Beach charges start to deter single men

Visitors to the new Abu Dhabi Beach will have to pay an entrance fee starting this weekend, as part of measures to prevent large groups of single men from congregating on the beach.

From Friday, families will have to pay five dirhams per person to use the beach, while men unaccompanied by women will be charged 10 dirhams each, UAE daily The National reported on Thursday.

The announcement comes less than a month after the capital’s first landscaped public beach was opened to much fanfare.

Municipal officials said they received numerous complaints about single men occupying much of the beach, with women in particular voicing their discomfort.

The decision comes only two weeks after the beach was divided into two sections – one for families and women, and one for the general public.

Plans to segregate a new beach in Abu Dhabi were not supported by people taking part in an Arabian Business poll recently.

More than 63 percent oppose the proposal with the majority of these (36 percent) saying beach patrols should be introduced instead to monitor behaviour on the beach.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents were adamant that everyone should be able to go where they like when they visit the beach.

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