With tourism a key focus of the emirate’s central development plan, known as Ajman Vision 2030, this geographically diverse emirate is well-positioned for expansion in the travel and hospitality sector. Able to leverage a dual offering as both a coastal and urban location on the Gulf and as a mountain retreat – thanks to the mountainous exclaves of Manama and Masfout – Ajman has a unique and contrasting range of possibilities for visitors. At the same time, the emirate is located just 10 km from Sharjah International Airport and around 20 km from Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest aviation centre as of end-2024. The emirate is home to Ajman Port – set to be joined by the Al Zorah Seaport under Ajman Vision 2030 – and excellent road links to the rest of the UAE and the Gulf region.
The emirate’s hotel and tourist apartment facilities are also undergoing sustainable expansion and upgrade, with projects such as the Ajman Corniche beach development and the Emirates Villages in Masfout key to this. Ajman has also made arts and culture key components of its long-term plan, with both sectors attracting major investment that enhances the emirate’s attractiveness on a global scale as a travel destination. The next few years should therefore see a major boost in tourism offerings within this highly competitive landscape.
Structure & Regulation
As one of the UAE’s seven emirates, Ajman and its tourism sector is subject to the regulatory and supervisory frameworks of the country’s federal institutions, as well as its local ones. At the federal level, tourism falls under the purview of the Ministry of Economy, which works alongside a range of other institutions to realise policy in the sector. These include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security; the General Civil Aviation Authority; and tourism authorities in other emirates, such as the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing and the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority. Ajman’s corresponding emirate-level body is the Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD). All of the UAE’s tourism authorities are represented on the Emirates Tourism Council, which aims to both coordinate the country’s tourism offering, and diversify and widen the scope and reach of the sector.
Other important federal-level ministries for the sector include the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. The ministry administers the nationwide Emiratisation programme, under which each sector – including tourism – is given a target, in terms of the share of the workforce that must be Emirati. This is part of the UAE’s long-term strategy to increase the number of locals employed in the private sector. Historically, Emiratis have tended to dominate the public sector, while expatriates represent the majority of private sector jobs.
Tourism Strategy
The Emiratisation target set for the tourism sector is 10% of the workforce by the end-2025. At the end of 2024 around 3% of the sector was comprised of Emiratis. The Emiratisation target is outlined in the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, the sector’s long-term development plan and one of the Projects of the 50, a series of initiatives being implemented under the Nafis programme.
The ATDD was established in 2012 by an Emiri decree and has three subdivisions: licences and standards, development and marketing, and support services. Chaired by Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, the ATDD is charged with developing and implementing the emirate’s tourism development strategy, which runs in line with Ajman Vision 2030. The ATDD is also responsible for preparing rules and regulations for the sector; classifying and licensing hotels, travel agents and other sector services; and for monitoring their performance and overseeing their compliance with best standards and practices. The ATDD also runs the Visit Ajman portal, a onestop shop for information on its tourism offerings.
Other key bodies include Ajman Department of Economic Development, which has responsibility for overall economic progress and investment promotion, the Ajman Municipality and Planning Department (MPDA), which works on the sustainable development of infrastructure, and the Department of Digital Ajman, the lead agency for digital transformation. The Ajman Chamber is also an important body, open to all private enterprises. The Ajman Chamber has its own development plan – its 2024-30 Strategy. This roadmap seeks to boost entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability in Ajman, while also enhancing efficiency and capacity, exchanging information and expertise, and promoting the emirate locally and internationally.
Varied Offering
Most of Ajman consists of an urban area, Ajman City, which lies between the emirates of Sharjah, to the south, and Umm Al Quwain, to the north. The capital city lies on the UAE’s Gulf coast and, in 2023, contained 97.1% of Ajman’s population of 573,886, along with the bulk of its hotels and other hospitality institutions.
