Established in 2017
About Meet The Locals
Meet The Locals brings you closer to the UAE through authentic experiences rooted in Emirati culture, traditions, and stories. Our experiences are thoughtfully designed to create meaningful connections with the people, places, and heritage that make the UAE unique—going beyond what you see to discover the stories behind it.
Our Approach
What Makes Our Experiences Unique
Our experiences are shaped by a genuine Emirati perspective and designed to bring culture to life through stories, flavours, traditions, and personal interaction.
Whether sharing a meal, uncovering lesser-known stories, creating traditional scents, or learning local customs, guests are encouraged to participate, ask questions, and connect—turning every experience into something more personal, engaging, and memorable.
Our Vision
To transform the way people experience the UAE, ensuring every visitor has the opportunity to discover the country not simply as a destination, but through its people, culture, traditions, and stories.
Our Mission
To create authentic, engaging, and thoughtfully designed cultural experiences that bring people closer to the UAE. Through local stories, meaningful interactions, and hands-on discovery, we connect our guests with the people, places, and traditions behind the destination—turning every experience into an opportunity to understand, participate, and connect.
What Guides Us
Our Values
Authenticity
We create genuine experiences that go beyond the surface, bringing guests closer to real stories, traditions, and ways of life.
Cultural Respect
We share Emirati culture with care and respect while creating a welcoming environment where guests from all cultures feel comfortable, valued, and included.
Meaningful Connection
We believe the most memorable experiences come from meaningful connection. We create opportunities for guests to engage, ask questions, share, and connect in a personal way.
Storytelling
We believe every place, tradition, and custom has a story worth discovering. We go beyond what can be seen to reveal the meaning and memories behind it.
Thoughtfully Crafted Experiences
Every detail matters. We thoughtfully design each experience to be engaging, memorable and culturally meaningful—bringing traditions, stories and knowledge to life in fresh and participatory ways.
Trust & Transparency
We build lasting relationships through honesty, clear communication, and reliability—with our guests, partners, clients, and communities.
Meet the Founder
Khadija Behzad is an Emirati tourism entrepreneur, cultural ambassador, and the Founder & CEO of Meet The Locals.
Driven by a passion for travel, culture, and human connection, Khadija founded Meet The Locals in 2017 around a simple yet powerful belief: the best way to truly discover a country is through its people.
The idea was born from something she saw first-hand. While millions of people visit and live in the UAE, many have limited opportunities to connect with Emiratis and experience the culture beyond the familiar sights. Khadija set out to change that—creating a bridge between visitors and local culture through authentic stories, traditions, food, and meaningful human interaction.
Her journey has also been one of breaking new ground. Khadija was recognised among the Emirati Women Achievers and became the first Emirati woman to obtain a safari guide licence. Through Meet The Locals, she has helped introduce visitors from more than 80 countries to Emirati culture.
