Dubai lifts charges for Emirati weddings at hotels

Dubai - Dubai Municipality dispensed couples from paying municipal fees to ease financial burden for newlyweds

Emiratis are now exempted from municipality charges imposed on weddings in Dubai hotels, announced the civic body on Sunday.
To ease the financial burden for newlyweds, Dubai Municipality dispensed Emirati couples from paying municipal fees of hotel weddings, which represents 10 per cent of the total event cost.
Mohammed Julfar, Assistant Director General for Corporate Support Sector at DM, said the initiative is meant to support newly married couples with rising wedding costs that might exceed their financial abilities.  
"Some families demand extravagant celebrations for desire to maintain a certain social image and guarantee lavish lifestyles for their daughters, which puts young men, often at the beginning of their careers, in debts to banks or even their families," Julfar told Khaleej Times.
He added: "Most of Emirati families even carry more than one party for a wedding, which takes a toll on young men's expenses."
According to Julfar, the average cost of an Emirati wedding party ranges from Dh100,000 to Dh200,000, and the new initiative will deduct a maximum amount of Dh15,000 from total charges per party.
He stated that the initiative also aims to increase marriage rates among young Emiratis, where burdening grooms with enormous costs dissolves local marriages.
He also noted that the municipality continues to support mass weddings each year as they form a fundamental element of Emirati life and helps newlyweds to build a debt-free married life.
The initiative will be implemented starting August, while coordinating with hotel establishments in setting out the procedures and requirements that would allow an exemption from municipal fees without the need for hotels or citizens to consult municipality center for review.
sherouk@khaleejtimes.com
 

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