Dubai, once bustling with influencers and expatriates, now finds its sun loungers and pools eerily empty as the United Arab Emirates grapples with ongoing assaults from Iran. The city, known for its tax-free allure that drew social media stars and numerous British citizens seeking sunny, safe streets, has seen its reputation severely tarnished, with some locals declaring it ‘finished’.

The once-thriving metropolis is witnessing a mass departure, with thousands fleeing amidst the chaos, promising never to return. The Islamic Republic’s relentless missile strikes and suicide drone attacks have targeted the city’s iconic skyscrapers and luxurious hotels, including the renowned Fairmont hotel on Palm Jumeirah, leaving the city’s landscape marred by conflict.

Previously vibrant beaches and bars, frequently visited by British expatriates like Rio and Kate Ferdinand, Luisa Zissman, and Petra Ecclestone, now stand deserted. The exodus from the emirate is in full swing, as fear and uncertainty grip the once-thriving urban center.

As explosions shook Dubai on Friday, debris from Iranian drones caused significant damage to buildings in the heart of the financial district. The city presented a forlorn picture, far removed from its usually dynamic self.

Jumeirah Beach, a beloved destination for Dubai’s 240,000 British residents, typically teeming with tourists, lay barren. Reports indicate that many facilities are closing due to the dramatic drop in visitors, a stark indication of the city’s new reality.

The white sand Jumeirah Beach, a favourite among Dubai’s 240,000 Brits and usually overflowing with holiday-makers, was desolate amid reports facilities are closing because of a lack of visitors. 

Beach bars, sun loungers, swimming pools and the sandy coastline remained unspoiled as residents continue to reel from Iranian attacks.

Row upon row of beach umbrellas stood folded up alongside hundreds of empty sunbeds. 

Tables were set, menus arranged, music blaring in the background, but there were hardly any customers.

The beach clubs and restaurants are not closed yet, but the worried faces of the migrant workers standing outside trying to beckon in the odd passer-by, tell their own story.

The low-paid workers from the Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Far East are the lifeblood of Dubai’s economy, but their jobs in turn depend on a ready supply of wealthy tourists from Europe and the US.

One café manager from Pakistan told the Daily Mail: ‘I’ve never seen it like this before and everyone is worried what the future holds.

‘The spring break for schoolchildren starts today and there is hardly a western child to be seen anywhere – their parents have all taken them home.’

A local resident of Afghan-German nationality said: ‘The attacks are very frightening, but while I’ve got used to them, so many other people, especially families, decided to get out, just in case.

‘Normally on Friday, the traffic would be gridlocked and the restaurants and shops would be very busy, but the place is a ghost-town now.

‘I have heard from friends that at some of the big hotels and resorts, the bosses have told their staff that they have to take their paid leave now because there are hardly any guests now, so there’s nothing to do.

‘If they don’t have any leave left, will they be expected to live on nothing? Nearly all migrant staff have their visas tied to their jobs, so they’re put in a really difficult position.’ 

Dubai has been the target of two-thirds of the regime’s missiles – 1,700 projectiles in two weeks, although 90 per cent have been destroyed by air defences. 

Western banks have already evacuated employees amid threats from the Islamic Republic that they were the next targets of their bombing onslaught.

Dubai’s International Finance Centre was targeted this morning a day after a high-rise building was hit in a drone strike, causing a huge hole.

Thick black smoke rose over the skyline early this morning after what authorities described as a fire in an industrial area of the city-state. Dubai authorities later stated that only minor damage was caused with no injuries reported. 

And three massive explosions rocked the city on Wednesday morning, with the international airport sustaining damage. 

Four people were injured as two drones hit the terminal, while a string of major airlines cancelled all flights to the region for weeks. 

Four people have been killed so far and tens of thousands of residents and tourists have now fled in the weeks since the conflict began.

And those who remain face prosecution if they post videos of missiles overhead, despite constant phone alerts warning them to stay away from windows and seek shelter. 

Dubai does not have vast oil reserves and relies on its expat population, which makes up 90 per cent of the city.

It has launched a desperate public relations campaign, telling people the ‘big booms’ in the sky are ‘the sound of us being safe’ as the UAE air defence system takes action.

But it has done little to quell fears.

‘The shine has definitely been taken off,’ John Trudinger, a British Dubai resident of 16 years, told The Guardian.

