A British businessman convicted of engaging in sexual acts on a Dubai beach said he was seeking to return to the Gulf emirate despite being deported last week.

Vince Acors, 34, told a news conference in London his behaviour had been unacceptable, but he denied having sex in public with Michelle Palmer, the British woman also convicted over the incident in July.

'We were obviously on the beach, and the definition of sex in this country is different to the definition of sex in the Middle East,' he said. 'There would have been some physical contact, but intercourse did not take place.'

The pair spent a month in jail in Dubai after being convicted in October on two charges of engaging in sexual activity outside of wedlock, and for doing so in public.

Local laws strictly control drinking and ban public displays of affection, although Acors said alcohol was widely available at low prices in hotels.

He said he was not angry over his experience, saying he had been very naive, and even hoped to turn events to the advantage of his mobile phone text messaging business.

'I have met some very interesting people in Dubai, from a personal basis and also on a business basis as well, and hopefully over the next few months some significant inroads into Dubai from a commercial perspective will be made,' he said.

He said he planned to apply for permission to return to Dubai after any ban on his readmission was lifted.

Acors had only just arrived on his first visit to Dubai when he met Palmer, 36, at a party. Both had been drinking heavily.

They had taken a taxi intending to go back to his hotel but the driver dropped them by mistake at a beach some distance from where Acors was staying.

'We were both conscious of what was going on, but obviously with consuming that amount of alcohol over a period of time, your judgement is going to be impaired and we both made some poor decisions that evening,' he said, adding that the pair would not continue their relationship.

Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, charts a delicate course between maintaining its Muslim identity and catering for a cosmopolitan expatriate population and a booming tourism industry.-Reuters