Tag Archives: Dubai Tourism

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has developed an interactive training programme led by prominent industry experts to help ensure Dubai’s resilient hospitality sector continues to maintain global price competitiveness. The Revenue Management Workshop programme will bring together hotel revenue managers, reservation managers, sales and marketing managers for a hands-on and practical session, to share fundamental best practices in yield management and forecasting, in addition to monitoring applications and tools. The programme spread across 24 workshop sessions, facilitated in partnership with InsightsOut, specialises in both research and revenue management across the hospitality and service industry. With the aim of training 600 professionals, each session has been designed to host a maximum of 25 participants in a personalised and immersive learning environment. Trainees will be educated on key aspects of revenue management including data analysis, optimising demand and evaluating industry standards to set best possible pricing strategies. H E Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism said, “With hospitality roles quickly evolving to meet the needs of a fast-paced industry, understanding revenue management tools and how to apply the concepts to manage inventory and rates remain key to designing effective strategies to thrive in prevalent market conditions. Such training programmes are therefore crucial as we look to further empower Dubai’s hotel industry professionals to play a larger role in contributing to the city’s thriving tourism landscape and ultimately drive better revenue.”

In its first biannual city briefing event of the year, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) highlighted its strategic framework, activities and campaigns in line with the Tourism Vision for 2020. Hosted for hotel establishments, destination management companies, event organisers, tourism attractions and government departments, the event was held at the Conrad Dubai with approximately 1,000 attendees. Keynote speeches at the latest briefing led by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubai Tourism, provided valuable insights into the growth drivers behind Dubai’s record year-to-date international visitation, providing stakeholders with an in-depth analysis of the city’s visitor demographics and visitor satisfaction results from the annual Dubai Visitor Survey. Key successes and learnings from international marketing and business campaigns were also discussed. In addition, these keynotes covered the significance of Dubai’s robust calendar of retail and festival events spearheaded by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), and Dubai College of Tourism’s first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary educational platform for the region. Both of these are key elements of the future outlook for tourism in Dubai and set to transform the city’s fast-evolving industry and the overall visitor experience. Another keynote was delivered by Manal Al Bayat, Senior Vice President – Business Development and Integration at Expo 2020 Dubai, who provided crucial insights into what can be expected in the lead up to the event and the legacy it will leave behind.

Dubai’s annual citywide summer celebration, Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is set to return to the city from June 22-August 4, 2018, offering a six-week extravaganza of sales, retail experiences and events. Organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), the 21st edition of the popular summer event will feature a line-up of spectacular sales, retail experiences, chances to win and weekly performances to keep the family entertained this summer. Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO, DFRE said, “Dubai Summer Surprises is one of the most popular events on Dubai tourism’s retail calendar, and we are excited to announce this year’s dates. Together with our partners across the emirate, we are putting the final touches to a jam-packed, six-week schedule of sales, retail promotions and events that we know will make Dubai the ultimate summer destination.  We encourage residents to stick around for the summer and experience the full line-up of not-to-be-missed surprises we have in-store!” The highlights of this year’s DSS include a mega Opening Day 12 Hour Sale, a daily Deal of the Day (DOTD) offer, weekly Weekend Destination surprises and the Final Weekend Sale.

Tencent has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) to jointly enhance Dubai’s reputation as a sought-after destination and spearhead smart tourism along the route of the Belt and Road Initiative. Poshu Yeung, Vice President,Tencent International Business Group (IBG), and Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), signed the MoU as a continued commitment to promoting Dubai tourism. Making use of Tencent’s expertise in Chinese consumer engagement and Dubai Tourism’s influence and network in Dubai, the partnership aims to foster the development of the tourism industry in Dubai through elevating Dubai Tourism’s marketing outreach efforts to China consumers, enhancing Chinese visitors’ travel experience in Dubai with Tencent’s leading digital platforms in China as well as deepening local merchants’ understanding of Chinese travelers’ consumption behavior via WeChat user insights. With more than 1.04 billion monthly active users as of Q1 2018, WeChat and Weixin offer an excellent integrated platform to raise brand awareness among Chinese travelers. Tencent IBG’s “Social Ad Solutions” will enable Dubai Tourism to optimize the return on media investments and reach out to the key target audience segments. Tencent also provides support to other stakeholders in formulating in-market solutions that are customized to fit specific brand objectives.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fliggy, the online travel service platform of Alibaba Group. Aimed to boost the number of Chinese tourists visiting Dubai, the MoU was signed by Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) and Jerry Hu, VP, Fliggy and Alibaba Group, as part of a broader long-term alliance discussion at the Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou in China. The MoU entails among other aspects, collaboration between the partners to deliver an enhanced travel experience for Chinese visitors to the emirate by providing easy access to Dubai’s travel products and information, initiating a payment scheme, etc. In addition, Dubai Tourism would continuously maintain and update the ‘Dubai Destination Mall’ page on Fliggy, providing a comprehensive overview of the city’s tourism proposition to the broad customer base that Fliggy delivers. As a major online travel platform in China, Fliggy is a strategic travel partner for Dubai Tourism within China, allowing Dubai’s entire travel and tourism ecosystem to set up and operate their own ‘shop’ on the Fliggy virtual marketplace. Additionally, being extremely popular amongst the younger generation of Chinese tourists, Fliggy is an even more relevant partner for Dubai as there is a clear priority to build a strong base within this segment as potential visitors to the city.

The Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) supported by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism)  has organised a workshop for key government entities, yacht operators and manufacturers as part of wider efforts to develop Dubai’s maritime industry. The workshop was held following the announcement of the economic stimulus by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai to reinforce Dubai’s economy. This important sector has significant potential to grow by expanding into the lucrative luxury yachts sector plus ensuring leisure maritime pursuits are easier to enjoy with the overall aim to further broaden Dubai’s tourism offering. With the global yacht industry expected to reach $74.7 billion by 20221, driven by luxury cruising among high net worth individuals, Dubai aims to be well-placed to ensure maritime regulations and infrastructure match the demanding expectations of this significant sector. Already the world’s fourth most visited city2, Dubai’s existing tourism proposition is hugely attractive for global visitors and is perfectly positioned to capture an increasing share of the high-end superyacht market. The leisure maritime sector is also expected to continue on an upward curve due to an easing of regulations encouraging recreational boating activities. Local stakeholders have highlighted a number of challenges that are being addressed to facilitate easier access and drive increased visitation from maritime enthusiasts who seek sea based experiences.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has launched Dubai Pass for visitors to enjoy the city’s range of attractions, experiences and tours. It is an all-inclusive pre-paid card, grants cash-free access to 33 key events and venues across Dubai, making it the perfect way for tourists to explore the city’s world-class destination proposition. It will be available to redeem from May 16, 2018. Starting at AED399, the pass offers ‘Select’ and ‘Unlimited’ packages, with a specially-curated list of popular attractions and experiences. These include Burj Khalifa, Dubai Parks and Resorts, IMG Worlds of Adventure, Wild Wadi Waterpark, Ski Dubai, Desert Safari Tours, and many more. With every purchase, visitors will also receive a 50% discount on tickets to La Perle – the city’s one-of-a-kind live entertainment show with acrobatics and aerial stunts – by simply presenting their Dubai Pass when buying a ticket to the show. The ‘Select’ package is priced at AED399. It allows card users to enjoy a range of attractions – one from each of the three-tiered attraction pools. The pass is valid over seven consecutive days, beginning with the first day of use. Meanwhile, the unlimited package is available for AED899. Users can choose unlimited events and activities, and the pass is valid for three days. The year-round Dubai Pass has been introduced following the success of previous seasonal DSS and DSF passes. It will provide a streamlined way for people to experience Dubai, save money and make the most of their trip with family and friends.

In a first, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has organised a series of workshops, inviting hotels, tourism agencies and environmental organisations to review the progress of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative. Its aim is to explore ways how sustainability standards can be further enhanced to support effective resource management across various hotel classifications, and to contribute effectively to raising professional awareness towards the environment, the economy, and the use of natural resources. These focus groups are a tangible demonstration of Dubai Tourism’s continuing commitment to work closely with its tourism and hospitality stakeholders to promote sustainable tourism and achieve the goals set out in the Tourism Vision 2020. Connecting 40 leading hotel operators, owners and representatives from hotel establishments, as well as environmental organisations, the event offered an interactive platform to discuss knowledge-sharing to discuss the feasibility and implementation of timelines for 19 new industry sustainability standards developed by DST. Yousuf Lootah, Executive Director, Tourism Development & Investments, Dubai Tourism, said, “Working in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a sustainable environmental destination, the credible and feasible sustainability standards and certification schemes are key tools in the transformation of our tourism industry, working in line with the city’s overall clean energy and sustainable development targets”.

Highlighting Dubai’s position as a leading winter cruise destination, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is on track to welcome 1 million cruise tourists by 2020-21. DTCM also emphasised on the city’s growing popularity as a global cruise destination viable for pre-cruise and post-cruise stopovers, and an apt homeport in the region at the Seatrade Cruise Global in Florida, USA, a leading event for the cruise industry. Exhibited under the Cruise Arabia banner, Dubai Tourism brought together the tourism authorities of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain on a unified stand with the goal of promoting the region as a whole, and improving business sustainability and development. The three-day event also saw networking and business opportunities with leading brands in the global cruise industry, to discuss deployments and homeporting opportunities in Dubai to heighten the awareness of the destination’s cruise offerings to a global audience. Hamad Bin Mejren, Senior Vice President, Dubai Tourism, said, “Cruise Tourism is certainly a key industry for the Gulf and we are dedicated to educating consumers around the world about the region as a key winter cruising destination. We have been working to highlight Dubai’s ease of accessibility with the latest introduction of a multi-entry UAE visit visa exclusively for cruise tourists, as well as simplified immigration and cruise-specific visa procedures on our online portals.”

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is cementing the emirate’s position as one of the top destinations to celebrate Chinese New Year with 10 days of Chinese festivities happening across the city. Running from February 15-24, there will be a host of activities celebrating Chinese New Year for residents and visitors to enjoy, from traditional Chinese dining offerings to breathtaking shows including contortionist dancers, acrobat wheel and a two-time Guinness World record breaking show, as well as shopping promotions in major retail outlets. Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai Tourism, said: “China is a key source market for us and Dubai welcomes an increasing number of Chinese visitors each year. Along with our strategic partners, we’re excited to announce that this year’s celebration of Chinese New Year will be bigger and better than ever before, with an expanded line up of activities set to spread the festive cheer across the city.”