Summer is hardly peak season for Dubai but, even so, the Middle East megacity is quieter than ever this year, thanks in part to the fallout from the Iran war.
Now the forward-thinking emirate thinks that it might have a solution. From now until the end of October, the Dubai government will offer incentives worth up to £600 to residents who help persuade friends and family to travel to the Gulf.
If you’re living in Dubai, or plan on visiting later this year, it could be a handy bonus. So what’s it all about?
How does it work?
Under the new scheme, anyone who is resident in Dubai can provide the details of visitors that they’ve invited via an online form. If those visitors do indeed turn up in Dubai – whether by plane, cruise ship or road – their arrival will be recorded at immigration.
At that point, the person who invited them gets to claim their reward, which the Emirati tourism board says could be worth “up to £600”.
What do you get?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Dubai government isn’t paying people cash. Instead, they’ve persuaded a range of hoteliers, restaurants and attractions to sign up to the scheme, offering freebies and discounts. It’s a bit like claiming your Clubcard rewards, just more upmarket.
Who can benefit?
Anyone who is currently a resident in Dubai can join the scheme. That covers the Emirati nationals who make up around 10 per cent of the Dubai population, but also the much larger groups of ex-pats who live there. In the case of the latter, you’ll need your Emirates ID card (a mandatory registration scheme for all foreigners resident in the UAE) to sign up.
As for the guests, they can be anyone who doesn’t currently live in Dubai. Though they’ll need to be eligible to enter the UAE when they get there. If they’re a British, EU or US passport holder, that should be simple enough: they should qualify for visa-free entry. Other nationalities may have to obtain a visa in advance.
What about the tourists?
The reward goes to the person who issued the invitation. Though if it’s a friend or family member, they may well be amenable to sharing the spoils with you.
Are there any limitations?
Residents of Dubai can nominate up to five names on each invitation. It doesn’t cost anything and the Dubai tourism authorities say it should only take a couple of minutes. However, each person is limited to three rewards packages.
Each visitor can only have one person nominating them. If multiple residents invite the same person, then the reward will go to the first one to submit the name and details..
The programme only runs to Oct 31, 2026, meaning that any invited visitors need to have made their trip by that date. The rewards run slightly longer; they have to be claimed and used by the end of the year.
Is it as good as it sounds?
As always with these kinds of programmes, it all depends on the rewards themselves and whether you actually want them.
Looking at the current incentives on offer, very few are straight-up freebies: many of those related to hotels are discounts (e.g. 45 per cent off a stay at the Melia Desert Palm, or a free night at an IHG property if you’re already booking two nights). Likewise, those related to restaurants are mainly discount deals – e.g. two dine for the price of one – which, truth be told, are not difficult to find in Dubai right now.
Others are less complicated. You can currently get a free ticket to IMG Worlds of Adventure, for example, the best indoor theme park in Dubai.
That said, a general admission ticket costs about 365 dirhams (about £74) a far cry from the £600 which the Dubai government is advertising as the top value for these perks. The only way to unlock that kind of discount? From the looks of it, you’d already need to be planning a stay at one of the city’s priciest hotels.
Could the scheme be abused?
There are already some limitations on the programme – like the three rewards per person maximum – which limit the scope for abuse. Given the way the programme works, you could easily nominate someone who was already planning to come to Dubai, but that’s hardly a drastic breach of the spirit of the scheme.
There’s no way of getting the cash equivalent of the rewards, which removes much of the incentive for foul play. Plus, if you happen to live in Dubai, you’ll already be well aware that trying to cheat the authorities isn’t generally a smart move.