Impact of Omicron on UAE Travel

Each time a variant of Coronavirus emerges, there is a dip in the economy that affects several industries, but tourism is the hardest hit. The discovery of the Omicron variant in South Africa has once again led to travel restrictions around the world. Following this, the UAE has imposed a travel ban on seven countries in southern Africa.

The travel industry had just begun recovering from the pandemic with a lot of optimism, but it seems Omicron is going to ruin that. People have begun postponing their travel plans due to this new Omicron variant. As a result, some air routes have experienced a sudden drop in airfares, while other routes have seen a high surge in airfares.

UAE is the middle-east's tourism hub and it cannot take any risks with this new variant. The Emirate has therefore revised border procedures to maintain low infection rates by strengthening precautionary measures.

Who is allowed to travel to the UAE?

The UAE allows citizens of other countries to travel to the country only if they have received a fully immunised COVID-19 vaccine approved by the WHO. As soon as they arrive at the airport, a PCR test is performed and if your test results are positive, you will be required to spend as many days in isolation as your emirate dictates. A fine of AED 50,000 can be imposed for violations of home quarantine rules.

What travellers should do?

In light of the restrictions used in the past year, it appears travel bans will continue to negatively impact the tourism and travel sectors. The uncertainty of constantly changing travel bans impacts demand. It's less a matter of refusing to travel due to the pandemic, but rather of cancelling routes out of fear of getting stranded. It is recommended that travellers check the COVID-19 restrictions consistently before flying to or within the UAE. If you experience symptoms of COVID-19, you may need to delay travel. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, postpone your travel. Make an alternate plan in case future measures or restrictions prove problematic.

Simple precautions that you take in everyday life should also apply to travelling. Since everyone's level of risk tolerance is different, you can do things to reduce your risk.