Dubai ranks 12th in world’s Top 100 City Destinations for 2025

Dubai has ranked 12th in Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index 2025, the highest position achieved by any city in the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The annual index evaluates destinations across six pillars – including tourism performance, infrastructure, sustainability and economic activity – to determine the world’s leading urban tourism hubs.

 

While Paris retained its crown as the world’s top city for tourism for the second consecutive year, Dubai’s position in the top 12 underscores its sustained momentum as the region’s tourism powerhouse. Abu Dhabi and Doha also featured in the global elite, joining eight MEA destinations on the 2025 list.

 

Dubai consolidates global standing

​​Dubai’s ranking was driven by robust visitor growth, a packed international events calendar and one of the world’s highest hotel occupancy rates, according to Euromonitor. In the first half of 2025, hotel occupancy reached 81%, up 4.5 percentage points year-on-year, supported by a 6.1% rise in visitor arrivals to nearly 10 million.

 

In international visitor numbers, Dubai outperformed Paris, welcoming 19.5 million visitors compared to 18.3 million, placing the emirate sixth globally for arrivals. This figure represents a 9% increase over 2024, with key source markets including India, the UK, Saudi Arabia and Russia continuing to rise.

 

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Beyond pure volume, Dubai’s global visibility has also intensified in 2025, with the city recently ranked as the world’s third most-Googled travel destination and projected to finish the year among the top three most-booked destinations worldwide, alongside Tokyo and London.

 

These gains supported wider regional growth, with the Middle East recording a 7% uplift in international arrivals in 2025, according to Euromonitor, second only to Asia-Pacific’s 10% growth.

 

The Euromonitor report also praised Dubai for its strategic destination marketing, enhanced air connectivity and increasing use of artificial intelligence in tourism development. Reflecting these strengths, Dubai ranked eighth in the Tourism Performance sub-index, a category led by Orlando in the US. 

 

Saudi Arabia’s Holy Cities of Makkah and Medinah also featured prominently in Tourism Performance, ranking third and sixth respectively, while Abu Dhabi was recognised for its integration of AI into visitor experiences.