 Business & Finance Club Magazine - Tourism Sector - UAE: The introduction of the programme this month “will facilitate travel for scores of tourists visiting the emirate during the Dubai Summer Surprises”, Mr Vaughan said.
He was referring to a two-month festival starting next month that involves live performances and other events, plus discounts at shopping malls and hotels to bring more visitors to the emirate in the hottest months.
Flydubai, the budget carrier owned by the Dubai Government, will tomorrow start a three-month trial of a similar system that directs passengers to fill out a form on the website of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department, then present a printed bar code or an SMS message on arrival in Dubai to retrieve their visa.
The programme could also save tourists money. Emirates said it would charge Dh161.50 (US$43.97) for a 96-hour visa and less than Dh210 for the 30-day visa, and a Dh64 service fee.
Mr Mehrotra’s company arranges visas for visitors and normally charges between Dh300 and Dh350 for the 30-day visa, he said, with the extra margin needed to cover “overhead costs”.
Providing help with visas was not a main part of the company’s business but other companies “that are in the business of visas” can charge far more, he said.
But the new programme would not address the question of security deposits for visas that some experts have said was a major hurdle to further growth in tourism from developing countries.
Tourists from countries bound by visa restrictions – all but the most developed countries – are often asked to put down a deposit, which is typically between Dh5,000 and Dh9,000, to secure a tourist visa through a hotel or travel agency in Dubai.
The deposit is not mandatory by law but the hotel or tourist agency, which acts as the visitor’s sponsor, uses it as a form of protection in case the visitor overstays his visa. Sponsors must pay at least Dh5,000 fees if a visitor overstays.
Emirates did not respond to a request for comment on the deposits it charges visa applicants. |
