When you are planning a holiday to the UAE, flights, hotels, airport transfers and restaurants and sights on your must-see list come to mind. Streaming is most probably not. Though for those visiting Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah, who enjoy relaxing with a well-loved TV show after a day of sightseeing, checking the streaming setup before you go can be quite handy.
Many tourists expect a subscription they buy back home to work just as well abroad. When they get there, they may find that a much-loved film has disappeared, a TV series they routinely watch is unavailable, or their app doesn’t work as expected. This isn’t a subscription issue and is often due to regional preferences set by streaming providers.
Not all shows are licensed on streaming services in every country. Licensing deals vary by territory.
Netflix, for instance, states that “the same titles may vary across countries because we may not have the rights to offer them in your region”. Its help center also says, “When you travel to another country, the selection of TV shows and movies available to you may change.”
A book of this nature can infuriate a visiting tourist. They might be just over halfway through a gripping new series back home, only to find they can’t access the next episode when they check into a hotel. They may have saved a much-anticipated film to their watchlist, only to find it doesn’t show up under searches in their new destination.
This is one reason access to streaming services is now part of the broader pre-trip digital plan for certain travelers.
Your streaming service doesn’t automatically stop working just because you’ve crossed a border; it can detect that you have changed countries and adjust its offerings to match.
This can extend to more than one specific title. How apps work, which titles can be downloaded, which titles get recommended, and the geographical range where titles can be viewed can all be affected. Netflix, for example, has stated that users traveling outside of their region can experience similar restrictions to downloads.
Lesson learned for business: if you use any entertainment apps while traveling to the UAE, don’t wait until you are comfortably sitting alone in your hotel room to see how they handle the country.
Before leaving home, open the streaming outlets you use most often and check their advice on traveling overseas. If there is a specific series you do not want to miss, it’s wise to check whether they allow downloads and whether those downloads work abroad.
Travel preparations can be as easy as pie. A couple of basic checks can make your digital environment much more manageable on the road.
Finally, decide which programs or movies you truly hope to have access to while away. It may be prudent to plan a few backup recordings in case a desired program isn’t available at the location you’ve chosen to stay in.
Some travelers may also organize their access to privacy and connectivity tools while preparing for international trips. For instance, a VPN service encrypts your computer’s internet traffic between your computer and the VPN server, which may help when using a foreign network while traveling.
For those willing to experiment without fully committing, you can start with a free VPN, but readers should consult the rules of the streaming service they plan to use, as VPN use affects those rules for many services.
Also, travelers should be aware that accessing services online while in a different country is subject to that country’s rules. The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) in the UAE issues an Internet Access Policy that describes permitted Internet use and the various types of illegal content in the country.
The other information about the regulation of the media itself, which is provided by the UAE Government, concerns (amongst other things) the media regulations regulating the use of digital and electronic means of communication and national regulation of the content for the local media. It makes sense to check this official advice before traveling with all things social media-connected.
No one wants to spend the first night of a trip to the UAE debugging an entertainment app. Fortunately, much of the setup takes less than a few minutes at home.
Check your subscriptions. Upgrade your apps, download appropriate content where possible or is allowed, verify your account information and consider if you would like any extra connection equipment. These simple actions will make settling in a lot less stressful!
Most importantly, for streaming to be effective, it must not interfere with the reason for your trip to the UAE. If your plans involve Dubai’s ultra-modern skyline, Abu Dhabi‘s cultural side, the desert, or the beach, you’ll appreciate having your entertainment covered so you can focus on more enjoyable pursuits.
A small bit of planning can save you a whole lot of hassle when you get back to your hotel after a day of running around discovering the UAE; by planning ahead you may find you can crack open a cold one rather than wasting your time trying to find out where your loved series go.
The UAE can be overwhelming at first — in the best possible way. Between Dubai's skyline, Abu Dhabi's culture, the deserts, the souks, and the sheer variety of things to do, knowing where to start isn't obvious. Our guides are written to help you make the most of your time here, whether you're staying for a weekend or a month — without the usual tourist traps.
