More than a dozen travel corridors have now opened up for passengers from the UAE, including Bahrain, Serbia, Greece, Italy and the Seychelles.
The agreements allow for vaccinated passengers to travel between both destinations without the need to quarantine on arrival.
But you may be wondering what to do if you are not yet inoculated, or you want to travel to a country that requires tourists to quarantine?
And how about when you come back to the UAE from your holiday?
To get a sense of how these rules differ, The National considered the most popular destinations for travellers from the UAE.
These rules are subject to sudden change, so do check the latest rules on your airline's website or on the IATA travel regulations site before you travel.
Europe & Russia
• Cyprus – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
• France – the UAE is classed as an orange country by France, which means non‑vaccinated passengers must have a compelling reason for travelling to France, and must self‑isolate for 7 days. It is worth noting that Sinopharm is not an approved vaccine in France. Vaccinated travellers can holiday as normal.
• Greece – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
• Italy – passengers flying from Dubai to Rome, Milan and Venice on special flights are exempted from any quarantine requirement.
• Spain – unvaccinated passengers from the UAE may not enter the country, unless they are aged 17 and under.
• United Kingdom - all travellers from the UAE are required to quarantine at a government-approved hotel for 11 days, and must have two negative Covid-19 tests before being allowed to leave, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against Covid-19 or not.
• Russia – there are currently no quarantine requirements for travel to Russia.
Middle East
• Bahrain – non vaccinated passengers are required to quarantine for 10 days at a government approved hotel or their residence. Proof of prepaid hotel reservation in their name for a designated quarantine facility must be provided before boarding a flight to the country. Sinopharm is an approved vaccine in Bahrain.
• Egypt – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
• Jordan – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
• Lebanon – unvaccinated passengers should home quarantine for 72 hours. This will be monitored by the Lebanese authorities through an electronic application. Passengers are required to download and activate the "covidlebtrack" application and present it to the Ministry of Public Health representatives at the airport. Sinopharm is an approved vaccine in Lebanon.
• Saudi Arabia - all non‑vaccinated international travellers must complete their institutional quarantine at their own expense starting from the time of arrival for seven days. It is worth noting Sinopharm is not an approved vaccine in Saudi Arabia.
• Turkey – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
Asia
• Maldives – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated holidaymakers from the UAE to quarantine. If you are travelling there for a different purpose, you should check with the authorities.
• Pakistan – all passengers arriving in Pakistan are required to undergo a 10‑day home quarantine following strict Trace, Test & Quarantine (TTQ) protocols.
• Phuket (from July 2) – non‑vaccinated passengers will need to stay at special quarantine hotel for 14 days. The hotel need to be booked before arrival. Sinopharm is an approved vaccine in Phuket.
• Philippines – most flights from the UAE are currently suspended until June 15. Unvaccinated passengers are required to quarantine for 14 days, with 10 in a government-managed hotel. Vaccinated passengers must show proof before only needing to quarantine for 7 days.
• Seychelles – there is no need for vaccinated or unvaccinated travellers from the UAE to quarantine.
Quarantine on arrival in the UAE
At the time of writing, most passengers from South Africa, Nigeria, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were not allowed to enter the UAE.
There is no need for any other travellers to quarantine when they arrive in Dubai, however there are different testing requirements depending on where you have been in the last 14 days.
Abu Dhabi will remove all Covid-19 quarantine restrictions for most international travellers on July 1, however the emirate will have different testing protocols for visitors from low-risk and high-risk countries.
At present, passengers arriving from countries not on Abu Dhabi's green list are required to quarantine, and must wear a medically-approved wristband for the duration.
Vaccinated passengers must quarantine for 5 days. Non-vaccinated passengers must quarantine for 10 days.
If you have arrived from a country that the UAE authorities deem is high-risk, then you will be required to quarantine at a government facility.
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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