Dubai opens to tourists with virus all-clear
BRITISH tourists will soon be able to holiday in Dubai again, as the UAE prepares to relax one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
From July 7, tourists will be able to travel to Dubai, but they will have to meet stringent conditions.
About 1.5million Britons visit the UAE every year, but the Covid-19 lockdown led to an almost complete shutdown of the tourist destination, with just a handful of flights repatriating citizens to their home countries.
Visitors will now have to get themselves tested for Covid-19 no more than 72 hours before their flight, privately in the UK, and arrive in the Emirates equipped with a certificate showing they have swabbed negative – or they will face testing and self-quarantine on arrival.
They will also be made to download the government’s tracing app to their mobile phone. Those who fail to observe the rules could see their holiday costs increase drastically – failing to download, or register, the app could result in fines of up to 10,000 Emirati dirhams (£2,200). Flouting social distancing rules or forgetting to wear masks in public can invite penalties of up to 3,000 Emirati dirhams (£662).
Visitors will have to be able to prove they have full medical insurance. If they catch the virus while on Dubai’s beaches, they will be liable for quarantine and treatment costs, charges which can run well into the thousands of pounds.
Though the UAE was not included in the list of mooted “air-bridge” destinations – countries those from the UK will be able to visit without having to self-quarantine for two weeks on return – Dubai authorities are confident that will soon change.
The city’s beaches and bars are beginning to reopen. The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, reopened last month, and Atmosphere, the restaurant on its 122nd floor, is now taking bookings.
However, the £2,500 per night, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab – the world’s only sevenstar hotel, remains closed.
Flight Centre told Sunday Telegraph the number of searches for holidays to the destination had doubled.