Khaleej Times: Colaba, a pulsating and vibrant locality in south Mumbai, is also the city’s Arab quarter. Hundreds of Arabs, including many from the UAE, can be seen at the numerous hotels and restaurants in the tourist district.
Many UAE nationals visit Mumbai during the monsoon season — from mid-June to late September — enjoying the fury of the rains near the Gateway of India or along the Marine Drive. Colaba Causeway, the two-km-long busy stretch — with pavements occupied by hawkers — is packed with Arabs, shopping for ‘oodh’ (used for making perfumes), curios and other traditional stuff.
Says Sultan Humood Abu Afra, the UAE consul-general in Mumbai: “About 5,000 UAE national families came here last monsoon during the summer holidays. Their numbers are growing rapidly every year.”
The UAE consulate-general here arranges to pick up the visitors from the airport from where they are brought to the hotels in Colaba. It also organises for local transportation and sight-seeing, and organises tours to south India — including Kerala — through travel agents.
“While in the past most UAE nationals came to Mumbai only during the monsoons, these days the city has emerged as a year-round destination,” notes the consul-general.
“There are business delegations, private businessmen, nationals visiting Mumbai for medical treatment, and even a few students.”
According to Sultan Humood, at any given time there are over 80 UAE nationals undergoing medical treatment at the numerous hospitals in the city.
Carl Vaz, Director, India representative office, Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, points out that increasingly many UAE nationals also head for destinations like Rajasthan. “Besides shopping in Mumbai and undergoing medical treatment, many UAE nationals head for places like Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Jaipur in Rajasthan,” says Vaz.
The department set up its office in Dubai 10 years ago, and Vaz notes that the number of Indians visiting the emirate — and staying at hotels and apartment hotels — has shot up from 120,000 in 1997 to 390,000 in 2006.
Sultan Humood says that the growing number of visitors (especially UAE nationals) from Dubai to Mumbai and vice versa (of Indians going out on shopping expeditions to Dubai) has seen a sharp spurt in the number of flights between the two cities. It almost adds up to 15 daily flights, “but yet, it is impossible to get a ticket at short notice,” says the consul-general.
He recalls that UAE nationals have been visiting Mumbai for decades, and many are fascinated by the city, which draws them every year. But many of the visitors are also venturing to other places, including Bangalore.
Colaba though is like second home to many of the UAE visitors, who enjoy staying at the numerous hotels dotting the neighbourhood. Many of the hotels cater to the needs of Arab visitors, have staff fluent in Arabic, and also prepare Arabic food.
Yasin Chaudhary, a restaurateur, who has been catering to Arab visitors for decades, says he hires cooks who are experts in Arabic cuisine. His Food Plaza restaurant has menus in Arabic, and the food is cooked in the traditional Arab way. Not surprisingly, UAE national families can be seen patronising the restaurant right from breakfast time, till well beyond midnight.
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