Photos show the impact of the Iran war on tourism in Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai's usually crowded markets, beaches and waterfront promenades are unusually quiet during what is typically the city’s busy tourism season.

The spillover of the Iran war has disrupted air travel across the Middle East, while Iranian drone and missile attacks targeting sites in the United Arab Emirates have dented the country’s image as one of the region’s safest destinations.

As a result, some of Dubai’s most popular tourist areas — including the Al Seef waterfront market along Dubai Creek and beaches near luxury hotels, such as the Burj Al Arab — have seen far fewer visitors than usual.

The photographs in this gallery show scenes of near-empty markets, quiet restaurant terraces and sparsely visited beaches as Dubai’s tourism sector feels the ripple effects of the wider regional conflict.

This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

People enjoy the sunset with the view of the city skyline and Burj Khalifa, at Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

People walk inside Dubai Mall in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

Electric scooters are parked on a sidewalk in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People cross a street in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

A man sits at an outdoor empty cafe in downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Afghan men watch as seagulls fly over Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

A man stands beside a flamingo sculpture, as the city skyline with Burj Khalifa is seen in the background at Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

An abra driver sleeps in his boat along Dubai Creek in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Seagulls fly over the beach with the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotels in the background in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)

People walk past an outdoor empty restaurant at Dubai Creek Harbour in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A vendor arranges products inside a shop at the empty Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Few clients sit amid empty chairs in a cafe at the Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A vendor sits inside a shop at the empty Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A cat walks at the mostly empty Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

An ice cream stand sits in empty Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A man naps on a cafe table at the empty Al Seef market, next to the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood along Dubai Creek, one of the main tourist areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026, as tourism slows amid regional tensions linked to the Iran war. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana suspended its congressional primaries Thursday as early voting was about to get underway while pressure mounted on Republican officials in other states to also redraw their U.S. House maps in light of a Supreme Court ruling that significantly weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Early voting had been scheduled to begin Saturday for Louisiana's May 16 primaries. But Republican Gov. Jeff Landry issued an executive order indefinitely postponing the U.S. House primary in response to a ruling Wednesday by the court that struck down a majority Black congressional district.

“Allowing elections to proceed under an unconstitutional map would undermine the integrity of our system and violate the rights of our voters,” Landry stated. “This executive order ensures we uphold the rule of law while giving the Legislature the time it needs to pass a fair and lawful congressional map.”

The Republican-controlled secretary of state's office, which declared an electoral emergency allowing for Landry's order, said it would post notices at early voting sites alerting the public about the suspended congressional primary. All other races on the ballot will proceed as scheduled.

President Donald Trump, in a series of social media posts Thursday, praised Landry for moving quickly to revise the state's congressional districts and urged Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to do likewise in response to the Supreme Court's decision.

While civil rights activists denounced the potential for diminished minority representation in Congress, top Republicans cited the Supreme Court's decision as justification to spur an already intense national redistricting battle among states before the November elections.

“I think all states who have unconstitutional maps should look at that very carefully, and I think they should do it before the midterm,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters in Washington.

The election suspension in Louisiana was denounced by some Democrats.

“This is going to cause mass confusion among voters -- Democrats, Republicans, white, Black, everybody,” said Louisiana state Sen. Royce Duplessis, a Democrat who represents the New Orleans area. “What they’re effectively doing is changing the rules of the game in the middle of the game. It’s rigging the system.”

Delaying an election is unusual but not unprecedented.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, several states pushed back elections because of health concerns. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who led Louisiana at the time, postponed Louisiana’s April 4 presidential primary three weeks before it was supposed to occur — then delayed it again until July 11.

Louisiana currently is represented in the U.S. House by four Republicans and two Democrats. A revised map could give Republicans a chance to pick up at least one more seat in the November midterms — adding to Republican gains elsewhere from redistricting.

Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But Trump last year urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterms. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.

On Wednesday, Florida became the latest state to redraw its U.S. House districts, adopting a new map backed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that could give the GOP a chance at winning several additional seats.

The Florida vote occurred just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority issued a ruling that significantly weakened minority protections under the federal Voting Rights Act. The court said Louisiana officials had relied too heavily on race when drawing a congressional district that is represented by Democrat Cleo Fields.

Trump wants Tennessee to also take up redistricting in response to the court's ruling. The president posted on social media that he had spoken with Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who he said would work hard for a new map that could help Republicans gain an additional seat. Democrats currently hold only one of the state's nine House seats — a district centered in Memphis, which is majority Black.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, a Republican, said he is in conversations with the White House and others while reviewing the court's decision.

After the 2020 census, Louisiana officials had drawn House voting district boundaries that maintained one Black majority district and five mostly white districts, in a state with a population that is about one-third Black.

A federal judge later struck down the map for violating the Voting Rights Act. And the following year the Supreme Court found that Alabama had to create its own second majority Black congressional district.

In response, Louisiana’s legislature and governor adopted a new House map in 2024 that created a second Black majority district. But that map also was subsequently challenged in court, leading to the most recent Supreme Court ruling.

After the ruling, Landry called U.S. House candidates on Wednesday and told them that primaries would most likely be stalled, according to Misti Cordell, a Republican running in a crowded race to fill U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow’s vacated seat.

“It’s an inconvenience for a candidate for sure, but you know they want to do it right versus having to go through all this again,” Cordell said. She added that she appreciated the heads up before she and other candidates began “spending their war chest” during the final weeks leading up to Election Day.

Republican state lawmakers are reviewing which pending bills could be used to alter primaries and reconfigure congressional maps, said Louisiana state Rep. Beau Beaullieu, chair of the House committee overseeing redistricting efforts.

Brook reported from New Orleans and Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. AP reporter Travis Loller contributed from Nashville.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus speak to reporters in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling to strike down a majority Black congressional district in Louisiana, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)