Saudi Arabia and Dubai expand Gulf airports to welcome millions more tourists by 2030.
Gulf airport expansion has entered a new phase, with Dubai, Riyadh, Doha and Abu Dhabi building aviation capacity far beyond today’s tourism flows. Dubai International handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, while its future Al Maktoum International is planned to reach 260 million passengers annually. Riyadh’s King Salman International Airport is being developed for more than 100 million passengers by 2030, while Hamad International Airport is expanding towards 70 million.
The striking feature is not the scale alone. These airports sit inside a wider system linking airline expansion, tourism targets, hotel construction and destination mega-projects. The Gulf is therefore building the infrastructure for travellers it expects to attract tomorrow, rather than simply serving the visitors arriving today.
Recent News
Ghana Leads West Africa's Regional Travel Rise
Aug 26,2026
