Tag Archives: DTCM

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) held its first bi-annual ‘City Briefing’ for 2021 at the newly built Dubai Exhibition Centre, highlighting the sector’s promising performance since the reopening of the city to international tourists a year ago.  As efforts intensified across the tourism ecosystem to accelerate momentum in this landmark year for Dubai and the UAE, the forum featured a detailed presentation on Expo 2020, the multi-faceted mega event which runs from 1 October, 2021 to 31 March 2022, as well as insights into domestic and global developments and marketing campaigns worldwide aimed at reinforcing Dubai’s profile as a safe, must-visit destination and the world’s best city to live and work in. Presided by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, the forum hosted over 1,000 key executives from leading establishments in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors. It was held within the framework of Dubai Tourism’s regular dialogue with key industry leaders to exchange insights and work with them to ensure the industry is seamlessly aligned with tourism growth initiatives and strategies. By holding the forum at the Dubai Exhibition Centre with precautionary guidelines being comprehensively observed, Dubai Tourism sought to highlight the enormous significance of Expo 2020 to Dubai’s tourism industry and the gathering pace of recovery in the events sector. HE Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, commented: “Dubai has continued to lead global tourism recovery and has constantly set new precedents in how to safely yet effectively open internationally and critically stay open. Inspired by the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, the …

Hotel Show Dubai has launched an initiative for region’s hospitality community from February 18-27, 2021. Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has organised the 10-day event which will see a select group of popular hotels on Sheikh Zayed Road transformed by night into illuminated beacons of hospitality. Each hotel has been partnered with an internationally acclaimed lighting design firm with full creative license to construct a custom exterior façade installation under the theme titled a ‘Celebration of Lighting and Hospitality’. “Following an extremely challenging trading year for the hospitality industry in 2020, and the knock-on effect that the pandemic has had on those industry sectors that support tourism GDP contribution, we wanted to shine a light on the importance of this vital economic backbone,” said Jasmeet Bakshi, Group Event Director at dmg events – the organizer of The Hotel Show Dubai. “Dubai has been a tourism pioneer for decades, from planning and delivering its architecturally iconic skyline to developing an exceptional tourism offering that attracted 16 million tourists in 2019. Illuminate Dubai is a wonderful opportunity for us to highlight our work and the ever-evolving appeal of the emirate’s hospitality sector,” said David McNeil, Director of dpa lighting consultants. For Samer Moukalled, Vice President of headline sponsor Scientechnic Lighting Solutions, “The hospitality industry has long been a backbone to the thriving tourism sector of the UAE, and the idea of using light to reestablish its importance is a major boon for lighting experts like myself. Lighting is often termed the unsung hero and Illuminate Dubai has created a platform to showcase its true power. We are lighting up the city, and what better medium than on the facades …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has appointed Claviger to promote Dubai as a destination and increase arrivals from across the GCC and Egypt. Claviger will leverage its in-market presence across the GCC and Egypt to promote Dubai as a prime destination for leisure travellers. Its dedicated sales force of market experts will highlight the exceptional Dubai calendar of events and tourism and hospitality attractions that the destination has to offer. Appointing Claviger will give DTCM access to an extensive network of travel industry professionals as it targets increased tourist numbers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Egypt. DTCM will also call on the company’s expertise to further develop Dubai as an important brand and destination of choice for GCC and Egypt holidaymakers. KSA is one of the GCC’s highest traffic generators for Dubai, with 1.56 million [AAS1] Saudis visiting the city in 2019. As the second highest volume driver for the GCC, Oman secures fourth spot in 2019 with a sharp 24.3 per cent spike to deliver over a million visitors. While Egypt remains in the top 20, with 314,000 visitors all demonstrating potential to positively impact tourism traffic in 2020. Speaking about the representation agreement, Hoor Al Khaja, Acting Associate Vice President for International Operations at DTCM said, “Dubai remains amongst the most preferred destinations for tourists from the region. Appointing Claviger is part of Dubai Tourism’s commitment to its source markets and our ongoing strategy to attract even more visitors from GCC and Egypt to Dubai, year-on-year.”

