By Latha Krishnan

With path-breaking events, never-before-seen projects and re-cord-breaking feats, Dubai has captured the imagination and

hearts of people all over the world and at-tracted them into its arms. And a lot of credit for that goes to the Department of tourism and Commerce Marketing (DtCM).

When DtCM first came into being in Dubai in 1989 as the Dubai Commerce and tourism Promotion Board, its main objective was to attract tourists and in-ward investment into the emirate. in the past 25 years, it has achieved that objec-tive and continues to do so in more splen-did ways. “it’s hard to comprehend the pace of change that Dubai has undergone over the past 25 years and the remarkable achievements that it has enjoyed. When the precursor to the DtCM, Dubai Com-merce and tourism Promotion Board, launched back in 1989, Dubai welcomed around 600,000 visitors – today that fig-ure is well over 11 million,” remarks, helal Saaed Almarri, Director General of DtCM.

DtCM is the principal authority that plans, supervises and develops the tour-ism sector in Dubai. it also holds the re-sponsibility of licensing and classification of hotels, hotel apartments, tour opera-

tors, travel agents and other tourism ser-vices. the supervisory role of DtCM cov-ers the upkeep and promotion of archaeological and heritage sites, and also ensures that sustainable and responsible tourism practices are carried out in Dubai. to further develop the tourism sector into a world-class one, DtCM also conducts training programmes for personnel of the tourism industry to increase their aware-ness of providing world-class experiences to tourists.

Over the years, DtCM took up several responsibilities and crossed important milestones, such as introducing the phased classification system for hotels and hotel apartment establishments in 1999; becoming the first tourism promotion body in the world to achieve the iSO 9000:2000 Certification in 2000; open-ing the Dubai Cruise terminal under its management in 2001 and establishing the training Solutions department the same year; opening the Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB) in 2003 to promote Dubai’s MiCE capacity around the world; launch-ing www.definitelydubai.com, a consum-er-facing interactive portal and Dubai Green tourism Awards Programme in 2009; winning the Best Government Website category in the internet Awards Middle East in 2011, and launching tge Dubai Corporation for tourism and Com-merce Marketing (DCtCM) in 2013.

in April this year, DtCM launched the new, updated hotel establishment classifi-cation system and in September, the De-partment introduced e-Permit and e-tick-eting Platform, a centralised platform for the sale and distribution of tickets for all events in Dubai as well as an online sys-tem through which all procedures related to the application, processing and licens-ing of event permits are operated.

Events that Dubai experienced over the years have contributed to the increased role of DtCM in its mandate to promote Dubai as a prime destination for tourism, entertainment and events.

Under the leadership and valuable guid-ance of his highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, DtCM has worked in close part-nership with different industries including real estate, transport, aviation, hospitality, healthcare, retail, as well as government departments and organisations to develop and promote Dubai as a world-class tour-ism destination.

“Much of Dubai’s progress can be at-tributed to the rapid development of the city’s high-quality tourism infrastructure — from hotels, restaurants, retail estab-lishments and award-winning attractions — and, very importantly, to the dedica-tion of our tourism partners, who are committed to the high-standards to

which Dubai is renowned,” affirms Al-marri, who also points out the support DtCM receives from the government of Dubai to ensure the successful promotion of Dubai worldwide.

the government of Dubai continues to bring in new legislations to ease the estab-lishment of businesses that enhance tour-ism. An example Al Marri cites is that of recent waivers put in place to appeal to developers of three and four-star hotels. in March 2014, a new ruling by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs was issued ex-empting citizens of 13 European member states from requiring a pre-entry visa to the UAE.

the highly-focused campaigns that DtCM offices around the world under-take have also contributed significantly to making Dubai a household name and pre-ferred destination globally.

“DtCM now has 20 overseas offices — from Australia to China, Russia to South Africa — all of which work to promote and market the city as the number one tourist destination. the reception of the travel trade — from tour operators, travel agents and airlines — is the other crucial ingredi-ent. Without their commitment, our visi-tor figure would not be what it is and nor could we set our sights so high when we look to welcome 20 million visitors by the year 2020,” Almarri explains. “in addi-tion, as part of the #MyDubai initiative, launched by Shaikh hamdan bin Moham-med bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the DtCM is encouraging residents and visitors of Dubai to share their experiences about the city. the residents have proved them-selves to be the biggest advocates of Dubai, and since the initiative was launched in January 2014, we have had more than 1.9 million posts on instagram using the MyDubai hashtag, showing the remarkable experiences to be had here.”

these and other initiatives that the DtCM has set in motion will see the tour-ism industry, which significantly impacts other industries in Dubai, grow exponen-tially in the coming years. together, these industries and their growth will see that Dubai, which is already ahead of hong Kong, France, China and Germany in the inflow of visitors, will comfortably wel-come 20 million visitors by 2020.

