17 September 2026
The UAE has launched Visit UAE, the first unified national tourism brand covering all seven emirates. Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, unveiled the federal identity on 16 September 2026 at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, together with the UAE Grand Tour, a booking platform developed with Rocket International and the tourism authorities of every emirate that sells cross-emirate itineraries of up to 14 days. The launch follows a first half of 2026 in which flight bookings into the UAE from GCC countries rose 60% year on year and hotel bookings rose 130%.
What Visit UAE actually is
Until now the seven emirates went to market separately. Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah each ran their own tourism identity, their own campaigns and their own representation abroad, so a traveller planning one trip was dealing with seven separate stories about one country. Visit UAE is the federal layer above them. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism describes it as presenting the UAE as a single, integrated tourism destination under a unified federal identity, while still showcasing the distinct offering of each emirate.
“Through Visit UAE, we are unifying the UAE’s national tourism offering,” Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said at the show. The minister tied both launches to longer stays and higher visitor spending rather than to one emirate taking a larger share of the same traffic.
The brand is not a standalone marketing exercise. The National Tourism Strategy 2031, adopted in November 2022, lists strengthening a unified national tourism identity as one of its four working directions, alongside diversifying tourism products, building sector capability and increasing investment. The strategy targets an annual tourism contribution of AED 450 billion to GDP, 40 million hotel guests a year and AED 100 billion of new investment into the sector by 2031. Visit UAE is the identity piece of that programme, arriving five years before the deadline.
UAE Grand Tour: what the platform sells
The UAE Grand Tour is the commercial product attached to the brand, and it is already live at uaegrandtour.com. It was built with Rocket International in collaboration with the tourism authorities of all seven emirates and private sector partners, and its positioning line is “one country, seven journeys”. The platform currently lists seven curated routes, each running 8 to 12 days and each crossing the whole federation.
| Route | Focus |
|---|---|
| Grand Classic | Icons and landmarks across the seven emirates |
| Grand Adventure | Desert, dunes and mountain activity |
| Grand Eco Friendly | Nature reserves and low impact travel |
| Grand Wellness | Spa, retreat and recovery programmes |
| Grand Family | Itineraries built around children and multigenerational groups |
| Grand Culture and Heritage | Forts, museums and traditional crafts |
| Grand Beach | Coastline of the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman |
Underneath the routes the platform sorts experiences into eight categories: desert and dunes, mountains and adventure, coast and nature, heritage and forts, art and museums, wellness and relaxation, gardens and aesthetics, and icons and landmarks. A package combines accommodation, transport, sightseeing, meals and experiences in a single booking, and itineraries can be adjusted to the traveller.
The trade side matters more to local companies than the consumer side. Tour operators and travel agents receive dedicated tools to assemble integrated programmes for their own international markets, which means a UAE itinerary can be sold abroad as one product instead of being stitched together from seven separate suppliers. Commercial enquiries run through Rocket DMC, the operator behind the platform.
The numbers behind the timing
The launch was timed to the start of the winter season, and the recovery data explains why. In the first half of 2026 flight bookings into the UAE from GCC markets were up 60% year on year and hotel bookings were up 130%. Dubai hotel occupancy returned to 66% in August 2026 from 36% in March, according to The National, which covered the announcement from the show floor. The minister told the audience that the sector’s descent was over.
Demand is also spreading beyond the two largest emirates. Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Fujairah together account for 35% of all UAE related searches on Agoda, a share that a single federal brand and a cross-emirate itinerary are designed to convert rather than leave as browsing.
Alongside Visit UAE, the ministry is taking the World’s Coolest Winter campaign international for the first time since it started in 2020. It will now run under the new brand and focus on desert experiences, coastal destinations, festivals and the winter climate.
What this changes for companies in the UAE
Nothing in the announcement changes licensing, visa or tax rules. A company selling tours, transport, accommodation or experiences still needs the relevant tourism activity on its trade licence and the approvals of the tourism authority in its emirate, which in Dubai is the Department of Economy and Tourism. What changes is distribution: a federal channel now exists that sells across emirate borders, and access to it runs through the travel trade rather than through a permit.
Three groups feel it first. Tour operators and destination management companies gain a ready made multi-emirate product and the tooling to resell it. Hotels and experience operators in the northern emirates gain exposure inside itineraries that previously stopped at the Dubai city limit. Companies weighing an entry into UAE travel and hospitality get a clear reference point for what the state is promoting, which is length of stay and geographic spread rather than headline visitor counts.
For a foreign operator the practical entry route is unchanged and well documented: choose mainland or free zone according to where clients and staff sit, secure the tourism activity codes, then open the bank account. Our company formation guide for the UAE sets out that sequence, and our report from Arabian Travel Market 2026 covers the show where both initiatives were presented.
How Atlant Capital can help
- Licensing for travel and tourism activity. Selecting activity codes for tour operation, travel agency and destination management work and matching them to a mainland or free zone structure through our company setup service.
- Regulatory approvals. Preparing the file for the tourism authority of the relevant emirate in addition to the trade licence.
- Residency for the team. Establishment card, visa quota and staff residency through our work visa and residency service.
- Banking. Corporate account opening for a newly licensed operator, including the documents banks request from travel businesses, through our bank account opening service.
- Corporate tax and VAT registration for the new entity, with the filing calendar fixed from day one.
Conclusion
Visit UAE replaces seven separate tourism stories with one, and the UAE Grand Tour gives that story something to sell: routes of 8 to 14 days that cross all seven emirates, bookable now and resellable by the travel trade. For operators already licensed here it is a distribution channel that opened this week. For companies still looking at the sector it is a plain statement of where federal attention is going before the 2031 targets fall due.
Source: The National, Gulf News.
FAQ
What is Visit UAE?
Visit UAE is the first unified national tourism brand of the United Arab Emirates, launched by the Ministry of Economy and Tourism on 16 September 2026 at Arabian Travel Market in Dubai. It places Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah under one federal identity abroad, while each emirate keeps its own offering. It is the identity component of the National Tourism Strategy 2031.
What is the UAE Grand Tour and how long are the routes?
The UAE Grand Tour is a booking platform launched with the brand and developed with Rocket International and the tourism authorities of all seven emirates. It is live at uaegrandtour.com and sells cross-emirate itineraries of up to 14 days, with seven curated routes of 8 to 12 days each: Grand Classic, Grand Adventure, Grand Eco Friendly, Grand Wellness, Grand Family, Grand Culture and Heritage and Grand Beach. Packages combine accommodation, transport, sightseeing, meals and experiences.
Does Visit UAE change licensing or visa rules for tourism companies?
No. The announcement introduces a brand and a booking platform, not a regulation. A company selling tours, transport, accommodation or experiences still needs the relevant tourism activity on its trade licence and approval from the tourism authority of its emirate, which in Dubai is the Department of Economy and Tourism. Visa and corporate tax obligations are unchanged.
How much did UAE travel bookings grow in the first half of 2026?
Flight bookings into the UAE from GCC countries rose 60% year on year in the first half of 2026 and hotel bookings rose 130%. Dubai hotel occupancy recovered to 66% in August 2026 from 36% in March 2026. Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Fujairah together account for 35% of UAE related searches on Agoda.
What are the National Tourism Strategy 2031 targets?
The strategy, adopted in November 2022, targets an annual tourism contribution of AED 450 billion to GDP, 40 million hotel guests a year and AED 100 billion of additional investment into the sector by 2031. Strengthening a unified national tourism identity is one of its four working directions, and Visit UAE delivers that component.
