Sharjah

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, scores 60 on the CIRA Index of tourism resilience, #140 of 309 destinations. 27 of 29 measures come from public sources, with 73% confidence. Every grade below states its value, period and source.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: 60
• OECD: 64
• UN Tourism: 65
• UNDRR: 59

Strongest

• Recovery against 2019: 116.7 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) / Emirates News Agency (WAM), 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 78 % average annual occupancy (region figure) (Cavendish Maxwell / Gulf News, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4.
• Tourism intensity: 2.3 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (Cavendish Maxwell / Gulf News & Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) Sharjah, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Weakest

• Municipal waste per resident: 766.5 kg per resident per year (country figure) (UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment via P&S Intelligence Market Report, 2024). Above 700: grade 0/4.
• Domestic share of nights: 11 % of nights by residents of the same country (region figure) (Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) via Arabian Business, Jan–Aug 2024). Below 15: grade 0/4.
• Tropical nights: 255 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.

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; Sharjah is 3 below that.

Every measure, by theme

Demand and seasonality: 67

• 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: 11 % of nights by residents of the same country (region figure) (Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) via Arabian Business, Jan–Aug 2024). Below 15: grade 0/4. Source
• Largest foreign market: 16.9 % of international arrivals or nights (region figure) (Emirates News Agency (WAM) / SCTDA, 2024). Between 15 and 20: grade 3/4. Source
• Recovery against 2019: 116.7 % of 2019 visitor nights reached in the latest full year (region figure) (Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) / Emirates News Agency (WAM), 2024). At or above 110: grade 4/4. Source
• Average length of stay: 2 nights per visitor (region figure) (Cavendish Maxwell / Gulf News, 2025). Between 1.8 and 2.2: grade 1/4. Source
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 78 % average annual occupancy (region figure) (Cavendish Maxwell / Gulf News, 2025). At or above 75: grade 4/4. Source

Economy and jobs: 81

• Jobs in tourism industries: 9.1 % of employment in accommodation and food services (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 8 and 12: grade 3/4. Source
• Unemployment rate: 2.2 % of the labour force (country figure) (World Bank WDI, 2025). 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) (UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) via Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population Programme (GLMM), 2022). Between 64 and 72: grade 2/4. Source

Climate and hazards: 35

• Extreme heat days: 168.6 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: 255 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: 42

• Water scarcity: high (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 1/4. Source
• Wastewater safely treated: 95 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (country figure) (WHO Data Portal / UN-Water SDG 6.3.1 Monitoring, 2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4. Source
• Municipal waste per resident: 766.5 kg per resident per year (country figure) (UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment via P&S Intelligence Market Report, 2024). Above 700: grade 0/4. Source
• Green space: not measured yet

Community and housing: 100

• Tourism intensity: 2.3 visitor nights per resident per year (region figure) (Cavendish Maxwell / Gulf News & Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) Sharjah, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4. Source
• Cruise pressure: not measured yet
• Rent growth: 1.7 % change in rents over the last 12 months (region figure) (Bayut Property Rental Index, Jul 2025–Jul 2026). At or below 3: grade 4/4. Source
• Short-let density: 0.3 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (region figure) (AirDNA & Department of Statistics and Community Development (DSCD) Sharjah Census, 2022–2026). At or below 0.5: grade 4/4. Source
• Resident support for tourism: not measured yet

Access and continuity: 63

• Access redundancy: 3 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (Sharjah Ports Authority & Sharjah Airport Authority, 2025–2026). Between 3 and 4: grade 3/4. Source
• Air traffic recovery: not measured yet
• 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 city plan with public early warning for heat, flood or fire (Gulf News & Sharjah City Municipality, 2024–2026). Grade 3/4. Source
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: A written destination crisis plan (Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority, 2024–2025). Grade 2/4. 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 (The Official Platform of the UAE Government, 2025–2026). Grade 2/4. Source

Compare Sharjah

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