Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma was responding to a post by Helios Capital founder Samir Arora who praised the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority for its handling of the Middle East conflict.
According to an announcement shared by Arora, amid the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has advised guests who cannot depart after their departure date to extend their stay. The costs of the extended stay are covered by the department.
Reacting to the post, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “Perfect मेहमान नावाजी! UAE’s handling of this chaos and crisis will go down as a case study in the books,” while Samir Arora shared the post with the caption “wow”.
What does the Department of Tourism notice say?
In a notice issued on Saturday, February 28, the ministry said: “In light of the current circumstances and as some guests have reached their departure date but are unable to travel for reasons beyond their control, we kindly request you to extend their stay until they are able to depart. The cost of the extended stay will be borne by DCT Abu Dhabi.”
Livemint could not independently verify the recommendation.
The announcement comes after major regions in the Middle East, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Manama, Doha, Riyadh and Amman, experienced several loud explosions following a joint US-Israeli strike targeting Iran, according to regional reports. One civilian was also reportedly killed in Abu Dhabi.
The UAE Ministry of Defense (MOD) said the country was attacked by Iranian ballistic missiles while its air defense systems responded and intercepted several missiles, ANI reported.
Social media users react
Several social media users reacted to Sharma’s lauded efforts by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Department.
One social media user wrote: “UAE also did this during COVID, i.e. automatically extended visas to everyone who was stuck there for a long time.”
Another compared the incident to the 11/26 terror attack in India and said: “A case study of the Taj Hotel is a lesson in how their staff helped guests out of the windows and calmed them down during the biggest terrorist attack. The staff could have easily escaped but their spirit of hospitality prevailed.”
The user added: “This is called care, respect and hospitality for every passenger…respect.”
Another asked: “I mean, it’s basic common sense, right?”
One user praised the move, saying: “A clear example of responsible crisis management: strong defenses, transparent communications, humanitarian support for those stranded, and steady diplomatic efforts to de-escalate. People and national security come first.”
