It's not illegal in Israel because no one would dare to break the tradition of yom kippur. No one did till date, Not even secular Jews
In gulf countries , where more than half the population are non Muslims. If this law is not applied, the Islamic identity of those countries will be lost.
It's about preserving this tradition during this one month.
As I written earlier , if it bothers you that much go in vacation . I'm sure your contribution to the economy during this month won't matter anyway ;)