Gen Z discusses Dubai’s new tourism opportunities

Latest TIME-hosted teen-focused round table addressed Dubai’s all-round appeal as a family travel destination; panelists flagged lack of tailored activities for 13 to early 20s-year-olds as gap in the market for tourism industry. UAE-headquartered TIME Hotels, in partnership with BNC, has once again brought together a group of Generation Z teens to get their perspective on key travel and tourism issues at the second in its four-part series of round table events. Its latest roundtable event session brought together 10 students, aged 17-18 years old, from, GEMS Wellington International School, The Winchester School – Jebel Ali and Dubai English Speaking College to discuss the appeal of Dubai as a family holiday centre, and to share their insights on what the emirate can do to secure its place as a world-leading destination for family travel.
The emirate has a target of 20 million visitors by 2020, and has already witnessed a year-on-year increase of 7.5% from 2014 to 2015 according to DTCM figures, reaching 14.2 million visitors, which makes it the fourth most visited city in the world. Currently, Dubai’s top three source markets are Saudi Arabia, the UK and India, and international overnight spend in the city last year saw tourism receipts totaling US$11.68 billion, according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index 2015.