Traditional highlights in the city include Ajman Beach; the Ajman Corniche, home to the five-star Fairmont Ajman; the 18th-century Ajman Fort, which contains the Ajman Museum; the adjacent Heritage District; and shopping options, such as the traditional Saleh Souq and the modern City Centre Ajman mall. Set on a tidal creek, the city also has a mangrove nature reserve which is home to the 18-hole Al Zorah Golf Club and Al Zorah community. Other high-end establishments include the five-star Ajman Saray, the first beachside Luxury Collection resort in the Middle East; the Ajman Hotel, run by Blazon Hotels; the Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel; Radisson Blu Hotel, Ajman; Oberoi Beach Resort Al Zorah; Caravana Beach Resort; and Zoya Health and Well-Being Resort. The city also has a full range of three- and four-star international hotels. Ajman City is also safe – ranking as the fourth-safest city in the world in 2023, according to Numbeo, the world’s largest online cost of living database.
In addition, Ajman has two rural exclaves in Manama and Masfout that offer a more traditional Arabian experience. The former lies around 60 km east of Ajman, while the latter is south-east, some 110 km away. Masfout is the larger of the two, with a population of 10,215 in 2023, and contains the city of Masfout, and the Mazeyrah and Al Sabkha regions, amongst its mountains and valleys. It features the Bin Sultan Mosque, built in 1815, and the 19th-century Masfout Castle, perched in the foothills of the Hajar Mountains – a haven for trekking and hiking. The mountain’s elevation gives the exclave a cooler climate than much of the rest of the UAE, making it suitable for such outdoors activities. Manama, meanwhile, is about a one-hour drive from Ajman City and also in the foothills of the Hajar Mountains. With a population of 6600 in 2023, attractions within this agricultural district include both a historic fortress and museum, alongside a unique, locally produced honey.
Ajman can further act as a base for the exploration of other emirates, with roads connecting it to its UAE and Omani neighbours. The E11 motorway runs north-east along the coast to Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and on to the Musandam Peninsula, and south-west to Sharjah, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The E88 motorway also connects from east to west with Fujairah and the Gulf of Oman.
Plans & Programmes
At the federal level, each of the emirates follow the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031. Launched in 2022, the strategy aims to strengthen the status of the UAE as one of the world’s top tourism destinations, increasing the sector’s contribution to the overall economy by Dh27bn ($7.3bn) per year over the plan’s lifetime, with a 2031 goal of Dh450bn ($122.5bn). Other targets include attracting Dh100bn ($27.2bn) of additional tourism investment and 40m hotel guests. This implies a major expansion, given that in the first quarter of 2022, when the strategy was launched, 22m passengers travelled through the UAE’s airports – the main source of arrivals – with not all of them likely staying in a local hotel.
To achieve these ambitious goals, the strategy has 25 initiatives and policies, grouped into four key directions. The first of these is to present a unified national tourism identity, while still leveraging the individuality of the seven emirates. The second direction is to develop and diversify specialised products, such as convention centres, and niche segments, such as adventure, health and medical tourism. Thirdly, the strategy looks to develop the sector’s human resources. In concert with the Emiratisation target, a major drive in local capacity building is envisaged, from training and education to start-up support. Lastly, the fourth direction is increased investment in the emirate’s tourism infrastructure. This involves financial and tax incentives for local and foreign investors in the sector, as well as the inclusion of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in major infrastructure projects. Ajman stands to benefit from all of these goals and initiatives, which will bring much of the experience and success of Dubai and Abu Dhabi as tourism destinations to the emirate. Indeed, in 2023 the UAE was ranked the number one Middle East destination in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2024, and 18th worldwide.
Principled Approach
The UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 also dovetails well with Ajman Vision 2030, the latter of which has a set of strategic directives and objectives. These are fostering a competitive business environment that supports the investment climate and economic development; building human capital to achieve the emirate’s ambitions; enhancing Ajman’s attractiveness, health and safety, and liveability; establishing the emirate as a hub for arts and culture; delivering integrated and sustained mobility; improving environmental sustainability; fostering an inclusive and empowered society; and becoming a place of pioneering governance.
