Travelore News: Dubai's Landmark Burj Al Arab Hotel Will Shut For 18-Month Refurb Amid Tourism Decline

Luxury hotel Burj Al Arab in Dubai will shut during a major 18-month renovation, a ​staff member confirmed, its first since ‌opening in 1999 and at a time when tourism in the region has slowed due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

The ​hotel's owner Jumeirah said in a statement on ​Tuesday the work would be carried out in ⁠phases over some 18 months and would be ​led by Paris-based interior architect Tristan Auer. It did ​not specify that the property would be closed during the renovation.

The staff member said the hotel is offering alternative accommodation ​in nearby hotels to guests with bookings during ​the work. The period of closure is subject to change, the ‌person ⁠said.

The sail-shaped hotel, one of Dubai's best-known landmarks and the flagship property of the Jumeirah group, suffered some damage when debris from an interception of an Iranian ​drone attack hit ​its facade ⁠in early March.

The "long-awaited" work is not linked with the incident in March, the ​employee said. The United Arab Emirates-based Jumeirah did ​not ⁠link the project to the war in its statement.

The timing, however, is notable because the conflict has hurt ⁠travel to ​Dubai, with flight disruptions affecting the ​UAE and luxury groups warning of pressure on profits as visitor demand weakens.

Reporting ​by Mireia Merino; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Keith Weir

The World’s Tallest Hotel Has Just Opened In Dubai

Dubai has a new record-breaker on its skyline — almost by accident. The world’s tallest hotel, Ciel Tower, has officially opened, stacking 377 meters of glass and ambition above Dubai Marina. Its height was never planned — it grew unexpectedly as blueprints were torn up and redrawn.

The building features a large void known as the "eye of the needle," which helps it cope with high winds. Ciel Dubai

“We knew we wanted to build something spectacular,” says Rob Burns, CEO of project developer The First Group. “But we certainly didn’t plan on building the tallest hotel in the world.”

Despite its record proportions, Ciel’s creators were still forced to think small. The whole structure rises from a footprint of about 3,600 square meters, or about 40,000 square feet —a little smaller than a professional soccer pitch. Not exactly tiny, but a tiny sliver in Dubai terms.

That meant the tower’s architect, Yahya Jan, needed to show constraint and rely on some clever tricks.

It’s a tower built for spectacle that keeps having to remember the size of its own footprint. Almost everything inside ends up shaped by the tiny plot that launched this accidental record.

The entrance, for example, is luxurious but not quite what you’d expect from a Dubai record-breaker. You walk in anticipating something grand — large enough to host a convention or festooned with statues and water features. Instead you get soft lighting, curved lines and the sense of a space designed by someone who appreciates how little there is of it.

“It was a very challenging project for us,” Jan says. “It’s an irregularly shaped property. For a tower of this size the property could have been bigger. But I always say, you do your best work when you are challenged the most.”

The lobby, in other words, is compact because it has to be. The grandeur is deferred upward, unveiled floor by floor, until the moment when the building finally has enough altitude to get dramatic.

The rooms stick to this theme. They’re clean-lined, with neutral tones and smooth textures — modest compared to Dubai’s typically sprawling resort suites, but the floor-to-ceiling views of the Marina, Palm Jumeirah, and the Gulf do some heavy lifting. With 1,004 rooms across its 82 floors, however, the hotel enters a market already bursting with beds.

Burns is aware of the numbers. “I think a thousand rooms is definitely a challenge. And we knew that when we started,” he says. Still, he insists they’re “very, very bullish on the hospitality market,” with plenty to set the hotel apart. Like “360-degree views, the wonderful rooms, the amenities, the facilities.”

Higher up, Ciel’s signature flourish appears in the form of a void — something that Jan calls the “eye of the needle” — that’s there for function as much as design.
>br />Super-tall towers like Ciel must make a deal with the elements. The higher the building, the stronger the wind blows. Stand here even on a calm day and you can feel it funneling through the gap. “If you want the height that is great, but how can you shape the building to minimize the wind load? So, by having the cutout we let the wind go through the tower.”

The infinity pool on level 76 vanished into the sky. Ciel Dubai

A dozen atria punctuate the height, spaced six to eight stories apart, filled with trees and plants. They’re both aesthetic and practical, offering daylight, cooling and giving guests a place to gather.

What Jan calls “social community spaces where people can come together,” will be used for yoga and fitness sessions, or as restaurant overspill areas. “We’re vertically creating small parks,” he says — breaking up the tower into “smaller neighborhoods.” They also help with cooling and energy use, using computer-controlled glass louvers to “bring the sea breeze in.”

“Future towers are going to be different than towers of 50 years ago,” Jan says. “They’re going to be porous, you’re going to bring nature into these towers.”

Perhaps the most Dubai thing about Ciel is that they didn’t set out to build a record-breaker, it just sort of happened. They kept adding amenities and the building kept rising because there was nowhere else to put them.

It was Jan that informed them that they were drifting into record territory as the design edged within range of previous title-holder Gevora Hotel, also in Dubai, which stands at just over 356 meters.

“Yahya came to us and notified us, ‘hey guys, you’re close to building the tallest hotel in the world,’” says Burns. “And we said ‘wow, okay. Let’s make that happen.’”

Ciel’s dining and pool spaces follow the same logic as the rest of the tower, making the most of what’s available. The hotel spreads eight restaurants across its upper floors, with the UK-based Tattu brand occupying the most dramatic positions — the House of Dragon on 74, the House of Koi encircling the Skypool on 76, and the House of Phoenix perched in the Skylounge on 81, where the 360-degree views do most of the decorative work.

There are three pools, but the one that matters is the infinity pool on Level 76, placed inside the tower’s wind-channeling void. It isn’t large, but it doesn’t need to be when the visual trick is that the water seems to vanish straight into the sky.

Ciel is not Dubai’s most extravagant hotel. It doesn’t have the epic lobbies or the beachfront sprawl of the Palm resorts. But it shows what can happen when a city, more used to living it large, decides to show some restraint.

The public spaces are elegant without being excessive. The rooms are comfortable. And the views — especially from the upper floors and the sky pool — lend logic to the decision to build a 377-meter hotel such a relatively small patch of earth.

Ciel adds another shape to a skyline that rarely stays the same for long. Whether it holds the world-record title long is unclear. Dubai seems to see even its own superlatives as challenges.

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/bijan-hosseini

Flying Taxi Travel To Be As Easy As Ordering A Cab, Dubai Airshow Exhibitors Say

Air taxi vertiports will make travelling in the skies as easy as ordering a ride-hailing cab like an Uber, for a similar cost – that was a promise from exhibitors on the opening day of Dubai Airshow.

At an event historically dominated by airlines and private jets, the emergence of drones as a viable option for mass transport signalled a new era for commercial flight. Aerial taxi operators showed how passenger drone services will take shape in Dubai, ahead of a full commercial launch in 2026.

Passengers will soon be able to hail a drone to fly between Dubai International Airport, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Business Bay. Oliver Walker-Jones, head of marketing for Joby Aviation, said that was just the start of plans to build a nationwide network.

“We've got these four different take-off and landing points confirmed but that’s only the beginning,” he told The National. “We would like it to be much more widespread and we think there's great scope to build these in lots of different places.

“That means a more dense network in Dubai but it also is the opportunity to go further afield. We already have an arrangement with Ras Al Khaimah to work there, with Marjan Island an obvious choice.
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“Eventually, we would love to cover all the Emirates so we can move people back and forth everywhere. The real goal is flying between Dubai to Abu Dhabi at 320kph, in a straight line, with no traffic.”

In the exhibition centre at Dubai World Central, service operators gave visitors an insight into how a dial-and-fly service for drone travel would look in the near future.

