NEWS | UAE’s tourism industry gets boost as all fully vaccinated travellers allowed entry
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UAE’s tourism industry gets boost as all fully vaccinated travellers allowed entry
The UAE is to open tourist visa applications for people from all countries, as long as they have been fully inoculated by one of the World Health Organisation (WHO)-approved Covid-19 vaccines.
The announcement, which will be implemented from August 30, was made jointly by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA).
According to a statement carried by state-run news agency WAM: “The decision applies to citizens of all countries, including those arriving from the previously banned countries. Arriving passengers on tourist visa must take mandatory rapid PCR test at the airport. The previous rules for unvaccinated, including exempted categories, remain in place.”
Travellers are urged to register their vaccination via the ICA platform or the Al Hosn application.
Total revenues generated by the UAE’s tourism sector reached AED11.3 billion ($3bn) during the first six months of 2021, up from AED8.6bn in the year-earlier period, according to official data.
Lower cases driving tourist visa demand
The WHO has so far approved shots from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinopharm and Sinovac. Cases have been steadily dropping in the UAE, which has also rolled out one of the fastest vaccination programs in the world.
On Saturday, the Minister of Health and Prevention (MoHaP), revealed that the total number of coronavirus vaccine doses provided up to date stood at 18,056,765 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 182.57 doses per 100 people.