Discovering

DubaiHighly-focused campaigns that DTCM undertakes contribute significantly to making Dubai a preferred global destination

khaleej times | ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT

ArAbiAn ExplorErs is a dy-namic destination management company for the UAE and oman, offering tailor-made services and ideas for a range of sectors in-cluding tour operators and estab-lishments dealing with individual tourists, leisure groups, business travellers, and Meetings incen-tives Conference and Events (MiCE).

since its inception in 2004, Arabian Explorers has capital-ised on the conversion of Dubai as a hub for travel, tourism and trade in the Middle East by pro-viding an array of services in the leisure and MiCE sectors. The company has been a pioneer in the Cis and European market, bringing tourists to the UAE and oman for over a decade.

A regular participant in the ma-jor exhibitions and travel events across the globe, Arabian Explor-ers has been frequently represent-ed at events, such as the interna-tionale Tourismus-borse — berlin (iTb), World Travel Market (WTM), Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Moscow international Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MiTT), Kazakhstan international

Tourism and Travel Fair (KiTF), international Tourism Fair — spain (FiTUr), and the india in-ternational Travel Mart (iiTM), in a bid to focus on Cis, European, GCC, south American and the Japanese markets. in addition to in-bound tourism, the company also manages important local cor-porate accounts for team-building activities.

Arabian Explorers also offers a customised b2b online reserva-tion system (containing the respec-tive market rates – Cis, GCC, Eu-ropean) for Foreign individual Tour (FiT) bookings, where ac-commodation, airport transfers, limousine service, tours and excur-

sions, restaurants and other travel related services can be booked in-stantly. The company holds con-tracts and allotments with all ma-jor hotels and hotel apartments in the UAE and has also been in valu-able long-term relationships with multiple suppliers.

Fine attention to detail, or-ganised operations, quick reply and creative approach to destina-tion management is what sets Arabian Explorers apart from its competition. The success of the organisation is attributed to its staff and management who pos-sess vast travel industry experi-ence, excellent knowledge of products and destination, and are constantly driven to improvise and serve better.

Arabian Explorers’ mission is to be internationally recognised as specialists and innovative leaders in the travel and tourism industry and across markets. The organisa-tion wants to continue expanding and aims to be profitable through dynamic leadership, offering vari-ety of products and services, which meet and exceed the expec-tations of customers.

khaleej times / ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENTDTCM

ovEr ThE past three decades, Dubai Duty Free (DDF) has be-come a highly recognised global brand that has shown considerable sales growth, consistently setting new retail milestones, when it re-corded sales figures of $1.8 billion last year. The operation, which is the single largest airport retailer in the world in terms of turnover, is expected to achieve sales of $1.9 billion in 2014.

For the past several years, DDF has been listed amongst the top three airport retailers in the world

in terms of sales. based on the re-cent annual report by independent industry researchers – Generation research, for the fourth time (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013), the operation has nudged ahead to the no.1 position, ahead of in-cheon (seoul), Changi (singapore) and heathrow (london) airports.

DDF has been recognised many times in its 31-year history for its retail excellence and to date, it has received some 450 awards, which includes the business Traveller Award Middle East for Best Duty Free Shopping, DFni Asia pacific Awards for Middle East Retailer of the Year, DFni Global Awards for Travel-retail Excellence for Best Airport Travel Retailer of the Year and Best New Shop Opening; Gulf industry business Awards for Air-port Retailer of the Year and UAE Company of the Year; and the Su-perbrands award presented by the superbrands Council in the UAE.

on a personal level, DDF’s Ex-ecutive vice-Chairman, Colm Mcloughlin was awarded for his Outstanding Contribution to Busi-ness at the 5th CEo Middle East Award, as well as being inducted at the 4th Asian leadership Awards hall of Fame. recently, he was named a recipient of the irish presidential Distinguished service Awards for business and Educa-tion, presented by the irish presi-dent, Michael D. higgins at his official residence Aras an Uchtarain in Dublin, ireland.