After pick-up, passengers are given a unique bar code to access a vertiport departure lounge, before boarding a four-seater drone to beat the traffic and arrive at their destination in minutes.

Joby has a six-year exclusive arrangement with the Roads and Transport Authority to provide air taxi services in Dubai. The company will be the sole provider of aerial taxi services in the emirate, with US firm Archer Aviation looking to launch its four-seater Midnight passenger drone in Abu Dhabi.

It has yet to be established whether rival operators will be allowed to share vertiports but Mr Walker-Jones welcomed the competition to keep up with anticipated high demand, with passengers paying by the seat.

“This sector will grow and there will be plenty of operators and players all around the world,” he said. “This technology should work wherever there's traffic, so we see huge potential for lots of different companies to be successful in the field.

“For the initial pricing, we'll be looking at something similar to Uber Black pricing, with an ambition to get that down to something closer to the lower Uber categories over time. We're going to start small, with two or three vehicles but they'll be everywhere before you know it.”

Elsewhere at the air show, among the multibillion-dollar deals announced by commercial airlines, aviation technological advancements took centre stage.

While autonomous drones were displayed by Abu Dhabi defence company Edge, piloted service drones resembling an 'Iron Man' suit were displayed by Chinese construction firms to work on high-rise buildings.

Out on the airport’s runway, nestled among the dozens of airliners, private jets and helicopters, were military aircraft, including a JF17 Thunder owned by the Pakistan Air Force.

Meanwhile, Emirates announced a bumper deal for 65 new Boeing 777-9 passenger planes but it was the airline’s document-free, smart check-in corridor that turned heads.

A step-up from the smart gates used around the world, the smart corridor allows passengers to board flights without the need for showing a passport or boarding pass.

Once biometrics are registered via the Emirates app, using similar smartphone facial recognition software, the technology aims to improve passenger flow through the airport. The technology is already being used at first and business-class lounges in Dubai.

“What we are trying to do is to have all the passenger’s details in advance without them needing to show their documents at the gate,” an Emirates crew member said. “The aim is to make the passenger airport experience seamless, from arrival to take-off.”

https://www.thenationalnews.com/

British Airways Showcases The Future Of Its Lounges With Brand-New Openings In Miami And Dubai

British Airways is proudly celebrating the launch of its new lounge design concept with the opening of two new lounges on its global network, marking a significant step change in the airline’s premium offering.

Striking full-service bar in Miami lounge

Working in partnership with global architecture and design firm Gensler, these openings debut the flag carrier’s new design concept that will serve as the vision for future lounge developments.

Calum Laming, British Airways’ Chief Customer Officer, said: “We’re thrilled to be unveiling our new design concept with new lounges in both Miami and Dubai. These unique spaces have been created with our customers in mind and are the next step in our extensive lounge transformation plan. Whether they’re looking to relax, dine, work or enjoy a drink at the fully staffed bar, there’s something for everyone.

“We’re proud to bring our brand to life in these spaces, having blended our British originality with each destination’s unique character. This approach has allowed us to make the most of brilliant talents from around the world. We’re grateful to all the teams, both within British Airways and our partners, who’ve helped make our vision a reality. We are incredibly excited to welcome our customers to these new lounges.”

Rooted in hospitality, the new design concept establishes a cohesive architectural identity that connects British Airways lounges worldwide. Drawing inspiration from the airline’s heritage and the character of each destination, the spaces are designed to feel welcoming, intuitive, and restorative, creating moments of calm, connection, and delight for customers wherever their journey takes them.

Reflecting the airline’s playful side, ‘look-up’ moments feature across British Airways’ lounges, adding a touch of surprise to the experience. Upon arrival in Miami, for example, guests are greeted by a floor mural that, when viewed through the mirrored ceiling, reveals the words ‘London Calling’ as a homage to the airline's home.

MIAMI

This is the first time in decades that the airline has had its own lounge available to customers in Miami. Opening today, it spans 13,000 sqft, becoming the largest lounge outside of London solely operated by British Airways.

Located in Terminal E, directly above its departure gate, the space is a celebration of the airline’s British originality, charm and wit, combined with features that have taken inspiration from the city, such as its Art Deco design and iconic buildings. With large windows along its walls, this lounge has sweeping views across the airfield and makes use of the beautiful Miami skies and light. The airline used Miami-based contractors, such as TGA Consulting, Nunez Construction and Bermello & Ajamil architects, as well as US-sourced materials that reflect both quality and craftmanship.

Drinks with a view

A striking full-service bar serves as the focal point of the lounge and is carefully positioned in front of windows that flood the space with light. Experienced bartenders are on hand to craft a selection of classic cocktails and mocktails, including a Prickly Margarita – unique to this lounge - as well as a large range of spirits and beers, including local ale.

In the zone

Designed with versatility in mind, the layout of the lounge offers five distinctive zones that flow seamlessly into each other while offering individual spaces. In addition to the central bar, it includes a main dining space, focus pods, and a lowered central lounge with partitions for those looking for a private space.

Two shower suites and colourful striped washrooms, inspired by traditional Miami deck chairs, provide travellers with a refreshing reset, complete with a reception and amenities.

Britain meets Miami in the kitchen

The lounge features a self-serve dining area offering locally-sourced dishes that champion seasonal Miami produce with a British twist, all freshly prepared in the new state-of-the-art restaurant-style kitchen. Customers can expect local papaya and lacinato kale salad with toasted coconut and citrus honey vinaigrette, and seared South Florida flounder fish with lemon, Kalamata olives, fried capers and rice.

Concorde Dining Room

Guests travelling in First are invited to enjoy an elevated à la carte dining experience in the exclusive Concorde Dining Room. Alongside a more personalised service, the experience includes a range of dishes such as Wagyu beef strip loin with roasted trumpet mushrooms and a truffle reduction or roasted diver scallops. Champagne and English Sparkling Wine, including Pommery, Cuvée Louise 2005, is also available for guests.

DUBAI

Located in Terminal 1 at Dubai International Airport and spanning nearly 5,800 sqft, the new space offers customers an elevated experience that blends contemporary British design and the rich spirit of the UAE.

Brought to life by local contractor Al Tayer Stocks, the new space nods to traditional Middle Eastern style, featuring sweeping arches, patterned metal panelling, and mirrored walls that have taken inspiration from local architecture. A full-service bar acts as a focal point of the space as part of the new design concept.

A blend of British and Middle Eastern design

Customers are welcomed by a framed entrance leading into a space that balances warm hospitality and exclusivity. Artisanal finishes such as fluted marble, antique mirrored ceilings, and bespoke detailing create an inviting and sophisticated space.

The lounge’s ‘look-up’ moment is a chandelier framed by a mirrored ceiling in the main dining area, with the iconic British Airways speedmarque embedded above. Lighting and mirrors are used throughout to reflect light, bringing a sense of openness to the space.

Washrooms feature locally sourced geometric tiles, while seating incorporates British heritage fabrics, adding character and comfort.

Fusion of Middle Eastern flavours and British classics

The lounge has a dedicated self-serving dining area offering a range of options including an Arabic breakfast, mezze selection, cakes, and cheeseboard. Customers can indulge in a selection of premium Champagnes and English Sparkling wines, along with expertly crafted cocktails, such as a Dubai Chocolate Martini, and Bucks Free Fizz, made using fresh orange juice with Lyre's Classico Grande Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Wine.

Coffee Planet, a UAE-founded coffee brand renowned for its premium Arabica beans, is available along with Birchall, the airline’s new global British tea partner.

Concorde Dining Room

Customers travelling in First can also enjoy top notch service in the exclusive Concorde Dining Room, accessible via a dedicated entrance. The à la carte menu features Middle Eastern signature dishes such as Arabic mezze and sweet dessert, Umm Ali, and British Original favourites including the famous Concorde Wagyu burger and Scottish smoked salmon. This exclusive area features a variety of seating, from table, to bar, to armchair.

