Dubai, a desert party town, has just gotten even wetter. The city-state is breaking new ground with its decision to loosen rules prohibiting day-time alcohol sales during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a move that reflects how much Dubai’s rulers value the revenue both tourists and alcohol tax bring into the emirate.
In years past, those wanting a beer or a glass of wine needed to wait until sundown, when Muslims break the day-long Ramadan fast with their first sips of water and their evening meal called iftar. Bars would also play quiet music and make sure to hide those imbibing behind closed doors and tinted glass during the holy month.
However, just before this Ramadan, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing issued a seemingly benign notice to hotel managers across the emirate. Bars and nightclubs in Dubai are almost entirely limited to operating inside of or connected to hotels — even drink receipts at Dubai International Airport show up as coming from a hotel attached to the airport.
That May 31 notice informed hotels that during the dates encompassing Ramadan, alcohol sales would be governed by normal rules, as opposed to limiting their hours.
Asked by reporters about the rule change, the department said that “ensuring a superlative visitor experience consistently is at the center of our destination proposition and remains in line with Dubai’s significance as a world-class tourism destination.”
The department did appeal to tourists to respect Ramadan rules.
“With nearly 1 million tourists expected to visit and enjoy all aspects of our city over Ramadan, we expect all operators and travelers to be respectful of the Holy Month and be mindful of cultural sensitivities,” the department said in a statement.
It declined to say why officials decided to change the long-standing rules on alcohol this year. Dubai, home of the long-haul airline Emirates, long has sought to make itself a tourism hub. It has the world’s tallest building — the Burj Khalifa — as well as artificial islands, an indoor ski slope and kilometers of air-conditioned walkways in its high-end malls. Under-construction amusement parks and other attractions are planned ahead of it hosting the 2020 World Expo, a world’s fair held every five years.
Beyond tourism, there is another lucrative reason for Dubai’s rulers to sell alcohol.
Every beer poured and mixed drink decanted in a bar is subject to a 30 percent municipality tax. There is also a 50 percent import tax for alcohol, so drinking can be expensive, though tourists and residents can buy from duty-free stores at Dubai’s airports or from bootleggers.
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