Chinese girls to Dubai charged for potential prostitution

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

Chinese females have to pay extra fee before travelling to Dubai, well-known writer Zheng Yuanjie disclosed in his microblog on Friday.

The charge of 400 yuan is paid in the request of travelling agent in China, having nothing to do with Dubai's travelling policy.

Zheng Yuanjie, a well-known Chinese writer said his assistant plans to travel to Dubai. When she paid for the travel, the travel agency told her that all the single women aged below 30 must pay an extra 400 yuan as special visa fee for visiting Dubai because “Dubai authorities find Chinese women engaged in prostitutions in their country.”

Then Zheng asked for micro blog fans’ confirmation, and they said it is the travel agencies rather than the Dubai authorities that charge this special fee.

The representative office of Dubai Tourism Bureau in China said the charge of special visa fee is not their official act. But the news has triggered anger among netizens, many of them thinking it is a great offence to women.

An anonymous worker from a travel agency in Beijing said that it is a common practice that agencies charge 400 yuan of special visa fee to single female travelers to Dubai aged below 35.

The worker explained that once tourists in Dubai are engaged in illegal acts such as prostitution or theft, the Dubai authorities will impose heavy penalties. Although 400 yuan per person is not a big amount, that really can reduce the travel agencies’ burden for potential penalties.