Dubai has closed registrations for its “A Dubai Invite” tourism initiative after the program received more than 90,000 applications from residents who wanted to invite friends and family from outside the UAE. The initiative was launched in July with the aim of having city residents serve as “ambassadors” for Dubai and encourage visits from relatives and friends from around the world.
The program offered benefits worth over 3,000 dirhams, around 700 euros, including discounts on hotel stays, offers at restaurants, as well as free or reduced-price tickets to some of the city's most popular attractions. Due to the overwhelming interest, Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism and its partners more than tripled the capacity of the benefits packages.
More than 30,000 benefit packages have been distributed so far. Although new registrations have closed, the program continues for residents who successfully registered their guests before the final number of packages was reached.
Registered visitors can arrive in Dubai until October 31, 2026, with the main condition being that the travel is made directly from outside the UAE. Benefits are granted to applicants within 72 hours of the guests' arrival and can be used at participating venues until December 31, 2026.
The package includes deals on hotels, restaurants, tourist attractions and transportation services. Among the attractions included are Aquaventure Waterpark and IMG Worlds of Adventure, while the deals have also been made available at a number of hotels and restaurants in Dubai.
The initiative is part of Dubai's efforts to maintain the pace of tourism growth after a record year. In 2025, the city recorded 19.59 million international visitors. Tourism authorities have described the strong interest in "A Dubai Invite" as an indicator of the importance that visits from friends and family are to the city's tourism economy.
At the same time, Dubai's tourism sector has faced a more complicated situation during 2026 due to the escalation of the US-Iran conflict, which has affected travel and air traffic in the Gulf region.
