Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, scores 60 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #140 of 309 destinations. 29 of 30 measures come from public sources, with 81% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.
Scores by each organisation's criteria
- CIRA Index: 60
- OECD: 70
- UN Tourism: 68
- UNDRR: 65
Travel advisory at level 3 (reconsider or avoid non-essential travel): the CIRA score is capped at 60. Without the cap: 69.
Strongest
- Largest foreign market: 11 % of international arrivals or nights (Emirates NBD Research & Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
- Recovery against 2019: 139.7 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Government of Dubai, Department of Finance, citing DET (occupied room nights), 2025). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
- Average length of stay: 3.7 nights per visitor (Public Debt Management Office, Dubai’s Tourism industry Achieves Third successive Record-breaking Year, 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4.
Weakest
- Green space: 3 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), 2023). Below 10: grade 0/4.
- Tropical nights: 253.8 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 100: grade 0/4.
- Extreme heat days: 171 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 60: grade 0/4.
United Arab Emirates in the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Development Index
United Arab Emirates is #22 of 110 countries (4.56 of 7) in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026, which scores countries, not cities. Cities in countries with that WEF score average 63 on the CIRA Index; Dubai is 3 below that.
Every measure, by theme
Demand and seasonality: 88
- Nights in the three busiest months: 28.7 % of annual nights (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: UN Tourism by United Nations World Tourism Organization), 2022, 2023 moving average). At or below 30: grade 4/4. Source
- Domestic share of nights: 21.2 % of nights by residents of the same country (country figure) (World Economic Forum, TTDI 2026 (data: Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Research by World Travel & Tourism Council; Travel & Tourism by World Travel & Tourism Council), 2026). Between 15 and 25: grade 1/4. Source
- Largest foreign market: 11 % of international arrivals or nights (Emirates NBD Research & Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4. Source
- Recovery against 2019: 139.7 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (Government of Dubai, Department of Finance, citing DET (occupied room nights), 2025). At or above 110: grade 4/4. Source
- Average length of stay: 3.7 nights per visitor (Public Debt Management Office, Dubai’s Tourism industry Achieves Third successive Record-breaking Year, 2025). At or above 3.5: grade 4/4. Source
- Hotel bed or room occupancy: 80.7 % average annual occupancy (Government of Dubai, Department of Finance, citing DET hospitality metrics, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4. Source
Economy and jobs: 88
- Jobs in tourism industries: 5.2 % of employment in accommodation and food services (Dubai Statistics Center, employed persons by main economic activity (Labour Force Survey), 2019). At or below 8: grade 4/4. Source
- Unemployment rate: 0.9 % of the labour force (Government of Dubai, Department of Finance (Dubai overview), 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
- Income per head: 79,344 GDP per capita, USD PPP (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2024). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4. Source
- Economic diversity: 68.7 % of employment outside accommodation, food, retail and transport (country figure) (Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) / Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM), 2022). Between 64 and 72: grade 2/4. Source
Climate and hazards: 35
- Extreme heat days: 171 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 60: grade 0/4. Source
- Tropical nights: 253.8 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). Above 100: grade 0/4. Source
- Flood hazard: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
- Wildfire and storm hazard: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4. Source
- Country disaster risk: 2.3 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). Between 2 and 3.5: grade 3/4. Source
Water and environment: 44
- Water scarcity: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
- Wastewater safely treated: 90 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Government of Dubai Media Office, 2023). Between 85 and 95: grade 3/4. Source
- Municipal waste per resident: 401.5 kg per resident per year (Government of Dubai Media Office / Dubai Municipality, 2021). Between 350 and 450: grade 3/4. Source
- Green space: 3 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), 2023). Below 10: grade 0/4. Source
Community and housing: 83
- Tourism intensity: 18.1 visitor nights per resident per year (Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) & Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment, 2024). Between 10 and 20: grade 2/4. Source
- Cruise pressure: not measured yet
- Rent growth: -3 % change in rents over the last 12 months (Cushman & Wakefield Core, Dubai residential market (Q2 2026), Q2 2026 (year on year)). At or below 3: grade 4/4. Source
- Short-let density: not measured yet
- Resident support for tourism: 83.3 % of residents who say tourism benefits them or the city (European Journal of Sustainable Development, Resident Attitudes Towards Tourists and Tourism Growth: A Case Study From the Middle East, Dubai in United Arab Emirates (Zaidan & Kovacs), 2017). At or above 70: grade 4/4. Source
Access and continuity: 75
- Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Railway PRO & The National, 2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4. Source
- Air traffic recovery: 110.2 % of the same 12 months of 2019, airport passengers (Dubai Airports (2025), WAM (2019), 2025 vs 2019). At or above 110: grade 4/4. Source
- Rail share of intercity access: not measured yet
- Rail traffic recovery: not measured yet
- Largest airline group share: not measured yet
- Air route concentration: not measured yet
- Early warning and emergency plan: An updated, tested plan that names visitors and tourism operators, with warnings in several languages (Dubai Government Media Office / Traveller365, 2026). Grade 4/4. Source
- Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A plan with named owners, operators and recovery funding (Skift, Dubai turns to new visitors and events to ride out tourism slowdown (June 2026), 2026). Grade 3/4. Source
- Government effectiveness: 82.5 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4. Source
- Travel advisory: 3 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). Between 2.5 and 3: grade 1/4. Source
- Dedicated tourism funding: A dedicated source such as a tourist tax or levy (Government of Dubai / Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2014 & DET, 2025-2026). Grade 2/4. Source
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