Dubai: From Glamour and Billions to Crisis and Exodus

(Patria) - The war that erupted after the US and Israeli attacks on Iran has destabilized the Middle East, which is clearly reflected in Dubai, the regional economic and tourist center of the United Arab Emirates.

The city, which planned to host a record 20 million visitors this year, is facing a mass exodus of foreigners and a sudden halt to all economic activities.

According to journalists from the Daily Mail who visited the city, Dubai is currently in a state of complete paralysis.

The city's status as a potential target for Iranian missiles and drones has frightened foreign tourists and businessmen, costing the local economy up to 540 million euros per day, according to media estimates.

Dubai Airport, which was the world's busiest hub for international arrivals until March, is now handling only a minimal fraction of its usual traffic.

The Daily Mail reports that luxury resorts, beach clubs, and restaurants are almost completely empty, and a significant number of hotels have already closed their doors.

In the past week alone, seven five-star hotels have announced their closure, resulting in mass layoffs or sending staff on unpaid leave.

A Daily Mail reporter notes that foreign visitors have become a rarity in tourist areas. He points out that the remaining open hotels are operating with a minimal number of employees who often perform multiple different jobs simultaneously.

Although the economic consequences are evident, Dubai authorities and the management of large companies avoid directly linking the crisis to the war. The Daily Mail highlights that euphemisms about renovation and upgrading of facilities are used instead of the real reasons.

While some hotels announce reopening in September, the reporter suggests that it is highly uncertain whether many of them will ever return to business.

The cultural and historical center of the city is completely empty, and tourist attractions are closed. The journalist conveys the impressions of the few remaining merchants who describe the situation as critical and emphasize that traffic is at a historic low.

The current source of income for the few open establishments are exclusively local residents who are taking advantage of the drastic drop in accommodation and catering prices for short weekend stays.

The humanitarian cost of the war is most heavily borne by millions of migrant workers, who are estimated to make up between 80 and 90 percent of Dubai's population.

While wealthy foreign nationals and influencers left the United Arab Emirates immediately after the conflict broke out, workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines remained trapped in labor camps without income and with no real possibility of leaving.

The scale of the labor exodus is best illustrated by air traffic data. According to the Daily Mail, four regular flights to the Philippines depart from Dubai daily, while additional repatriation flights return about a hundred people to their homelands each day.

However, many cannot afford the ticket, which costs around 110 euros, nor do they have guaranteed employment upon return, leaving them in a hopeless situation.

A Daily Mail reporter visited the Sonapur district, one of the key accommodation centers for the workforce, where tens of thousands of men reside in dilapidated and overcrowded dormitories.

The loss of jobs in Dubai has caused a chain reaction of poverty in their home countries, as numerous families depended directly on the money sent by these workers.

Human Rights Watch has warned that these workers are the most exposed to the physical dangers of the conflict. Data cited by the Daily Mail confirms this - of the 12 people killed in the escalation so far, 11 were foreign workers.

Michael Page, deputy director of Human Rights Watch for the Middle East, points out that the war has exposed all the shortcomings of the kafala system, which ties workers to employers and leaves them with minimal social protection and no right to decide on their own safety.

Parallel to the economic and humanitarian collapse, Dubai authorities are exercising strict control over information about the consequences of the war.

According to the Daily Mail, an official ban has been imposed on filming, publishing, or disseminating any visual representations of damage caused by Iranian attacks, which followed because the Emirates are a key ally of the US and host approximately 5,000 military personnel at Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi.

Penalties for violating these provisions are rigorous and include a minimum of one year in prison and fines exceeding 24,000 euros. Media reports suggest that hundreds of people have already been detained for non-compliance with these bans.

The fear of state surveillance has deeply permeated the daily lives of all residents, especially migrant workers.

In labor camps like Sonapur, there is a belief that all digital communication is being monitored, which is why workers are reluctant to mention war events even in private WhatsApp messages.

Daily Mail sources, who agreed to speak only under guaranteed anonymity, admit that they fear the reaction of local security services more than the missiles themselves.

This atmosphere of censorship has also spread to the business sector. Shop owners, restaurateurs, and hotel management systematically avoid acknowledging the depth of the crisis, fearing retaliation from authorities or permanent damage to the city's reputation.

The Daily Mail emphasizes that the official rhetoric about Dubai's stability and security is completely at odds with the reality on the ground, where the traces of war and economic stagnation are being hidden behind euphemisms and closed doors.

The reporter concludes that in such circumstances, the only hope for the recovery of tourism and the economy lies in the outcome of peace negotiations between the US and Iran, reports Jutarnji list.