UAE ranked best alternative destination to overcrowded Europe

Sign up to our newsletters

Stay informed with the
latest news and analysis

REGISTER

عربي

You are viewing 2 of your 2 free articles

Abra ride in Dubai

Influencer marketing agency Heepsy says the UAE is the top alternative destination outside Europe as visitors look to escape this summer’s overcrowding hotspots such as Venice, Rome and Barcelona.

There are four GCC countries in the top 10 rankings, with UAE top, Qatar in second, Oman fifth and Bahrain in tenth. Saudi Arabia also makes the list in 13th place.

The research from Heepsy rated destinations on five key factors – safety, number of hotels, tourist activities, climate and Instagram popularity – with destinations given a final, user-friendly rating score out of 100.

The UAE scored maximum marks (100) and also secured the second highest number of hotels in the top 10, with 19,700 compared to Japan’s 50,500.

The year-round average of 33C also scores positively, as do activities, and Instagram hashtags – with luxury shopping and desert experiences top shares.

Earlier this month, the UAE was named the world’s safest country to explore after dark, according to Travelbag, with Abu Dhabi crowned world’s safest city at night.

Abu Dhabi at night

Interestingly, while Qatar is way behind the UAE in terms of hotels (230) and activities (688), it has almost twice as many Instagram hashtags, with 35.9 million compared to the UAE’s 18.2 million.

One explanation could be whether Heepsy differentiates between hashtags for #UAE, #Dubai and #AbuDhabi with many visitors not necessarily making the connection between the cities and the country in the same way they would #Thailand, for instance.

Oman scored well for all factors, securing the Arabian peninsula’s third entry in the top five, while Bahrain again stood out for 32.1 million Instagram hashtags, 14 million more than the UAE.

While Saudi was outside the top 10, it delivered 18.7 million Instagram hashtags and a safety score the same as Bahrain, and seems to have ranked lower due to climate, with a listed temperature of 38C making it the hottest country of the 40 on the Heepsy list.

Dubai named world’s safest destination for a cruise stopover

Download the 2025 Connecting Travel Insight Report

“The data clearly shows travellers have excellent alternatives to Europe’s overtourism crisis,” said Tabi Vicuña, Founder of Heepsy.

“Many travellers don’t realise how well-prepared these destinations are for tourism, from high safety levels and extensive hotel networks to thousands of activities. The temperature data also shows these places offer year-round comfort.

"What really validates these findings is the social media activity, millions of posts suggest users are having experiences worth sharing with the world.”

Influencers are playing an increasingly significant role in tourism marketing, with a recent report from Phocuswright saying 65% of travellers who used social media for trip planning made a purchase or visit decision based on content they came across while scrolling.

Based on the kind of aspirational images hotels and destinations deliver, Instagram is seriously influential, with 71% of travel brands saying the platform delivers the most traffic and highest levels of engagement.

The UAE, and Dubai especially, has been quick to recognise the power of social media influencers, and Dubai Tourism earlier this year launched an academy for travel content creation.

For more information, visit www.heepsy.com