Tag Archives: Issam Kazim

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has reported a steady increase in tourism volumes from Romania, welcoming 29,670 overnight visitors in the first three months of 2019. Underscoring a 24 per cent year-on-year increase when compared to the same period in 2018, the emirate and its diverse portfolio of attractions has experienced sustained interest and a steady uplift in the number of Romanian travellers choosing Dubai as their destination of choice. Underpinned by Dubai Tourism’s efforts to create targeted and customised experiences for Romanian tourists, the emirate has established itself as a ‘must-visit’ destination by offering a variety of unique and iconic attractions to its target audience. With an evolving market strategy that is well catered to the Romanian tourist profile, the department deploys a custom-market specific approach with targeted strategic activations, always-on marketing campaigns and ongoing trade and business partnerships with key industry players, keeping the city front of mind for these travellers. Building on the city’s commitment to ensuring ease of accessibility for its key source markets, Dubai is only a short travel time away from Bucharest, and benefits from two direct daily flights between Dubai and the capital with flydubai. Other direct flights between Dubai and Bucharest as well as Cluj-Napoca are available on Hungarian airline WizzAir. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai’s Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “We have seen sustained momentum from Romanian visitors as one of our key emerging source markets, with strong double digit growth in overnight stays during the first quarter of the year. This growth is testament to the market specific approach we’ve adopted and the appeal of Dubai’s variety of attractions and experiences that cater …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and SEERA (previously Al Tayyar Travel Group), one of the region’s leading providers of travel services in the Middle East and North Africa, have signed a strategic partnership agreement which will see both entities unite to further strengthen travel demand from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to the emirate. Working together previously on a variety of projects, the reinvigorated partnership between the department and Almosafer; SEERA’S consumer travel brand which recorded more than 100,000 bookings from Saudi Arabian travellers to Dubai in 2018, will see promotional opportunities implemented through the ongoing alliance. Almosafer will embrace a new omni-channel approach, offering its customers the choice and freedom to book their travel itineraries across online and offline touchpoints, reaffirming its commitment to promoting Dubai as a top destination for Saudi Arabian travellers. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said, “Dubai continues to rank among the most popular destinations for holidaymakers from across the GCC with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remaining in second place as one of our leading source markets in Q1 2019.” Almosafer will offer special hotel and flight deals exclusively for KSA travellers to Dubai, highlighting the top things-to-do in the city, iconic attractions, as well as travel tips across diverse targeted marketing channels. The brand will also create special Dubai-centric holiday packages, tailored to a variety of travel segments, including couples, families, individuals or business travellers. Abdullah Bin Nasser Aldawood, CEO of SEERA commented on the partnership, “Almosafer caters for a real range of Saudi travellers and we know, from our 40 years’ worth of travel knowledge and experience, what the varied …

Following a strong start to 2019, Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, showcased Dubai’s dynamic business events offerings yet again at IMEX, the worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings and events. The aim of DBE’s participation at the event in Frankfurt, from May 21 – 23, is to position Dubai as a destination of choice for business events and incentive travel for a global audience of over 14,000 hosted buyers and trade visitors. This year, alongside more than 30 co-exhibitors, DBE previewed new project plans and milestones that demonstrate a strong focus on transforming Dubai into a global knowledge hub. In addition, the bureau highlighted some of the latest developments in Dubai’s state-of-the-art facilities, infrastructure and renowned hospitality sector. Among the co-exhibitors were Coca-Cola Arena, Expo 2020 Dubai and W Dubai – The Palm, all of whom shared new and upcoming offerings with event planners, while the likes of Dubai World Trade Centre, Emirates and Jumeirah Group joined DBE at the show once again, underlining the broader business events infrastructure in the city. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Business events play a pivotal role in our city’s transformation into a global knowledge economy and our participation in events such as IMEX serve as an ideal platform to support our ambitious tourism strategy. After a strong start to 2019, DBE continues to build on its momentum, attracting events that are set to make a significant economic impact and leave a lasting legacy for delegates from around the globe.” Dubai Business Events aims to further strengthen Dubai’s reputation as a premier business events destination globally by promoting the city as …

Airbnb announced that its global accommodation and experiences platform will be available in Arabic to enable its growing community across the Middle East and North Africa region to access an even more seamless travel experience. The localised web platform and iOS and Android apps are part of Airbnb’s ongoing commitment to the region and will further Airbnb’s mission to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere. All of the popular features of the Airbnb platform will be accessible in Arabic: listing pages with thousands of homes bookable for great stays, experiences around the world and lots of content on how to travel or host with Airbnb.  Airbnb has also released new data to show that across the Middle East and North Africa region more than 70,000 listings are now available to book on the Airbnb platform. As of 1 January 2019 in the UAE, 10,000 listings were available on the Airbnb platform and hosts in the UAE welcomed more than 145,000 guests from around the world – showing more than 63% year-on-year growth. Hadi Moussa, Regional Manager Middle East & Africa at Airbnb, said, “The Middle East and North Africa region is extremely important to us, so we are delighted to launch Airbnb in Arabic today. People from across the region have been using Airbnb since it was founded ten years ago to book magical travel experiences. We want to create a true sense of belonging for them by ensuring they can do so in their native language going forward.” Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “Our ongoing partnership with Airbnb helps Dubai maintain its global competitiveness in a highly digitised marketplace …

