The Indian rupee will be accepted for transactions made at all Dubai Duty Free airports, a leading UAE newspaper said. This change will be beneficial for the thousands of Indians would visit the emirate for vacation or employment.

According to a report in the Gulf News, the Indian currency will now be acceptable at all three terminals of Dubai International Airport and at Al Maktoum Airport.

The report said that out of the close to 90 million passengers that passed through Dubai airports last year, 12.2 million were Indians. The number makes them a significant customer base for shops operating at these airports. Most of the visitors come from the city of Mumbai, Cochin or Delhi, it said.

Earlier Indians required to convert currency from the Indian rupee to Dirhams or any of the globally accepted currencies like US dollar or Euro, before shopping at a duty-free shop in Dubai.

The report said that the change makes the Indian rupee the 16th currency to be accepted for transaction at Dubai Duty-Free shops since its conception in December 1983. Dubai Duty Free celebrated its 35th anniversary on 20 December 2018 and crossed the $2 billion mark on 29 December.

It currently operates around 38,000 sqm of retail space at the Dubai International Airport and 4,000 sqm at the Al Maktoum International.