Travel demand across the GCC surged in the run-up to Eid Al Adha 2026, with many travellers opting to depart before the holiday period rather than during it, according to new data from airport services provider Dragonpass.

The company reported a 69 per cent increase in travel activity across the GCC during the week leading up to Eid Al Adha. However, activity fell by 24 per cent during Eid week itself and declined by a further 18 per cent in the week immediately after, indicating a shift in travel patterns compared with previous holiday periods.

Dragonpass said the trend contrasts sharply with Eid Al Fitr earlier this year, when travel activity across the GCC increased by 6 per cent during the holiday week before falling 20 per cent in the following week.

Several GCC markets recorded significant growth ahead of Eid Al Adha. Kuwait posted the strongest increase, with travel activity rising 124.7 per cent week-on-week. Bahrain followed with growth of 108.5 per cent, while the UAE recorded a 79.2 per cent increase. Qatar and Saudi Arabia reported growth of 59.5 per cent and 58.4 per cent, respectively.

Andrew Harrison-Chinn, Chief Marketing Officer at Dragonpass, said: “The contrast between Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha is one of the most interesting travel trends we have observed this year. While Eid Al Fitr generated a more traditional holiday-week travel spike, Eid Al Adha saw travellers moving significantly earlier, with demand building before the holiday rather than during it.

“This highlights the dynamic nature of travel behaviour across the GCC and reinforces the importance of understanding how demand shifts around key travel periods. Despite periods of disruption affecting regional travel earlier this year, demand across the GCC has remained resilient, with travellers continuing to prioritise leisure and holiday travel.”

Saudi Arabia remained one of the region’s strongest-performing travel markets during both holiday periods. During Eid Al Fitr, the Kingdom recorded the largest holiday-week increase in the GCC, led by Madinah with a 58 per cent rise in travel activity, followed by Jeddah (29 per cent), Dammam (25 per cent) and Riyadh (22 per cent).

During Eid Al Adha, Madinah bucked the wider regional trend, recording a 20 per cent increase in travel activity during Eid week and a further 58 per cent rise after the holiday period, reflecting continued demand linked to religious travel.

Dragonpass expects travel demand across the GCC to remain strong throughout the summer season, with evolving travel patterns increasingly influencing passenger flows across the region.

The company said understanding how travellers adjust their behaviour around major holidays and peak travel periods will become increasingly important for airlines, airports and travel industry stakeholders as aviation connectivity continues to expand across the GCC.

The UAE Cabinet, chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has issued a resolution regulating children’s access to social media platforms.

The resolution reflects the UAE’s commitment to establishing an advanced model for child protection in the digital space, reinforcing the national digital safety framework in line with the rapid evolution of technology use, and striking a balance between enabling responsible use of modern technologies and ensuring the highest standards of child protection, WAM reported

The resolution comes amid the growing use of social media platforms by children and the increasing digital challenges and risks associated with such use, including exposure to inappropriate content, unsafe interactions, the collection of personal data, and patterns of excessive usage.

This necessitates the development of an integrated national framework that enables children to benefit from technology while ensuring their protection in the digital environment, and reflects the UAE’s proactive approach in developing advanced legislative models that keep pace with global digital transformations and place child safety among its priorities.

The resolution forms part of an integrated legislative framework encompassing the Child Rights Law, legislation on combating cybercrimes, personal data protection, media regulation, and child digital safety, thereby reinforcing institutional integration and entrenching a proactive and comprehensive approach to child protection in the digital environment.

The resolution applies to all social media platforms that enable users to create accounts or personal profiles, engage in social interaction, publish or share content, or that rely on algorithmic systems to display, rank, or recommend content, whether free or paid. It applies to all platforms whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country.

What the resolution states

The resolution sets the minimum age for social media use at 15 years.

Children below this age are prohibited from creating, using, or operating personal accounts on social media platforms, and are prohibited from accessing the full features of such platforms, including social interaction, publishing, commenting, sharing, joining public groups, open channels, or any large-scale interactive spaces.

Platforms are required to implement all necessary technical and administrative measures to enforce this prohibition. The resolution also takes into account the gradual transition toward healthier and more balanced digital habits, in a manner that aligns with the different age groups of children and adolescents.

Children between the ages of 15 and 16 are permitted to use social media platforms, subject to enhanced protective measures applied to their accounts.

These measures include age-appropriate content classification and restriction, disabling high-risk features such as interaction with unknown users, regulation of usage time and duration, and the provision of parental control tools, ensuring a safe digital environment appropriate to their age.

The resolution explicitly provides that parental consent shall not constitute a valid exemption from the prohibitions or restrictions set out therein. It further permits the child caregiver to configure the settings of accounts belonging to children between the ages of 15 and 16, through the parental control tools provided by social media platforms, provided that such configuration does not contravene the prescribed prohibitions and restrictions.

Read: Roblox mandates facial age checks worldwide for access to chat

Effective and reliable age verification mechanisms

Platforms are required to implement effective and reliable age verification mechanisms, including digital identity verification, AI-supported technologies such as biometric tools, or any other mechanisms approved by the Child Digital Safety Council, WAM reported.

Self-declaration of age shall not be accepted as a valid method of verification. Platforms must ensure that the mechanisms used achieve a high level of accuracy in determining user age, while adhering to the highest standards of child privacy and personal data protection. This includes minimising data collection, securing data processing, and ensuring data is not retained beyond the period strictly necessary.

Verification mechanisms must be subject to regular review and audit, and clear information must be provided to users on how they operate, in order to promote trust and transparency in the digital environment.

All social media platforms, whose services are available within the UAE or are directed at users in the country, are required to monitor personal accounts created by children under the age of 15 in violation of the resolution’s provisions, and to take immediate action to suspend or disable such accounts.

Platforms must also implement the necessary technical and administrative measures to prevent circumvention of their systems, refrain from targeting children with personalised advertising based on tracking or behavioural profiling, and from exploiting or processing their personal data for commercial purposes that depend on monitoring or tracking their digital activities.

Platforms must provide parental control tools and awareness materials for children and their caregivers, conduct periodic child digital safety risk assessments, and submit regular reports to the competent authorities. Thereby positioning platforms as strategic partners and reinforces their shared responsibility in safeguarding and protecting children.

The resolution affirms the responsibilities of the child’s caregiver, which include refraining from enabling the child to use platforms in violation of the resolution’s provisions, refraining from circumventing age verification mechanisms, exercising effective supervision over the child’s permitted digital activity, and promoting the child’s awareness of digital risks and safe usage practices.

The resolution provides families with a clear framework and practical tools to help guide children toward more responsible, balanced, and mindful digital engagement.

Oversight and supervision of platforms’ compliance with the obligations, controls, and standards set out in the resolution are assigned to the National Media Authority, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority, each within its respective jurisdiction, with authority to take all necessary measures in the event of non-compliance, including warning or partial or full blocking of platforms or the imposition of applicable administrative penalties while observing graduated enforcement.

The Child Digital Safety Council shall assess the risks and impacts associated with children’s access to social media platforms, and propose the necessary measures to address and mitigate them in coordination with the relevant federal and local authorities.

The council shall ensure the effective implementation of the resolution and the continuous development of the child digital safety framework.

Social media platforms given time to comply

Social media platforms are granted a transitional period of up to 12 months to bring their operations into compliance with the resolution’s provisions, while ensuring effective communication and coordination with the competent authorities during this transitional period to ensure technical and regulatory readiness.

The resolution is closely aligned with leading global trends in digital child protection and establishes a forward-looking model that effectively combines digital safety, family empowerment, platform responsibility, and practical enforceability, thereby advancing the UAE’s transition to a new phase of digital space regulation, founded on proactive legislation, institutional integration, and a balanced approach between innovation and protection.

The move reinforces the UAE’s position as a leading global model in child protection and digital safety, and reflects the country’s enduring commitment to building a safe and sustainable digital society.

HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, has launched the Ministry of Finance Strategic Plan 2027–2029, introducing a new framework aimed at enhancing public financial management, advancing fiscal policies and strengthening the UAE’s future economic readiness.

The new strategy is designed to support sustainable growth, improve government financial performance and reinforce the UAE’s position as a global financial and economic hub.

HH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “This Strategic Plan marks a new milestone in the evolution of the UAE’s government financial ecosystem and reflects an ambitious national vision to strengthen the country’s future readiness. It establishes a more proactive and agile financial model that supports sustainable growth, enhances national competitiveness and reinforces the UAE’s global standing.”

He added: “Guided by the vision of our wise leadership, the UAE continues to advance its fiscal policies to ensure they remain responsive to change and capable of creating new opportunities. Through this Plan, the Ministry of Finance will further strengthen the role of public finance as a strategic driver of sustainable development, government excellence and quality of life, which remains a national priority.”

