strong global partnerships, we continue to consolidate Dubai’s emergence as one of the world’s most sought-after destinations,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, and the UAE’s deputy prime minister.

“Dubai’s success also reflects the city’s diversity, cultural vibrancy, and its ability to continuously evolve its tourism and hospitality offerings. Through close collaboration between all stakeholders, we are focused on driving greater innovation and raising service excellence across the tourism ecosystem.”

In 2025, Dubai International (DXB) airport retained its position as the world’s busiest for international passengers for the 11th consecutive year, with total traffic from January through to September totalling 70.1 million.

By the end of December, the city’s hotel inventory reached 154,264 rooms across 827 establishments, which puts it well ahead of global peer cities such as Bangkok, New York, Paris and Singapore, and almost on par with London in terms of total room inventory. 

Three Dubai properties found space on the list of the world’s 50 best hotels in 2025, including Atlantis The Royal, Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, and The Lana Dubai.