Atlantis Dubai reveals growth plans for 2025

Atlantis Dubai’s director of sales has revealed details of the brand’s growth plans for the year. 

Dean Walsh praised the company’s successful 2024, which saw a 20% increase in business from the UK compared with 2023, and said the goal this year was to “maintain and protect” this growth.

Speaking to Aspire, he said: “Growing the UK market by 20% was a huge goal last year, and we actually didn’t think we were going to get close. But now, I think we ‘own’ the UK market from a family destination perspective among our competitors in Dubai, and I think we’ve now really got to a spot where we can maintain that.” 

Walsh attributed the brand’s growing success in part to increasing temperatures in popular summer holiday destinations.

He said: “We’ve seen a major spike in summer from markets that would not usually come because of the heat, but now it’s really hot across Europe as well and clients are realising that, if you go to Dubai in the summer, you don’t have to do touristy attractions – the pools are temperature controlled, everything’s air conditioned and you don’t have to leave the resort.” 

Walsh said this year Atlantis Dubai would focus more on attracting different types of travellers from the UK, with a view to increasing the number who book “higher room types”. 

The brand also has plans to put more of a spotlight on 16-year-old Atlantis The Palm (pictured) following the opening of sister property Atlantis The Royal at the start of 2023.

Walsh said: “What we haven’t done for a while, even before Atlantis The Royal opened, is any major campaign for Atlantis The Palm. The property has just sort of been left to do its thing, but this year, we want to move the focus gently back to The Palm, as it really does need and deserve that attention. We want to make sure that we give the hotel the airtime it deserves.”

Atlantis The Palm is currently undergoing a “major” photoshoot in preparation for a campaign that will be rolled out later this year to remind and educate the trade about the property and the recent changes it has undergone. 

These include a $10 million-investment into the hotel’s immersive aquarium space The Lost Chambers, which is set to be completed before the end of September.

“Any refurbishment work always must be done by October 1, so we’re ready for the UK half-term,” Walsh added. 

This development follows the $10-million refurbishment of Atlantis The Palm’s kids’ club, which was unveiled in December as “the biggest in the Middle East”. The brand also has plans to expand its Aquaventure waterpark to help cement Atlantis The Palm’s status as “the ultimate family destination in Dubai”.

Walsh also detailed plans to make Atlantis The Royal more family-friendly, including the knocking down of walls to convert more rooms into family suites, which took place last year.

He said: “We never assumed Atlantis The Royal would take as much family business as we’ve got, but there is a lot of young families that are in quite wealthy positions, and they all want to be at Atlantis The Royal. So we’ve had to change our services to make sure these kids aren’t just sitting in the Royal Club Lounge getting bored.”

Part of this strategy involves allowing children staying at Atlantis The Royal to attend the kids’ club at Atlantis The Palm. This is something Atlantis Resorts’ president Paul Baker, who took over in September last year, is focused on, as he “wants to make sure this is a proper integrated resort across both properties”.

Walsh also hailed the success of Atlantis Dubai’s most recent New Year’s Eve celebration, which was the brand’s biggest-ever of its kind. It invested $10 million into the event’s expansion, introducing 16 new Sky Suites for guests to enjoy the festivities, which included a live performance from Lionel Richie.