The headteacher employs more than 100 teachers from the UK at his Emirati school and claims most are so ‘deeply traumatised and really struggling to cope’ with the war that they have fled and will never return.

Taxi driver Zain Anwar saw his car destroyed in a missile attack and said his family are begging him to return home to Pakistan.

He said: ‘I don’t want to be in Dubai any more, there is no business, we are earning nothing since this war, and I don’t see the tourism coming back.

‘A lot of taxi drivers like me, we are thinking to go to a different country now. Everybody knows that Dubai is finished.’

On Saturday, a drone was caught on video sending up a huge pall of smoke near the airport.  

The official Dubai Media Office continued to insist that ‘no incident’ had occurred at the airport as it clamps down on those sharing footage of damage.

Authorities in the UAE have charged 21 people with cyber crimes for circulating videos showing missiles and explosions.

This includes a Brit who filmed missiles passing overhead and immediately deleted the footage when asked.

Content creators posting ‘misinformation’ face jail time and on Tuesday police said those posting anything which contradicts public announcements, ‘causing public panic’ could face two years behind bars and a fine of £40,000.

And Dubai’s influencer army has released a barrage of posts praising its government in suspiciously similar language – amid claims some are being paid to pump out ‘propaganda’.

Content creators with hundreds of thousands of followers between them have responded to Iranian attacks by sharing images of Dubai leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum alongside the words, ‘I know who protects us’.

The posts begin by asking ‘are you scared?’ before flashing up images of Al Maktoum waving to adoring crowds.

Sceptical social media users have responded by claiming the influencers are being paid by the UAE government, also several have spoken out to deny this.

Online content creators need a licence to operate in Dubai, and its government responded to the outbreak of war by threatening prison against anyone sharing information that ‘results in inciting panic among people’.

The tough stance is believed to have encouraged self-censorship by influencers in the Gulf state, with earlier clips of Iranian drone and missile attacks now swamped by posts lauding the regime.

In the first days of the conflict, the government cracked down on ‘citizen journalists’ reposting genuine footage of the first wave of attacks, which included a drone strike on the five-star Fairmont Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah.

The Dubai Media Office responded within a few hours by claiming that ‘outdated images of past fire incidents’ in Dubai were being spread to stoke fear among the city’s residents.

Among the influencers, Kate Ferdinand previously opened up on relocating to the Middle East where she revealed she was ‘homesick and struggling’.

But she made a dramatic U-turn, boasting about how her kids are ‘learning things they wouldn’t in the UK’.

While Luisa Zissman shared a post mocking scared tourists who’ve escaped Dubai and are ‘making out they’ve come back from the frontlines’.

The Apprentice star, 38, relocated to the UAE from the UK in December, and has thrown her support behind the UAE government, even declaring it to be the ‘safest country in the world’ despite waves of suicide drone attacks.

But after dutifully echoing the official line that the war-hit emirate remains open for business, she has slipped back into Britain.

And Petra Ecclestone gushed about Dubai, describing how ‘grateful’ she was for ‘how much Dubai puts safety first — and how welcomed and safe it has made us feel’.

Meanwhile, British influencer Ben Moss admitted he is more worried about being fined or jailed for posting the ‘wrong’ content than he is of the lethal explosives themselves.

The content creator, from Wandsworth, said: ‘I do feel completely safe here because of the UAE air defences, but the laws can sometimes concern me so I always keep everything positive.

‘I’m far more scared of being fined or jailed for posting the wrong content than I am of the Iranian missiles and drones.’

On Friday the war raged with four crew members confirmed dead after an American refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq.

In a post on X, the US Central Command (Centcom) said that ‘four of the six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased.’

It comes after Centcom announced on Thursday that a KC-135 refuelling plane had gone down in ‘friendly airspace’ and a second aircraft involved in the incident landed safely.

The identities of those killed will be withheld for 24 hours until next of kin can be notified, Centcom said, adding that rescue efforts are ongoing as two crew members remain missing.

It came after a major blaze appeared to have broken out at a French air base in Erbil, Iraq, following a drone attack.

A helicopter was apparently hit and at least six French soldiers were injured. President Emmanuel Macron confirmed early this morning that one had died.

Iran also said it would continue to choke the global economy by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway through which around 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows.