UAE tourism sector projected to add $84.9B to economy by 2036, WTTC says

The UAE’s travel and tourism sector is on track to add more than $16.4 billion to the economy over the next decade. The World Travel & Tourism Council’s latest Economic Impact Research forecasts that the sector’s total economic contribution will rise from $68.5 billion (AED 251.3 billion) in 2025 to $84.9 billion (AED 311.7 billion) by 2036. The projected gain is tied to rising employment, international visitor spending and capital investment.

In 2025, travel and tourism contributed $68.5 billion to the UAE’s gross domestic product, a 3% increase over the previous year and an 11.9% share of the economy. WTTC said the sector’s economic impact is now 22.2% above its 2019 pre-pandemic level. The full measure reaches beyond direct visitor spending to include capital investment, supply chains, income from related employment and other knock-on effects.

Direct travel and tourism GDP stood at $33.5 billion in 2025, equivalent to 5.8% of total GDP, and WTTC expects that figure to reach $42 billion by 2036. For the whole sector, the economic contribution is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8% from 2026 through 2036.

Employment in the sector is set to broaden as well. Travel and tourism supported 947,100 jobs in the UAE in 2025, equal to 13.6% of all jobs in the country, and about 487,600 of those positions were directly linked to tourism. More than one in eight workers, in other words, depends on the sector. By 2036, the sector should support nearly 1.17 million jobs, or 14.5% of the labor market, with direct tourism employment above 601,000. WTTC calculates that roughly 266,500 additional jobs will be created from 2026 to 2036, representing 2.6% annual growth.

Spending by visitors from outside the UAE remains the dominant driver. International tourists spent $56.9 billion in 2025, some 77.9% of all tourism expenditure, while domestic visitors spent $16.1 billion. That leaves the domestic segment with a 22.1% share. International visitor spending is expected to reach $72.8 billion by 2036, growing at a 6.4% compound annual rate as arrivals rise to about 48.85 million. Domestic travel spending should climb to $20.2 billion over the same period, growing at 3% a year. Leisure travel was the biggest segment in 2025 at $60.9 billion, representing 83.4% of total spending; business travel generated $12.1 billion, or the remaining 16.6%. By 2036, the report projects $77.8 billion in leisure spending and $15.2 billion in business spending.

Capital investment in the sector reached $9.4 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $13.8 billion by 2036, a compound annual growth rate of 5.4% that would bring tourism’s share of total UAE investment to 5.5%. Internationally, the UAE ranks eighth for visitor spending, 18th for travel and tourism’s direct GDP contribution, and 23rd for the sector’s total economic impact. India was the top source market for visitors in 2025, accounting for 14% of arrivals. It was followed by the UK with 9%, Russia with 8%, and China and Saudi Arabia with 5% each.