Dubai welcomed 1.04m British tourists in first nine months of 2025

Dubai: Dubai welcomed 1.04 million British tourists in the first nine months of 2025, a 13 per cent increase from the same period last year, according to new data from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Emarat Al Youm reported. 

The figures mean Dubai received an average of 115,500 British visitors each month, or roughly 3,800 a day.

British tourists accounted for more than 36 percent of all visitors from Western Europe and 7.5 percent of Dubai’s total international arrivals, which reached 13.95 million between January and September. 

The increase includes 120,000 additional British visitors compared with the same period in 2024, cementing the United Kingdom as Dubai’s largest single source market within Western Europe.

The data also shows that one out of every 13 tourists arriving in Dubai during this period was from the UK, highlighting the enduring appeal of the emirate among British travelers and the strength of the market despite global economic pressures.

Western Europe as a whole remained Dubai’s largest regional tourism source, sending 2.86 million visitors in the first nine months of the year, up from 2.5 million in the same period last year.

Dubai’s continued rise as a major tourism hub is supported by robust air connectivity. Emirates Airline alone operates more than 133 weekly flights to the United Kingdom, including:

• Six daily A380 flights to London Heathrow

• Three daily flights to London Gatwick

• Two daily flights to London Stansted

• Three daily flights to Manchester

• Two daily flights to Birmingham, including one A380

• Daily flights to Newcastle, Glasgow, and an A350 service to Edinburgh

In October, Emirates announced it would add six more weekly flights to Heathrow starting October 26, responding to record passenger demand and offering travelers greater flexibility during the busy end-of-year travel season.

The Department of Economy and Tourism said Dubai is on track to deliver another record-breaking year for international visitor numbers in 2025, driven by strong performance in the first three quarters.