Yas Island has undergone a dramatic transformation since Ferrari World opened as the island’s first theme park in 2010. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Attendance at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island theme park hub rose 63% to a record 44 million visits over the decade ending in 2025, fueled by a series of new openings such as SeaWorld and Warner Bros. World, according to recent data.
Ferrari World, the inaugural theme park on the man‑made island, opened its doors in 2010 and quickly became a global draw for thrill‑seekers, largely due to Formula Rossa, the world’s fastest‑launch roller coaster. Three years later, Yas Waterworld debuted, offering a blend of classic slides and innovative ride experiences. Yas Island’s portfolio of world‑class parks now stands as an industry leader, with upcoming Disney‑ and Harry Potter‑themed attractions on the horizon.
Beyond its theme parks, Yas Island offers a marina, an arena, a mega‑mall featuring more than 370 retailers, upscale hotels, beaches, a motorsport circuit, CLYMB – the world’s tallest indoor climbing wall – and a golf course that hosts a PGA European Tour event. This varied mix of attractions creates a compelling draw.
Yas Island welcomed 27 million visitors in 2016, with growth accelerating two years later following the launch of Warner Bros. World.
Just as Yas Island was gaining momentum, the pandemic arrived—but it failed to curb the destination’s growth. The WB Abu Dhabi, the world’s first Warner Bros.–themed hotel, opened in 2021, a development previously highlighted by a colleague in the Daily Telegraph. Two years later, Yas Island unveiled its most ambitious project yet: SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, which features the world’s largest LED screen and a state‑of‑the‑art ride, as reported by this author.
The WB Abu Dhabi, the world’s first Warner Bros.–themed hotel, opened on Yas Island in 2021.
MSM
Attendance jumped by a striking 36.5% to 34 million in 2023, and the upward trajectory persisted into 2024, when the total reached 38 million—showing no signs of slowing.
In 2025 Yas Island experienced a record‑breaking summer, posting a 15% year‑on‑year rise in visits and an average hotel occupancy of 85%. Visitor numbers surged from key markets—up 31% from China, 86% from Russia, and 47% from the United Kingdom—partly driven by the island’s inaugural advertising campaign in London, which I covered in City A.M.
This momentum pushed total attendance to 44 million in 2025, underscoring Yas Island’s enduring appeal as visitors kept flowing through its turnstiles even amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
As the report notes, shortly after the conflict erupted, Miral—the government‑backed leisure operator that manages Yas Island—acted swiftly by reintroducing annual park passes to stimulate domestic tourism and offset flight cancellations by international carriers.
Yas Waterworld reached capacity upon the opening of its new slide tower in April.
MSM
This strategy filled Yas Island’s parks to capacity during the conflict’s peak. Indeed, when Yas Waterworld unveiled its new slide tower in April, it hit full capacity by early afternoon on opening day. Over a long weekend at the end of the following month, park and CLYMB attendance was 32% higher than the previous year, while on‑site hotels achieved 92% occupancy at an average daily rate of $347.99 (AED 1,278).
Even during the height of summer, when temperatures climbed above 110 °F, Yas Island’s hotels remained full. Miral’s pioneering CEO, Mohamed Al Zaabi, recently told CNN that average occupancy across its properties stood at 85% in August, with the WB Abu Dhabi hitting 92%.
As I have reported, Miral’s winning formula leaves no stone unturned, ensuring each new attraction surpasses its predecessor. This approach enabled Warner Bros. World to become the first Middle Eastern theme park featured in the Themed Entertainment Association’s Global Attractions Attendance report, drawing 1.4 million visitors in 2023. The latest TEA figures show attendance grew to 1.6 million in 2024, ranking it just behind SeaWorld, which recorded 1.8 million.
The parks serve as global beacons for the island, drawing residents to its properties, shoppers to the mall, and businesses to the commercial park. This creates a fresh revenue stream for Abu Dhabi and helps diversify the economy away from fossil fuels—once the cornerstone of its wealth but now dwindling. Consequently, theme parks are the crown jewel of Abu Dhabi’s diversification plan, which targets 39.3 million visitors and 178,000 jobs by 2030. Miral’s relentless pursuit of excellence suggests it has discovered the formula to meet these goals.
Additional reporting by Chris Sylt