By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN
(CNN) — What a difference a few months can make. Earlier this year, Dubai was celebrating another record-breaking 12 months of tourism with a staggering 19.59 million international visitors logged in 2025.
But visitor numbers have dropped precipitously as a result of the recent US and Israeli war on Iran, with hotel occupancy rates decreasing from 80% to a projected 10% in the months after the emirate was the target of missile attacks in March.
Now officials are digging deep, into their pockets at least, to turn things around for the destination previously considered a safe haven in the Middle East.
A new program is offering UAE residents and citizens reward packages worth up to AED 3,000 (around $816) in exchange for nominating relatives or friends to come and visit Dubai.
Incentive scheme
Launched earlier this month, “A Dubai Invite” permits those aged 18-plus with a valid Emirates ID to recommend up to three guests for stays commencing between now and October 31, with benefits including hotel stays and dining offers.
Nominated visitors must be non-UAE residents with a valid tourist visa arriving by “air, sea or road,” according to information provided by Visit Dubai.
“At a time when personal connection and credibility matter more than ever in travel decisions, ‘A Dubai Invite’ speaks directly to what makes this city enduringly compelling: the people who call it home and who understand it best, and the families and friends they welcome here to experience it for themselves,” Noor Al Geziry, AVP, Special Projects & MENA at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), said in a statement.
“I think it’s a very positive initiative,” YouTuber and beauty editor Lauren O’Connell tells CNN. O’Connell moved from the US to Dubai in 2009.
“I’ve invited family members who’ve been talking about visiting Dubai over the past few years. It gives people who already love living in Dubai an extra reason to encourage friends and family to make the trip.”
The new scheme is the latest in a series of attempts by officials to lure back tourists. Other efforts include the suspension of the nightly hotel tax charged at higher-end properties and the removal of the 7% municipal fee applied to hotel and restaurant bills.
Dubai has been working hard to reconstruct its tourism brand since Iran launched strikes across the Middle East earlier this year, with ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting the destination.
‘Ultimate nightmare’
Although the majority of the missiles were intercepted, the attacks caused damage to some of its most famous landmarks, including the five-star Fairmont The Palm resort and the Jumeirah Burj Al Arab hotel, which is currently closed for an 18-month restoration program.
Dubai International Airport, a central global transport hub, was forced to temporarily close in March, while various airlines, including British Airways and Emirates paused flights to the destination.
The structural damage in the destination is no doubt repairable, and many flight routes are still operating, but it remains to be seen whether the reputational damage caused by the conflict will be.
“This is Dubai’s ultimate nightmare as its very essence depended on being a safe oasis in a troubled region,” Cinzia Bianco, an expert on the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote in a post shared on X earlier this year.
“There might be a way to be resilient but there is no going back.”
Travel warnings are still in place for the UAE from various governments. The United States urges travelers to reconsider travel to the country.
“I think it has created hesitation rather than fundamentally damaged confidence in the UAE itself,” Naim Maadad, founder and CEO of Gates Hospitality, which includes resort and restaurant brands like Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman and Ultra Brasserie in Dubai, told CNN last month.
“International audiences often view the Middle East as one broad region rather than distinguishing between countries, and that perception naturally impacts travel decisions.”
Maadad went on to stress that UAE “continues to demonstrate stability, infrastructure strength and operational continuity,” before adding that while airports, hotels, restaurants and attractions in the destination “remain fully functional,” today, “the bigger challenge is psychological.”
Melanie Swan contributed to this article.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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