São Paulo – Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, relaxed COVID-19 control rules for the hospitality sector. Since last Monday (17), hotels can return to full occupancy, something that has not been allowed since the outbreak of the pandemic. The news is from the Arabian Business news website.
The CEO of the emirate’s government tourism agency (Dubai Tourism), Issam Kazim, said it is the right time to allow this resumption. The statement was made during the Arabian Travel Market travel and tourism show, which started this Sunday (16) in Dubai and runs until May 19, in a hybrid format, with online events and a face-to-face show at the Dubai World Trade Center. “We can sense that demand is there globally, you can just imagine the anticipation people are having not being able to travel for such a long time,” said Kazim.
In the photo above, a visitor at the Arabian Travel Market show.
In addition to full hotel occupancy, Dubai also allows ten diners per table in restaurants and six in cafes, another increase in the previously established limits of seven and four people, respectively, as pandemic restrictions continue to ease. Brunches have also returned, and the bars are opening again for a trial period of one month, which started this Monday.
With the new guidelines, social and institutional shows and events can also return, as long as all the people involved are vaccinated. Wedding parties are allowed again, with a maximum capacity limited to one hundred people. For wedding celebrations at home, the maximum capacity is thirty people.
For Issam Kazim, the announcement was another step forward on a long journey of resumption since lockdown in March 2020. He affirms that the upturn of business is something as a priority for the emirate as the guarantee of being a safe destination.
In May 2020, Kazim announced that a local plan for domestic tourism was implemented, which was rigorously tested until in July international travel was allowed. “We’ve seen numbers grow since then, and I think now we’ve got to the stage where we feel comfortable, we feel safe, and we feel confident enough to know that we can now start getting more and more people in,” he said.
Regarding the return of shows and live entertainment to Dubai’s nightlife, Kazim said that the life of residents and tourists in the emirate is returning to “normality”, but with much more cleanliness and care. The use of masks and alcohol gel is still required, and he emphasized that the vaccination program is a pivotal part of this resumption.
Kazim praised the hospitality industry for working hand in hand with the government to revive tourism. “Dubai has always been built on a private-public relationship, and that has been the true key to Dubai’s success,” he said.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
