The UAE is set to announce the much anticipated federal tourism and regulatory body which will represent the UAE’s tourism industry to the rest of the world. The National Council of Tourism will initially be developed within the Ministry of Culture, there will be coordination between the different tourism authorities in each emirate, and each emirate will have a member on its board.
Government officials said the details of the new tourism body are being finalized now, and its launch will be formally announced soon. The new tourism board is part of the UAE’s three year plan to strengthen the UAE federation and develop a countrywide tourism statistics database to help industry observers assess the market accurately. In the past tourism sector developments in the UAE were driven mainly by individual emirates – there has never been a federal tourism body.