Dubai

General information

Geography
The UAE is a federation of seven autonomous Sheikhdoms with a total land area of 83,600 square kilometres.

The seven emirates are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm al Qaiwan and Ajman.

The total population of the UAE is 3.48 million (85% of which is expatriate). Dubai gains higher returns from its tourism unlike many of the other Emirates, as revenue from oil only accounts for around 6%.

The City of Dubai is building its future on diversification.

Currency
Arab Emirates Dirhams (AED or Dh) estimates below

US$ 1 to AED 3.7

Euro 1 to AED 5.2

GBP 1 to AED 5.9

JPY 1 to AED 0.04

CNY 1 to AED 0.5

Local time
Dubai Time is GMT +4 Hours

Language
English is the most widely spoken language, although Arabic is the mother tongue.

Flying Time
London to Dubai - 7 hours; New York to Dubai – 12 hours, 30 mins;  Tokyo to Dubai – 10 hours; Beijing to Dubai – 7 hours, 30 mins

Weather
March: 23 to 27 degrees (°C)

Dress Code
Dress code is liberal but common sense prevails as this is a Muslim country. For the Conference and events surrounding the dress code will be smart business casual.

Visas
If you are a national citizen of a GCC country you do not require a visa to visit the UAE. You will simply need to produce your GCC country passport upon arrival at the point of entry into the UAE

If you are a National Citizen of the following countries you may receive your visit visa at the airport, upon arrival.

UK(with the right of abode in UK), France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Spain, Monaco, Vatican, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Liechtenstein, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and holders of Hong Kong SAR passports will be granted a free of charge visa for a single visit upon arrival in the UAE. It should be noted that this list may vary slightly from time to time and it is therefore best to check with your local UAE embassy or the airline that you are using to fly to the UAE.

Should your country not be listed above please:

1. Check with your nearest UAE Embassy/Consulate for any updates

2. Talk to the hotel that you are staying at and they will assist arranging for you (as they are deemed a valid sponsor)

3. Book your flight through Emirates Airlines who should be able to also assist with providing a visa for you

Arrivals

Transportation from the Airport to your hotel
These are the main options:

  • The cheapest way is to take the new Dubai Metro, however this only departs from Terminal 3 (which is for Emirates flights only), and as such all the stops are not yet open, so it would require taking a taxi from the nearest metro station to your hotel.

  • The most practical and efficient way is to take a ‘Dubai Taxi’ straight from the airport to your hotel, there are plenty Dubai Taxi’s (all cream coloured and lined up outside the terminal) and are a fairly cheap way of getting about i Dubai. Taxi’s in Dubai are far cheaper than what you would pay in Europe or most parts of the world. As an example, a taxi from the airport to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel will cost you arounds $15

  • Contact you hotel in advance who will be able to arrange a hotel car/limo for you, although this is an expensive option

  • Car Hire, we would not reccomend this unless you are used to driving in Dubai. With so many nationalities living here the driving standard is very varied and the road systems complicated because of the continual changes to the road systems and construction works taking place. Also parking can be difficult.

Executive Services at the Airport, ‘Marhaba’
For an executive meet and greet service at Dubai Airport you can contact Marhaba in advance of your arrival and they have various options that you can arrange with them.
http://www.marhabaservices.com/source/index.aspx


Useful Websites

General Tourism and Guides

www.dubaitourism.ae

www.cntraveller.com/Guides/UAE/Dubai/

www.lonelyplanet.com

Leisure, Tours, Sport and Shopping

www.timeoutdubai.com

www.jumeirah.com

www.arabian-adventures.com

www.elsclubdubai.com

www.dubaigolf.com/egc/

www.thedubaimall.com/en

www.malloftheemirates.com/

Ground Transportation

http://dtc.dubai.ae/

http://dubaimetro.eu/

Other

www.burjdubai.com

www.dubaiasitusedtobe.com

Sponsors
difc