Ashley Dowell, Design Director, Senior Associate at Gensler, said: “We are honoured to have partnered with British Airways to carve the path for the global lounge concept being introduced around the world. Hospitality driven and inspired by the heritage of British Airways, combined with the rich vibrancy of each location, the lounges will reflect a global journey framed through a British lens. Welcoming, intuitive and bold, the new lounges offer a surprising retreat for travellers to relax, work and socialise in the midst of their travels.”

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts And SOL Properties To Debut Fairmont Residences Solara Tower Dubai

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a world-renowned luxury hotel brand within the Accor group, has partnered with SOL Properties, a leading developer in the UAE, to launch a standout private residence development, Fairmont Residences Solara Tower Dubai. Redefining luxury real estate in Downtown Dubai, the project is currently underway and is scheduled for completion by Q3 of 2027.

Fairmont Residences Solara Tower Dubai combines Fairmont's distinguished brand standards and global reputation in luxury hospitality with SOL Properties' vast expertise in luxury real estate to establish new benchmarks in upscale urban living. The development will include meticulously designed spaces, blending elegance and timeless opulence. With a wide array of spacious layouts and custom amenities, these residences represent the pinnacle of luxury lifestyle for today and tomorrow, with expansive terraces offering breathtaking views of the Burj Khalifa and the exquisite Dubai Fountain.

Ajay Bhatia, Founder and CEO of SOL Properties, said: "Alongside the team at Fairmont, we at SOL Properties are elated to provide a completely new standard of luxury living in Downtown Dubai. Our goal is to provide residents with exclusive amenities and personalised offerings, thereby setting a new precedent for comfort and convenience for our owners. By combining Fairmont's exceptional hospitality and thoughtful service with our integrated residential environment and attention to quality, this project is certain to offer residents unmatched lifestyle experiences."

In response to the evolving demands of urban homeowners, the residential project promises a suite of premium amenities and services. Residence owners will have exclusive access to Fairmont's wide range of integrated amenities, which include gourmet restaurants, private swimming pool, fitness centre, spa and wellness centre, offering a resort-like experience within the confines of their own home.
Omer Acar, CEO for Fairmont, commented: "We are delighted to continue bringing the Fairmont experience around the globe. Drawing on both Accor and Fairmont's long history and notable expertise in managing luxury branded residential, and working with leading developers and partners such as SOL Properties, we are able to deliver a living experience that is poised to truly redefine luxury residential in an already competitive market such as Dubai, or in other top destinations worldwide."

The project exemplifies the ongoing expansion and appeal of luxury living in Dubai, with the luxury residential real estate market projected to grow by more than 8 percent by 2029. Opening as the premiere luxury real estate in Downtown Dubai, Faimont Solara Tower reinforces Dubai's demand as a global destination, attracting high-net-worth individuals and investors seeking to diversify their portfolios with the city's strategic location and investor-friendly regulations.

Fairmont Residences Solara Tower Dubai joins a portfolio of 16 Fairmont-branded residences, each a sanctuary with the luxury of Fairmont and the privacy of home, from Mayakoba in Mexico, Rabat and Marrakech in Morocco, to Los Angeles in the USA. Globally renowned for the brand's expertise in luxury residential, Fairmont has another 22 projects in the pipeline. The project is supported by Accor One Living, an industry-first platform focused on the design and operation of innovative mixed-use hospitality solutions for a new generation of investors and homeowners.

Jeff Tisdall, Chief Business Officer, Accor One Living, said: "We are very proud to be partnering with SOL Properties on this landmark Fairmont branded residence development, a leading example of an exciting new generation of standalone private residences supported by Accor One Living. We are confident the ultra prime location, extensive private facilities for residence owners, and elevated residential living experience made possible by Fairmont, combined with SOL Properties' reputation for quality and luxury, will be very well received by homeowners."

About Fairmont

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is where the intimate equally coexists with the infinite – an unrivaled portfolio of more than 90 extraordinary hotels where grand moments of life, heartfelt pleasures and personal milestones are celebrated and remembered long after any visit. Since 1907, Fairmont has created magnificent, meaningful and unforgettable hotels, rich with character and deeply connected to the history, culture and community of its destinations – places such as The Plaza in New York City, The Savoy in London, Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont Banff Springs in Canada, Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, and Fairmont The Palm in Dubai. Famous for its engaging service, awe-inspiring public spaces, locally inspired cuisine, and iconic bars and lounges, Fairmont also takes great pride in its pioneering approach to hospitality and leadership in sustainability and responsible tourism practices. Fairmont is part of Accor, a world leading hospitality group counting over 5,600 properties throughout more than 110 countries, and a participating brand in ALL - Accor Live Limitless – a lifestyle loyalty program providing access to a wide variety of rewards, services and experiences. fairmont.com | all.accor.com | group.accor.com

About SOL Properties

Founded in 1974 under the patronage of the Bhatia Group, SOL Properties is a distinguished leader in the UAE's real estate sector, renowned for its luxury property developments. Over the past 50 years, SOL Properties has delivered over 250 transformative projects, encompassing exquisite residential developments, iconic commercial spaces, and luxury hotels. The company's diverse portfolio includes iconic projects across Dubai, such as Ocean House, Oakley Square, Hillside Villas, SOL Bay, and hospitality projects like The Dubai Edition, Downtown Dubai, and Radisson Beach Resort, Palm Jumeirah. SOL Properties' dedication to innovation and excellence shines through in every project, as they blend creative ingenuity with architectural brilliance to redefine luxury living and working environments. For more information, visit www.solproperties.ae

SOURCE Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Dhai Dubai: Stunning New Light Art Festival Featuring World-Class Lineup Launches At Expo City Dubai

Dhai Dubai, the first-ever Emirati-led light art festival, has launched its illuminating 10-day programme at Expo City Dubai. The event celebrates the rich artistic tapestry of Emirati talent through a series of awe-inspiring artistic projections, interactive installations, enlightening talks and creative workshops. The free-to-attend festival is created and organised by Expo City Dubai, in partnership with AGB Creative and Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and will run from January 26 to February 4.

Artists lighting up the inaugural event include Mattar Bin Lahej, known for designing the calligraphic façade on the Museum of the Future; pioneering artist Dr Najat Makki, honoured with the French Chevalier of Arts and Letters; Emirates Fine Arts Society co-founder Dr Mohamed Yousef; designer Abdulla Almulla, who participated in last year's London Design Biennale; multi-disciplinary artist Maitha Hamdan; esteemed designer Khalid Al Shafar, renowned for his collaboration with Louvre Abu Dhabi; and celebrated visual artist Reem Al Ghait.

Meanwhile, Al Wasl Plaza's iconic 130-metre-wide dome comes to life with a series of special projection shows titled Sisters of the Desert, inspired by the late Emirati artist, Dhabia Juma Lamlah, who produced more than 200 remarkable artworks despite not being able to use her right hand. Reflecting Dubai's spirit of multicultural collaboration, the show also features special guests, Australian artist Rene Kulitja and South African artist Dr Esther Mahlangu, who weave together a narrative of resilience and cross-cultural connectivity.

Dhai Dubai is supporting the Liter of Light initiative – a global grassroots movement – to provide high-quality solar lighting to people with limited to electricity in the floating images of Agusan Marsh in the Philippines. Festival visitors can also pledge to contribute toward Liter of Light's mission in communities across the Philippines, Kenya, Cameroon, and India.

For more information, please visit www.dhaidubai.com and sign up to receive updates.

Dubai’s Next Big Thing? Perhaps A $5 Billion Man-Made ‘Moon’ As The City’s Real Estate Market Booms

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Who says you cannot reach for the moon? A proposed $5 billion real estate project wants to take skyscraper-studded Dubai to new heights — by bringing a symbol of the heavens down to Earth.

