There is less than a year to go until Expo 2020 Dubai opens its gates to the world for what promises to be a life changing show. Keeping the same in mind, there is a lot that is happening in Dubai in terms of growth and development and adding new touristy attractions to the destination. Mr. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer – Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing was recently in the capital to brief the Indian travel trade and media on the progress made so far. Here are the details of the same –
Priyanka Saxena Ray
From being the 7th most internationally visited destination in 2012 to becoming the 4th most internationally visited destination in 2018, destination Dubai has indeed climbed the ladder of popularity on a fast pace. Last year, we closed the year at 15.92 million visitors, which was a record number for us. “We have seen an overall 3% growth in the first half of this year and while we would like the numbers to be higher, we realise that these are tough times globally. However, our strategy is mapped out. There are four key areas we have to focus on – first being to increase the number of visitors, second is ensuring that they are spending a longer duration of time in Dubai, third is to explore the city wider and further, beyond the landmarks they are familiar with and lastly to focus on repeat visitation also. To achieve this, we obviously cannot function in isolation. Dubai’s success has been built on public – private relationship and thus we did a series meetings with the private and other government sectors and thrust is on to look beyond the 6-7 traditional markets for us while obviously focussing on these sectors also,” elucidated Issam.
There are lots of projects in the pipeline keeping the Expo 2020 in mind and also beyond. Dubai is a hub for some of the greatest hotels and there are newer properties coming up every now and then. The ones that will open soon includes The Andaz from Hyatt, a new completely different structure of The Atlantis is also coming up in the same vicinity as an extension and many other Boutique Hotels, where the visitors will have a completely new experience. From one of its most popular annual event – The Dubai Shopping Festival to its landmarks such as the Burj Khalifa, The Atlantis, The Palms etc., the destination has so much more to offer to the discerning traveller. “We are happy with the outcome of the Shahrukh Khan Campaign as I feel one must always stay in touch with their target market as India is a very important market for us. Around 25% of our visitors are repeat customers out of which 12% is from India, which is a good number. So even though there has been a slight dip in the tourist traffic from India, we will not slow down on our promotions,” he adds with a determined smile. One of their recent initiatives has been to float the Dubai College of Tourism where programs have been curated to make people ambassadors of Dubai – it has been an extremely successful initiatives and offers a plethora of programs to choose from.
A detailed interview talking about the EXPO 2020 and all that it has in store will follow shortly. Meanwhile, start your planning to attend what promises to be a life-changing experience.
