Visitor Experience Excellence Award

About the initiative:

The Abu Dhabi Visitor Experience Excellence Awards is an annual flagship program led by the DCT Visitor Experience department, designed to recognize and motivate excellence while fostering healthy competition among businesses and frontline staff across Abu Dhabi. The program will feature eight award categories: four business awards focused on themes such as innovation, cultural showcase, accessibility, and resilience, and four frontliner awards recognizing individuals who demonstrate excellence across different frontline roles. This year marks the inaugural edition of the awards.

Participants:

For the first year, 421 businesses and their frontliners will be invited to apply, sectors include museums, cultural sites, events, mobility, accommodation, malls, attractions, cruise terminals, F&B, airports, and airlines. Following submission, all applications will undergo an initial evaluation by an internal DCT committee, which will shortlist nine candidates per category.

Key event:

The final award ceremony will be held through a gala dinner, ideally in Emirates Palace. Guests will be representatives from the 421 businesses, corporate media, the shortlisted frontliners, DCT panel members, DCT representatives and a few influencers based on leadership’s request. The exact guest list is still a WIP.

Award ceremony date:

November 16th 2026, Emirates Palace.

For more details:

Last Modified - 17/07/2026