The beach clubs, high end restaurants and five-star resorts are almost deserted – and more and more of the hotels are actually closed.
At the airport, until March the busiest in the world for international arrivals, the number of incoming flights is at a fraction of normal air traffic.
Dubai is dead, its status as a target for retaliatory Iranian missiles and drones since the US attack in February having spooked almost any foreigners from coming.
For a city that had been hoping to welcome a record 20 million visitors this year – surpassing last year’s 19.59 million incoming tourists – this is ruinous, with the lost business estimated to be costing Dubai as much as £450 million a day.
But the victims of this unprecedented slump are not the Dubai natives who run and manage these businesses, and whose wealth insulates them and mitigates its worst effects.
Instead those who suffer most acutely are largely invisible – the millions of migrant workers hidden in squalid labour camps who can no longer make a wage but can’t afford to return home.
The Daily Mail has found that, away from the glitzy but deserted city centre, the rarely seen poorer areas set aside for those low paid immigrants who previously kept the city going are now hubs of despair.
A handful of people spend time on the near-empty beaches in the Jumeirah Beach Residence
Across the way, in Dubai Marina, few lights in the huge apartment blocks are on, with most expats having fled the city
Migrant workers in the Al Quoz neighbourhood of Dubai cross the road after the end of a busy day working in the sun
But first – the scale of Dubai’s economic problem.
It is clear as you walk through what were once tourist havens, such as the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, and Jumeirah Beach Residences, that something is amiss – there are almost no foreign visitors now.
In the past week alone, as many as seven 5-star hotels have announced that they are closing their doors completely – meaning thousands more hospitality staff either let go permanently or placed on indefinite ‘unpaid leave’.
The closures include some of the city’s most renowned and expensive hotels, including the St Regis on the Palm, where rooms cost from £500 a night, and the Aramani Hotel in the famous Burj Khalifa, where rooms are priced from £600.
Other resorts announcing sudden closure included the sprawling Park Hyatt Hotel, the Radisson Blu in Media City and JW Marriott Marquis Hotel. The latter alone is rumoured to have cut 400 jobs at a stroke.
One of the few remaining Westerners who is staying in a still-open central hotel told us this week that staff levels there have been cut so severely that the same member of staff was providing security, collecting laundry and delivering bottles of water.
‘I asked him if this was normally his job and he just said it was because many staff are “on vacation”,’ the guest recalled.
Dubai hoped to welcome a record 20 million visitors this year but as a result of the conflict it is estimated the city is losing as much as £450 million a day. Pictured: A couple walk along a deserted beach in Jumeriah Beach Residence
Bored stall owners scroll on their phones in Dubai’s Grand Souk. Usually, the market is bustling with tourists – today not one is seen
The malls have also been hit badly. Pictured is the Emirates Mall – one of the largest in Dubai – yet without tourists, footfall has dwindled
Fear of official sanction means that all commercial announcements around business closures or suspensions are underpinned by the old line from Fawlty Towers: ‘Don’t mention the war’.
Instead of blaming the fear of Iranian missiles for critical volumes of lost business the standard euphemism in Dubai is ‘we are closing for an upgrade’, or variations thereon.
Most announcing this say they are expected to remain closed until at least September – but already some are saying they may not reopen again until next year…if, presumably, at all.
The one recent exception was The Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort.
Once it revelled in its claim of being ‘the most luxurious hotel in the world’ – located on the famous World Islands, an artificial archipelago constructed in the shape of a world map, it was only accessible by boat and offered 12 villas with private pools on the ‘South America’ island charging up to, and sometimes over, £1,000 a night.
Yet last week, its owners, Minor Hotels, announced, ‘after careful consideration’, the resort would be ‘ceasing operations with immediate effect.’ ie it is closing for good.
Despite this disastrous news for a business that had been valued in the hundreds of millions, again managers were at pains to be clear that this was nothing to do with the US-Iran conflict.
Instead a statement said: ‘The closure is the result of a combination of external factors and is not attributable to any single issue.’
Of course it isn’t.
After a long day of work a group of men play cricket in Sonapur behind a construction site
Most of the rooms accommodate five to six people in bunk beds. Pictured: Laundry drying over the cramped balconies in Al Bada
Migrant workers in the Dubai suburb of Sonapur, where many of those working in construction and other industries live
Of those hotels that are struggling on, their last stream of revenue appears to be from residents of the wider UAE taking advantage of a crash in room prices to come for a discounted ‘staycation’.
‘It is very quiet, we have no tourists left,’ one rooftop barman explained. ‘The only people now staying here are all UAE residents who come for the weekend to use the pool or have brunch here.’
Elsewhere across the city, numerous tourist attractions like Wild Wadi Waterpark, Dubai Parks and Resorts, and SkyDive Dubai have all closed their doors.
And beach clubs, such as the Aura Sky Pool, The 305, Surf Club, O Beach and B Beach, have all started offering free entry in a bid to get paying customers in.
Dubai’s Old Town, described as ‘the historical and cultural heart of Dubai’, is usually bustling with thousands of tourists ramming the spice markets and souk gift shops while coaches jostle for enough space to drop off yet more. Yet as we arrive at Bur Dubai Old Souk, the lanes are practically empty.
