Business licences
Tourism licence in Dubai for travel, tour and hospitality firms
A tourism licence covers businesses that sell travel and visitor services: travel agencies, tour operators, safari and camp operators, and accommodation such as hotels and holiday homes. In Dubai the Department of Economy and Tourism is both the licensing authority and the tourism regulator. Caliph prepares the company application and the tourism requirements together.
At a glance Fact sheet
- Issued by
- Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai
- Covers
- Travel agencies, tour operators, safaris and camps, hotels, holiday homes
- Tourism regulator
- DET also sets the standards and permits for tourism and hospitality operators
- Air ticketing
- Travel agencies with ticketing also need the General Civil Aviation Authority
- Other emirates
- Each emirate applies its own tourism rules
Overview
Tourism is licensed separately because the customer is often a visitor who pays in advance and depends on the operator far from home. The authority therefore looks at who runs the business, what exactly it sells and how it deals with customers. A tourism licence can cover selling flights and packages, bringing visitors into the UAE, sending residents abroad, running desert safaris and camps, or operating accommodation.
In Dubai, one department holds both roles. The Department of Economy and Tourism issues the licence and also regulates tourism businesses, with standards for tours, safaris and camps and permits for hotels, holiday homes and timeshare. That makes the file more detailed than an ordinary trading application, because the tourism side reviews it too.
Activities are licensed one by one. A company approved to sell outbound holidays is not automatically approved to run inbound tours or to operate a safari. Travel agencies that issue air tickets also come under the General Civil Aviation Authority. Requirements vary by activity, so your Caliph consultant confirms what applies to you before the application is filed.
What a tourism licence lets you do
Sell travel to the public
The licence is what allows you to advertise tours, packages and travel services, sign with customers and take payment for them.
Open accounts with suppliers
Airlines, hotels, booking platforms and destination partners ask for a valid tourism licence before they work with an agency.
Add activities as you grow
You can start with one tourism activity and add others later through an amendment, once the conditions for each are met.
Sponsor your team
With the establishment card open, the company can sponsor residence visas for reservations staff, coordinators and drivers within its allocation.
One file for company and tourism
Because DET handles both sides, Caliph prepares the company documents and the tourism requirements together so they agree with each other.
What to have ready for a tourism licence
- Passport copies of the owners and the proposed manager, with visa and Emirates ID copies for UAE residents
- The manager's CV and certificates showing travel or tourism experience
- A clear list of the tourism activities you want
- Two or three trade name options
- A short business plan describing your services and markets
- The tenancy contract for the office, registered in Ejari
- Good conduct certificates, where the authority asks for them
The authority may ask for further undertakings or supporting papers depending on the activity. Your consultant tells you what yours requires.
How a tourism licence is issued
Activities defined
Your consultant separates what you plan to sell into the official tourism activities and explains the conditions for each.
Trade name and initial approval
The trade name is reserved and the initial approval is issued.
Tourism review
The tourism side of DET reviews the owners, the manager and the planned services, and may ask for more information.
Office and Ejari
You rent an office that suits the activity and the tenancy is registered.
Other approvals
Where the activity needs it, for example air ticketing, the approval of the authority concerned is obtained.
Licence issued
The fees are paid and the tourism licence is issued with the approved activities listed.
Good to know
- DET's Dubai College of Tourism runs the programmes for tour guides and safari drivers, so plan this before you hire.
- Hotels, holiday homes and timeshare have their own DET permits in addition to the company licence.
- Tourism rules are set by each emirate. A company licensed outside Dubai follows the requirements of that emirate.
Questions people ask
Who issues tourism licences in Dubai?
The Department of Economy and Tourism. It issues the business licence and also regulates tourism and hospitality operators, so one department reviews both the company and its tourism activity. Other emirates apply their own tourism requirements.
What businesses need a tourism licence?
Travel agencies, companies that organise tours for visitors or for residents travelling abroad, desert safari and camp operators, and accommodation providers such as hotels and holiday homes. If you sell or operate travel and visitor services, the activity is a tourism one.
Can I sell flight tickets with a tourism licence?
Only if the travel agency activity on your licence includes ticketing. The federal government lists the General Civil Aviation Authority as the approving body for travel agencies with ticketing, in addition to the Dubai licence. Airline and booking system accounts are arranged separately once the licence is issued.
Can one tourism licence cover inbound and outbound tours?
It can, if both activities are approved and listed. Each tourism activity has its own conditions, and the authority reviews them separately. Many operators begin with the activity they need first and add the next one through an amendment.
Do I need an office for a travel agency in Dubai?
A Dubai mainland tourism licence is linked to an address with a registered tenancy. The type of office that is accepted depends on the activity, so Caliph checks this with you before you sign a lease.
Can a foreigner own a tourism company in Dubai?
Foreign investors do set up tourism companies on the Dubai mainland. Ownership conditions are set activity by activity, so your consultant checks the specific tourism activities you want against the current rules before the company structure is agreed.
Reviewed by Caliph Business Solutions on . Rules differ by activity and by authority. Your Caliph consultant confirms what applies to you.
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