HH further noted: “The new Plan is built on an integrated future-focused vision that will bring government financial management to new levels of readiness, effectiveness and impact through the adoption of proactive, agile and innovative financial policies and solutions, the strengthening of strategic partnerships, and the expansion of financial and economic cooperation. This approach will further position the UAE as a key partner in shaping the future of regional and global finance and economic development.”

The strategy aligns with the UAE Centennial 2071 vision, We the UAE 2031, federal strategies and global trends in public finance, sustainability, innovation and digital transformation.

According to the Ministry, the plan marks a shift towards a more collaborative and integrated public finance model, placing greater emphasis on partnerships, cross-government cooperation, innovation and long-term financial resilience.

Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said: “The Strategic Plan provides a comprehensive framework for advancing the government financial ecosystem by enhancing its agility and ability to respond to change, while reinforcing the Ministry’s role in strengthening the UAE’s competitiveness, improving government financial performance and building partnerships that elevate the country’s presence on the global financial and economic stage.”

“We remain focused on translating strategic priorities into tangible impact through a more integrated and proactive operating model that invests in talent, leverages innovation and emerging technologies, and supports informed decision-making, ultimately enhancing resource efficiency and ensuring sustainable outcomes,” he added.

A key pillar of the strategy is the acceleration of digital transformation and artificial intelligence across government financial services.

Among the flagship initiatives announced under the plan are a Smart Legal Research tool, the acceptance of digital currencies as an approved payment method for federal service fees, AI-powered government procurement systems, an AI-based archiving system, a National Assistant for Financial Analysis, a Smart Digital Strategic Partnerships Platform and a National Observatory for Fiscal Policy and Innovation.

The Ministry also plans to expand predictive and proactive financial services through initiatives such as a Smart Predictive Budgeting Platform, an Integrated Smart System for Government Revenue Management and Financial Analysis, a Federal Government Monetary Forecasting Platform and a programme focused on smart and sustainable management of government assets.

The Strategic Plan 2027–2029 is built around three overarching objectives: strengthening fiscal sustainability and resilience, achieving global leadership in government financial performance, and enhancing the UAE’s international standing through strategic partnerships.

The Ministry said the framework will also focus on developing national talent, expanding future skills programmes and increasing the use of artificial intelligence, strategic foresight and advanced technologies across government financial operations.

The strategy is underpinned by six institutional values: proactiveness, agility and efficiency, partnership and integration, innovation and leadership, integrity and transparency, and teamwork.

Saudi Arabia’s Qiwa platform, affiliated with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, has announced a reduction in the number of instant visas available to newly established businesses, limiting eligible companies that are less than two years old to a maximum of five visas.

The move forms part of the kingdom’s broader efforts to regulate workforce recruitment and support labor market policies aligned with Saudisation objectives.

Read more-Saudi e-visas resume: What eligible countries need to know

According to the platform, businesses that have been operating for more than two years may obtain up to 50 instant visas. These visas can be issued through a single application or multiple applications submitted at the entity level within the same week, according to a report by Saudi Gazette.

Establishment programme offers phased visa access

Qiwa also outlined the provisions available to businesses enrolled in its establishment program. Under the program, eligible entities that meet the required criteria will initially receive two visas.

The platform noted that the allocation may be increased over time if the business achieves a higher Saudisation rate, providing employers with an incentive to strengthen local workforce participation while expanding their recruitment capacity.

The update is expected to affect newly established companies seeking to recruit talent from outside the kingdom, particularly during the early stages of growth.

Recruitment requirements remain in focus

Qiwa highlighted 10 key requirements that businesses must satisfy before recruiting non-Saudi workers from abroad. These include maintaining active business status, holding valid work permits for employees, and ensuring that commercial registrations remain valid where applicable.

Additional requirements include classification within the Medium Green category or higher, compliance with the Wage Protection Law, maintaining sufficient financial credit on Ministry of Interior platforms such as Absher or Muqeem, and completing annual self-assessment obligations for establishments with 10 or more employees.

Businesses must also comply with employee work-location requirements through the Qiwa platform, ensure employers are at least 18 years old, and maintain an available recruitment quota based on the visa category requested.

Three visa categories available

The platform said employers can apply for three types of visas: permanent work visas for long-term employment contracts, temporary work visas for contracts lasting up to three months, and Hajj and Umrah temporary work visas for seasonal workers, subject to approval from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

Islamic finance has historically been characterised as a localised, regional subset of the global economy. However, recent data suggest a different trajectory.

Moving through a period of growth, the industry surpassed $5tn in total global assets in 2024. Driven by an estimated 14.5 per cent compound annual growth rate, total assets are now projected to reach $7.25tn by 2030.