While all of these goals seek to enhance the overall framework in which Ajman’s tourism sector operates, several have very specific relevance for the sector, too. The fourth goal, for example, seeks to both promote the emirate’s artistic and cultural heritage and to foster its contemporary development. Overall, Ajman Vision 2030 aims to increase culture, arts and sports participation by 400% by 2030. The third and sixth goals also seek to improve the environment and increase access to green and blue spaces, and expand conservation areas – both of which are valuable assets for the sector.
In addition, the plan has some specific transformative projects. These include the Dh150m ($40.8m) Ajman Beach development project, which seeks to significantly enhance the Corniche area. In December 2023 the project contract was approved between the MPDA and China Maritime Company for preliminary infrastructure work. Under this, breakwaters will be constructed, the sea dredged and a 300,000-sq-metre green space will be created on reclaimed land, about 3.5 metres above the current sea level. The beach area will also expand from 50,000 sq metres to 210,000 sq metres, marking a major step forwards in the overall goal of increasing the public beach area by 300% by 2030. The Corniche project is also in line with the MPDA’s Ajman 2040 Urban Master Plan, which seeks for Ajman to become a 15-minute city, in which inhabitants can reach all services they require within one-quarter of an hour.
Green Spaces
Also in line with the master plan and Ajman Vision 2030 are environmental and quality of life goals – and a major potential bonus for the tourism sector is the Al Safia district community space project. A year-round public green space is envisaged in this area at the heart of Ajman, which will form a new meeting and activities space for residents and visitors alike. A further project in Ajman Vision 2030 – and the 2040 urban plan – is the Ajman Heritage Trail. This has created a designated pathway starting at the restored house of the poet, Rashid Al Khadar, who was born in Ajman in 1905. It then runs to the Ajman Museum, the Ajman Heritage District, the Saleh Souq and the Al Nakhil area, before finally extending down to the waterfront. Promoting sustainable cultural tourism, the trail – which spans some 1.5 km and includes four specific nodes – was inaugurated in February 2024 by Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, the ruler of Ajman. Cultural tourism is also part of the Art, Culture and Entrepreneurship District project (see analysis). The project will bring together art and artisans, cultural performances and events in a quarter that will also be a major draw for tourism.
A further scheme of benefit to the sector is the Musherif Creek rehabilitation project, which aims to restore the ecological and environmental balance to the Musherif Creek area. Green, sustainable development has been a key plank of Ajman’s development plans for a number of years, with Ajman Vision 2030 being no exception. Revitalising areas that have been neglected with an eye to opening them for tourism, leisure and sports activities is a part of this, with Musherif Creek one such an initiative.
Outside Ajman City, the Emirates Villages development in Masfout, launched by the Emirates Council for Balanced Development in June 2023, has also been taken up as a further transformative project. It is part of the Dh1bn ($272.2m) UAE-wide Emirates Villages project, launched in November 2022. Masfout is one of 10 villages around the UAE within the project that seeks to create sustainable micro-economies in each. A major aim for Projects of the 50 is the attraction of 100,000 tourists to the territory. The existing tourism infrastructure will thus be expanded in an ecologically sensitive and sustainable way, with the resources of the whole country used to promote Masfout around the region and the world. All of these projects are likely to benefit from Law No. 2 of 2022, which came into effect in January 2023. Under this, a sound legal framework has been established for private sector involvement in major public projects in the emirate.
