Tourism Dirham
The Tourism Dirham is a per-night fee collected from guests in Dubai hotels and holiday homes and paid over to the Department of Economy and Tourism.
What Tourism Dirham means for a buyer
Dubai charges visitors a Tourism Dirham for each night they stay in licensed accommodation. It was approved by Executive Council Resolution No. 2 of 2014, which is published on the Dubai Legislation Portal, and it applies to holiday homes as well as hotels.
For a holiday home the fee is AED 10 a night per occupied room in a standard unit and AED 15 in a deluxe unit. The operator collects it from the guest and passes it to the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) before the 16th of the following month. It is the guest's charge, not the owner's, but the operator is responsible for collecting and paying it, and a missed payment is a breach of the holiday home rules.
For an owner comparing a short-term rental with a long-term lease, the Tourism Dirham matters in two ways. It adds to the price a guest pays per night, which affects how competitive the listing is, and it is one more obligation that a licensed operator takes on in return for its share of the income.
In May 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced that holiday homes were exempted from certain permit and licence fees; whether that exemption extends to the Tourism Dirham was not clear from the announcement. Confirm the current position with DET or your operator.
Guides that use this term
Where Tourism Dirham comes up in practice, with the costs, rules and steps around it.
Questions about the buying process?
An adviser can explain how this applies to the property you're considering.
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