Shops in Dubai at risk of losing licence for cheating tourists

Rental car companies and shops that cheat tourists will be blacklisted, the Dubai Police have warned. In case of repeated serious violations, errant shops risk losing their trade licence.
The Dubai Police have launched an awareness campaign titled 'Welcome to the UAE' that will help visitors and tourists understand the laws and customs of the country. Information about where tourists can seek assistance round-the-clock will be conveyed to them. The campaign, which will be in place till the end of the year, will see awareness lectures in multiple languages.
The campaign's activities will be carried out in places most frequented by tourists. It will encourage tourists to communicate with the emirate's tourist police. The campaign will help strengthen cooperation and coordination between agencies and government departments that handle tourists and tourism-related activities.
Tourist police get over 500 calls
The tourist police call centre received 515 calls from visitors between June and September this year, Colonel Mohammed Rashid bin Sari, Director of the General Department of Tourism Security, said.
He said the calls ranged from enquiries to complaints.
Bin Sari said the tourist police provide services round the clock. The police even follow up with tourists after they leave, asking them if they faced any problems while in the country. He said the police are present in Dubai markets, especially at gold markets to intervene if tourists face a problem. He pointed out that "majority of the complaints" the tourist police receive "are a result of misunderstandings".
Traffic violations by tourists
Bin Sari said the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have a cooperation framework to collect fines for traffic violations committed in member states.
He said the police have requested the Ministry of Interior to reduce the period in alerting visitors about traffic violations committed in the UAE to a week. He said traffic fines take a maximum of two days to be recorded in the system.
amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai