28-strong Dubai team head for Japan

"Japan is one of Dubai's leading trade partners and we are persistently working on a year round campaign to increase our share of leisure visitors from this important market and the Dubai roadshows have been designed to further increase awareness about the emirate's tourism potential," said DTCM Director General, Khalid A. bin Sulayem

He noted that the strength of the Dubai travel trade delegation in itself speaks volumes of the importance they attach to this market and its growth potential and the teamwork that exists between the public and private sector in Dubai.

"Dubai has registered a fantastic growth of 28% in the number of Japanese tour operators selling Dubai holiday packages for the current season (2002) and this is expected to impact positively on the number of Japanese leisure traffic to Dubai," Mr. bin Sulayem observed.

The Dubai team attending the roadshows reads like a who's who of the emirate's travel industry and includes Travco Travel Dubai (Co-sponsors), Jumeirah International (Co-sponsors), Net Group of Companies, DUTCO Hotels, Passage to Arabia, Sharaf Travel, Orient Tours, Taj Palace Hotel Dubai, Le Meridien Dubai, Sheraton Deira Hotel & Towers, Crowne Plaza Dubai, The Ritz-Carlton Dubai, Al Futtaim Travel, Arabian Adventures, Le Royal Meridien Beach Resort & Spa, Hilton Dubai Jumeirah / Hilton Dubai Creek, Gulf Ventures, Department of Civil Aviation, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, Dubai Word Cup, Dubai Golf Holidays & Events, Al Maha Desert Resort, JW Marriott Hotel Dubai, Dusit Dubai Hotel, The Fairmont Hotel, Royal Mirage, SNTTA - Emirates Tours and Emirates airline.

Mr. bin Sulayem added: "Japan is a good growth market for Dubai and because of recent international events, travel from Japan to the USA has reduced substantially and the Japanese traveler is looking for alternative destinations. "Travelers are growing progressively more selective about the safety aspect of a destination and this offers us a good opportunity as Dubai is easily among the safest destinations in the world."

"Major outbound travel segments from Japan that we target include the middle aged and the elderly travelers, wedding/honeymoon travelers and working women in the 20's to 30's age group with a high disposable income," remarked Mr. bin Sulayem.

The programme at each venue will include a presentation by DTCM executives and will be followed by a screening of the DTCM's Destination Dubai video.