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) held a strategic meeting with Hilton, as part of its continuing series of engagements with key industry partners to provide them an overview and outlook of Dubai’s tourism industry and explore ways of further increasing the level of stakeholder collaboration and leveraging all efforts that are underway to achieve the goals of Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2022-25. The meeting was held in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports, President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and CEO of Emirates Group, and was attended by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism as well as Christopher J. Nassetta, President and Chief Executive Officer for Hilton, Simon Vincent, President Europe, Middle East and Africa and Mr Rudi Jagersbacher, President Middle East, Africa and Turkey. The meeting highlighted the invaluable role that is being played by the hospitality sector, particularly by global partners such as Hilton in supporting Dubai’s endeavour to become the world’s No. 1 most visited, revisited and preferred city as envisioned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Hilton has been consistently present in Dubai for more than 40 years and is committed to the long-term growth and development of travel and tourism in the city. Hilton currently has 18 hotels in Dubai with a further 14 hotels in its development pipeline. During the meeting, Dubai Tourism shared new destination insights and highlighted the strong growth in tourism traffic to Dubai in the first three quarters of 2019, the key strategies that were implemented to drive sustained visitation …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and Al Ansari Exchange, a UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer firm, have signed an agreement to facilitate payments for a range of tourism and travel-related services. Under the agreement, partners of Dubai Tourism including hotels, event organisers, tour operators and tourism companies will be able to make payments for services through 183 branches of Al Ansari Exchange across the UAE. The agreement was signed by Ahmed Khalifa Alfalasi, CEO, Corporate Services and Investments, Dubai Tourism and Rashed Ali Al Ansari, General Manager, Al Ansari Exchange. Commenting on the agreement, Alfalasi said, “Dubai Tourism is pleased to enter into a strategic partnership with Al Ansari Exchange, a renowned and respected name in the UAE’s money transfer sector, which will take our payment system to the next level of reliability and convenience. This is also a reflection of the strong spirit of collaboration that exists between the government and private sectors in Dubai for the provision of world-class services to both our residents and visitors, guided by the directives of the visionary leadership. As we continuously invest in upgrading our systems and processes to ensure a seamless and satisfying experience for all our customers, this agreement means that our partners no longer need to visit Dubai Tourism offices to make payments. The new method will supplement our online payment channels that were established as part of our contribution to the Smart Government initiative.” Al Ansari said, “We are pleased to collaborate with Dubai Tourism to enable their customers to pay the travel and tourism services fees through our wide branch network across the UAE and take advantage of its convenient and …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has initiated efforts to release approximately AED250 million in bank guarantees that have been furnished by tourism-related service providers, following the waiver of this pre-requisite regulatory requirement to start a travel and tour business in the emirate. The new deregulatory measure allows for instant liquidity to be injected into Dubai’s economy, lowering the cost of doing business and supporting further investment in the sector ecosystem. Strongly aligned with the directive of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai, to accelerate Dubai’s economy growth through relative strategic and regulatory initiatives, Dubai Tourism seeks to directly benefit over 2,000 travel and tour operators and agencies in Dubai. Previously, tourism companies including inbound and outbound tour operators were required to furnish a bank guarantee ranging from AED100,000 to AED600,000, depending on the type of business activity, to Dubai Tourism, as a precondition for DED to grant a trade license. Announcing the new measure, HE Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, said, “As we head into 2019 with a commitment to significantly boost tourism arrivals in line with our 2022-2025 tourism strategy and vision to make Dubai the world’s most visited destination, relaxing regulations in support of the business community, especially supporting start-ups and SMEs, is fundamental for sustained sector growth. Tourism is a strong contributor to Dubai’s GDP and we intend to ensure that we sustainably enhance our economic value and aid the diversification agenda for the wider UAE. As such, this deregulatory measure that has been delivered with the support of the Department of Economic Development (DED), complements many of our …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is rolling out a set of initiatives to deliver end-to-end ‘Only in Dubai’ experiences to ensure tourists get to enjoy an unforgettable stay in the emirate, and encourage repeat visitation, as part of efforts to further strengthen and sustain the city’s world-class propositions. One of the key pillars of Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2022-2025, the ‘Only in Dubai’ set of initiatives will deliver authentic and world-class end-to-end destination experiences across travel touchpoints that are tailored to relevant segments of tourists. The tourism strategy announced by Dubai’s visionary leadership aims to make Dubai the most-visited city in the world, targeting 25 million visitors annually by 2025, and the unparalleled ‘Only in Dubai’ experiences will offer regular unexpected delight moments and active reduction of detractor moments or pain points that will positively impact guest happiness to inspire the millions of tourists to re-visit Dubai. Measuring visitor recommendation and satisfaction is being done through Tourism’s Happiness Index, which was launched under His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai. This index measures not only Dubai’s ability to exceed service expectations, but also helps ensure that every visitor to Dubai becomes a passionate loyalist and a firm advocate of the city. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “While our world-class propositions and experiences showcase the diversity of the destination offerings and provide segment-based preferences for tourists, we are working closely with our partners and stakeholders to curate, create and deliver personalised end-to-end experiences. Visitors will be able to enjoy at every step of their journey, which starts from …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has introduced business to business (B2B) online platform that offers a white-label reservation and ticketing solution for attractions and experiences to operate more efficiently, allowing better connection to their customers. Attractions will be able to create personalised ticketing systems under their own brand name, while expanding their reach and increasing their customer base to a diversified audience. Additionally, the Attractions Marketplace will equip partners with sophisticated reporting tools, with an integrated back-end system that allows analysis of ticket sales and key distribution channels, with the system also providing an interactive dashboard summarising bookings made via each sales channel, sales target performance and inventory and capacity occupancy. Launching in January 2019, the B2B ‘Attractions Marketplace’ has been designed to create a seamless technological framework to further stimulate industry cohesion through the connectivity of the city’s attractions and experiences with the global industry’s network of B2B resellers. Guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai, and the government’s 10X Initiative, the online marketplace will give the city’s diverse portfolio of attractions and experiences a higher level of digital maturity through robust technology, mobile transactions and timely bookings by industry resellers. Developed by Dubai-based technology provider, PrioHub, an entity under the dnata group, in partnership with PrioTicket technology, the Attractions Marketplace has been designed after conducting in-depth research into the local travel sphere and interaction with sector stakeholders to identify key challenges faced by the emirate’s attractions in marketing themselves to a global audience. Providing attractions and experiences with a world-class platform to automate their operations instead of manual …

