Would you choose Dubai as a holiday destination?

I’ve travelled all over the world, stopped off in Dubai a fair few times.

What I want to know from all of the ‘how can people be so morally bankrupt?’ posters, is where IS acceptable to go on holiday? Where in the world has no human rights abuse, where has good laws that don’t persecute certain people/groups? I’d love to know where these utopian societies are, because Dubai is certainly a concrete jungle, and nobody has to like it - but countries all over the world (including the UK!) have some disgusting laws and practices. I can think off the top of my head, of many other seemingly acceptable destinations who have the same laws and shitty problems that Dubai has.

I’m not saying everyone should love Dubai, I’m saying I don’t get the points people are making. Have you seen what we’re doing to the environment in the UK? Rape and sexual abuse, child abuse, domestic violence are all practically legal! All the naysayers, where did you last go that was a foreign country and that has a great track record?

FWIW I believe modern slavery, abuse of the environment, abusive corrupt rulers, persecution of LBGTQ+ peoples, suppression of women’s rights etc etc etc is despicable. Just not sure where else has a wonderful record on such matters.

@Maria1979 are there any other countries apart from Dubai that you wouldn’t visit?

There is a lot of incorrect information on this thread. I've lived and worked in the UAE for 6+ years.

Unmarried couples can live together and holiday together. Alcohol is legal, its just harder to buy and expensive in Dubai compared to other Emirates. Being drunk in public is not allowed and neither is driving with alcohol in the blood. All food is not imported, there are many farms especially in Al Ain region and most chicken, dairy and vegetables and fruit that can be grown using hydroponics are grown locally. Some fresh produce is imported from KSA, which has a similar climate and landscape!

I prefer AD to Dubai and so does everyone I know who has lived in both. Dubai is so busy and we've seen the sights so now just go for a weekend a few times a year.

If you want the winter warmth but not the glitz, you're better off going to AD and enjoying the coast, mangroves, history, peace and quiet there.

As a woman, I always feel safe here and I also appreciate that women's spaces are protected- no unisex bathrooms or changing rooms in UAE.

No, it's not on my list of places I want to go but everyone is different.

I went to Dubai for the first time last Easter and absolutely loved it. Everything is brand new and fit for purpose, it felt very sad safe, taxis were extremely cheap to get about, the food was amazing, it's very luxurious, there is culture (if you want it), not too long a flight and minimal jet lag and the weather is pretty much guaranteed!

I'm a woman. I travel very frequently & very regularly on on own including to places like China as well as extensively through Europe, solo trips mainly for work.

I also travel with my dh & dc on holidays though never to beach resorts as I'm not into those holidays.

I have never once been 'hassled' by anyone on any of these trips & over the past 2 years I've been to Latvia, Belgium, Sweden (twice), Denmark, Germany, Italy (multiple places, multiple times) London, Slovenia, and France. I have not felt unsafe anywhere I've been.

So I guess I don't really get the posters taking about loving Dubai as you don't get hassled like you do in European destinations.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/middle-east-and-north-africa/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/report-united-arab-emirates/

"Incredible service" by workers whose passports have been confiscated and know they better deliver excellent service for peanuts or they might get their hands chopped off. Glad you appreciated it.

I have a friend who goes to Dubai for Christmas most years. She is single and finds it very safe. She doesn't get hassled like she does in European holiday desinations.

Not a chance but I know people who love it and go regularly 🤷🏼‍♀️ Each to their own I guess.

No, other places hold more appeal.

I like cities but there are more interesting cities, and I like hot weather and pools but live in a country with both. I’m not interested in shopping. I’ve travelled all over the world and have rarely felt unsafe and the idea that it’s remarkable for one poster that there ‘wasn’t a drunk in sight’ suggests to me nothing more than that that poster needs to broaden their usual travel itinerary.

I think it would be disingenuous to pretend I don’t already benefit from modern slavery on a daily basis.

We're hoping to spend winters there after we retire, so I holiday in other places for now.

That 'incredible service' frequently comes at enormous, brutal, emotional human cost.

I could not square that one with myself. Smiling away, knowing what lies behind it all. Ugh.

Doesnt the whole "modern slavery" thing put you off? (You arent the only one saying you enjoy it, so this isn't having a go at you, just your post was the one where I couldn't keep the question in any longer.)

I don’t know if it ever came into force, but I think it was proposed a while back. I think similar exists/ existed in lebanon

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/10/kuwait-must-reject-proposed-homophobic-medical-tests-migrant-workers/

Fuck no! Nothing would take me anywhere in that region.

Yes, I actually have only holidayed in Western Europe. France, Spain, Greece including the islands etc. I live in Surrey and have never been to Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Never ventured further North than Alton Towers 🤭
I suppose its not surprising Dubai looks like hell to someone like me...

its safe for women and families too.

likewise for gay people. Now that’s not me saying it’s a bastion of lgbtq rights because it’s obviously not, and the laws are homophobic but the region operates on a don’t ask don’t tell basis. As long as there was never any pda then you’d be fine. I have gay friends that work there, they were initially stationed in Kuwait I think where it was invasive, there were rumours of physical exams conducted I believe

Not right now regardless of human rights, fact you could end up in prison for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Not if you paid me.

A straight man.

If you're a man.

Soulless concrete jungle built by slaves.

Once was enough.

Ugh no. I've been a few times to visit friends and for work but I have always got a big massive ick being there.