Dubai Tourism Dirham fee explained: rates and rules for hotels

The Tourism Dirham is a Dubai government fee charged to guests for each occupied room per night. The amount depends on the hotel’s classification, from AED 7 to AED 20, and it applies for a maximum of 30 consecutive nights. The hotel collects it from the guest and pays it to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism.

That is the short answer. In practice, hotels need to know which amount applies to them, how to show it to guests, how to handle long stays and multi-room bookings, and what changed in 2026. This guide covers each point and links to the official texts.

What is the Tourism Dirham fee?

The fee was introduced by Dubai Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2014, which took effect on 31 March 2014. The resolution says the fee is payable by a natural person staying at a hotel establishment in return for payment. In plain words: the guest pays it, not the hotel.

The hotel’s role is to collect the fee and pass it on. Under the 2014 resolution, hotel establishments must pay the amounts collected before the 16th day of the month following collection. A later text, Administrative Resolution No. (2) of 2020, sets out the rules for calculating, collecting and paying the fee. It was issued under the name of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), and is published today on the website of the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

The fee covers more than hotels. The schedule also lists hotel apartments, guest houses and holiday homes, each with its own amount.

How much is the Tourism Dirham by hotel category?

The table below reproduces Schedule (1) of Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2014, as published on the Dubai Legislation Portal. The UAE government portal u.ae, in a page updated in January 2026, describes the same range: AED 7 to AED 20 per room per night depending on category, for a maximum of 30 consecutive nights.

Establishment category	Fee per room per night
Hotel, five-star or higher	AED 20
Hotel, four-star	AED 15
Hotel, three-star	AED 10
Hotel, two-star	AED 10
Hotel, one-star or budget	AED 7
Hotel apartment, luxury	AED 20
Hotel apartment, deluxe	AED 15
Hotel apartment, standard	AED 10
Guest house	AED 7
Holiday home, luxury	AED 15
Holiday home, standard	AED 10

Your category comes from your DET classification, not from how you market the property. If you are reclassified, update the fee on every channel on the same day.

How is the fee calculated on a booking?

The fee is a fixed amount per room, per night. It does not change with the room rate and it does not depend on how many guests share the room. Executive Council Resolution No. (10) of 2014 amended the original text so that a guest is charged for a maximum of 30 consecutive nights.

Three worked examples, using the schedule above:

Example booking	Calculation	Tourism Dirham
Four-star hotel, 1 room, 3 nights	1 x 3 x AED 15	AED 45
Four-star hotel, 2 rooms, 3 nights	2 x 3 x AED 15	AED 90
Luxury hotel apartment, 1 unit, 40 consecutive nights	1 x 30 x AED 20 (30-night maximum)	AED 600

The second example is why multi-room bookings matter. A family that books two rooms pays the fee twice per night, and your checkout total must show that. The third example shows why long-stay and monthly rates need the 30-night limit built into the calculation. If your system simply multiplies by the number of nights, a 40-night guest is overcharged by AED 200 in this example.

For long stays, also read our guide to selling monthly stays on your own website.

What changed in 2026?

2026 brought two sets of measures from the Dubai Government. Both affect the Tourism Dirham.

April 2026, deferral. The Dubai Media Office announced measures effective from 1 April 2026 that allowed hotels to postpone paying 100% of the sales fees on rooms and food and beverage, as well as the Tourism Dirham, for three months. This was a deferral of payment by the hotel. It did not say the guest would stop paying.
May 2026, exemption. On 21 May 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced a second, larger AED 1.5 billion package. Among its tourism measures is an “exemption from collection of the Tourism Dirham and the sales fees on hotel rooms and restaurants”. The announcement says the 33 initiatives will be implemented over three to 12 months, and that implementation timeframes will be announced by the responsible government entities.

The practical point: the start date and the end date of any exemption come from DET, not from news reports. Before you stop collecting the fee, or start again, confirm the dates in writing from DET. Then change your booking engine, your channel manager rates and your front-desk billing on the same day.

