If you’ve been meaning to tell someone back home to come visit Dubai, now there’s an added reason to actually send that message. The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism has launched A Dubai Invite — a programme that rewards UAE residents for bringing overseas family and friends to the city, with benefit packages worth more than Dh3,000 per successful invitation.
It’s a straightforward idea: you nominate a visitor, they arrive in Dubai during the campaign window, and you receive rewards spanning hotel stays, dining, attraction tickets and lifestyle experiences. The programme runs from now through October, making it well-timed for anyone whose relatives have been putting off a visit.
What Is the ‘A Dubai Invite’ Programme?
A Dubai Invite is a tourism initiative that turns residents into city ambassadors. Rather than traditional advertising, Dubai is betting that personal recommendations from people who actually live here carry more weight — and rewarding residents who act on that instinct.
The mechanics are simple: register your visitor through an online nomination form before they travel, wait for them to arrive, and let the system handle the rest. Rewards follow once the visit is verified through official entry records.
What Rewards Can Residents Receive?
For every successfully nominated visitor who arrives during the campaign period, eligible residents unlock a reward package valued at more than Dh3,000. The package is built around experiences across Dubai’s hospitality, dining and entertainment sectors rather than cash.
Benefits included in the reward package cover:
- Complimentary hotel stays
- Dining experiences at selected restaurants
- Tickets to popular tourist attractions
- Lifestyle and entertainment offers
- Exclusive discounts and promotional experiences
Residents can receive a maximum of three reward packages over the course of the campaign — so if you have multiple people planning visits, it’s worth spreading out your nominations.
Featured Brands Participating in the Programme
The list of participating brands gives a sense of the quality of experiences on offer. Current partners include:
- W Dubai Mina Seyahi
- The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi
- Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Waterpark
- Meliá Desert Palm
- IHG Hotels & Resorts
- Careem
- Hala
Additional partners are expected to participate throughout the campaign, so the full offering may expand as the programme runs.
How the ‘A Dubai Invite’ Programme Works
The process has been kept deliberately simple. Before your guest travels to Dubai, submit their details through the official online nomination form on the DET platform. That’s your main action — you don’t need to do anything else once they’ve arrived.
When your nominated visitor enters Dubai, their arrival is automatically verified through official entry records. No paperwork, no additional steps from your end. Once verification is confirmed, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to claim your rewards.
DET has confirmed that reward emails will begin going out from August 2026, with most arriving within 72 hours of a visitor’s verified entry.
Travel Dates That Qualify
To count toward the programme, visitors must arrive in Dubai during the official campaign window:
July 20, 2026 to October 31, 2026
Eligible entry methods include air, sea or road — so it doesn’t matter how your guests choose to travel. Reward packages remain valid until December 31, 2026, giving you time to actually use the experiences before they expire. Individual offers within the package may carry their own expiry dates, so check those when your reward email arrives.
Who Is Eligible to Participate?
The programme is open to UAE residents and citizens who meet the following criteria:
Residents must be at least 18 years old, hold a valid Emirates ID and be either a UAE resident or citizen.
Visitors must live outside the UAE, not already hold UAE residency, hold a valid tourist visa or qualify for visa on arrival where applicable, and arrive in Dubai during the campaign period.
One important clarification: the programme does not help with visa arrangements. Your guests are responsible for sorting their own travel documents before they come.
Important Rules Residents Should Know
A few conditions are worth understanding before you submit your nominations.
Each visitor can only be nominated once across the entire campaign. If someone else has already registered the same guest, your nomination for that person won’t qualify — so if you’re planning to invite someone, it’s worth submitting early rather than assuming someone else will do it.
You can nominate up to five visitors in a single form submission. If you want to nominate more, you can submit additional forms separately. There’s no need to notify DET when your guests arrive — the verification is automatic.
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Why Dubai Launched This Initiative
The thinking behind A Dubai Invite reflects something Dubai has understood for a while — that the most persuasive tourism pitch comes from someone who actually lives here, not from an advertisement.
Residents who’ve built their lives in Dubai are its most credible ambassadors. When they invite someone to visit, that person is considerably more likely to come than if they’d simply seen a promotional campaign. By putting real rewards behind those invitations, Dubai is turning an organic behaviour into a structured programme with measurable outcomes.
For residents, it’s an opportunity to reconnect with people they haven’t seen in a while — and to enjoy some of Dubai’s better hotels, restaurants and attractions while doing it. The city gets more visitors; you get Dh3,000 worth of experiences. It’s a straightforward arrangement, and it starts now.