São Paulo – Living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since June, journalist Laíla Cruz Fuentes built the website Destino Dubai (www.destinodubai.com.br) for Brazilians that live or are traveling to the Emirates and want to find tips in Portuguese about places and habits of the country.
Fuentes moved to Dubai after her husband received a job offer in the city. When the move became final, she started to look for information about life in the Emirates but found very little in Portuguese. That’s when she saw an opening to create her own project.
“It’s a website focused on touristic news and curiosities about Dubai. I had a lot of trouble finding information directed to the Brazilian audience, even with the growing number of Brazilians visiting the Emirates”, said the journalist. Destino Dubai took four months to build and is online since October.
All the website’s news pieces are written by Fuentes and edited by Bel Freire, another journalist living in São Paulo. The texts take on subjects like sightseeing, shopping, gastronomy, accommodation, nightlife, transport and visa procedures, among others.
“I have been to the majority of places that appear on the texts so I can give my impressions”, she says. “My job is to go through these experiences so I can give real directions to people”.
According to Fuentes, Dubai has “several activities that people don’t know about”, and gives as example a parade of luxury cars that, according to her, is traditional in the Emirates but little-known by the tourists. “I want to show to Brazilians the cool offbeat stuff”, she says.
Another example given by her is the Burj Al Arab, a sail-shaped hotel that is one of the main tourist attractions in Dubai. “You can go to the Burj Al Arab to visit without staying. You can go for a coffee, which is fairly priced”, she says.
But the tip that she wished to have received before going to the Emirates is the difference among taxi cabs. “When you arrive at the airport, you find the traditional and the luxury cab, and the price difference is huge, around 30%”, she says.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
