The silhouette of the Burj Al Arab, its sail-shaped profile long a shorthand for Gulf excess, was briefly obscured by smoke and debris in the early weeks of the US-Iran war. When Iranian missiles and drones struck the landmark hotel and other resorts on the artificial Palm island during the winter high season, the immediate consequence was not just structural damage but a sudden, deafening silence. Guests who had come for the mild desert sun fled, and the sprawling lobbies of five-star properties, designed to hum with the languages of a hundred nationalities, fell quiet. That silence has lingered, even after a shaky ceasefire took hold in April, and it is into this altered soundscape that Dubai has now launched an unusual appeal.

In late July, the emirate’s Department of Economy and Tourism unveiled “A Dubai Invite”, a programme that turns residents into recruiters. Any Emirati citizen or foreign resident over 18 with a valid Emirates ID can nominate up to five friends or relatives from abroad to visit between 20 July and 31 October. Once the visitor’s arrival is automatically verified, the host receives a package of benefits worth more than 3,000 dirhams — roughly $816 or 660 Swiss francs — comprising hotel stays, restaurant vouchers, attraction tickets and lifestyle offers. The rewards are not cash but credits and discounts at properties such as W Dubai Mina Seyahi, Meliá Desert Palm and IHG hotels, as well as with ride-hailing service Careem. Each resident can claim up to three such packages during the campaign, and the offers must be redeemed by the end of the year.

The initiative is a direct response to a tourism sector that has been hollowed out by conflict. Dubai, which drew 19.5 million visitors annually before the war, saw its image as a haven of stability shattered when Iran, retaliating against American and Israeli strikes, targeted the oil-rich Gulf monarchies. The Emirates bore the brunt of those attacks, and the exodus of tourists during what should have been peak season left hotels reliant on a largely local clientele. In May, the government approved an economic stimulus package of more than $400 million, including fee exemptions for hotels and restaurants and reduced fines for customs violations, following an earlier $270 million injection in March. The summer months, when temperatures routinely touch 50°C, are traditionally a low season, but this year the emptiness carries a different weight.

Alongside the invitation programme, authorities have been quietly streamlining the mechanics of arrival. The General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs has promoted flexible visit visas of 30, 60 or 90 days, extendable up to 120 days, with processing promised within 48 hours through online platforms or customer happiness centres. A separate five-year multiple-entry tourist visa, introduced in 2021, remains available for all nationalities, requiring proof of a $4,000 bank balance and valid health insurance. The message is consistent: the barriers to entry are being lowered, and the city is leaning on the personal ties of its residents to fill the void left by the absent international traveller.

This reliance on individual networks is not happening in isolation. Across the Gulf, a similar logic is at work. Saudi Arabia has introduced a new multiple-entry Umrah visa, valid for one year and allowing a cumulative stay of 90 days, which can only be obtained after booking an approved service package through the Nusuk platform. The visa, available to Muslims of all nationalities, is designed to make religious travel more flexible, turning pilgrims into repeat visitors who might return several times within a year. In both cases, the region is betting that the bonds of family, friendship and faith can succeed where the old promise of effortless luxury has, for now, been interrupted. As the summer heat presses down on the empty beach clubs and the still waters of the Gulf, the success of that bet will be measured in the quiet arrival of a relative, a friend, a familiar face stepping out of the airport into the blinding light.