Canadian entrepreneur Michael Henderson envisions building a 274-meter (900-foot) replica of the moon atop a 30-meter (100-foot) building in Dubai, already home to the world’s tallest building and other architectural wonders.

Henderson’s project, dubbed MOON, may sound out of this world, but it could easily fit in this futuristic city-state. Dubai already has a red-hot real estate market, fueled by the wealthy who fled restrictions imposed in their home countries during the coronavirus pandemic and Russians seeking refuge amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

And even though a previous booms-and-bust cycle saw many grand projects collapse, Henderson and others suggest his vision, funded by Moon World Resorts Inc., where he is the co-founder, might not be that far-fetched.

“We have the biggest ‘brand’ in the world,” Henderson told The Associated Press, alluding that the moon itself — the heavenly body — was his brand. “Eight billion people know our brand, and we haven’t even started yet.”

The project Henderson proposes includes a destination resort inside the spherical structure, complete with a 4,000-room hotel, an arena capable of hosting 10,000 people and a “lunar colony” that would give guests the sensation of actually walking on the moon.

The MOON would sit on a pedestal-like circular building beneath it and would glow at night. Henderson discussed the project at the Arabian Travel Market earlier in May in Dubai.

Already, artist renderings commissioned by Moon World Resorts have played with the location for his MOON — including at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building at a height of 828 meters (2,710 feet). Others have placed it at the Dubai Pearl, a long-dormant project now being destroyed near the man-made Palm Jumeirah archipelago, and on its unfinished sister, the Palm Jebel Ali.

The Pearl and the Palm Jebel Ali represent two “white elephant” projects left over from the 2009 financial crisis that rocked the sheikhdom and forced Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to provide Dubai with a $20 billion bailout.

Now nearly 15 years later, Dubai largely has turned around. Rents on average across Dubai are up 26.9% year-on-year, even with anti-price-gouging protections. Dubai saw 86,849 residential sales last year, beating a previous record of 80,831 from 2009.

“Dubai is in a completely different world compared to” 2009, said Lewis Allsopp, the CEO of the prominent Dubai real estate agency Allsopp & Allsopp. Launched products are “selling out on the spot.”

Inflation and interest rate hikes around the world have led to fears of a global recession. The UAE’s currency, the dirham, is pegged to the dollar, meaning it has followed lock-step the hikes imposed by the Federal Reserve.

But cash still remains king for Dubai buyers, with fourth-fifths of transactions paid in currency without financing in 2022, said Faisal Durrani, the head of Middle East research at real estate agency Knight Frank.

“You could argue that the interest rate hikes that are taking place, to an extent the market is a little bit shielded from that given the fact that so much of the transactional activity has been driven by cash,” Durrani said.

Other major projects are moving ahead.

Nakheel, the state-owned developer behind the Palm Jebel Ali, has relaunched development plans for it. The developer also unveiled a multibillion-dollar plan to build 80 resorts and hotels on the man-made Dubai Islands, though it remains largely empty and under the flight path of the nearby Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest for international travel.

The MOON project also includes space for a possible casino as well. Gambling remains illegal in the UAE, a federation of seven hereditarily ruled sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. However, major brands like Caesar’s Palace already exist or hope to build in Dubai. Wynn Resorts plans to build a $3.9 resort in Ras al-Khaimah north of Dubai with gambling to open in 2027 — meaning a change to the law is likely to come.

Like other high-profile, eye-catching marvels, the MOON could fit well into “the legitimacy formula of Dubai’s ruling elite,” said Christopher Davidson, a Middle East expert who wrote the recent book “From Sheikhs to Sultanism.” Dubai also hosts the UAE’s space center, which has sent a probe to Mars and unsuccessfully tried to put a rover on the moon.

“They can be seen as a non-democratic elite but nonetheless believe strongly in science and progress — and that’s ultimately very legitimizing and a megaproject like this would seem to tick all of those boxes,” Davidson said.

Henderson’s plan would go a step further than other globe-shaped projects, such as the MSG Sphere, a $2.3 billion dome blanketed by LED screens, that is set to open in Las Vegas later this year.

His structure would be fully spherical, and could be illuminated alternatively as a full, half or crescent moon.

The brightness may not go down well with potential neighbors — plans to build another MSG Sphere in London were halted after residents protested the significant light pollution and disruption the structure would cause.

“It’s hard to please everybody,” Henderson acknowledged. “You might need dark curtains.”

UAE Museum Unveils Torah Scroll That Survived The Holocaust In Tolerance Push

A private museum in the United Arab Emirates unveiled on Saturday a Torah scroll that survived the Holocaust, the latest sign of what Israel and its new Arab allies describe as a new approach to understanding Jewish history in the Middle East.

Ahmed Obaid Al Mansoori, founder of the Crossroads of Civilizations Museum in Dubai's historic district, said the display, unveiled for International Holocaust Remembrance Day would help combat "big denial" of the Holocaust in the region.

"For us peace is a complete peace," Al Mansoori said. "Many people have forgotten the Jews are part of the region. So here, we're trying to show ... the good days between the Jews and the Arabs in the past."

The scroll is on permanent loan to the museum from the Memorial Scrolls Trust, which looks after more than 1,000 Czech scrolls saved from the Holocaust and later sent to London.

"I lived in the Arab world when I was young, and the term Holocaust does not exist ... So this is a huge step," said Edwin Shuker, an Iraqi-Jewish businessman and vice-president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, who facilitated the loan.

Israel has reached out to promote understanding of Judaism among its new allies in the two years since the UAE and fellow Gulf state Bahrain, followed by Morocco and Sudan, forged ties with it under U.S.-brokered pacts known as the Abraham Accords.

The history of the killing of six million Jews by Nazi Germany is little taught in the Arab world, where some politicians say it was wrongly used to justify the creation of Israel in 1948 at the expense of Palestinian Arabs.

In the years that followed Israel establishment, Jews were expelled from Arab countries, with all of their assets and property taken without compensation. Approximately one million Jews lived in Iran and other Arab countries having arrived in the region more than 2,000 years before. It is estimated that only around 15,000 remain, as the majority of the Jewish population in Muslim lands were forced to flee their homes in the years following the establishment of the State of Israel. This mass expulsion and exodus is part of modern history, but inexplicably, it’s neither taught at schools nor remembered within the context of the conflicts in the Middle East..

The Emirati embassy in Washington, in a Twitter post earlier this month, said the UAE would include Holocaust education at schools, the first country in the region to do so.

"It's important to remember what happened. It's important to make sure that it will never happen again. And it's important to stand here together, all of us, Israelis, Emiratis and others in order to say: Not anymore," Israeli ambassador to the UAE, Amir Hayek, told Reuters on the sidelines of the museum event.

By Bushra Shakhshir

Dubai To Cash In On A World Cup A Short Flight Away

The FIFA World Cup may be bringing as many as 1.2 million fans to Qatar, but the nearby flashy emirate of Dubai is also looking to cash in on the major sports tournament taking place just a short flight away. Some soccer fan clubs have already said they’ll be commuting to Qatar during the cup on 45-minute flights from Dubai, the skyscraper-studded, beachfront city-state in the United Arab Emirates. Other fans plan to sleep on cruise ships or camp out in the desert amid a feverish rush for rooms in Doha. Dubai’s airlines, bars, restaurants, shopping malls and other attractions now hope to benefit, further boosting their rebounding tourism industry in the crucial fall and winter months after the blows delivered by the coronavirus pandemic. “If you can’t stay in Qatar, Dubai is the place you’d most like to go as a foreign tourist,” said James Swanston, a Middle East and North Africa expert at Capital Economics. “It’s somewhere safe, somewhere more liberal in terms of Western norms. It’s the most attractive destination.”

