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No official source reports what a visitor spends per day in Dubai, but the emirate and international agencies publish measured hotel rates and statutory tariffs from which the main components of a stay can be described. We assemble Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism releases for 2019–2026, Dubai and federal legislation on hotel charges, Roads and Transport Authority fares, attraction and visa prices, World Bank price-level and consumer-price data and US government per diem rates. The average daily rate of Dubai's hotel establishments was AED 579 (USD 157.66) in 2025, 39.5% above 2019, while UAE consumer prices rose 8.1%; occupancy reached 80.7%, visitors 19.59 million and occupied room nights 44.85 million, while room supply grew 22.3% to 154,264. First-quarter rates were 18.6% above the annual average in 2024, and summer months sold below it. In 2026 regional airspace restrictions cut airport traffic by 65.7% in March and hotel occupancy to 36%, recovering to 66% by August. On top of the room, the Tourism Dirham adds AED 7 to 20 per night by hotel class, the municipality fee 7% and VAT 5%; a two-zone metro trip costs AED 5 (USD 1.36). UAE prices for restaurants and hotels were 78.2% of US levels in 2021, but food was 118.2% and alcohol 213.1%. The US government's USD 556 daily per diem for Dubai is a reimbursement ceiling, its lodging part 2.43 times the measured room rate. All inputs are public.
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Kurz et al. (2026) studied this question.
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