Dubai: Possible restrictions by the UAE government on visas granted to nationals of certain countries on arrival here may affect tourism, industry executives said.
But the UAE's case that its citizens should be given equal reciprocal treatment in those countries whose nationals enjoy the benefits of visas on arrival here is justified, they insisted.
The cabinet on Sunday asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to review its visa regulations because some countries, particularly in Europe, are refusing to grant Emiratis the same facilities their nationals get at UAE ports.
At present the citizens of 34 countries are allowed to enter the UAE without obtaining visas in advance.
On the other hand, Emirati business people, tourists and students visiting certain Western countries face stringent visa procedures.
"This issue has merit at the political and diplomatic level, but may have a negative impact on the hotel business," said Dilip Waghaye, executive assistant manager at the Ramada Hotel.
He said the visa-on-arrival policy has helped Dubai's tourism industry and any changes in it should take this factor into account.
"Irrespective of whether other countries reciprocate or not, a liberal visa policy is in the UAE's interests. Dubai is the business capital of the region," Waghaye said.
However, the manager of a Dubai company that specialises in corporate travel said if the UAE decides to selectively target some European countries it would not have much impact on the tourism industry.
"These days the UAE is receiving tourists from everywhere and those who want to come to the UAE will come anyway," he said.
Gassan Aridi, chief executive officer of Alpha Tours, hopes any visa policy review will be conducted by looking at all aspects of the issue.
"The current policy is good for the tourism industry. We have to see if any changes are made to it," Aridi said.
According to Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) statistics, hotels in the city received 1.39 million guests in the third quarter of this year.
Arab tourists
Of these 325,017 were from Western Europe, 80,286 from the US and Canada, and 49,901 from Australia and New Zealand. Nationals of these countries benefit from the UAE's visa on arrival policy.
The highest number of tourists came from within the region, with 463,295 Arab tourists staying at Dubai hotels from July to September.
For the same period, the number of South Asian tourists was 231,489. Other Asian visitors numbered 313,134, while 93,546 hotel guests were from Africa. There were 61,071 tourists from the former Soviet states.