Travel and politics seem to be constant but uneasy bedfellows. (And rest assured Tripso readers, this is not going to be a “cancel my subscription” pro-Obama post.)
In this case, however, a political decision out of Dubai has ended up hurting the country’s tourism business. The decision was the United Arab Emirates (UAE) choosing to deny a visa to an Israeli tennis player for the Dubai Championship.
IsramWorld, one of the leading tour operators to the Mideast, announced Monday that because of the decision, they will cancel all their tour programs to Dubai.
The woman involved, Shaheer Peer, is ranked 48th in the world, and was not likely to win or have had a major impact in the tournament. Still, she is not known as a political activist, so the UAE’s decision is disturbing.
Isramworld’s president, Ady Gelber, called the UAE’s decision “an odious act of political bigotry,” and added “Dubai appears not ready to be a member of the world tourism family.”
From a travel agent’s perspective, the whole situation is unfortunate. Isramworld is a well-regarded, long-established company — exactly the sort of tour operator most agents like to use to exotic countries. They were one of the first to offer tours to Egypt, and to Jordan.
Dubai, with their fantasy hotels, has become well known to travelers looking for the “next new thing,” but they also have the highest average hotel prices in the world, and their tourist economy has suffered with the global recession.
Clearly, Israel’s role in the Mideast is controversial, but it is hard to see any benefits for anyone in this situation. Travelers willing to try Dubai as “something different” may be scared off, and travel agents, with one less trusted resource, may be less likely to book the destination.
Personally, I can only hope that by next year, the UAE will put tennis, not politics, first.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Not only did the UAE deny Shaheer Peer a visa, but many Arab countries deny a visa to anyone with a stamp on their passport from Israel. As interesting as Dubai is, I won’t visit it or any other country that does this. I’m glad Isramworld has taken this stand and I hope the WTA removes its sponsorship of the Dubai Championship until the UAE agrees to keep its commitments.
Israel does this sort of thing all the time. Do you think an Arab national could expect to be granted a visa to Israel? Think again. Israel invented the policy of visa denial as a means of harassment based on ethnicity – if anyone’s interested, I can pass on several instances that I’m personally familiar with.
Politics has never been completely removed from sports, and perhaps it shouldn’t be. The US and USSR boycotted each other’s Olympic games, and the Soviet judges were notorious for biased scoring. The international community refused to accept South African athletes in any international competetion during apartheid. Was that right? Maybe, maybe not. But oddly enough, I don’t recall anyone being demonized for it at the time. Double standards?
@Jennifer: Two wrongs don’t make right. Ever hear that? Apparently not.
Also this woman wasn’t some terrorist suspect lady. She was an athlete.
She wasn’t applying for work or risidency. Big difference. Misrepresenting the facts doesn’t put your argument in a good light. Next….
The Arab nations isolate Israel in every way they can. They essentially had Israel kicked out of the Asian Games but I doubt if Israel were to hold an international competition Arab athletes would have a problem with Israel if they wished to attend (their own nations would regard them as traitors if they tried to attend). The UAE originally agreed to allow all competitors visas and then reneged.
Ping-pong was the vehicle that opened China to the world in the early 70’s, so sports can play a positive role in encouraging peace. It’s obvious, for all their protestations, the Arab nations don’t really want peace with Israel, or they would encourage more non-governmental contacts like this.