Travellers passing through Dubai International Airport can now take home a little more of the UAE. The Emirati District, a retail space for young Emirati businesses inside the airport, has opened its second wave, with six new brands joining the line up.
The district sits in Terminal 3, between Concourse B and C, where passengers from around the world pass through every day.
The Federal Youth Authority runs the initiative with the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative and Dubai Airports. It gives young entrepreneurs a shop window in one of the busiest airports on earth, along with training and a route into international markets.
For small brands that usually sell online or at local markets, that kind of footfall is hard to buy.
Six new brands, from Liwa dates to wooden puzzles
The six brands cover fragrances, skincare, dates, gifts and educational products. AllOver makes perfumes inspired by Emirati heritage, while Kharayef Altomour offers premium dates grown in the Liwa region.
The Noor Creative produces locally designed gifts and accessories that reflect Emirati identity, and Teeb Perfumery blends traditional Emirati fragrance influences with contemporary styles.
JUVE is a skincare brand that uses ingredients such as Sidr honey, frankincense, myrrh and dates. SANAA offers wooden puzzles and craft experiences inspired by Emirati culture.
Products from the Emirates Council for Balanced Development are also on sale, bringing traditional crafts, perfumes, dates, food and household goods to travellers passing through the airport.
For travellers, the appeal is simple. The products are made in the UAE, they travel well, and they say something about the place the traveller just visited.
A box of Liwa dates or a bottle of Emirati perfume works as a gift in a way a generic airport souvenir never does, and every sale carries a small piece of the country’s craft economy a little further around the world.
How the six brands were chosen
The six projects were selected through a joint evaluation process involving the Federal Youth Authority, Dubai Airports’ commercial team and the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative. The judges looked at each brand’s connection to Emirati culture, whether its products suited travellers and an airport shop, and whether the business was ready to trade in that environment.
Khaled Al Turki, Projects and Marketing Manager at the Fatima Bint Mohamed Bin Zayed Initiative, said the brands were chosen because they combine authenticity with quality products that can compete in an international market. That focus matters: an airport shop is not a museum, and products have to sell to people who may never have heard of the brand before.
A second wave built on the first
The first wave of the Emirati District opened in January 2025 with four projects: Amadal, Mira Farms, Nuwa and From the Arabs. Khalid Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Director of the Federal Youth Authority, said the second wave builds on that first group’s experience and supports young business owners in reaching new markets.
Some of the first wave brands have already expanded internationally, which suggests the airport shop window does what it promises.
Majed Al Joker, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Airports, described the airport as a platform for presenting Emirati culture and enterprise to a global audience. The initiative is part of a strategic partnership between the three organisations to strengthen youth entrepreneurship and promote national products, and it supports the goals of the National Youth Agenda 2031.
What the Emirati District means for young Emirati makers
The Emirati District matters because it solves the hardest problem for a small maker: being seen by the right people. A good product sold only online depends on advertising budgets and algorithms.
The same product sitting in Terminal 3 gets seen by travellers who are already in a spending mood and looking for something to take home. That is a genuine advantage, and it costs the maker nothing in rent they could not afford.
The test for the second wave is whether airport sales turn into lasting customers. A traveller who buys a bottle of perfume or a box of dates needs a way to buy again from home, or the sale stays a one off.
The brands that pair this shop window with a simple online store and a story worth remembering will get the most from it. If they do, the district will keep doing what it was built for: turning small Emirati businesses into names travellers carry home.