Now home to the world’s tallest building, cavernous malls — including one with an indoor ski slope — and thriving nightclub scene, Dubai has seen explosive growth fueled by its boom-and-bust real estate market that’s transformed the one-time pearling village over the last 20 years.

Its long-haul carrier Emirates helped make Dubai International Airport the busiest in the world for foreign travel and provides a steady stream of new visitors who stay for layovers or longer. And while still an autocratic sheikhdom like its other Gulf Arab neighbors, Dubai has a relatively more-liberal view on drinking and nightlife.

In the lead-up to the tournament, concerns about hotel room space and high prices for the rooms available have trailed Qatar, which lacks hotel capacity for all teams, workers, volunteers and fans at the World Cup. So Doha has created camping and cabin sites, hiring cruise ships, and encouraging fans to stay in neighboring countries and fly in for games.

Qatar has estimated it will have 45,000 hotel rooms for the tournament.

Surrounding nations, like Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, also suggest they could see a spike in visitors — even though Bahrain is the only among them that allows alcohol. Even Iran, months ago, suggested developing plans for World Cup tourists to stay on its Kish Island. Apparently, nothing came of the idea and now the Islamic Republic is gripped by nationwide protests.

Meanwhile, Dubai has over 140,000 hotel rooms, putting it easily into the top 10 destinations worldwide as far as available hotel rooms go, said Philip Wooller, a senior director at STR, a company that monitors the hotel industry. Dubai also offers price ranges greater than what Qatar can at the moment, given the demand, he said.

“I think Dubai is an incredibly eclectic city,” Wooller said. “You can buy a room for $100 or you can buy a room for $5,000.”

Still, he added, he expects “Qatar will be able to accommodate most of the fans coming to the World Cup (but) there will be a knock-on in Dubai.”

Dubai appears fully poised to take advantage of the tournament.

Its low-cost carrier, FlyDubai, plans as many as 30 round-trip flights a day during the World Cup, shuttling fans between Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central, or DWC, in the city-state’s southern reaches, to Doha International Airport, Qatar’s old main airport.

Other airlines that may use Al Maktoum airport include KLM, Qatar Airways and Wizz Air, while private jets will fly from there as well to the tournament, said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. That could help boost the profile of an airfield that Dubai hopes will expand in the future as Dubai International Airport nears its capacity.

“It’s a great experience for us to see DWC suddenly so busy for the World Cup,” he said. “It will give exposure to the convenience of the airport for so many people that (airlines may) actually favor operating from there.”

The expected economic boost from the World Cup for Dubai comes after its turnaround since suffering through the pandemic. It spent billions for its delayed Expo 2020 world’s fair — which largely attracted visitors already in the UAE.

Dubai, like much of the world, had a lockdown early in 2020. However, by July that year, it announced it was reopening for tourists. Though Dubai faced a surge of international criticism when cases spread from the emirate months later, around New Year, Dubai and the rest of the UAE widely rolled out vaccines.

The UAE dropped its mandatory mask policy about a month ago.

“Dubai is on a lot of people’s radars as one of the most phenomenal places to come and visit,” said Dennis McGettigan, the CEO of an eponymous empire of Irish bars in Dubai and elsewhere. “And I think the World Cup has added a layer” of desire to visit.

McGettigan said his bar business is already up as much as 40% on its sales, compared to 2019, something he linked to pent-up demand for socializing after the worst days of the virus. He said he’s overstaffed his locations and expects strong business through the tournament.

But McGettigan and others acknowledged headwinds Dubai faces in attracting World Cup tourists — the strong U.S. dollar. The Emirati dirham has long been pegged to the dollar, making a Dubai trip now more expensive for those using British pounds, euros and other currencies.

Other financial dangers also lurk for tourist-reliant Dubai, built on the promise of globalization.

“We still need to be cautious of global economic pressures, including rising interest rates, high oil and commodity prices, supply chain issues that are creating inflationary pressures which could impact Dubai’s economic recovery,” said Sapna Jagtiani of S&P Global Ratings.

McGettigan doesn’t expects that to be too much of a damper. His firm also will be organizing a massive fan zone venue in the grassy expanses of Dubai Media City, complete with musical performances, massive televisions and even a winter-themed area in Dubai’s desert environs.

“I, for one, am absolutely delighted to see everything back on full steam ahead and actually a little bit more,” he said.

By JON GAMBRELL

Juxtaposition: Opulent Resort Hosts Climate Summit In Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Middle East is the most water-scarce region in the world, but participants at an upcoming climate summit in Dubai will be ensconced in a resort with one of the world’s largest water parks, complete with artificial lagoons, encounters with dolphins and a mesmerizing aquarium with sharks, sting rays and schools of fish.

It’s a striking backdrop for a climate summit aimed at tackling lack of water and other pressing issues facing the region due in part to warming global temperatures from the very fossil fuels produced by Gulf Arab states and others. The Arabian Peninsula, where Dubai sits, is grappling with menacing sand storms, rising temperatures and dangerous humidity levels.

As major world powers vow to shift to greener forms of energy, oil producers Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates say they too will cut emissions within their borders, even as they vow to keep pumping oil and gas for export to fuel their economies.

Dania Cherry of Greenpeace MENA said it will not be easy for oil producers to transition away from fossil fuels.

“We understand it will take time, but we need to be more ambitious and we need to really do bigger steps on this,” Cherry said.

Across the Middle East, people are living with the impacts of climate change. Farmers in rural Egypt face severe water shortages along the Nile River. Millions of people in Syria and Iraq are at risk of losing access to water, electricity and food amid rising temperatures and record low water levels due to drought.

From the western Sahara in Morocco to the eastern stretches of the Persian Gulf in Iran, drought has sparked anger and street protests against the government. The World Bank has identified 11 countries in the region as among the world’s most water-stressed nations, including all six of the Gulf Arab energy producing states.

To discuss these challenges, the UAE is hosting a United Nations-backed climate summit next week. When people gather for MENA Climate Week, they’ll be exchanging business cards and ideas in the underwater-themed halls of Dubai’s landmark Atlantis hotel, a $1.5 billion resort that boasts the massive water park with aquariums and lagoons housing some 65,000 marine animals.

The stunning resort, which requires enormous amounts of fresh and desalinated water to maintain operations, is built on a man-made island so big it can be seen from space. To build Dubai’s palm-shaped island, more than 100 cubic meters (3,500 cubic feet) of sand were dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf and millions of tons of rocks were mined from the mountains. Environmentalists say building up so much coastline has exacerbated erosion of Dubai’s main coastline and destroyed turtle nesting sites in the area.

While the Atlantis on The Palm has numerous projects supporting conservation efforts, including a shark and stingray breeding and release program, the water-soaked backdrop to the climate action summit is jarring. The Atlantis Dubai declined to share information about its water usage with The Associated Press, referring instead to its marine conservation programs.

The opulence and luxury of the Atlantis, which is a major tourism draw for Dubai, also fits with the United Arab Emirates’ ethos that a sustainable future doesn’t mean a return to the past, but requires innovation to support economic growth and human prosperity.

The country is hosting the climate summit under its Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, a government body branded and tasked with ensuring the UAE remains ambitious and on track with its energy transition.

Still, Gulf Arab states have vowed to keep extracting oil and gas, arguing at global forums that fossil fuels are an integral part of the energy transition and cannot be phased out rapidly. They’ve called for hundreds of billions of dollars in annual investment in the oil and gas industry to keep up with global demand.

On the same day the climate summit opens, Dubai is hosting an energy forum elsewhere in the city with energy ministers and global oil executives to talk about energy demand and how the climate crisis is impacting energy markets.

Given the pace of climate change, said Mohammed Mahmoud, director of Middle East Institute’s Climate and Water Program. “I think it’s kicking the can down the road as they try to figure things out, but we may not have the luxury of time.”

