No doubt, Dubai has become a major tourism destination in the world, with inbound visitors growing by the day. Even at that, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), seems not to be resting on its oars, as the agency has continued to devise strategic ways of brining the world to Dubai.
In an effort to promote the city’s ever evolving offering to the West African audience, Dubai Tourism and its partners recently embark on a road show across key cities in Nigeria and Ghana. Alongside 11 partners across family entertainment, airlines, hotels and DMCs, the agency met with key industry stakeholders in Lagos, Abuja and Accra, where it showcased new offerings from Dubai, with the aim to further strengthen relationships with key industry stakeholders in the region.
The road show, which commenced in Lagos, later moved to Abuja before ending in Accra, Ghana, was an opportunity for Dubai Tourism and its partners to showcase Dubai’s expanding portfolio of affordable luxury experiences across travel, accommodation, entertainment and events, with a focus on family travel.
On the road show with the tourism agency are Emirates Airline, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai College of Tourism, as well as Hyatt Regency, Nikki Beach, Grand Hyatt, Dubai Parks and Resorts, North Tours LLC, Red Apple Travel Group, Prime Healthcare Group LLC and General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai.
Aside from creating opportunity for local operators to meet directly with Dubai’s top partners, the road show provided an opportunity for the agency to schedule select one-on-one media interactions with the Dubai Tourism spokesperson to effectively communicate messaging around Dubai as a destination with a diverse affordable luxury offering, building on key pillars: shopping/retail, family offering, hospitality, events in Dubai, upcoming attractions and new.
Speaking on the road show, Regional Director Africa for Dubai Tourism Stella Obinwa informed that Africa continues to be a priority market for Dubai with massive potential for more visitors to choose as their preferred destination.
“Following our successful event last year in Nigeria, we are delighted to bring back our road show to these three key cities in West Africa. This gives us the opportunity to engage with key local travel partners and provide them with a greater understanding of Dubai’s holistic destination offering.”
The West Africa road show also marks the beginning of a year that is set to capitalise on the successful openings and launches in the city throughout 2016, including family-friendly destinations such as Dubai Parks and Resorts and IMG Worlds of Adventure, as well as the magnificent Dubai Opera and the expansive Dubai Canal. Furthermore, the city also recently celebrated the 22nd edition of the popular Dubai Shopping Festival, and is gearing up for the fourth edition of the Dubai Food Festival – a three-week line-up of delectable culinary experiences across Dubai.
“Whether you’re looking for fun-filled family activities, retail options or a variety of events throughout the year, Dubai has something for everyone. We hope that this road show enables us to showcase this breadth of experiences in Dubai to our partners in Nigeria and Ghana, and build on new and existing trade relationships, to facilitate the growth of outbound tourism from the region to Dubai,” Obinwa said.
With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world’s leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism’s mission is to increase the awareness of Dubai to global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the emirate. The agency is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai’s tourism sector; markets and promotes the emirate’s commerce sector; and is responsible for the licensing and classification of all tourism services, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents.
The year 2016 saw a number of debilitating international factors and a cautious global consumer sentiment, resulting in a 7% decrease in African tourists. However, the agency aims to further tap into the African market as it recognises its immense potential.
“Our goal remains our long-term target of 20 million visitors by 2020, of course growth is key but part of our ongoing strategy has always been sustainability as well. All factors from attracting visitors from key source markets to hotel developments will only prove a success in the long term if the growth is sustainable and to this end we continue to focus on the longer term and we remain optimistic that the second half of the year and further ahead into 2017 will deliver positive results,” Obinwa hinted.