Stalls remain open, showing off mounds of fragrant spices, or silk scarves in myriad colours, or toy camels for the children. But there are no children and the souvenirs remain untouched.
Bored stallholders sit in the shade from canopies, scrolling on their phones.
It is a similar story in Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood. When we visited, on a recent weekend, we didn’t see a single tourist.
A stall holder looked up hopefully from his stall, then when he realised we weren’t buying, said frankly: ‘Business is really, really down. We need the tourists back.’
Along the banks of Dubai Creek, the small tourist boats which usually carry visitors up and down and across the river, a natural nine-mile-long salt water inlet, are similarly empty. Boatsmen can be seen curled up in their own vessels having a nap.
Despite the pool at Marina Beach being open until 10pm, the area remains deserted at dusk
Along the banks of Dubai Creek, the small tourist boats which usually carry visitors up and down and across the river, a natural nine-mile-long salt water inlet, are similarly empty. Most of the areas over the weekend remained closed due to lack of tourists
The Emirates Mall in Dubai, one of the city’s largest shopping venues, has seen dwindling tourist visitor numbers
Dubai’s restaurants too are predictably struggling.
Some of the city’s most renowned, including Michelin-starred venues, have tried slashing their prices while reducing staff to a minimum, to try to keep afloat.
And so hard has the sector been hit that the government hastily introduced a scheme that might have been modelled on Rishi Sunak’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ initiative during the pandemic.
The ’Dubai, A Fine Way to Dine’ scheme, launched on March 28 running for a month until last week, offered up to 50 per cent off, or full tasting menus for heavily discounted 90AED (£18) at some of the city’s finest restaurants.
The establishments included restaurants such as MANĀO, a Thai restaurant and luxury Italian restaurant Il Ristorante – Niko Romito Dubai, both of which usually set customers back more than 500AED (£100).
Some have even made jokes about the dire economy.
Anna’s by Jimmydixs, a south Indian restaurant, told its diners that bringing your family gets you 50 per cent off, arriving with your wife gets you 55 per cent off, a girlfriend will give you a 60 per cent discount and bringing more than two girlfriends could result in 75 per cent off.
Sucheta Sharma, who is the founder of the restaurant, said: ‘We thought, why not create something that makes it easier to step out and enjoy an evening, whether that’s with family or… other company. At the end of the day, it’s like taking your wife out for dinner and your dinner with your girlfriend is on us.’
But this gimmick has not produced much laughter in the midst of what is plainly a dire economic crash.
Bored salesmen sit and watch sport on their phones outside Dubai’s Grand Souk in Deira
Delivery drivers wait for orders to be placed in Al Bada
Migrant workers head back to their accommodation in the Al Quoz region after a day at work
We alluded earlier to the statement of The Anantara World Islands Dubai Resort being unusual in that it was the only one that frankly admitted its closure was permanent.
But it was also unusual in another regard. Because it continued: ‘While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, our immediate focus is on supporting our team members through this transition.’
And this is unusual because it acknowledges that those who are most affected by this crash are these low level staff on lower wages – many of whom are economic migrants, lured here to make money only for that money tap to be switched off. In Dubai discourse they rarely get a mention.
We visited a neighbourhood where many of these migrant workers live, in squalid conditions – which are worsening by the day.
Sonapur is one of a number of such accommodation hubs built to house tens of thousands of mostly male migrants working in manual labour and other low status jobs across Dubai.
It’s thought that 80-90 per cent of the population of Dubai is made up of foreigners – as many as 3.5 million people – and most of them are low paid migrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, rather than the more prominent influencers from the West.
Many sent most of the money they earned home so Dubai’s crash will now also be hurting many more victims much further afield.
Sonapur features row after row of shabby accommodation blocks with laundry hanging from every inch of outdoor space and little protection from the searing heat. The buildings are discoloured, signage falling down. There are Pakistani restaurants and Afghan bakeries, serving as reminders for many of home.
It’s thought that 80-90 per cent of the population of Dubai is made up of foreigners. Pictured: Three women walking in Al Bada
Sonapur feels worlds away from the image of Dubai touted by influencers and advertising campaigns
Migrant workers in the Dubai area of Al Bada’a, a residential area where many work and live
The men – and the relatively few women – who live here are jammed into cramped dormitories with room for five or six, often featuring bunk beds.
Sonapur feels worlds away from the image of Dubai touted by influencers and advertising campaigns.
As one resident said: ‘Life as a security guard in Dubai used to mean you could only experience the beauty of Dubai on the bus on the way to work and the way back to your accommodation. Now there’s not even a bus ride.’
Sonapur literally means ‘city of gold’ in Hindi. This now feels a bitter irony.
Some are still working. We saw buses crammed with young men, working in construction, or as security guards, or in the medical industry, returning to Sonapur in the afternoon after a long day of work, while others boarded to go off to staff nightshifts.
But those out of work or off shift kill time playing cricket on dried-out patches of grass – or listlessly watch, if they can find anywhere shaded to sit.