Performance
For the UAE overall, recent years have seen strong growth in both travel and tourism, bouncing back strongly from the global downturn during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023 the sector made an 11% contribution to the country’s overall GDP, at Dh220bn ($59.9bn). This was up from 9% in 2022, when the sector made a contribution of Dh167bn ($45.5bn). In addition, some 28m guests stayed in the UAE’s hotels in 2023 – up from 25.2m in 2022 – with a total of 210,664 hotel rooms recording Dh43.5bn ($11.8bn) in revenue. These establishments achieved a 75.4% occupancy rate – up from 71% in 2022 – with 97m guest nights spent. These visitors spent an average of 3.5 nights per guest at Dh508 ($138) per room per night. Around one-quarter of the guests were domestic and the remainder were international visitors. The sector also employed some 809,300 people in 2023, which represented 12.3% of total employment in the UAE.
Data from the Ajman Statistics Centre for 2023 shows the tourism sector recovering quickly from the pandemic. Occupancy rates for hotel rooms rose from 60.9% in 2022 to 70.3% in 2023 – while hotel apartments saw a more modest uptick from 52.8% to 54.6%. The number of hotel guests increased from 341,418 to 373,620 over the same period, while hotel apartment guest numbers went from 209,090 to 235,373 – indicating a likely increase in the number of families visiting the emirate. The purpose of the typical tourist arrival in the emirate was leisure, with young adults of 19-35 years of age making up the largest age demographic, followed by 36-55 year olds. These two cohorts account for approximately 70% of the total.
There was also an increase in the number of hotels in the emirate. This had plateaued at 18-19 in the 2018-22 period, but then rose to 20 and then 21 hotels in 2023. Hotel apartment establishments remained the same in 2022-23, at 23, but there was an overall increase in the number of beds, from 2275 to 2463. In terms of ratings, Ajman had seven five-star hotels, four four-star establishments, and three three-star and seven one-star hotels in 2023, following the addition of one three-star in 2023. The ATDD also has four categories for hotel apartments – superior, standard, short-term furnished apartments and campsites. In 2023 there were six establishments in the first category, 11 in the second, six in the third and zero in the fourth. Compared to 2022, this represented an increase of one standard and one short-term apartment establishment, while campsites fell to zero, demonstrating an overall shift upwards in the quality of Ajman’s offering.
The sector’s contribution to GDP remains below the UAE level, however. While tourism is not listed as a separate category in Ajman’s national accounts, accommodation and food service activities amounted to Dh1.3bn ($362m) in 2023, at current prices, out of a total of Dh36bn ($9.8bn), or around 3.7%. However, this was up from just Dh927m ($252.3m) in 2020 – meaning that the sector grew some 43.5% over the 2020-23 period. The big surge was in 2021-22, when the sector’s contribution to GDP jumped 30.1% at current prices – the largest growth rate of any sector in the economy that year.
Indeed, ATDD figures show the number of nonUAE residents arriving in the emirate jumped 26% in 2022 – with the average daily room rate up 14% and revenue per available room up 7% that year. In 2022 the main international source markets were Russia, India, the UK and Germany, while the main regional markets were elsewhere in the UAE as well as Oman and Saudi Arabia. Overall, some 550,809 people visited Ajman in 2022. That figure rose by 29% in 2023, with international visitors comprising 60% of arrivals. Figures for the first quarter of 2024 show the trend continuing, with arrivals up 9% year-on-year (y-o-y) compared to the same period in 2023.
On The Road
The ATDD conducted roadshows in Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in December 2023, the latter of which saw three memoranda of understanding signed with Egyptian travel companies. The country has been a high-growth market for Ajman, with ATDD’s data showing arrivals from Egypt jumped by 13% in 2022. Closer to home, the ATDD pavilion at the Gitex Global 2023 trade fair in Dubai saw the ATDD unveil two digital innovations. One of these was the digital mapping of hotels and tourist facilities initiative, and the other, the holiday homes initiative, enabling home owners and enterprises to register properties on a centralised database.
Ajman has implemented a comprehensive regulatory framework for its short-term holiday homes rental sector – with the ATDD conducting regular and thorough inspections and classification of properties – with only those that meet high standards given licences. Both of these initiatives streamline the experience of finding accommodation in Ajman, while the former also provides online access to information about restaurants, cafes, and cultural and sports activities of interest to visitors, integrating all the tourist needs in a one-stop shop.
