(TAN): Dubai will start welcoming back international visitors from July 7, reports said.
Visitors entering the city in the United Arab Emirates will be required to either show certificates proving they have recently tested negative for COVID-19 or take tests at Dubai airports, as per reports.
While residents would be able to travel out of the country beginning today, visitors with residency visas were allowed to enter Dubai starting earlier this week.
[ALSO READ: What you need to know about post-COVID air travel]
“The new announcement will allow thousands of people affected by the worldwide restrictions in passenger air traffic since the start of the pandemic to resume their travel plans,” the Dubai media office was quoted by Reuters as saying.
Dubai, which depends heavily on tourism and retail, is reopening to foreign visitors in a bid to kickstart its economy, reports said. The United Arab Emirates had reportedly put strict measures in place to contain the pandemic over two months ago which impacted businesses, including the tourism sector. The United Arab Emirates had reportedly suspended all passenger flights in March.
Dubai-based airline Emirates released a tourism video to welcome visitors back to the land of “fun”, “happy” and “crazy”.
“Open. That’s a word that hasn’t been used much in the world these days, huh? Well, ‘open’ is looking good for Dubai right now and we want to tell the world about it,” the voiceover says.
[ALSO READ: Egypt, Slovenia, Ukraine, and other major destinations get the WTTC Safe Travels stamp]
It also talks about how Dubai will open for business, “a wealth of opportunities”, hotels, the world’s tallest building, adventure, and arts and Arabian culture.
Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum hoped other cities across the world will be able to reopen their borders and that the measures that have been introduced everywhere will reduce risks of infection spread.
“We are confident that the multi-layered measures that have been put in place in the air, on the ground, and throughout our city, enables us to mitigate risks of infection spread and manage any required response effectively. We believe that cities around the world are conducting ongoing reviews and will soon follow suit to update their border entry requirements for international travellers,” he said.
“Currently, Emirates connects Dubai to 40 cities, and with the latest directives, we have the opportunity to expand our network and offer additional destinations which will be communicated in the coming days. We look forward to serving and welcoming our customers, and to connecting many cities again through our hub in Dubai. The next few weeks will be a big test for the whole aviation industry in many ways. At Emirates we see a positive trend of traffic building up across our network over the past weeks, and we are ready to serve our customers,” he added.
Related posts:
Dubai’s aviation sector teams up to help over 37,000 passengers return home
Spain receives 100 flights from European Union and Schengen countries on first day of reopening
Singapore to reopen tourism sector in phases beginning today, Universal Studios, Madame Tussauds among 13 attractions to reopen initially
Radisson Blu property opens in Basel, Switzerland after redesign