When the war between Iran and America broke out, and missiles and suicide drones headed towards the city’s glittering skyline, many wealthy expats – the influencers and tycoons – took the first opportunity they could to fly out of the UAE.
But for most Sonapur residents this wasn’t an option – with air fares prohibitively expensive and no guarantee of work when they get there.
A shop owner scrolls aimlessly on his phone in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood in Dubai, the jewel in the crown of Dubai’s historic and cultural offering, with almost no visitors
A man tows his camel down the beach with no tourists on Marina Beach interested in a ride
While the tourism industry in Dubai has largely come to a halt, construction work has continued
So they carry on.
The organisation Human Rights Watch has warned that migrant workers across the UAE could face additional risk to their lives because of the war. And indeed of those 12 people who had died in the conflict all but one were foreign workers.
One of those dead was Muzaffar Ali Ghulam who moved to Dubai four years ago after his cousin recommended it.
The 27-year-old from Pakistan would work 12-hour days, sending the majority of his money home to his wife and three children.
The cousins had not considered leaving Dubai when the missile assault began – they simply could not afford it. On March 7, shrapnel from an Iranian strike hit Muzaffar’s car, killing him instantly.
But most here are able to rationalise that the odds of such a fate befalling them are very slight – and so the greater and more pressing threat is an economic one.
Yet few will talk about this.
The UAE has openly warned both citizens and visitors against photographing, filming, publishing, or circulating images and videos of incident sites or damage resulting from the Iranian attacks.
And most clearly feel this ban extends to talking to journalists.
Not a single person in sight on Marina Beach in Dubai
A police patrol on Kite Beach in Dubai where tourist numbers have plummeted
Government slogans are often placed on advertising boards across the city. One reads: ‘In the UAE everyone is Emirati’
Those who violate it risk a minimum of one year in prison and fines starting at £20,000. Hundreds have been detained.
And the foreign workers we spoke to seemed to be more afraid of the consequences of speaking about the war – than they were of the war itself.
One Pakistani speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Daily Mail many are too afraid to even exchange WhatsApp messages, claiming they have explicitly been told not to discuss the conflict’s impact on the UAE.
He said: ‘No one wants to speak about it [the ongoing war]. Everyone is too terrified. We have been told not to talk about it.
‘It’s the worst place in the world to be able to talk. We are terrified to send any messages saying they are watching everything we do.’
And what is it they want to discuss but can’t? It’s the economy.
He explained: ‘The big problem now is not Iran but business. There are no tourists, and all businesses are really down.
‘But even if you ask a shopkeeper, he has to say business is good because they are worried about getting in trouble.
‘So what you see in the media is completely wrong. Things are not fine. We are all watching what’s happening in Islamabad [the on/off peace talks between the US and Iran] because we think if there’s a deal, tourists will come back very quickly.
‘But until they do it is very bad for us.’
Sonapur feels worlds away from the image of Dubai touted by influencers and advertising campaigns
Sonapur feels worlds away from the image of Dubai touted by influencers and advertising campaigns
Those who can remain in work, however, will continue each day, continuing with the oppressive Kafala System, which binds migrant workers to their employers
As one construction worker put it: ‘If you can survive in the UAE, then you can survive in any country in the world’
Of course, even before the conflict in the Middle East erupted, labourers in the Gulf faced risk. It is an uncomfortable fact that thousands of workers, often from countries such as India, Nepal and Bangladesh, die each year. In 2022 a report estimated as many as 10,000 migrant workers die across the Gulf each year. Most of the deaths are unexplained.
Many, however, are now silently terrified. Not over concerns of another attack, but at being caught sending or saying the wrong thing online.
Those who can afford to get out are leaving.
One Filipino travel agent told the Daily Mail: ‘A lot of people have lost work in restaurants, hospitality and sales, with companies suddenly closing or reducing their staff.
‘There are now around four Emirates flights a day heading back to the Philippines and people are heading to the embassy to try and get on repatriation sites.
‘They are taking around 100 people back on repatriation flights a day. Most people on the flights are going home to find work.’
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Dubai is also offering repatriate flights home for any individual who can afford the ticket home or for large companies willing to pay for their staff’s flights home – now there is less work.
Azhar, who came to Dubai to work from Sri Lanka, added: ‘Lots of people are out of work at the moment and have left to go elsewhere.
‘People are looking for work and have been losing jobs, mostly restaurant work, so everyone’s asking around. A lot of people have left, they’ve gone elsewhere or gone home.’
Those who can remain in work, however, will continue each day, continuing with the oppressive Kafala System, which binds migrant workers to their employers and has long restricted them to the will of their bosses and with minimal social security on offer.
Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said: ‘Millions of migrant workers employed across the Gulf countries are navigating threats to their physical safety and job security amid the conflict.
‘The conflict has brought new risks to migrant workers while also exposing the gaps in labour and other rights, including those enabled by the kafala (sponsorship) system.’
It is a tough life but one that thousands continue to pursue each year to create a better life for their families.
As one construction worker put it: ‘If you can survive in the UAE, then you can survive in any country in the world.’
