Dubai to hand over 11,300 new hotel rooms by 2027, says report
Last year, Dubai had added 4,255 rooms across 19 hotels to its inventory, representing year-on-year growth of almost 3%.
As of December, the city boasts 724 hospitality establishments, with 151,245 keys between them, stated the industry expert in its Dubai Hospitality 2024 Market Performance report.
Cavendish Maxwell pointed out that hotel inventory will grow by 3.1% this year, with 3.4% growth predicted for 2026. By the end of 2027, Dubai is set to have more than 162,600 rooms across 769 hotels.
High end accommodation continues to dominate Dubai's hotel offering: in 2024, almost 70% of room supply fell in the high end (Luxury, Upper Upscale and Upscale) category. Of the upcoming supply for 2025, nearly 70% will be in the Luxury and Upper Upscale segment, the research shows, it added.
Gergely Balint, Associate Partner, Commercial Valuation and Hospitality expert at Cavendish Maxwell, said: "Dubai's world-leading hospitality and tourism sectors set more records and reached new milestones in 2024, with 18.72 million overnight visitors, adding a string of prestigious new tourism-industry awards to its name and 4,255 new hotel rooms coming to the market."
"We can look forward to continued strong performance in 2025, with another 20 hotels and resorts due to open, further highlighting Dubai's position as a world-leading hub for tourism, hospitality, business and leisure.," he added.
According to Cavendish Maxwell, the number of overnight visitors to Dubai grew 9.1% last year, up from 17.15 million in 2023.
The emirate's hospitality and tourism momentum was further underpinned by its outstanding performance at the 31st Annual World Travel Awards in late 2024, where Dubai was named the world's leading shopping and exhibition destination, Mina Rashid took the title of world's leading cruise port and Dubai International Airport was recognised as the world's leading airport, it stated.
Balint said this continued international recognition strengthens investor confidence and further cements Dubai's status as a premier hub for hospitality and real estate development.
The emirate continued to experience robust growth in the tourism sector, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and positively contributing to economic growth.
In 2024, tourism contributed AED236 billion ($64.2 billion), up from AED220 billion ($59 billion) in 2023, to the UAE's economy, representing 12% of the nation's GDP.
This growth highlights the sector's significant impact, reinforcing its vital role in the country's economic expansion, it added.
Cavendish Maxwell pointed out that Dubai's hotel occupancy levels remained steady, rising to 78% in 2024, up 1% on 2023 – with the Luxury and Upper Mid-scale segments seeing the biggest gains of 3% and 2.4% respectively.
On the average daily rates (ADR), the real estate advisory said it reached AED690, a slight increase of 0.2% on 2023, indicating pricing stability in Dubai's hospitality market.
Upscale and Upper Mid-scale categories too saw ADR growth of 0.7% and 0.4% respectively, while there was a decline of 1.7% among Upper Upscale hotels.
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