Dubai waives 10pc in hotel bills for wedding parties

Dubai : Wedding bells will ring with less impact on pockets for Emiratis from next month, thanks to a new decision by the Dubai Municipality to waive the municipal fee for wedding banquets in hotels.

The civic body on Sunday announced that it will exempt Emiratis hosting their wedding parties at hotels from paying the 10 per cent municipal fee from August 1. The exemption will be capped at Dh15,000.

The municipality’s move is part of its corporate social responsibility programme aimed at ensuring happiness of UAE citizens, said Mohammad Julfar, assistant director-general for Corporate Support Services Sector.

“This is aimed at alleviating the financial burden that they would incur for meeting the expenses for wedding banquets.”

He said the higher committee for financial policies at the municipality decided to waive either 10 per cent of the total bills at hotels or a maximum of Dh15, 000 of newly-wed Emiratis.

The civic body will soon put in place the terms and procedures related to the application for exemption of this fee from the municipality in cooperation with the hospitality sector, which will avoid the need for the hotels or the citizens to follow up with the municipality centres for the same, he added.

Emiratis welcomed the move saying this will help the young men waiting to tie the knot as all wedding expenses are traditionally borne by the grooms in the local culture.

Abdullah Al Abdullah, a 25-year-old Emirati man working with a government department, said the discounted hotel bills will help the men waiting to start their family life to set aside that much money to meet some other expenses.

“Even Dh5,000 to Dh10,000 would make a difference. So, up to Dh15,000 reduction is quite good. It [10 per cent of wedding party bills] could easily reach that amount, especially in good hotels in Dubai. One of the greatest challenges is to start your new life with a big budget and high expectations. This will help youngsters to put aside some money for something else,” said Al Abdullah.

Asma Al Mulla, an associate procurement director in a semi-government entity, said the move will benefit Emirati bridegrooms.

“Being an Emirati, I know they spend a lot of money on weddings because marriage is a very lavish affair here. When they spend, they also tend to go a little overboard and the Emirati men even end up taking loans for wedding functions. So, this is a very good gesture from the municipality to reduce their burden.”