Khaweeni
Guided cultural toursExplore the country's most important landmarks with an Emirati guide who turns places into stories — a journey rich in heritage, values, and culture.
Explore guided tours →
The cultural layer of UAE tourism
Hayak connects visitors with young Emirati guides, families, food, desert gatherings, and real hospitality — so every trip becomes a memory, not just a visit.
Why Hayak exists
Many visitors arrive excited, but their journey stays limited to malls, towers, and commercial tours — a transactional tourist trap. Hayak opens a deeper door: to the people, values, flavours, stories, and warmth behind the places.
Visitors see the UAE through a commercial lens and miss its local heritage and daily life.
First-time visitors struggle to connect with local people and reach genuine experiences.
Young Emiratis need a platform to share their knowledge, guide visitors, and earn income.
Travel should be more than photos — it should become a story worth telling.
The four pillars
A human-led platform connecting visitors with young Emirati guides, cultural hosts, families, and local experts.
Explore the country's most important landmarks with an Emirati guide who turns places into stories — a journey rich in heritage, values, and culture.
Explore guided tours →Desert trips with Emirati hospitality — coffee, dates, stories, and winter nights under the stars. A heritage adventure that leaves a lasting impression.
Discover Kashta →Taste Emirati dishes and discover the most-loved foods of the UAE — with the story behind every flavour, shared by local experts.
Taste Emirati cuisine →Support and quick help for first-time visitors — directions, translation, cultural guidance, and a trusted hand whenever you need it during your stay.
Get visitor support →How it works
Choose your language, visit dates, interests, travel style, and group size.
Hayak suggests the experiences that fit your preferences, the season, location, and availability.
See the guide's profile, safety notes, price, timing, and meeting point — all clear before you commit.
Meet your guide or host, enjoy the experience, ask questions, and leave your memory behind.
Featured experiences
What makes us different
Unlike global aggregators, Hayak is built around the people of the UAE — with a social mission and technology that keeps human connection at the centre.
Curated and led by young Emirati citizens for unparalleled authenticity — not generic operators.
Guides, food, desert, and support in one ecosystem — a holistic immersion beyond simple booking.
Empowering youth and families and promoting tolerance — a differentiator that resonates with partners.
Built in Swift for seamless, accessible, multilingual delivery of coordinated cultural experiences.
Traction & impact
Hayak tracks outputs, outcomes, and long-term social impact — from visitor satisfaction to family income, cultural knowledge, and the image of the UAE.
Meet Mansour
Mansour is Hayak's Emirati AI companion — a curious 8-year-old who loves showing visitors around his country. He speaks seven languages and chats in the Emirati dialect, so help always feels local, warm, and easy. Ask him about experiences, culture, or planning your trip — any time.
Culture, safety & ethics
In Hayak, technology is a tool, not the goal. AI serves people — it never replaces their warmth.
Minimum data, explicit consent, and alignment with UAE personal-data protection.
Cultural stories and information are reviewed by qualified people before publishing.
Guides are vetted, with clear standards and booking records for every experience.
Human-in-the-loop, transparent sources, and no fully automated sensitive decisions.
Clear booking standards, secure handling, and support channels you can reach.
Respect for UAE values, image rights, and intellectual property — with no distortion.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — Founding Father of the UAE
Our compass
“There is no good in a person who does not wish for others the good he wishes for himself.”— Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan · Founding Father of the UAE
This is the spirit Hayak is built on. On Zayed's land, tolerance and coexistence are lived every day — and every Hayak experience is a small act of that same welcome: opening our homes, our table, and our stories to people of every background.
The story
Hayak began during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, sparked by encounters with visitors experiencing the UAE for the first time — and the way Emirati hospitality stayed with them. It combines AI, programming, design, and community service, built by graduates of Apple's Swift Accelerator.
AI engineering student · programmer · graphic & UX design
AI engineering student · programmer · app development
The road ahead
Validate product-market fit with a focused launch and our first guides.
Expand experiences, guides, and languages across the seven emirates.
Use the UAE as a blueprint to bring the cultural layer to the wider Gulf.
Carry authentic, citizen-led cultural tourism to international destinations.
Milestones include 100 accredited guides and specialized Hayak Routes (food, heritage, nature), new languages with voice guidance, and targeted partnerships with the Department of Culture & Tourism and the Arab Youth Center.
Whether you're visiting, guiding, hosting, or partnering — Hayak welcomes you among its people.
Tell us about yourself and we'll be in touch.
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