Dubai: Dubai Airport has witnessed a dramatic increase in travellers as the emirate reopened its doors to tourists on July 7.
Brigadier Talal Ahmad Al Shanqiti, general director assistant of Ports Affairs in GDRFA-Dubai, said that when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, took a decision to welcome back tourists, the airport witnessed a massive increase in travellers.
“It’s been a month since the order was issued to open borders for tourists. They trust the safety measures in the country. Tourists who arrive will talk about their experience to others and we expect more to come,” Brig Al Shanqiti told Gulf News. “Facilitating the airport procedures helped to reduce the time on travellers.”
Brigadier Al Shanqiti said that GDRFA-Dubai has set up 15 counters to complete the visitors procedures in order to make the travel smoother. “Every day we have more than 20,000 travellers through the airport. Majority of travellers are tourists as well as residents travelling in and out the country.”
He said that wearing masks have become a habit in UAE and that has helped increase number of tourists. “We expect by November, the peak numbers will be similar to those of 2019,” he added.
International delegations
Dubai Airports has received international delegations to check the operation at the airport after easing travel movement around the world. “UAE has taken the lead in opening the airports by taking all precautionary measures to curb the pandemic. UAE has dealt with the pandemic with priority and the results have been positive. Dubai Airports was a pioneer in operating and returning to flying,” Brig Al Shanqiti added.
“International delegations inspected the airport and they were impressed with the measures.”
Happy tourists
During Gulf News’ exclusive visit to the airport, many tourists looked happy to arrive safely to the airport to start their vacation in Dubai.
“I’m here for a holiday to get a nice get away. The airport’s procedure is smooth and they greeted me with welcome to Dubai sticker. I know what I’m expecting in Dubai,” Robby Thompson, a British tourist, told Gulf News.
For Oumayma Cheikh, who arrived from France, safety measures are key factor to attract tourists back to the city. “It’s my first visit to Dubai. I planned to come to the city in March but I couldn’t because of coronavirus. I have friends here and wanted to go back to my normal life after the quarantine at home,” Cheikh said.
