Powering Dubai’s next chapter Dubai entered 2026 in a position of strength, following a third consecutive record year of international visitation. While regional disruption has created fresh challenges for the travel sector, the emirate has remained focused on the fundamentals supporting demand: connectivity, collaboration, investment and an ever-evolving visitor offer. In an interview with the ATM Yearbook 2026 , His Excellency Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), part of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), discusses Dubai’s priorities for the next phase of growth.
Q: As the travel sector moves into a more stable phase, what are the strongest indicators you are seeing that signal recovery and renewed confidence in Dubai as a global destination? The recovery is supported by the groundwork we carried into this period. Dubai entered 2026 with genuine momentum, welcoming a record 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, the third consecutive year of record international visitation, reflecting a destination that had earned sustained global confidence well before the regional situation emerged. What we have seen since is an industry that responded with agility, clarity, and institutional cohesion, drawing on the same operating model that has driven growth through every previous cycle of disruption. Domestically, residents have re-engaged with the city in a visible and meaningful way, reinforcing the social fabric that supports Dubai’s continued momentum as a destination, shaped by long- term planning and connectivity. The indicators that matter most are structural: continued investor confidence, strong real estate transactions, ongoing business licence issuance, and an events calendar that is busy for the rest of 2026. These reflect a city designed to perform under pressure and grow through it, encouraged by the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, to further consolidate Dubai’s position as a leading global city for
business and leisure by 2033. H.E. Issam Kazim
46 | ATM YEARBOOK 2026
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