Businesses across the globe have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, each to differing extents. Companies worldwide have had to put serious measures in place to help their business survive. This may be through redundancies, enforcing unpaid leave, or cutting pay.

Here in Dubai, we’re facing the consequences of the outbreak. What does the Dubai economy look like in 2020? Well, the future looks pretty bleak right now. According to a report from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, over 70% of businesses in Dubai are expected to close their doors within the next six months. There are ongoing issues with demand during the pandemic.

My Own Business Situation after Lockdown

I have a particular interest in the business situation after lockdown because I run my own company, Pixels Production Studio, alongside my husband. We own a photography business together. I photograph food, and he shoots people, weddings, and events.

Lockdown impacted our business dramatically, primarily through the two weeks when restrictions were super strict. In fact, during those two weeks, we didn’t have a single shoot between us.

However, since lockdown measures have started to ease, we’ve slowly started to see more work come in. I can see that businesses are now beginning to look towards their post-COVID plans. For example, last month, I had my first full-day shoot since the lockdown happened. This is a really good sign that businesses are willing to invest in photography again. It’s a step in the right direction!

Is the Dubai Economy doomed? Local business situation after lockdown

To find out more, I decided to speak to local employees and business owners. Oxford Economics estimates that Dubai could lose over 900,000 jobs, as expats leave the city. That’s nearly 10% of Dubai’s residents. How would businesses cope with the loss?

Restaurants in Dubai Post-Lockdown

So how did people feel about the future of their business? I wanted to know. I met with Chef Jean from Yawmi (a dark-kitchen concept in Dubai) and is a client of mine. Usually, I would be photographing his dishes in his restaurant. Instead, I was taking pictures from the comfort of his home. How times have changed!

Chef Jean said that his business model had helped him to survive through the lockdown period. The company is primarily a takeout/delivery food company, serving Lebanese and Middle Eastern food. The way the business runs is beneficial to him. He didn’t have to close his doors or rely on people to dine in. His opinion was positive: he had started to see slow improvements in the number of customers. He also expects that this number will only increase as lockdown measures ease even further.

It was refreshing to meet someone with such a positive attitude, especially when there is so much uncertainty surrounding the future of businesses!

Local businesses are suffering post-COVID

However, at another local restaurant, the story was not as positive. The assistant manager at The Copper Kettle told me how they had no dine-in at all for two months. Having no diners have profoundly impacted the business. People lost their jobs and remaining employees had their salaries cut.

In my opinion, it’s going to be difficult for dine-in restaurants to recover as quickly as they need to. With social distancing measures still in place, they can’t run at full capacity or anything close. On a more positive note, though, he did tell me that they’d seen a 30% increase in customers since lockdown has started to ease.

As I walked through Dubai looking to talk to restaurant workers and owners, it was clear that many weren’t open. It’s difficult to know whether they will open any time soon, as people are still cautious about dining out. Let’s hope that things continue to pick up as time goes on, though.

Business centers and offices in Dubai: Will the Dubai Economy survive?

When I met Sudeeshna, who owns Beyond Numbers, I couldn’t help but notice how deserted the business centers in Dubai are. Everybody seems to be working from home, as the offices in the city are eerily quiet.

Sudeeshna works in accounting and taxation and said that she’s seen a decrease in her workload. Since many businesses have had to close down or have very few customers, they’ve had no revenue. With no income coming in, companies haven’t needed to utilize accounting services. Her outlook is very positive, however.

She noted that this whole situation is an excellent opportunity for us to learn and develop our skills. The lull in work means that we can use the time to get used to the pandemic. We can spend the time learning rather than feeling bad about its consequences. I think this is such a fantastic outlook to have! I agree that we should be grateful for this time. It’s given us the chance to work on ourselves and prepare for the new normal.

      

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Other Business’ Situations in Dubai

To get a feel for how different businesses are coping with the coronavirus’s effects, I wanted to speak to a variety of businesses. So, next, I headed to a salon/spa. An employee there told me that, despite being open since the end of April, business is suffering. This is because they are only allowed to carry out a small amount of the services they offer.

Despite the salon adhering to strict sanitizing guidelines, the employee here told me that she thinks people are too scared to have treatments. The impact of the virus may last the rest of the year for this small business. People have lost confidence and do not want to rush into the new normal when the future seems uncertain.

Her advice was to take one day at a time, which is so relevant right now. This past year has been so unpredictable that we have to focus on the present. Taking one day at a time allows businesses to figure out their new plans as they find their feet again.

Dubai Economy and Business Situation after Lockdown: Stay positive!

It’s easy to get bogged down by bad news, especially after the year we’ve had so far. So let’s take a leaf out of Imran’s book. Imran is a Freelance fitness trainer here in Dubai. He told me how lockdown has helped him grow his business into new dimensions.

While the first few weeks of lockdown were tough for him, he soon decided to take his business online. Lockdown meant no gyms, no new members, and no customers. However, by building an online presence using Zoom classes and social media, Imran thinks he will come out with more customers than before once lockdown has lifted. He’s used lockdown to market his services for when things open back up.

I love this creativity! I think so many of us have had to adapt and overcome the past few months’ challenges. It’s great to see people thriving and finding new ways to help their business survive.

My Thoughts on the Business Situation after Lockdown 

The lack of tourism in Dubai will undoubtedly make it hard for businesses to survive these challenging times. The Dubai economy has had an enormous downfall; the Fair Observer writes that tourism contributes to $28 billion of the economy each year.

The employees and business owners that I met gave me hope, though, that things will get better. Despite the hardships companies are currently facing, they are finding new, innovative ways to adapt to the new normal.

Companies are doing their best under the circumstances. They’re using the time to learn more, market their business more effectively, and take things as they come.

And as for my business? I’m hopeful that work will continue to pick up as lockdown restrictions ease. We have to take one day at a time and hope that things get easier.

Get a feel of what the ‘New Normal’ could be in the coming future.