The United Arab Emirates is to close its flagship Burj Al Arab hotel for one and a half years amid a sharp drop in tourist visits to the Persian Gulf country, caused by Iran’s retaliatory attacks against US bases in the region, a report says.
The Wednesday report by Middle East Eye said that Burj Al Arab’s owner company said in a statement a day earlier that it would begin a lengthy refurbishment operation amid a drop-off in tourism activity in the UAE and the wider region as a result of Iranian operations.
The Reuters news agency also quoted a staff member of the hotel as saying that guests with prior bookings will be accommodated in alternative nearby hotels during the closure period.
The famous sail-shaped hotel which is located in the city of Dubai, suffered damage from the unsuccessful interception of an Iranian drone in March, when Iran was carrying out attacks on US bases and interests in regional countries.
The attacks came after the US and Israel launched an aggression on Iran, bombing civilian targets across the country.
Iran swiftly responded by targeting US bases and companies across the region, including in the UAE, a key US ally in the region that allowed its soil to be used for attacks against the Islamic Republic.
Burj Al Arab’s owner company admitted in its statement that Iranian attacks on the UAE and other countries in the Persian Gulf had caused an exodus of foreign expats and tourists from the region.
Reports say that Iranian reprisal attacks have caused stock markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi to lose more than $120 billion since the start of the US-Israeli aggression on Iran in late February.
The UAE has also been forced to cancel some 18,400 flights over the period.
Iran carried out nearly 1,500 attacks on targets in the UAE, reports suggest, making the country the second most notable target of such attacks after the Israeli regime over March and early April.