Abu Dhabi, Dec. 2 (BNA): Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Tourism, affirmed that the 54th UAE National Day arrives this year crowned with exceptional economic and tourism achievements, that reflect the vision of the UAE’s leadership and the strength of the Union.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the UAE’s real GDP grew by 4.2 percent during the first half of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, while non-oil GDP recorded a growth rate of 5.7 percent.

The contribution of non-oil activities to real GDP reached 77.5 percent, reaffirming the progress of the UAE’s economic diversification and the strength of its economic foundations. The contribution of non-oil activities to real GDP reached 77.5 percent, reaffirming the progress of the UAE’s economic diversification and the strength of its economic foundations.

Al Marri pointed out that UAE markets attracted more than 220,186 new companies from the beginning of January to the end of November 2025.

During the same period, the Ministry of Economy and Tourism registered over 36,000 national and international trademarks entering the country’s markets, marking a 48.2 percent increase compared to the same period of the previous year.

The minister said that the UAE’s tourism sector also recorded remarkable achievements, including the UAE being ranked among the world’s top seven destinations for international tourist spending. The nation’s hospitality sector continued its strong upward trajectory in the first nine months of 2025, with hotels welcoming 23.27 million guests – up 4.9 percent compared to the same period in 2024 - resulting in more than 79.3 million hotel room nights booked.

He added that the hotel revenues for the first nine months of the year saw a notable increase of 7.2 percent, surpassing AED 35.9 billion and the hotel occupancy rates climbed to 79.2 percent.

N.B, N.N, S.E