The second edition of the Dubai Association Conference, being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, will take place from December 9 to 10, 2019, under the theme of ‘Driving change: The societal impact of associations’. Over the course of two days the conference, organised by Dubai Association Centre and taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre, will bring together association executives from around the world, government representatives, industry leaders, as well as university faculties and students, in a space focused on building the association community in the region for the purpose of positive social impact. Established in 2014, the Dubai Association Centre (DAC) is a joint initiative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) which  support and license regional and international associations in setting up an office or chapter in Dubai. The inaugural edition of its Dubai Association Conference took place in December 2017, while DAC last year hosted an Association Leaders Getaway in the city. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “As Dubai continues to grow as a knowledge hub, associations have immense potential for driving growth in our rapidly transforming economy. Along with being a catalyst for business opportunities within a thriving ecosystem, they have the power to fuel innovation and creativity which ultimately contributes to the wellbeing of our communities, and society. We are looking forward to the second edition of the Dubai Association Conference this year to further facilitate our transformation agenda as …

As one of ATM’s longest-standing partners, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) marked the 26th year of its participation in showcasing the emirate’s diverse tourism offerings to the local and international travel trade community at this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM). Dubai Tourism was joined by over 300 representatives from government bodies, hotels, destination management companies and tour operators. The Dubai stand showcased the breadth of the emirate’s ever-evolving destination portfolio, as well as highlighted an upcoming pipeline of new experiences through numerous interactive activations and content-rich displays. The strategic platform also brought together an extensive network of industry stakeholders across the public and private sectors to strengthen new and existing in-market trade partnerships. In support of the show’s 2019 focus on technological innovation, the state-of-the-art stand will embrace disruptive innovation by providing unique and immersive experiences to visitors, all designed to showcase the city’s unique and attractive tourist proposition for diverse market segments. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) said, “ATM plays a key strategic role in helping Dubai Tourism provide insights into the emirate’s dynamic tourism proposition to international, regional and local travel, tourism and hospitality decision makers. We are delighted to extend our reach this year by hosting more than 300 buyers from around the world to explore how to maximise our combined potentials. Our activations and on-stand experiences will build on the technological innovation theme of this year’s show, and we look forward to highlighting the scale of the activities that continue to build on our ‘digital, mobile and social first’ agenda.” This year, visitors to the Dubai stand could explore a dedicated ‘EMAAR Zone’ with a new Virtual …

Dubai Tourism has announced a new GCC-wide partnership with Gulf Reps, one of the region’s leading travel consultancy agencies, as part of its ongoing drive to attract more visitors from across the Gulf to holiday in the emirate. The partnership will give Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) access to Gulf Reps’ extensive network of travel industry professionals and media, as it targets increased tourist numbers from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Under the agreement, Gulf Reps will operate a representative office within the GCC with a specific focus on developing relationships with the region’s tourism market, leading travel trade publications and travel companies with the purpose of promoting Dubai as the preferred destination of choice for visitors from neighbouring GCC countries. Overnight visitors from the GCC made up 18 per cent of all tourists to Dubai in 2018, highlighting the region’s position as one of the most important source markets for Dubai. The collaboration with Gulf Reps will allow Dubai Tourism to maximise its exposure to, and relationship with, important industry and trade partners across the GCC, giving the city even greater visibility in strategic media outlets and travel industry publications as well as digital media. As Dubai Tourism’s official representative in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, and Bahrain, Gulf Reps will help showcase Dubai’s diverse attractions, numerous festivals, year-round entertainment offerings and landmark attractions to holidaymakers. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said, “Dubai continues to rank among the most popular destinations for holidaymakers from across the GCC. Our partnership with Gulf Reps is part of our ongoing strategy to attract even …

Dubai Tourism continued to expand its reach across Japan targeting segmented demographics through strategic activations, marketing campaigns and ongoing trade and business partnerships with key industry players. In order to drive awareness and consideration around Dubai as a holiday destination among Japan’s target market, the department identified women and senior citizens as key drivers in the travel and tourism space. Furthermore, building on the city’s commitment to ensure ease of accessibility, Japanese visitors benefit from daily flights from Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai’s Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) said, “2018 saw sustained growth from the Japanese market as we welcomed more than 100,000 overnight visitors a year for the very first time.”  Working to deliver an enhanced travel experience for Japanese visitors to the emirate, Dubai Tourism has partnered with H.I.S., a market leading travel agency in Japan to provide easy access to Dubai’s travel products and information though sales and retail promotions across major Japanese cities. Furthermore the department conducted a number of highly targeted marketing activations to highlight the city’s varied offerings to diverse audiences across Japan, including key broadcast projects that explored the city’s innovation in culture, sustainability and technology, as well as ongoing familiarisation trips and media events to highlight the city’s distinctive elements.  

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is strengthening its bilateral ties with the China market by endorsing Alipay, a mobile payment and lifestyle platform, through a series of activations and promotions during the upcoming Chinese New Year. The inaugural campaign, launched to mark Dubai’s growing popularity among Chinese tourists and Alipay’s continuous efforts to connect them with overseas merchants, will take place annually across the city with the goal to transform the emirate into a cashless destination for Chinese travellers. As part of the ongoing partnership, Dubai Tourism will continue to amplify Alipay’s prominent role in the market to bring further awareness to the industry’s network of stakeholders, facilitating future collaborations with a wide range of retail partners. Underlining the remarkable growth and the importance of tourism from China to the emirate, the city welcomed 779,000 visitors between January and November 2018, representing a 12 per cent increase on the year before. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Our ongoing partnership with Alipay is testament to our commitment to providing seamless payment and travel experiences to our guests, and is underpinned by the emirate’s China Readiness Strategy with the shared goal of further enhancing the visitor experience of Chinese tourists in Dubai.” Li Wang, Director, Alipay, said, “Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for the Chinese as well as the biggest campaign for Alipay. We are keen to work with Dubai Tourism to provide seamless payment and travel experiences to Chinese tourists. Together with our partners in Dubai, we are committed to create value for merchants and retailers in Dubai, better connecting them with Chinese tourists.”

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 …