The UAE is ready and waiting to throw open its doors once again to UK visitors, with an enforced six-month hiatus set to come to an end on August 8.
Tourism operators, hospitality bosses and F&B chiefs will be counting down the minutes until 4am on Sunday, when the UK finally removes the UAE from its controversial red list after 188 days, lowering it to an amber rating instead.
Paul Evans, founder and CEO of Dubai-based Leisure Solutions, told Arabian Business: “The news of the amber movement has been nothing short of epic. Our industry has been given the lifeline it needs to resurrect itself for a third time.”
Paul Evans, founder and CEO of Solutions Leisure.
Back in November last year, when the UAE was initially added to the UK’s list of quarantine-free countries, flight bookings for the UK-UAE air traffic route increased to over 50 percent of the levels for the equivalent period in 2019 as Brits flocked to the country.
And in the first week of January, the Dubai-London Heathrow travel corridor was named as the busiest international air route in the world, according to aviation analytics firm OAG. A total of 190,365 seats were scheduled in the first week of 2021 on the route, putting it ahead of Cairo to Jeddah (154,337) and Orlando to San Juan (151,916).
However, the introduction of a third lockdown in the UK by the end of the month resulted in the red list-status for the UAE, where the country has remained ever since. Until Sunday.
“Every move that leads to restore normality is welcome and appreciated,” said Antonio Gonzalez, CEO of Sunset Hospitality. “We look forward to a steady recovery of the hospitality industry over the next few months.”
Antonio Gonzalez, CEO of Sunset Hospitality.
The UAE’s status on the list has pummelled what was formerly one of the world’s busiest air routes. Dubai-based Emirates used to operate roughly 20 flights a day to the UK, but that has been slashed by around 80 percent.
Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), told Arabian Business: “The UK is one of our top source markets so we are delighted that the UAE is now on its amber list. Ras Al Khaimah’s prioritisation of visitor safety, strong recovery measures and continued investment in the destination, saw our hotels receive a hugely positive response from UK travellers when travel restrictions first eased last year and we expect the same success following this latest announcement.”
Raki Phillips, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority.
The UAE boasts one of the most impressive vaccine rollout programmes in the world, with around 17 million doses administered to date.
But British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps previously said the UAE was on the red list because it is a major transit hub, rather than due to the country’s handling of the pandemic.
Earlier this week, the UK announced that passengers transiting through the UAE would not be subject to forced quarantine.
The latest move, however, means an end to the expensive and unpopular rules which saw anyone arriving to the UK from a red list country required by law to book a stay in a Managed Quarantine Facility for 10 days. The cost of that was set to rise from August 12 from £1,750 to £2,285. More than 100,000 passengers have passed through hotel quarantine in England in the five months since the system was set up.
Instead, visitors from amber-list countries such as the UAE, as well as those who are not fully vaccinated, need to self-isolate for 10 days.
All fully vaccinated travellers from the US and European Union can avoid isolation on arrival into the UK if they have one of four approved vaccines, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Pfizer and or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. It was unclear when fully-vaccinated travellers from the UAE would qualify for this exemption.
Bruno Trenchard, senior manager, hotels and hospitality, CBRE Middle East.
Instead those who are not vaccinated, or have received doses of other manufacturers’ vaccines (such as Sinopharm currently), must self-isolate for 10 days but this can be done at home, with friends or at a hotel. That period can be shortened if they pay for an extra test on day five.
Bruno Trenchard senior manager, hotels and hospitality, CBRE Middle East, told Arabian Business: “Moving the UAE from red to amber is definitely a welcome move by tourism industry players in Dubai. It is no secret that Brits like to holiday here and we expect this to restart once the change comes into effect. The pick-up in demand from UK citizens/residents may be at a relatively modest pace at the beginning considering the current weather conditions in the UAE and the competition from green countries in Europe.
“That being said the move from the UK government is a very positive one and will in my opinion be especially beneficial in the weeks closer to Expo opening (October 1).”
Tim Cordon, senior vice president, Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group, told Arabian Business, he hoped that the UAE’s stay on the amber list would not be a lengthy one. He said: “Considering that the UAE is currently one of the safest countries in the world in relation to Covid-19, many hope that it will soon also be added to the green countries, allowing for an unrestricted movement between the both countries.
Alexander Lee, chief commercial officer of Jumeirah Group, told Arabian Business: “The move by the UK to change the status of the UAE to amber, combined with the lifting of quarantine restrictions for vaccinated UK citizens returning from amber list countries, will have a significantly positive and immediate impact on the UAE’s tourism and hospitality industry.
“The UK is an extremely important source market for us across our UAE hotels, for both leisure and business travel, and we look forward to welcoming UK travellers back to our hotels following this latest announcement.
“Our Dubai portfolio includes the much-loved beachfront resorts, all with access to our two kilometres of pristine private beach and views of the iconic Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, making our properties a firm favourite with UK visitors… We anticipate that this welcome news will have a positive impact across the board.”“After all, the UK is a key market for the UAE tourism and also plays a vital role in its recovery.”
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