One month to UAE school holidays: Why families are rethinking summer travel in 2026.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) remains the world’s busiest airport in terms of airline seating capacity,
combining domestic and international operations.
Dubai: With exactly one month left until schools across the UAE break for summer, families are entering one of the busiest travel booking periods of the year — but many are planning holidays differently in 2026.
Across the aviation and travel industry, the mood is one of “cautious optimism.” UAE residents are still travelling in large numbers, but rising costs, geopolitical tensions and visa delays are reshaping how — and where — people spend their summer holidays. The trends are similar even globally. International tourist arrivals grew 2 per cent over the first quarter of 2026, despite disruption caused by the crisis in the Middle East in March, according to the latest data from UN Tourism.
Some 307 million tourists travelled internationally in the first quarter of 2026, about 6 million more than the same period of 2025. While the start of the year saw sustained travel demand overall (+2.5 per cent cumulative growth in January and February), the Middle East conflict impacted performance in March (+0.4 per cent).
The conflict is expected to reduce growth in international arrivals by 1 to 2 percentage points below UN Tourism's initial forecast of 3 to 4 per cent for 2026, depending on the conflict's duration and scope. Aside from disruptions in flights to, from and within the Middle East and effects on traveller confidence, the spike in oil prices and jet fuel shortage in some markets is increasing air fares and reducing flight capacity also in other regions.
UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais said, "The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is disrupting travel patterns well beyond the region itself, including rising inflation, particularly in transport and accommodation." She added, "This is placing pressure on travellers, businesses and destinations alike. Even amid this uncertainty, international tourism continued to show resilience in the first quarter of 2026, with 307 million people travelling internationally, a 2 per cent increase on last year." "At a time of growing geopolitical and economic pressure, this reinforces tourism's wider role in supporting economies, creating opportunity and sustaining communities far beyond the sector itself."