Dubai International Hotel has been officially certified by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) as a five-star hotel in accordance with the standards set by Dubai’s principal tourism authority. The 5-star rating is a reflection of the high standards of features, facilities and services offered at the 530-room hotel located with Dubai International Airport. Khalid Hussain Mohammad – Supervisor, Abdulla Abbas Saleh – Inspector, Abdul Rahman Khalifa Alsuwaidi – Head of Inspection Unit and Bader Abdulla Mohammad – Deputy Director of Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) presented the plaque to Ranjan Nadarajah Managing Director and Avinash Menon, General Manager, Dubai International Hotel. Dubai Tourism recognises Dubai as a leading tourism destination and a global commercial hub, and Dubai International Hotel continues to substantially contribute to this world-class standard. Part of Dubai Airport Authority, the multi-award winning luxury hotel caters to a myriad of international travellers each day, offering the finest hospitality standards and state-of-the-art facilities. The hotel features eight restaurants and bars, Ahlan Business Class and First Class Lounges, Timeless Spa treatment rooms and bespoke Ahlan Meet & Greet Services. Ranjan Nadarajah, Managing Director, commented at the ceremony, “We are honoured to receive this recognition. Being located within Dubai Airports, Terminal 1 and 3, we are the window to this multi-cultural city and a traveller’s first and often, only impression. For the past 18 years, we have worked in tandem with Dubai Tourism and Dubai Airports to keep Dubai relevant on the world map.”

The Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has announced a new social media competition under the #MyDubai initiative, offering Dubai residents the chance to win two Emirates return tickets for their friends and family to visit them in the city. The competition will select two winners each week for 15 weeks starting from October 15, 2018 to January 31, 2019. The competition calls on all residents to share compelling moments in their lives that highlight the diverse culture and soul of the city. Participants can submit their entries on the MyDubai Facebook page, or simply upload those on their personal Instagram and Twitter accounts by using #MyDubai and #MyInvite. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing said, “The passion for the emirate that exists amongst both UAE nationals and the communities of more than 200 nationalities living here is a key driver for Dubai’s success. These residents take pride in posting about their experiences in the city and sharing their special moments with the world. The best advocates of a city are the people who live in it and through this campaign, we hope to encourage residents to highlight what truly lies beneath the urban and technological experiences and highlight why Dubai has maintained its position as the fourth most-visited city in the world. What started out four years ago as a city-wide initiative to create the world’s first autobiography of a city has today grown into a mammoth library of user-generated content that has allowed us to tell a unique story by capturing real-life dynamic moments that both residents and visitors experience in this remarkable destination”.