Dubai reopens to international tourists

Dubai started welcoming tourists from around the world on Tuesday following nearly four months.

The first flights carrying overseas tourists landed at Dubai International Airport shortly after midnight.

A video posted by Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) on Instagram showed that the travellers were adhering to guidelines such as social distancing and wearing masks and gloves while clearing immigration formalities.

Travellers who present Covid-19 negative tests – taken at least 96 hours prior to departure – will not require to remain in quarantine upon landing in Dubai. Those who are unable to get screened prior to departure will have to take the test upon landing and remain in isolation until the results are confirmed as negative.

Passengers arrived from destinations including London, Cairo and Amsterdam.

The combined efforts of the UAE’s leadership, government and tourism sector stakeholders as well as @DubaiAirports, @emirates and flydubai have resulted in the World Travel and Tourism Council @WTTC recognizing Dubai as a safe destination, giving the city a Safe Travels stamp 2/2

— HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (@HHAhmedBinSaeed) July 7, 2020

Airports in Dubai were closed to international visitors in late March as part of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Some of the measures in place for foreign tourists include:

– Fill the ‘Health Declaration Form’ before embarking

– Ensure they have a valid health insurance (that covers Covid-19 treatment) before they enter the UAE

– Download the Covid-19 DXB app and register their details on it

Helal Al Marri, Director General of @DubaiTourism, speaks to @CNN as #Dubai welcomes back international tourists from today, provided they take a COVID-19 test at the airport or ahead of time and follow health and safety protocols to safeguard all in the city. pic.twitter.com/yPIftDVY8o

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 7, 2020

Speaking to CNN, Helal Al Marri, director general of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) confirmed that he expects tourism to pick up gradually.

“Countries are opening up, albeit slowly but I do expect a lot of countries to open up over the course of the summer. As we come into the fall and the winter, travel will normalise, albeit within this Covid situation. You know, once we look through that, to post-Covid, things — we’re expected to come back to normal. This is an event. There’s not a systemic issue with travel overall. People still really want to go on holiday. We can see that from the searches online and from the demand,” he said.