British holidaymakers heading to Dubai have been warned of an increased threat from terrorist attacks in the region.

The warning came from the Foreign Office and applies to the United Arab Emirates as a whole. The alert, posted on the FCO website yesterday sees the terrorism threat raised from general to high, although the organisation stopped short of advising travellers against visiting the country altogether.

The FCO says it cannot divulge the decision behind the change, but says it takes information from a number of sources, including international intelligence and local media.

"High" is the most serious of the FCO’s four terrorism threat levels - the others are "general", "underlying" and "low".

Asked what tourists should take from the advice, an FCO spokesman told Times Online that the advice was open to interpretation by individuals, but that Britons could face increased risks “in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests”.

Advice on the FCO website adds: “You should maintain a high level of security awareness, particularly in public places.”

Seven emirates make up the UAE – the ones that are most visited by Britons are Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Over one million Britons travelled to the UAE in 2006, and there are more than 100,000 British expatriates living there.

One indicator of the region’s popularity is the growing demand for UAE dirhams at UK foreign exchange offices. Since 2004 demand from holidaymakers exchanging Sterling for UAE dirhams through the Post Office, for example, has increased 281 per cent.

The UAE has had no major terrorism incidents to date, and as a result of the change in the threat level, joins countries such as Morocco and Thailand, which are also considered to be subject to a high threat from terrorism.

Dubai Tourism hopes the advice will not deter travellers. “Dubai remains a safe destination,” a spokesman told Times Online. “We don’t know why the FCO has made this change but we’re trying to find out.”

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