Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and Google have launched Map Your Dubai: Insider Edition, a campaign designed to channel community-driven discovery into real foot traffic for the city’s homegrown food and beverage businesses.
The initiative was announced at an exclusive Breakfast Club event held at the Etihad Museum, attended by Ahmad Al Room Almheiri, CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), along with senior officials, culinary entrepreneurs, and regional food content creators.
“Map Your Dubai: Insider Edition empowers Google Local Guides to transform their authentic city knowledge into a powerful community movement. We are driven to enable, support small and homegrown F&B businesses by equipping them with tools they need to stay competitive and reach new audiences. We are deeply committed alongside Dubai Department Economy and Tourism to support the region’s F&B business sector,” Anthony Nakache, Managing Director at Google MENA said in a statement.
Eleven Google Maps Local Guides – long-term Dubai residents with levels ranging from 7 to 8 on the platform – have each assembled a personal list of restaurants, cafés, and dining experiences worth visiting. Together, the lists cover close to 100 homegrown venues, from neighbourhood cafeterias to tucked-away dining concepts across the city.
The public can now browse all eleven lists through the official campaign portal, save venues directly to their Google Maps accounts, and cast a vote for their favourite. Voting opens June 22 and closes July 6, with the winning guide recognised across official channels.
The guides span a range of backgrounds. Omar Shalash is a corporate banker in DIFC whose Google Maps contributions have accumulated more than 10 million views.
Pallavi Sangtani is a freelance travel writer who has eaten at more than 120 Michelin-starred restaurants across 35 countries. Ahmed Ali El-Shorty is a regional business director who has spent eight years reviewing everything from Al Sufouh cafeterias to Umm Suqeim harbour shacks.
Jay Mathur works in infrastructure by day and argues Dubai is one of the few cities where a two-dirham karak in Karama and a theatrically plated DIFC dinner are equally legitimate options.
The campaign sits under From Dubai, For Dubai, DET’s broader community movement supporting local businesses, people, and ideas. It builds on previous DET-Google collaborations and is explicitly framed as a contribution to the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33.
“The Map Your Dubai initiative reflects what makes Dubai distinctive: a city shaped by the diversity of its people, cultures, businesses, and experiences, and strengthened by the partnerships that bring them together. Through From Dubai, For Dubai, and in collaboration with Google, we are building on Dubai’s long-standing approach to community-led storytelling, from #MyDubai to MyDubai Communities, where residents, creators, and visitors play an active role in shaping the narrative of the city. This initiative also builds on previous collaborations with Google to highlight Dubai’s offering through digital discovery and community participation. It is a strong example of how public-private collaboration, digital platforms, and local voices can translate discovery into real economic value for Dubai-based businesses. By increasing visibility for local F&B concepts and homegrown brands, Map Your Dubai reinforces Dubai’s position as a global gastronomy hub and the best city to visit, live, and work in, while supporting long-term resilience and sustainable growth aligned with the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33,” Ahmad Al Room Almheiri, CEO of Dubai SME added.
