Dubai's travel and tourism officials are cautiously optimistic about a rebound in the industry despite the Iran war, betting on Emirates airline's rapid recovery, a busy events calendar, the appeal of the city's winter season, and close collaboration between the public and private sectors.
The city is preparing to host the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) from September 14 to 17 when the sector's recovery strategy will come into sharp focus against a backdrop of regional travel disruptions.
Emirates recorded “quite decent” passenger demand during the summer with the airline restoring most of its pre-conflict capacity and route network, despite region-wide travel disruptions and uncertainty during the ongoing conflict, Adnan Kazim, Emirates airline's deputy president, said at a press conference ahead of ATM.
The airline carried 8.7 million passengers in July and August, up from 4.7 million in March and April, he said. That is on a par with the number of passengers carried last summer, according to Emirates, which does not post monthly traffic figures.
The Dubai-based carrier restored 93 per cent of its capacity and 98 per cent of its route network compared to prewar levels, according to Mr Kazim. It now flies to 140 destinations in 72 countries, with a new route to Helsinki launching on October 1.
A collective focused effort on promoting Dubai as a destination that is open for business is under way to instil confidence and comfort among travellers to the emirate.
“Dubai will come back and ATM will be a good milestone for that comeback to happen,” Mr Kazim said.
Underpinning this recovery are Dubai's popular winter season, a busy events calendar with more than 100 exhibitions in the last four months of this year, and repeat visitors to the city including the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) segment, he said.
The 33rd ATM will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre, with more than 80 destination participants and 300 host buyers. The event was postponed from its originally scheduled date in May due to the Iran war that has now entered its seventh month.
The annual event will bring together tourism ministers, authorities, hotels, tour operators and exhibitors to assess the conflict's impact, rebuild traveller confidence and discuss the sector's future.
Dubai attracted a record 19.6 million visitors in 2025, with highs of two million visitors in December alone, and the “trajectory is moving in the right direction”, said Issam Kazim, chief executive of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing. The current situation is affecting the number of visitors to the city because of some governments issuing travel advisories and some international airlines suspending flights, he added.
Dubai is working closely with stakeholders at local and federal levels, airlines, and other partners to restore flights to the destination quickly, Mr Kazim of DCTCM said.
“All the international relationships are being leveraged to ensure that … we get in as many carriers and opening flights as quickly as possible,” he said, adding that Emirates and flydubai are “plugging in the gaps” to ensure travel continues.
Despite the travel advisories and some international flight suspensions, Dubai's tourism recovery plan will not be limited to regional travel, he added. “We will always obviously be optimistic about international markets as well. [Foreign visitors] are the biggest advocates of the city.”
Dubai is tapping its expatriate population to help attract more international visitors and bolster its image as a safe destination open for business. It has launched a tourism incentive delivering up to Dh3,000 ($816) in discounts to residents who invite friends and family to visit the emirate.
Haitham Mattar, regional director of IHG Hotels and Resorts, said it has been a “challenging time” for the tourism industry, but the sector is “way to big to fail”.
“There is short-term impact on demand … however, there is continued investor confidence in markets like UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt,” he said.
Long-term growth
Dubai's tourism strategy is focused on long-term growth rather than short-term volatility.
“Whether it was the financial crisis or Covid or anything else, Dubai always is looking forward,” Mr Mattar said. “We don't plan by quarters, we plan for decades ahead.
“We want to make sure that as soon as things are back to normal, we're ready to pick up in a better stance and at a much stronger pace,” he added. “What better point to start than ATM itself?”
'A different ATM'
Danielle Curtis, regional portfolio director at RX Global that organises ATM, said this year ATM will be “different”, but no less important.
“There has been a little concern from international destinations coming in; however, our message is very clear: Dubai is open and it's business as usual,” she told The National. “It's important now more than ever for ATM to operate, to connect the industry.”