There is also a separate, older scheme. Executive Council Resolution No. (68) of 2025 created a financial support initiative that refunds 100% of the municipality fee on hotel sales and of the Tourism Dirham to eligible new hotels in designated areas, named as Dubai South, Palm Jebel Ali, Dubai Parks and Resorts and Dubai Islands, plus other areas DET designates. Benefits are limited to two years from the start of operations, with a possible one-year extension. Under this scheme the hotel applies for a refund. It is not a reason to stop collecting from guests unless DET tells you so.

What else is on a Dubai hotel bill?

The Tourism Dirham is one of several items. A Dubai hotel bill usually also includes 5% UAE VAT and a municipality fee charged as a percentage of hotel sales, which The National described in May 2026 as 7%. Many hotels also add a service charge. The May 2026 package also announced an exemption from collection of the sales fees on hotel rooms and restaurants, so check the status of that fee with the same care. For VAT, see our guide to UAE VAT on hotel bookings.

The fee types behave differently. VAT and the municipality fee are percentages, so they grow with the rate. The Tourism Dirham is a fixed amount, so it matters most on budget rooms, where AED 7 or AED 10 is a larger share of the price.

How should hotels show the Tourism Dirham to guests?

Guests compare your website with OTAs and metasearch in seconds. Two mistakes cost direct bookings:

Adding a fee you no longer collect. If an exemption is in force and your website still adds the Tourism Dirham, your direct price looks higher than the OTA price for no reason.
Surprising the guest at the last step. A fee that appears only on the payment page feels like a hidden charge, even when it is a government fee.

Decide whether you show prices with the fee included or added on top, and be consistent across your website, emails and invoices. Whichever you choose, show the line clearly on the summary before payment, and say whether the fee is collected online or at the hotel.

In the goDirects booking engine, the Tourism Dirham is set up as a tax rule with a fixed amount per room per night, shown inclusive or on top of the rate. Totals, including taxes and fees, are calculated on the server, so the guest sees the same figure on every device. When the rules change, you edit one setting instead of every rate plan.

Setup checklist for Dubai hotels

Confirm your current DET classification and the fee that applies to it.
Ask DET for the current status of the 2026 exemption, with start and end dates, and keep the answer on file.
Set the Tourism Dirham as a fixed amount per room per night, not as a percentage.
Check that a two-room booking shows the fee twice per night.
Test a stay longer than 30 consecutive nights and check the fee stops at 30 nights.
Decide between inclusive and on-top display, and use the same choice in emails and invoices.
Check that your OTA content and your website say the same thing about fees. Use Price Match to see how your direct price compares night by night.
Brief the front desk so that walk-in and pay-at-property guests are billed the same way as online guests.

More context on the market is in our guides to winning direct bookings in Dubai and on our Dubai hotels page. If you want to see your own fees set up and tested on a live booking engine, book a demo.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays the Tourism Dirham, the guest or the hotel?

The guest. Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2014 makes the fee payable by the person staying at the hotel establishment. The hotel collects it, either online or at check-out, and pays it on to the government. In 2026 there were also deferral and exemption measures, so check with DET what applies on your stay dates.

Is the Tourism Dirham charged per person or per room?

Per room, per night of occupancy. Two adults sharing one room pay one fee per night. A family in two rooms pays two fees per night. This is why multi-room bookings must calculate the fee for each room separately, and why the checkout summary should show the total clearly before payment.

Is there a limit on the number of nights?

Yes. Executive Council Resolution No. (10) of 2014 amended the rules so that a guest is charged for a maximum of 30 consecutive nights. The UAE government portal u.ae describes the same 30-night maximum. Long-stay and monthly rate plans should apply this cap automatically.

Do holiday homes and hotel apartments pay the Tourism Dirham?

Yes. The fee schedule lists hotel apartments (luxury, deluxe and standard), guest houses, and luxury and standard holiday homes, each with its own amount per night. Operators should check their own classification with DET, because the category sets the amount.

Is the Tourism Dirham suspended in 2026?

On 21 May 2026 the Dubai Media Office announced an exemption from collection of the Tourism Dirham as part of an AED 1.5 billion package. It also said implementation timeframes would be announced by the responsible entities. Confirm the current start and end dates with DET before changing what you charge.

Sources

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice.