There is nothing wrong, as far as Islam is concerned, in residing, conducting business. or making different activities in the area of the Dead Sea. It has not yet been confirmed that the Dead Sea region was the place where Allah punished the people of Prophet Lut.
Sheikh Hani ibn `Abdullah Al-Jubair, judge at the Jeddah Supreme Court, Saudi Arabia, states the following: I am of the opinion that it is permissible to visit, swim, sleep, and pray at the site of the Dead Sea. Allah says: (And lo! it is upon a road still uneffaced.) (Al-Hijr 15:76)
Allah also says about the cities of Lut’s people: (And Lo! ye verily pass by (the ruin of) them in the morning. And at night time; have ye then no sense?) (As-Saffat 37:137-138)
It is clear from the above Qur’anic verses that people pass by their sites on their way and Allah does not warn us about doing so or forbid us against it. In addition, it has never been confirmed that the Dead Sea is the location of the cities of Lut’s people.