Ajman unveils six-month tourism-fee waiver to cut costs for hotels and event organisers

Ajman’s Department of Tourism Development (ADTD) rolled out an ambitious support package on 26 April that waives or defers a wide range of tourism-related fees for six months, back-dated to 1 March 2026. The initiative is designed to shore up smaller hospitality operators that have struggled with cash-flow shortages since flight disruptions slashed leisure arrivals in March. Key measures include a six-month deferral of the emirate’s nightly tourism fee, a full waiver of penalties for late licence renewals, and the scrapping of event-permit charges for conferences and exhibitions staged before 31 August. Hotels may also opt to pay any outstanding dues in interest-free instalments extending into Q1 2027. For mobility and events teams the move materially lowers the cost of housing project staff and staging client conferences in Ajman, which is already 10–15 per cent cheaper than neighbouring Dubai. Companies planning regional kick-off meetings can save up to AED 25 per room-night and avoid the AED 350 event-permit fee, provided bookings are lodged during the waiver window. ADTD will additionally grant free museum entry to hotel guests through year-end and subsidise participation fees for outbound roadshows that promote Ajman abroad—supporting DMCs and hotel sales teams looking to rebuild pipelines in Europe and South-Asia source markets. The package echoes Dubai’s post-pandemic fee-relief model and signals that smaller emirates are ready to compete aggressively for MICE traffic as Gulf air connectivity normalises. Corporates should update preferred-supplier agreements to capture the temporary cost advantages.