In October 2024 the ATDD was on the road again, this time to China – a huge potential market where outbound travel bookings surged 392% globally in 2024, according to travel technology company Sabre. The ATDD also visited Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland that month. Germany represents a highgrowth market for Ajman, with arrivals from the country increasing 31% in 2024, according to the ATDD. In November the ATDD was at London’s World Travel Market, while in December, the department was in Barcelona for the Incentives, Business Travel and Meetings conference, highlighting Ajman’s offering as a meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) destination. Roadshows were also held in Denmark, Norway and Sweden that month.
The focus on European destinations in late 2024 came after the second quarter saw a 5.7% increase y-o-y for European visitors to Ajman, according to the ATDD. European travellers were also behind a 19.9% increase in hotel occupancy rates and a 7.9% increase in revenue per available room. There was a notable increase in visitors to Ajman from the UK – with arrivals up 11% y-o-y, in the first nine months of 2024, with guests staying an average of 8.1% longer that year compared to 2022.
Mice Events
In 2023 approximately 70% of arrivals in Ajman were for leisure purposes and 30% for business. The ATDD would like to see business travellers account for a greater share, as plans to develop the emirate’s tourism offering also aim to boost MICE arrivals. One particular target for this has been the Indian market – which has long been a mainstay of Ajman tourism and MICE events – with the emirate often a favourite for weddings and other large social events from the country. India represented around 12% of all visitors to the emirate in 2021, with arrival figures increasing by 15% in 2022. That year also saw Ajman sign a memorandum of understanding with professional marketing businesses in India to promote the emirate’s offering.
Ajman has a variety of options for business-oriented events, ranging from hotels to university meetings spaces. The latter is provided by Ajman University’s Sheikh Zayed Centre for Conferences and Exhibitions. This is currently the only multipurpose facility in the emirate dedicated to major events, spread out among its seven halls. These can be configured in different arrangements to accommodate up to 2000 guests, with breakout spaces in three side corridors and a 300-inch screen for audio-visual presentations.
Northstar Meetings Group, an online events platform, lists 40 meeting rooms in the emirate’s hotels, with the Ajman Saray containing the largest – a 480-sq-metre conference room. This hotel features seven meeting rooms, and a total event space of 1200 sq metres. Other hotels with significant space include the Oberoi Beach Resort Al Zorah, which won Ajman’s Best MICE Hotel award at the World MICE Awards in 2024 and has 427 sq metres of event space. There is also the Ajman Hotel, with 205 sq metres, and the Fairmont Ajman, with 108 sq metres.
Challenges & Opportunities
With tourism a major tenet of both the UAE and Ajman’s future and sustainable growth planning, the sector has major opportunities for expansion in 2025. Focusing on its strengths in arts and culture, as well as its excellent transport networks, the emirate can also capitalise on the ever-expanding search for new destinations and experiences in a surging international travel market. Ajman’s relatively unknown quality can be a major asset in growing global interest. The potential challenges for the sector are therefore largely external, in an uncertain international economic climate. Few could have predicted the pandemic, for example, which had such a negative impact on the travel and hospitality sectors in particular. Global trade wars and consequent slowdowns in growth may also impact arrivals, while the emirate’s tourism promoters will have to contend with some highly competitive neighbours, when it comes to tourism.
Outlook
With the UAE providing a long-established safe haven for local and foreign investors, as well as an increasingly integrated, country-wide approach to the industry, Ajman’s tourism and culture sector should continue to see steady growth in the years ahead. Indeed, with more investment under Ajman Vision 2030 and the UAE-wide tourism development schemes, PPP laws and accommodating rules on doing business, the emirate looks set to draw increasing investment from local and international sources, as its profile continues to develop.
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