DTCM reviews summer promotion with Dubai tourism industry players

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, DTCM Executive Director Media Relations and Business Development. Also present was Arwa Al Ghammai, DTCM Director of Operations and Liaison at Operations and Marketing Division.

He outlined various initiatives launched by the DTCM to increase hotel occupancies and attract more visitors to the emirate during the summer months and the Holy Month of Ramadan and the remainder of the year.

He said Dubai's expanding hospitality industry has been extending support to these initiatives.

One of the key initiatives is Keep Discovering Dubai, a three-month familiarization programme for travel trade and media representatives launched in March. The programme, conducted in coordination with Emirates Airlines and select Dubai hotels and DMCs, is designed to bring 2000 travel agents, journalists and broadcast reporters from over 60 countries to get acquainted with Dubai and its tourism and business landscape.

Earlier last year, the department created a task force with experts and representatives of Dubai tourism industry players, to review the tourism market landscape and take appropriate measures.

Based on the inputs provided by the industry players and experts, the department took measures which reflected in hotel occupancies getting a boost even in the first quarter of 2009.

A total of 1.89m guests stayed in Dubai hotels in the first quarter of 2009, a 5% increase compared with 2008 period The number of operating hotels and hotel apartments rose to 519 in the first quarter of 2009, up from 475 during the corresponding period in 2008. The total hotel rooms available touched 40,864 in the first quarter of 2009, up by 17% from the same period in 2008.

The number of hotel apartments rose to 46,355 in January-March 2009 period, an increase of 30% compared with the corresponding period in 2008. The first quarter of 2009 recorded 5.34m guest nights.