Expats have a hard time, but Dubai faces tourist boom during Eid

Dubai, Oct 12 (UNI) Expats are hit by the rising rupee and cost of living in the Gulf but UAE is facing a tourist boom with hotels full booked ahead of Eid festival.

The moon-sighting committee has announced today as the first day of Eid here. The committee, headed by Justice Minister Mohammed bin Nakhira Al Dhaheri, said in a statement in Abu Dhabi yesterday that 'after a number of legitimate measures, as well as several contacts made with neighbouring countries, it was established that Friday, October 12 will be the first day of Shawwal (the first day of Eid Al Fitr) in the UAE.

Though the rising cost of living has been a dampener for expatriates in the Gulf, tourism in UAE and particularly in Dubai is seeing a boom. The season has attracted a lot of Europeans and Australians according to travel officials.

''We are almost fully booked. Europeans and Australians are coming. We do have GCC families but not like in the previous years,'' Subodh Mathur of Hawthorne Hotel was quoted by the Khaleej Times as saying.

The rising value of rupee has drastically reduced the remittances from the Gulf to India. High rents and inflation and traffic woes may also dent the Eid celebrations of expats here this time.

UNI