Along with retail sales growth, DDF expanded its operations sig-nificantly. Currently, it operates some 26,000 square metres of retail space at Dubai internation-

al and a further 2,500 square me-tres with the opening of the pas-senger terminal at Al Maktoum international - Dubai World Cen-tral. in the long term, Al Mak-toum international has capacity for over 160 million passengers and ultimately, the retail opera-tion will cover some 65,000 square metres.

The next phase will be the opening of Concourse D at Dubai international Airport, which is scheduled for early 2015. This terminal will be for all non-Emir-ates, Qantas and flydubai flights and will be an important develop-ment for the entire airport. Dubai Duty Free will operate around 7,000 square metres of retail space in Concourse D, mainly lo-cated around a central atrium.

Meanwhile, DDF’s subsidiary businesses include The irish vil-lage, The Century village and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis stadium; home to the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. located on the same site in Garhoud, the Jumeirah Creekside hotel, which encompasses the Aviation Club, is owned and developed by Dubai Duty Free and managed by the Jumeirah Group.

Setting new benchmarks

Innovative leaders

Dubai Duty Free has been listed amongst the top three airport retailers in the world in terms of sales

A creative approach to destination management sets Arabian Explorers apart from competition

Gold and Jewellery Shop at Concourse A

Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman of Dubai Duty Free

Dubai Duty Free shopping complex at Concourse A

Dubai Duty Free shopping complex at Al Maktoum International - Dubai World Central

MAgicAl city oF thE MiDDlE EAst

By Latha Krishnan

“DTCM has an ambitious, but achievable, task ahead as it works to reach the targets set down in the Tourism vision in May 2013 by his highness shaikh Mohammed bin rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, to wel-come 20 million visitors to Dubai by the year 2020. At the time of the announcement, this meant doubling the num-ber of visitors from the 10 mil-lion welcomed in 2012.

“however, with just five years left before 2020 — when Dubai will also host World Expo 2020 — the DTCM is confident that this vision will be realised and is working tire-lessly to harness the collective power of our tourism stake-holders. We are also strength-ening our coordinated ap-proach to attracting visitors with the collective aim of mak-ing Dubai the world’s most rec-ommended leisure and busi-ness destination,” declared helal saaed Almarri, Director General of DTCM.

Almarri’s confidence is justi-fied, as Dubai looks forward to a bright future in tourism. some of the tourist attractions to be completed in the near fu-ture include Wire World Mey-dan Adventure park, Dubai safari, iMG Worlds of Adven-

ture, Dubai Frame, a centre-piece in Dubai Zabeel park, hatta village inn and Market, Quran park, legoland Dubai, Dubai opera house and Dubai opera District, six Flags Theme park, bluewaters is-land, Dubai Canal and Aladdin City. The Dubai Expo site en-visaged to be completed by 2019 will be spectacular, for want of a better word to de-scribe the massive enterprise. These will no doubt ensure that the stream of visitors in the millions continue unabated into Dubai. DTCM is all set to work from its offices to see that people all over the world are aware of what awaits them in this magical city of the Middle East.

“Education is a crucial fac-tor. Following substantive re-search into both what our tar-get visitors want from a destination and how Dubai’s offering is perceived, delega-tions from the DTCM have sig-nificantly increased their schedule of familiarisation trips, road shows and market-ing campaigns, heavily target-ing the travel trade and media. We have also developed a new digital ecosystem, the launch of which is imminent.

but it must be emphasised that while 2020 is a goalpost, our plans for growth go well beyond that. We won’t stop af-ter Expo. We are not building just for the six months of the exposition. Expansion is part of the DnA of Dubai and our work – and progress – will al-ways continue,” Almarri stated enthusiastically.

Dubai looks forward to a bright futurein tourism

DUbAI TRAM

Officially launched on November 11, 2014, Dubai Tram is the is the first tram system outside Europe, powered by ground-based electric cables extend-ing throughout the tramway, avoiding the need for hanging cables, and the first tram in the world to utilise platform screen doors that synchronise with the opening and closing of the tram doors to provide additional safety to riders. It is also the first tram to offer air-conditioned stations and different cabin classes, integrating the same gold, silver and women and children carriage system as the Dubai Metro. The first section, a 10.6-kilometre long tram line currently serves 11 stations. When complete, the tram will run for 14.5 kilometres along Al Sufouh Road from Dubai Marina. The tram will interchange with Jumeirah Lakes Towers Station and Dubai Marina Station on the Dubai Metro’s Red Line. The Dubai Tram will also connect with the monorail of the Palm Jumeirah at the entrance of the Palm from Sufouh Road. A cycle path will run beside the environment friendly tram line with cycle racks installed at every tram station.