This week, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued another dire warning, writing on Twitter: “We are sleepwalking to climate catastrophe.”

Cherry of Greenpeace said hosting the climate gathering in Dubai raises awareness about the effects of climate change on the region and puts the issue front and center. She cautioned, though, that it’s important the meetings are not “spreading propaganda” and actually tackling serious issues, as well as involving youth from the region.

According to World Bank data, the world’s top four carbon dioxide polluters per capita are all in the Persian Gulf: Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE. These countries not only face scorching hot summers, but amplified heat without nighttime reprieve due to higher levels of humidity. Heat stress is amplified when people do not have the chance to cool down at night. Warmer seas could also impact the intensity of cyclones and impact fishing and marine life.

While the U.N.-backed climate week is far from the first time the region hosts a summit to tackle global warming, it marks another step toward widening the global conversation around climate change and its impact. The U.N. says similar weeks are planned for Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific and Africa this year.

The Mideast will draw even more focus as host of the next two U.N. summits to assess progress on the Paris climate agreement, aimed at keeping global temperatures from rising to catastrophic levels.

That COP27 global gathering is taking place in November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt on the Red Sea coast, where rising temperatures have bleached coral reefs, threatening the ecosystem and local tourism industry that millions of Egyptians rely on. The event will be held in Dubai in 2023.
The region hasn’t hosted a COP meeting since 2012, when Qatar became the first Mideast country to hold the event.

UAE Sheikhdom To Allow Gaming As Wynn Resorts Plans Project

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — One of the seven sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates said Tuesday it will allow “gaming” while announcing a multibillion-dollar deal with Las Vegas-based casino giant Wynn Resorts.

The announcement by Ras al-Khaimah comes after months of rumors about gambling coming to the UAE, home to skyscraper-studded Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi. Islam, the religion of the Arabian Peninsula, prohibits gambling.

While the other emirates haven’t announced similar deals, casino operator Caesars Palace operates a massive resort already in Dubai — without gambling.

Initially, a statement issued by Wynn Resorts and Ras al-Khaimah authorities only referred to “gaming,” without elaborating. The emirate’s Tourism Development Authority repeatedly declined to answer questions from The Associated Press on whether “gaming” involved cash betting.

However, a statement from the authority said a new gaming division would require “compliance with all applicable laws and regulations (including financial crime laws) from operators, suppliers and employees.” It also would “ensure responsible gaming at all levels.”

Gaming is often used as a euphemism for gambling in the United States.

Michael Weaver, a spokesman for Wynn Resorts Ltd., referred questions back to regulators in Ras al-Khaimah. However, all of Wynn Resorts’ locations in Las Vegas, Macau and Massachusetts feature resorts built around their casino floors.

A filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday by Wynn Resorts said it entered an agreement with Ras al-Khaimah for “the development and subsequent management of an integrated resort.” The term “integrated resort,” born in Singapore, refers to a hotel that includes a casino and other amenities.
Wynn stock closed up nearly 2% to $86.46 a share in trading Tuesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market after the announcement. The casino industry as a whole has been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

A statement on the deal, also posted to Wynn Resorts’ website, included repeated mentions of “gaming” facilities at the site.

“The newly announced integrated resort is still in its early design phase and due for completion by 2026,” a followup statement from Marjan, the Ras al-Khaimah developer involved in the deal, said. “These are all the details that can be provided at this stage.”

Ras al-Khaimah is the northern-most emirate in the UAE, a federation in which individual autocratic rulers wield wide powers in their emirate. Ras al-Khaimah, or “the top of the tent” in Arabic, is ruled by Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi and is most-widely known for its eponymous RAK Ceramics company.

But Ras al-Khaimah has been trying to raise its profile for years in the tourism market, which is dominated by Dubai. It draws tourists from India, Russia, the United Kingdom and Egypt. It has liberal alcohol rules and an area focused on beach resorts, while also advertising outdoor activities around Jebel Jais, the highest point in the country at 1,934 meters (6,345 feet) above sea level.

The Wynn Resorts development is planned to be built on Ras al-Khaimah’s artificial Al-Marjan Island and will include around 1,000 hotel rooms, a mall, a convention center, restaurants and the “gaming area.”

J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff said that Wynn Resorts’ move into the UAE would mean “significant foreign direct investment” and would benefit from the UAE’s local population of 9 million — which includes a vast population of foreign workers.

“We look at this beach resort as a super-regional-more-than-just-gaming high-end resort with solid (return-on-investment) prospects,” Greff wrote in an analysis of the deal.

Gambling remains rare in the wider Mideast, with casinos only in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia.

Casinos long have been rumored to be considered as a way to raise money in the UAE and boost its tourism industry, particularly in Dubai, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates. Already, duty-free car raffles bombard those flying through Dubai International Airport.

A 2004 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks speculated that Dubai’s casino plans had “been put on ice due to deference” to the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the country’s first president after unification in 1971.

But in recent years, rumors about casinos kept growing. Britain’s famed ship the Queen Elizabeth 2 opened as a hotel in Dubai in 2018 after over $100 million of repairs. It still has its deactivated slot machines on board. Caesars similarly opened in 2018. Construction work is ongoing involving projects for casino firms MGM, the Bellagio and Aria.

However, casinos and the large amounts of cash they generate raise the danger of money laundering. Already, war profiteers, terror financiers and drug traffickers sanctioned by the U.S. in recent years have used Dubai’s real-estate market as a haven for their assets. Ras al-Khaimah also found itself linked to the case of an Alaska man who laundered $1 billion held in South Korea for Iran.

Chanel Shows Two-Tone Cruise Line To Eclectic Dubai Crowd

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The iconic French label Chanel drew throngs of guests and some celebrities to view the brand’s latest resort collection with a runway show in Dubai defined by stark two-tone pieces and an evening after-party Tuesday under a simple white canopy.

It marked the second time Chanel has held a runway show for one of its cruise collections in Dubai, a global hub and shopping mecca that beckons jet-setting fashionistas and style mavens to dress in their finest any time of the day without coyness or concerns of provoking a second glance.

Chanel Cruise 2021/22 collection by creative director Virginie Viard was first unveiled virtually in May due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it was shown to a live audience for the first time in Dubai. All guests in attendance had to prove COVID-19 vaccination or show a negative virus test.

The fashion for this collection was inspired by the label’s founder, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and her friendship with French filmmaker and visual artist Jean Cocteau. Specifically, the collection drew inspiration from a black and white experiential film Cocteau directed in 1960.

The ready-to-wear collection mirrored the era’s modern and punk sensibilities with pieces distinguished by leather, fringes, beads, sequins, and Chanel’s tweed suit pieces. A few of the bags from the collection also included fringe, as well as redefined details on the label’s quintessential black quilted leather style.

The shoes included pointed metallic-wedged Mary-Janes and mid-calf gold-tipped booties. Accessories included a black leather garter with a small attached purse emblazoned with Chanel’s double-C logo.

The fashion on the runway was matched only by the fashion off the runway as the show’s Chanel-clad guests, many of whom are loyal customers of the brand, sashayed through adjacent doors to the after-party, which featured a surprise performance by singer John Legend. Celebrities in attendance included actress Penelope Cruz and several Arabic-language movie stars. The diverse crowd of Lebanese, French, South Asian, Korean and others included many who had flown in for the event.

The blinged-out eclectic gathering stood in contrast to the pared down theme of rustic simplicity for the invites, runway aesthetic and after-party decor, drawn from the French countryside and convent of founder Chanel’s childhood.

At Dubai Airport, Travelers’ Eyes Become Their Passports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, can already feel surreal, with its cavernous duty-free stores, artificial palm trees, gleaming terminals, water cascades and near-Arctic levels of air conditioning.

