As I said, respect the local laws and customs and nothing will happen to you. As proven by about 15 million annual tourists from all over the world.
You obviously don’t have to visit if you disagree with the local customs, but to say that going there has any measurable chances of getting arrested is incorrect.
And regarding the law about sharing a room by a (heterosexual) premarital couple, it has been decriminalized in 2020, and rarely applied to foreigners in the first place.
This is the kinda of person that thinks that Neom is a good and innovative project. Thats just what happens to people who worship money and consumption.
Type of thing I only want made so I can look at pictures and maybe watch a 30 minute b1m video on it. Say “that’s cool” then get on with my life. Although I’m probably Saudi Arabia’s target audience in this case 🤣
I’m not saying I support it, because there’s probably a million better reasons why it shouldn’t be made that are better than “it’s cool”
This is the kind of person that makes assumptions about people out of thin air. Just because I’m stating facts that are contrary to your preconceived notions, doesn’t mean that I support or “worship” things.
Are you asking about my personal opinion or why 15 million people visit it every year?
Personally, I visited many times because my brother studied there for 4 years, and I often transit through Dubai.
But generally, people go there for the numerous tourist attractions and duty free shopping (although, I believe that has been cancelled a couple of years ago).
There are multiple stories of women being raped and then charged with having premarital sex, as if they had a say in the matter. Here’s one example. The fact that’s it’s happened enough for an organization to be created to deal with it sounds fairly damning from where I stand. I can only assume those 15 million people don’t find that to be reason enough to stay away.
Yes, crime in Dubai happens. Yes, they have unreasonable and archaic Sharia laws. Yes, awful situations, like women being jailed for being raped happen, according to some sources, possibly even several times a year. But here’s the unintuitive thing, it’s still statistically safe. Whether you like it or not, that’s how statistics work.
Here’s an example to help people visualize it better. Every year, on average, 10-20 planes crash, with 100s of deaths, which is terrible. But, every year, on average, there are about 40 million flights, which comes up to about 0.00004% crash rate percentage. Every time you get on a plane there’s a chance you’re going to die in a crash, cause crashes happen regularly, and yet, it’s the safest method of transportation.
Now let’s make a rough calculation for the rape cases for tourists. Let’s be generous (because UAE definitely underreports these incidents) and assume it happens not just several, but 10 times annually. There are 15 million tourist visits annually. That is roughly… 0.00007% chance. Depending on what numbers you pick, that is about twice as likely as being in a plane crash.
And to drive the final nail into the coffin, let’s looks at some official numbers:
Safe Cities Index 2021 Personal Security score: 67 (slightly above New York, San Francisco, to name a few), 35th safest city in the world.
Numbeo Safety Index: 84.00 (Very high) (for comparison, New York has safety index of 50)
Expat Insider Survey: Expats report their personal safety (93% vs. 83% globally) very positively.
In conclusion:
UAE has archaic Sharia laws.
If you are aware of the local laws and customs, and don’t disobey them, you have very low probability of having any issues.
And if I don’t go, I’m not lending support to a place with archaic laws and other abusive practices, even if I wouldn’t be at risk if I went there. It’s as simple as that.
As I said, respect the local laws and customs and nothing will happen to you. As proven by about 15 million annual tourists from all over the world.
You obviously don’t have to visit if you disagree with the local customs, but to say that going there has any measurable chances of getting arrested is incorrect.
And regarding the law about sharing a room by a (heterosexual) premarital couple, it has been decriminalized in 2020, and rarely applied to foreigners in the first place.
Why would you want to visit Dubai though. It’s literally just where people show off their wealth
This is the kinda of person that thinks that Neom is a good and innovative project. Thats just what happens to people who worship money and consumption.
Type of thing I only want made so I can look at pictures and maybe watch a 30 minute b1m video on it. Say “that’s cool” then get on with my life. Although I’m probably Saudi Arabia’s target audience in this case 🤣
I’m not saying I support it, because there’s probably a million better reasons why it shouldn’t be made that are better than “it’s cool”
This is the kind of person that makes assumptions about people out of thin air. Just because I’m stating facts that are contrary to your preconceived notions, doesn’t mean that I support or “worship” things.
Are you asking about my personal opinion or why 15 million people visit it every year?
Personally, I visited many times because my brother studied there for 4 years, and I often transit through Dubai.
But generally, people go there for the numerous tourist attractions and duty free shopping (although, I believe that has been cancelled a couple of years ago).
What do you work for their chamber of commerce or something? You’re not convincing anyone here.
I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything, I’m just stating facts.
Decriminalized in 2020. How progressive.
I didn’t say it’s progressive (although it’s obviously progress), I was just pointing out that, besides the point, that info is outdated.
There are multiple stories of women being raped and then charged with having premarital sex, as if they had a say in the matter. Here’s one example. The fact that’s it’s happened enough for an organization to be created to deal with it sounds fairly damning from where I stand. I can only assume those 15 million people don’t find that to be reason enough to stay away.
Yes, crime in Dubai happens. Yes, they have unreasonable and archaic Sharia laws. Yes, awful situations, like women being jailed for being raped happen, according to some sources, possibly even several times a year. But here’s the unintuitive thing, it’s still statistically safe. Whether you like it or not, that’s how statistics work.
Here’s an example to help people visualize it better. Every year, on average, 10-20 planes crash, with 100s of deaths, which is terrible. But, every year, on average, there are about 40 million flights, which comes up to about 0.00004% crash rate percentage. Every time you get on a plane there’s a chance you’re going to die in a crash, cause crashes happen regularly, and yet, it’s the safest method of transportation.
Now let’s make a rough calculation for the rape cases for tourists. Let’s be generous (because UAE definitely underreports these incidents) and assume it happens not just several, but 10 times annually. There are 15 million tourist visits annually. That is roughly… 0.00007% chance. Depending on what numbers you pick, that is about twice as likely as being in a plane crash.
And to drive the final nail into the coffin, let’s looks at some official numbers:
In conclusion:
And if I don’t go, I’m not lending support to a place with archaic laws and other abusive practices, even if I wouldn’t be at risk if I went there. It’s as simple as that.
Exactly! Just as I said in my earlier replies, if you disagree with the laws and customs, just don’t go there. But also, don’t spread misinformation.
Where did I spread misinformation?
Sorry, the last part wasn’t addressed to you specifically, but to those who were saying that it’s dangerous to go to Dubai.
Fair enough.