Abu Dhabi Forces Hotels To Become More Emirati, Staff Must Name & Explain At Least Three Local Dishes

Abu Dhabi’s government is introducing new requirements for hotels to inject more local culture into the guest experience. So if you frequent the region and notice some changes before and during your hotel stay, now you know why…

Abu Dhabi’s new cultural standards for hotels

The Gulf countries are all trying to grow their tourism sectors and diversify their economies away from oil. There are of course several large airlines based in the Gulf, and while many passengers are in transit to other destinations, some people may have a stopover for a night or two. The goal is always to convert those travelers into future visitors.

Along those lines, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism has launched the Emirati Dhiyafa Standards framework, with the idea being that hotels have new mandatory standards they have to follow, intended to increase the local culture that’s part of the hospitality experience. By the first quarter of 2027, hotels have to incorporate the following into their guest experience:

• Hotel websites include a section or links to information about the history and culture of the UAE
• Pre-arrival messages provide information on how to experience the unique culture, heritage, and natural setting of the UAE
• The guest welcome area is at all times staffed with at least one employee dressed in traditional Emirati attire
• Guest facing and food & beverages staff can name and explain at least three traditional Emirati dishes and their role in Emirati dining traditions
• At least one guest facing public area incorporates at least one Emirati heritage-inspired design element

Here’s how Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General for Tourism at DCT Abu Dhabi, describes this: 

“The experiences that visitors remember most are often the simplest: the warmth of a welcome, the sharing of local traditions, and the feeling of being genuinely looked after. The Emirati Dhiyafa Standards translate these timeless values into a framework that will enrich every stage of the visitor journey. By embedding our cultural identity within the hospitality experience, we are creating a more distinctive and meaningful connection between our visitors and Abu Dhabi, while strengthening the emirate’s tourism ecosystem and sustaining the momentum of our Tourism Strategy 2030.”

I appreciate the idea behind this initiative, but…

I understand and respect the concept behind this initiative, because of course trying to make a place feel more welcoming and cultural gives people a more favorable impression.

Now, some of these standards do strike me as rather random and silly. I’m not sure the staff at a hotel’s Irish themed pub being able to recite three Emirati dishes will do a whole lot to enrich the cultural experience for guests, but who knows…

I will say this… I very much respect what the head of tourism is saying about the value of “the warmth of a welcome,” and I think that’s an area where there’s an opportunity that doesn’t need to be exported to the overwhelmingly foreign staff at hotels.

I’m not meaning to rag on Emirati or Qatari culture, for example, as I have friends from both countries. They’re generally very warm people on a personal level, if you’re friends with them. But just on a transactional level, I’ve found it to be a very different story.

For example, I don’t think I’ve ever gone through immigration in the UAE or Qatar and got a smile or a welcome. They’re usually on (what I assume is) a personal phone call, and don’t even look up, and seem very unhappy.

I recently visited Saudi Arabia, and I was very pleasantly surprised by the warmth of people even in a casual, transactional sense. Like, the immigration officers both on arrival and departure were extremely friendly and hospitable, and I found that warmth to be pretty consistent among Saudi nationals.

First impressions count, so I feel like there’s an opportunity there. Maybe it’s just me, but a genuine smile and a warm welcome from a local does more for me than a friendly Filipino hotel worker being forced to memorize the details of three dishes.

Bottom line

Abu Dhabi is introducing new cultural standards for hotels, which have to be implemented by early 2027. If you’re a frequent visitor to the region, you’ll likely notice these, as they include things like additional cultural information on hotel websites and pre-stay emails, someone in the welcome area wearing traditional Emirati attire, etc.

I look forward to learning what three dishes every hotel employee knows, along with a detailed explanation! 😉

What do you make of Abu Dhabi’s new cultural standards?