Tourism to hit 13% of Abu Dhabi’s GDP this year, with more mega cultural projects set to be announced

Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector is expected to contribute AED 62 bn to GDP in 2025, marking a 13% y-o-y increase, Al Etihad reports, citing statements from Chairman of the Culture and Tourism Department Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak. Hotel revenues are forecast to grow 13% in 2025 to AED 8.6 bn, with the sector expected to support 255k jobs this year, up from 225k last year.

The long-term target? To hit AED 90 bn by 2030, he added.

We’re already off to a good start: The volume of international hotel guests rose 4% y-o-y in 1Q 2025, with average occupancy rates of 79% across the emirate and 82% in Abu Dhabi city. Top source markets include India, China, the UK, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

Expanding source markets: Abu Dhabi expanded its target tourism markets from 11 in 2023 to 25 in 2024, focusing on the Commonwealth of Independent States, Japan, and Eastern Europe.

It’s a big year for cultural projects — a big part of Abu Dhabi’s touristic allure: The emirate on Friday opened teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, a 17k square meter immersive, multi-sensory art space created by the Tokyo-based art collective teamLab. The Saadiyat Cultural District is also set to see the opening of the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum this year. Meanwhile, construction of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is scheduled for completion this year, ahead of its planned 2026 opening.

Abu Dhabi is not planning to dial down investments on these projects anytime soon, “whether oil is at USD 55 or oil is at a hundred USD,” Mubarak told Bloomberg on the sidelines of the teamLab museum opening, in what are some of the first public statements from a UAE official on the impact of falling oil prices on investment plans. Abu Dhabi is already eyeing more projects and expects to announce two more mega cultural projects soon, he said.