Tag Archives: Dubai Tourism

Dubai Tourism shifts gears to tap Luxury travellers & HNIs from India

For over a decade of enjoying its position in the Indian market as a popular tourist destination for family travel, Dubai Tourism has now set its focus on Luxury travellers and HNIs. In this direction, the destination will be undertaking in-market activation to drive traffic from India.

Talking about this, Bader Ali Habib, Head of Region – South Asia, International Operations, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said, “India is our number one source market. We now see a growing demand from HNI and Ultra HNIs with different means of staying in Dubai. Therefore, we are starting to focus on the Luxury segment. For years, Dubai has received mass volumes and that was important for us because we wanted to position Dubai as a family destination, and an affordable one.”

“However, we realised there are other niches that we need to tap into. Apart from mass tourism, we are keen to champion in luxury, golfing and lifestyle experiences. Dubai is a one-stop shop across gastronomy, leisure, experiences and hotels for any affluent Indian to come and enjoy. We are looking at positioning Dubai in a year as a destination for HNIs with partners who have access to these set of travellers.”

With regards to tapping this niche segment, Habib stated that in market activations are a key area of focus. “We realised if we have to tap the niche segment, we need to reach out to them directly. We want to engage with HNI audience either through gala dinners, retreats, gastronomy, golfing and show them that Dubai has a continuity factor.”

He spoke about banking on the liveability factor of Dubai to serve as a catalyst for tourism, especially repeat travellers. “Indians have been the biggest beneficiaries of the Dubai Golden Visa. There has been a huge appetite among HNIs from India to come and settle in Dubai, where they can continue to operate their businesses and use the remote work experience to stay in Dubai and explore business opportunities here. Since we are a mature destination in India, we are looking at shifting the needle.”

Ali Habib was speaking to TravelBiz Monitor at Mumbai leg of their three-city roadshow that was held in Delhi and Ahmedabad as well. “Historically, Dubai has been a household name in the metro cities of India. However, the real potential of India lies in the Tier-II and III cities,” he said. 23 stakeholders, including hotels, attractions, DMCs, airline and cruise partners exhibited at the roadshow.

Commenting on the Dubai Expo 2020, Ali Habib said that it served as a catalyst for tourism since it created an impression that despite the pandemic, Dubai can host a global event offering safety for family travel. “We welcomed 24 million visitors with the Expo. The impression created with the Expo has put Dubai on a pedestal for the coming years and especially for the liveability factor.”

Dubai welcomes 6.17mn international visitors during Jan-May 2022

Dubai city welcomed 6.17 million international overnight visitors from January to May 2022, a 197 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase from the same five-month period in 2021, which saw the destination attracting just over two million international travellers.

The latest tourism data was revealed by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) at its first ‘City Briefing’ for 2022, a bi-annual event that provides an in-depth industry outlook to stakeholders and partners, and discusses future strategies to further reinforce the city’s position as a global hub for business, investment, talent and tourism. The event was attended by more than 1,200 key executives from across the tourism ecosystem including aviation, travel, hospitality and retail sectors.

His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), said, “The remarkable vision and leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have always been an inspiration to us all, and this is reflected in the city’s continued success, as we focus on enhancing its position as a global hub for economy and tourism. We are building on the massive momentum generated by the hugely successful Expo 2020 to drive growth across all our tourism pillars from cultural to culinary experiences, while working towards achieving the ambitious goal of making Dubai the most visited destination and the city of the future that will be the best place in the world to live and work.”

“As we look ahead to the remainder of 2022 and beyond, we will harness the key elements that have ensured the industry’s steady growth year after year since we reopened to international visitors in 2020 – providing an unparalleled diverse destination offering that offers unique value and memorable experiences for our guests. This can only happen with the support of our stakeholders, and we are counting on them to continue playing a pivotal role in facilitating growth, as well as restoring confidence and trust among travellers in Dubai as a safe destination,” HE Helal Almarri added.

The new tourism figures from DET show that overall, Dubai hotels maintained an average occupancy level of 76 per cent from January to May 2022 compared to 62 per cent during the corresponding period in 2021. According to data from hotel management analytics firm STR, Dubai ranked No.1 globally in hotel occupancy, ahead of other international destinations including New York (61 per cent), London (60 per cent) and Paris (57 per cent), for the January-April 2022 period.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), opened the day’s programme by providing an overview of the industry with a detailed presentation that featured valuable visitor and marketing insights, in addition to an update on the communications activities that are underway across key international markets that include a novel campaign designed to encourage more families and global travellers to select the city for their summer vacation. The ‘Stay More, Pay Less’ campaign is a citywide initiative supported by over 60 hotels and resorts, providing outstanding value to international travellers this summer. The promotion provides guests an amazing offer – stay for seven nights at participating hotels and resorts and pay for only five nights or stay for five nights and pay for only three nights stay.

Issam Kazim, CEO, DCTCM, said, “Our constant dialogue with stakeholders and partners is crucial in ensuring that we are all aligned with the collective efforts being made under the guidance of our visionary leadership to ensure the city stays at the forefront of the world’s leading travel destinations. Our collaboration with stakeholders also provides them an opportunity to take advantage of our diverse campaigns and activities that are designed to sustain Dubai’s global appeal and keep the city top-of-mind as a must-visit destination. Dubai’s positive performance is also testament to the city’s resilience and the success of our recovery strategy. As we strive to leverage a robust domestic market and the growing international visitation, we are confident that the summer season will serve as an ideal launchpad to further accelerate momentum across the industry.”