Now, the key east-west transit hub is rolling out another addition from the realm of science fiction — an iris-scanner that verifies one’s identity and eliminates the need for any human interaction when entering or leaving the country.

It’s the latest artificial intelligence program the United Arab Emirates has launched amid the surging coronavirus pandemic, contact-less technology the government promotes as helping to stem the spread of the virus. But the efforts also have renewed questions about mass surveillance in the federation of seven sheikhdoms, which experts believe has among the highest per capita concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world.

Dubai’s airport started offering the program to all passengers last month. On Sunday, travelers stepped up to an iris scanner after checking in, gave it a good look and breezed through passport control within seconds. Gone were the days of paper tickets or unwieldy phone apps.

In recent years, airports across the world have accelerated their use of timesaving facial recognition technology to move passengers to their flights. But Dubai’s iris scan improves on the more commonplace automated gates seen elsewhere, authorities said, connecting the iris data to the country’s facial recognition databases so the passenger needs no identifying documents or boarding pass. The unusual partnership between long-haul carrier Emirates, owned by a Dubai sovereign wealth fund, and the Dubai immigration office integrates the data and carries travelers from check-in to boarding in one fell swoop, they added.

“The future is coming,” said Major Gen. Obaid Mehayer Bin Suroor, deputy director of the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs. “Now, all the procedures have become ‘smart,’ around five to six seconds.”

But like all facial recognition technology, the program adds to fears of vanishing privacy in the country, which has faced international criticism for targeting journalists and human rights activists.

According to Emirates’ biometric privacy statement, the airline links passengers’ faces with other personally identifying data, including passport and flight information, retaining it for “as long as it is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.” The agreement offered few details about how the data will be used and stored, beyond saying that while the company didn’t make copies of passengers’ faces, other personal data “can be processed in other Emirates’ systems.”

Bin Suroor stressed that Dubai’s immigration office “completely protects” passengers’ personal data so that “no third party can see it.”

But without more information about how data will be used or stored, biometric technology raises the possibility of misuse, experts say.

“Any kind of surveillance technology raises red flags, regardless of what kind of country it’s in,” said Jonathan Frankle, a doctoral student in artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ”But in a democratic country, if the surveillance technology is used transparently, at least there’s an opportunity to have a public conversation about it.”

Iris scans, requiring people to stare into a camera as though they’re offering a fingerprint, have become more widespread worldwide in recent years as questions have arisen over the accuracy of facial recognition technology. Iris biometrics are considered more reliable than surveillance cameras that scan people’s faces from a distance without their knowledge or consent.

Despite concerns about overzealous surveillance in the UAE, the country’s vast facial recognition network only shows signs of expanding. Last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as Dubai’s ruler, announced the country would begin trials of new facial recognition technology to cut down on paperwork in “some private sector services,” without elaborating.

During the pandemic, the skyscrapper-studded city of Dubai has advanced an array of technological tools to fight the virus in malls and on streets, including disinfectant foggers, thermal cameras and face scans that check for masks and take temperatures. The programs similarly use cameras that can record and upload people’s data, potentially feeding the information into the city-state’s wider biometric databases.

Dubai Airport Sees Passenger Traffic Drop 70% Amid Pandemic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai International Airport saw the coronavirus pandemic push passenger traffic down by an unprecedented 70% in 2020 compared to the previous year, its CEO announced Monday, even as the airport held onto its prized title as the world’s busiest for international travel.

While the key east-west transit point started to see an uptick in traffic after long-haul carrier Emirates resumed its routes last summer, the airport’s 2020 passenger load of 25.9 million is still a trickle compared to 2019. Airlines slashed their schedules and flights declined by more than 50%.

For months as the travel industry collapsed worldwide, Dubai’s massive airport, which saw 86.4 million passengers in 2019, became a ghost-town of shuttered shops. One of its two main terminals shut down.

“It was very, very dramatic,” Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, told The Associated Press. “And of course, we had to respond in a very dramatic way to keep our liquidity.”

The airport slashed its workforce from 8,000 to 3,000, Griffiths said, with front-line service and maintenance staff taking the biggest hit.

But recovery gained momentum in December as the city promoted itself as a pandemic-friendly vacation spot for tourists fleeing tough restrictions back home. In December alone, passenger volumes surpassed industry expectations at 2.19 million, the airport said. Israelis flocked to the United Arab Emirates after a breakthrough normalization deal and lockdown-weary travelers poured in to celebrate the holidays and New Year’s Eve at crowded bars and luxury hotels.

Underpinning Dubai’s reopening since last July has been an aggressive coronavirus testing campaign, with visitors welcome from anywhere as long as they get tested on arrival and in many cases before departure.

Now, Griffiths said, the airport is betting that a swift rollout of coronavirus vaccines will be the “overriding key to getting the world traveling again.” The UAE has launched the world’s second-fastest coronavirus vaccination drive, with over 50 doses administered per 100 residents as of Monday.

To spur international tourism in the coming months, Griffiths envisions travel corridors or “bubbles” between states with the fastest inoculation campaigns, such as the UAE, Israel and Britain, allowing travelers from those countries to freely visit.

“Once we get to a point where every country feels like it’s got a significant number of people vaccinated, then confidence in travel will re-emerge,” he said.

Despite signs of life, and vaccines offering a glimmer of hope, the industry’s outlook remains uncertain. Although overall demand is expected to rise this year, airlines are showing caution on international routes. Wide-body jets used for long-haul flights, like Emirates’ iconic fleet of double-decker Airbus A380s, stand idle. Satellite images show dozens of A380s parked at Dubai World Central, the Gulf city’s second airport that went out of use for commercial flights during the pandemic.

Vaccination campaigns have sputtered worldwide and concerns have risen over more transmissible virus variants. Changing quarantine requirements across the world have thrown itineraries into disarray, at times stranding travelers overseas.

Meanwhile, the UAE is struggling with a major surge in coronavirus cases, prompting countries to halt flights to Dubai and the city’s government to impose new restrictions on entertainment activities. The United Kingdom banned all direct flights to Dubai last month, freezing the world’s busiest international air route and costing the airport hundreds of thousands of passengers monthly, according to Griffiths. London was ranked as the top destination city for Dubai’s airport last year, with 1.15 million customers.

Although Dubai came under criticism for keeping its doors open even as virus variants coursed across the globe, Griffiths rejected “any correlation between airport closures and infection rate,” insisting that “people with a potential for infection have been stopped from entering the country.”

Dubai International Airport first surpassed London Heathrow as the world’s busiest airport for international traffic in 2014. It has retained the crown ever since, with some 90 airlines flying into the commercial entrepot. Heathrow, hit hard by the pandemic, logged just 22.1 million passengers last year and said it was overtaken as Europe’s busiest hub by Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.

For Dubai, a sheikhdom of skyscrapers in the UAE, the resumption of long-haul air travel is built deeply into its business interest. Emirates remains the linchpin of the wider empire known as “Dubai Inc.,” an interlocking series of businesses owned by the city-state.

Griffiths was reluctant to give a timeline for the airport’s recovery, acknowledging it may be halting.

“Things are going to be tough for a while,” he said. “But I think in the the long term there is cause for optimism, but exactly when the recovery will really gain pace and manifest itself in significant volumes of people wanting to fly again really depends.”

How Dubai Is Paying The Price For Letting In Tourists

(CNN) — Take a passing glance at Dubai, and you may think life is back to normal. In recent weeks, the bustling city has been a sparkling attraction for tourists, especially from Europe, trying to escape the brutal winter and strict coronavirus lockdowns.

But as tens of thousands of visitors flocked there during its peak year-end season, the virus inevitably caught up with the city despite precautions aimed at limiting its spread. Cases began to rise, nearly quadrupling since November.

Even as Covid-19 gained a stronger foothold, the images out of Dubai -- particularly from the Instagram feeds of influencers or celebrities -- painted an image of a wide-open winter sun paradise.

