Dubai hotel bombing: Tourists recount terrifying scenes

Several tourists in Dubai have recounted their experiences of the terrifying scenes as a hotel there was bombed.

According to detikTravel, the Iranian attack on Dubai left tourists fearful. A number of visitors witnessed the hotel bombing.

One of them is Sim J Evans, a British bodybuilder who has been in Dubai since last week. He was due to fly back to New York on Sunday, but the missile strikes prompted the Middle East to close its airspace.

‘In the last 36 hours we have witnessed something different, buildings shaking as drones were intercepted, explosions in the distance rattling the glass,’ Evans wrote in an Instagram post, cited by detikTravel.

Isabella, a tourist from Australia, also described frightening scenes.

‘I was sending a video of my outfits in Dubai to my mother, and a minute later I sent a heartbreaking video trying to contact my family because opposite my hotel a building was being bombed,’ the Australian travel creator said on Instagram, cited from Euro News on Thursday (5/3/2026).

Tourists who were outdoors and around the hotel were told to return inside. Denise Curran, a tourist from Northern Ireland, said she was asked to return to the hotel with her family on Sunday.

‘I was actually trying to smile and pretend everything was fine in front of my children… but I am scared. All places are closed and loud noises keep sounding,’ she wrote on social media.

Some tourists said they had difficulty contacting or obtaining advice from embassies and airlines. That was the experience of a couple from Italy in Dubai.

‘We are on holiday with friends, we are trying to contact the Italian embassy, but there is no reply,’ they said as they shared their harrowing experience online.

Meanwhile, visitors stranded in the UAE have been told that hotel accommodation and meals will be covered if their flights are cancelled.

Qatar has also said it would cover all tourists stranded in its territory. Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport in Doha were reported to have distributed meal vouchers to waiting passengers.

Ershad Kaleebullah, a tourist, was among those stranded in Qatar. He said they were provided rooms in five-star hotels across Doha.

‘Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all covered while the airspace remained closed,’ he said.