This anticipated expansion represents a systemic shift that global investors are starting to factor into their long-term strategies.

Demographics and expansion of Sharia-compliant wealth

At the core of this evolution is a rapidly growing, increasingly affluent global demographic. As the middle class expands across emerging markets, there’s a surging grassroots demand for financial systems that strictly align with Sharia principles, which are centred around themes like equity, fairness and transparency, risk-sharing and ownership/materiality.

Islamic finance requires the elimination of excessive uncertainty (Gharar), the avoidance of speculation (Maisir)‌ and the strict avoidance of interest (Riba). This preference is evident in the growing popularity of structures like Sukuk (Sharia-compliant financial certificates often referred to as “Islamic bonds”), where, instead of traditional debt, funding is directed to the creation of physical infrastructure, renewable energy projects, and industrial manufacturing.

These investments result in the acquisition of capital assets that provide measurable utility to the real economy, effectively transforming the traditional debtor-creditor relationship into a partnership-based model.

The macroeconomic impact of a shift like this lies in the potential development of a massive, aggregated pool of Sharia-compliant capital.

This capital would likely start to flow upward into wealth management, institutional investing‌ and sovereign wealth funds, providing the baseline liquidity that drives the industry’s broader need for institutional-grade financial architecture.

Infrastructure expansion meets fiscal discipline

State-level initiatives have also historically provided Sharia-compliant macroeconomic support through plans such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the country’s economy away from oil, among other objectives. However, as we move through 2026, many regional powerhouses are entering a more disciplined phase of capital deployment.

With government debt in key Gulf markets forecast to rise to fund these initiatives – Saudi Arabia’s debt alone is projected to approach 40 per cent of GDP next year – sovereign wealth funds are transitioning from an era of expansion to one of strict fiscal oversight and streamlined priorities.

For large regional corporations executing multi-billion-dollar financing facilities under these new constraints, securing predictable financing is critical. Cost certainty has become a mandatory tool for accurate cash-flow forecasting and strict alignment with tighter budgets.

Increasing access for global investors

Historically, a structural friction existed between Islamic finance markets and Western institutional capital. While international investors recognised the diversification benefits of Islamic instruments such as Sukuk, the underlying pricing structures often did not easily translate to conventional risk models.

However, recent data suggests this friction is diminishing. Building on the industry’s $5tn asset base, global Sukuk issuance reached $264.8bn in 2025, up from $234.9bn the previous year. More significantly, foreign currency-denominated issuances have now exceeded the $100bn mark, nearly doubling their 2021 volume.

This growth indicates that non-Islamic international investors are actively buying in, seeking secondary-market liquidity and driving down the cost of capital for issuers.

The green Sukuk catalyst

Further accelerating this global adoption is the natural alignment between Islamic finance principles and the mandates of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing.

Ethical, Sharia-compliant investments are a natural fit for global ESG portfolios, and the market is responding. Total sustainable Sukuk issuance reached $21.5bn in 2025 – a 38 per cent increase from 2024.

By positioning these green instruments alongside globally understood ESG criteria, issuers are able to capture both the traditional Islamic finance buyer and the Western institutional ESG portfolio manager simultaneously.

The maturation of market mechanics

To support this influx of foreign and sustainable capital, the demand for sophisticated, transparent‌ and robust financial benchmarks has never been higher. This is where forward-looking benchmarks, such as CME Term SOFR, serve as the link between Islamic finance and global capital.

By establishing a known profit rate at the beginning of a corporate or institutional contract – derived from deep, observable transaction data from the underlying futures market – these benchmarks provide the up-front cost certainty required for Sharia-compliant structures, while offering a risk profile that Western institutions already understand and can hedge.

To further facilitate integration into global portfolios, these methodologies operate under strict governance. Administered by the CME Benchmark Administration (CBA) and supervised by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, the processes operate in full compliance with IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks.

Recognised by standards bodies such as the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) and the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), this provides Islamic institutions with confidence that their profit rates are calculated using an objective, auditable methodology.

What to watch next

Over the next 12 to 18 months, as sovereign wealth funds and corporate borrowers operate under renewed fiscal discipline, a significant expansion in the global reach of cross-border Sukuk issuances could be ahead.

With unified data architectures now allowing global banks to align their conventional and Islamic treasury desks using a single benchmark, the historical barrier to entry for non-Islamic institutional investors has effectively been removed.

Eric Leininger is the ED – Financial Research and Product Development, CME Group.

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