For those back home in countries such as the UK, where most people are being told they cannot travel abroad because of the risk to health, these pictures caused consternation, drawing criticism of those enjoying themselves.

For Danish tourist Emma Mathilde, who has frequently visited Dubai over the past few months, the backlash wasn't surprising. "In Europe, everyone is locked at home, it's cold and it's gray," she says. "Dubai is the only place you can travel to, so everyone is going there. It's sunny, you can go out to eat, and that's why people get furious over why they have to stay home when other people are enjoying their lives." With a recent UK travel ban effectively cutting off what had in recent weeks become the world's busiest airplane route, Dubai's openness is clearly facing external challenges -- an issue that's helped prompt a rethink of Covid-19 measures.

That said, the emirate is determined to keep its tourism-reliant economy in business, and officials are unfazed about the recent bad press, confident that levels of compliance with Covid-19 precautions have so far been in keeping with expectations. "We approach things in a very measured fashion, but it's our philosophy that we should work through this pandemic," Helal Saeed Al Marri, director general of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, tells CNN.

"If we ask everybody to change their behavior 100%, it's very unlikely to get full compliance. In our case, we've asked people to tweak their behavior, to learn to live in the new normal, and people have embraced that."

Al Marri said the actions of just a few tourists shouldn't tarnish Dubai's reputation. "If you walk in the street in Dubai, people are wearing masks. If someone isn't wearing a mask, it won't be the authorities that tell them to put a mask on, it'll be a passerby, because that's the way we've learned to live within this Covid era."

Last month, the United Arab Emirates saw cases rise by 80,000 to more than 290,000, with more than 4,000 a day being reported, putting hospitals under strain. Blame for the rise, say some experts, shouldn't necessarily be placed at the door of tourists. The city's population is made up of around 85% expatriates, many of whom either visited home in December or attended local Christmas or New Year gatherings as a substitute for canceled trips back to see their families.

Celia Antony, a medical doctor at Aster Clinics in Sharjah, says that the UAE's Covid cases were very low in August, then began increasing in September to October, leveling off in November and early December before rising sharply from the end of the year.

The spike, she says, was an inevitable consequence of the movement of residents. Numbers, she adds, have also risen as a result of increased testing. Ahmed Mohamed Abdelhameed, an internal medicine specialist at the Medcare Women and Children's Hospital in Dubai, says the spike would have been the same whether or not borders had closed. "Most countries now suffer from a spike in the number of cases [and] many of them were very restrictive in opening their port of entrance," he says. "I still believe that the only way to have this situation over is to keep to the infection control measures and to get vaccinated. Closing the doors can only stop people from entering, and not the virus." Tourism Authority Director Al Marri says Dubai has always been prepared to respond to the situation on the ground. Notably, Dubai's lockdown in the early days of the pandemic was one of the world's first and among its toughest.

During the lockdown, residents could not leave home without prior clearance through an app, for a maximum of three hours and only for medical emergencies, food shopping or essential work.

Al Marri says that pragmatism continues to inform Dubai's Covid policies, and new measures will be monitored for effectiveness even as they strive to keep the city's economy moving. "We shut down when we needed to, and since we've opened, we follow the data," he says. "If we see compliance, we don't need to tighten. If we don't see compliance at any part of the economy, we look at this very carefully sector by sector. It's nothing to do with what anybody else tells us."

Once a drop in compliance levels was noticed at the beginning of January, directly attributable to a rise in cases, Al Marri says authorities began to clamp down. As of Tuesday, beach clubs, hotels and malls are limited to 70% capacity and cinemas down to 50%. Bars and pubs have been temporarily shut down, with stricter penalties for rule violators.

This type of reaction according to the threat is something Danish tourist Mathilde says is lacking in Europe. "I think the (UAE) government is handling it great," she says. "It's very different from how we are handling it in Europe where the cases are still high, and the economy is suffering a lot. "In Dubai, I think it's just another way of doing it. It's a balance between listening to humans, taking care of people and taking care of businesses that have to survive during the pandemic." It's a dilemma all too familiar for governments around the world: trying to find a balance between keeping the economy open and keeping people safe.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/dubai-tourism-crackdown-covid-19/index.html

Zeena Saifi, John Defterios and Melanie Swan, CNN

Dubai Halts Live Entertainment Amid Surge In Virus Cases

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai’s tourism department Thursday announced an immediate halt to all live entertainment at hotels and restaurants, a day after suspending non-urgent surgeries at hospitals to deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients.

Both decisions come after months of Dubai promoting itself as the ideal pandemic-friendly vacation spot while coronavirus infections skyrocketed. Now, the sheikhdom is showing signs of strain.

Even as cases surged to previously unseen heights in the United Arab Emirates, the city-state of Dubai had sought to be a glimmering desert oasis for tourists fleeing tough lockdowns back home. Since reopening in the spring, the commercial hub has resisted more restrictions that would pummel its economy, built largely on aviation, hospitality and retail.

Beyond the ubiquitous masks outdoors, a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy has prevailed in the city. Bands, dancers and DJs had been performing in bars and clubs for socially-distanced crowds. Hotel occupancy rates surged over 70% in December, nearing 2019 holiday levels. The city’s airport welcomed over 70,000 travelers for New Year’s weekend alone.

Soon countries like the United Kingdom and Israel that had sent droves to Dubai over the winter holidays closed their travel corridors, citing alarm over the UAE’s spike in infections. As late as Tuesday, the sheikhdom’s government-run media office was vigorously insisting that things were under control. In a statement, the emirate said it “continues to maintain the highest levels of protection against the pandemic and compliance with preventive measures.”

But on Thursday, Dubai’s tourism department announced it had “observed, through field inspection, an increase in the number of violations during entertainment activities.”

Although bars and restaurants would remain open for the time being, Dubai’s media office said it would pause the issuance of new entertainment permits to venues effective immediately to ensure “public health and safety.” The office said it issued more than 200 violations for “non-compliance” with COVID-19 guidelines and shuttered 20 establishments over the last few weeks.

In a circular sent to business partners, Dubai’s tourism department said the ban only applies to live bands at restaurants, bars and beach clubs and that private events and wedding parties, currently capped at 200 people, could continue as normal. The statement said that failure to comply with health measures would result in “serious actions,” without elaborating. It gave no time frame for the resumption of entertainment activities.

The pandemic shows no signs of abating. The UAE on Thursday shattered its infection record for the 10th consecutive day, with 3,529 cases reported. The country does not release location data for infections, making it difficult to determine where in the federation of seven sheikhdoms has been hardest hit by the virus.

With its health centers well-staffed and 90% of its population comprised of relatively young and healthy expatriates, the UAE has so far avoided the chaotic scenes of overwhelmed hospitals seen elsewhere. The country has recorded over 267,000 infections and 766 deaths.

The UAE has rolled out the second-fastest coronavirus vaccination campaign in the world, trailing only Israel. The country, which offers the vaccine made by Chinese state-backed firm Sinopharm to everyone over the age of 16, says it seeks to vaccinate more than half the population of 9 million by the end of March.

On Thursday the UAE also approved Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use, citing “results of its effectiveness,” without elaborating. Other countries have been reluctant to approve the Chinese and Russian vaccines, saying their efficacy announcements lack reliable data and other critical details.

Dubai also offers the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been approved by Western regulators with an efficacy rate of about 95%. But given supply constraints, it’s available only to residents over 60 and those with chronic health conditions.

Dozens of residents hoping to get the Pfizer-BioNtech jab descended on Dubai’s World Trade Center on Thursday after a state-linked newspaper published a report saying the center accepted walk-ins regardless of age and other priority criteria. Some appeared ready to wait for hours even as Emirati health authorities in traditional dress tried to get them to leave.