Emirates signs seven tourism MoUs at Arabian Travel Market, working with DCT Abu Dhabi to promote multi‑emirate visits
At ATM 2026 Emirates concluded seven Memoranda of Understanding with international tourism boards and renewed commercial partnerships, underscoring collaboration that includes the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi to boost multi‑destination stays in the UAE.
Emirates used the opening of Arabian Travel Market to formalise seven new tourism agreements and to renew strategic commercial partnerships, aiming to convert awareness into bookings across its global network of nearly 140 destinations.
The carrier signed Memoranda of Understanding with the Seychelles Tourism Board and the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of the Seychelles, renewing a relationship first established in 2013. Emirates operates two daily flights to Mahé; visitor arrivals to the islands rose 13 per cent to nearly 400,000 in 2025, up from 353,000 the year before.
Emirates and the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority renewed a long‑standing collaboration to promote Mauritius. The airline currently offers weekly capacity of 19,096 seats in both directions and operates three daily flights, having driven growth in arrivals from Middle East markets, which rose 10.5 per cent in the first half of 2026.
An MoU with Madagascar’s Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts will support the island’s target of one million tourists by 2028 through joint advertising, incentives for trade partners and familiarisation trips for media and the travel trade.
Regionally, Emirates and the Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority renewed their partnership to continue driving tourism to Sharjah across key feeder markets. The agreement, signed by Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates, and Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA, builds on collaborative sales calls, trade workshops, roadshows and familiarisation trips.
The airline also renewed a one‑year MoU with Tourism Malaysia to support the Visit Malaysia 2026–2027 campaign; Emirates currently offers 21 weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Dubai and provides onward connectivity via a codeshare with Batik Air.
New agreements with Visit Finland and Fjord Norway are intended to stimulate inbound travel from strategic regions served by Emirates. Emirates will launch operations to Helsinki from 1 October, establishing year‑round connectivity between Finland and the UAE and opening opportunities across East and Southeast Asia, West Asia, Australasia and key Middle East and African hubs.
Alongside tourism board tie‑ups, Emirates renewed its strategic partnership with Huawei to deepen engagement in China through marketing and digital innovation, and signed an agreement with Dubai Duty Free to provide exclusive offers for Emirates passengers at Terminal 3 retail outlets.
The airline emphasised that such aviation and destination partnerships support inbound tourism to the UAE and work alongside local bodies, including the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, to encourage visitors to experience more than one emirate during their stay.
Source: WAM