Travel and Tour Agencies eagerly await DSF 2004

A large number of bookings have been made from many different parts of the world, reflecting the international status that the festival has gained. Now in its ninth year, Dubai Shopping Festival provides unlimited entertainment and savings for the entire family, and is a marvel that sees the enthusiastic participation of public and private sector enterprises in Dubai.

Mr. Sanjeet Joher, Head of Marketing, Destinations of the World, said, "Working towards Dubai's goal of bringing in 15 million tourists by 2010, we are gearing up and not resting on our status of being the leading wholesale tour operator. We now have operations in places such as Australia, parts of Asia, including the Indian Subcontinent. On an average we bring in 25,000 tourists to Dubai per month, and we are sure that this number will go up significantly for DSF 2004. There are a large number of families from GCC states expected, and we have also got confirmation from many European groups. Shopping is no longer the primary consideration for visiting DSF."

"People have also recognized the many leisure options available here, and so make a trip here as a complete package. We expect hotels in Dubai to easily cross 90% in occupancy, and we have even made arrangements for spillover guests to stay in hotels in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. On a personal note, I am sure that DSF 2004 is the best tourism event that Dubai has witnessed till date", he added.

Mr. Iyad Rasbey, Director of Sales and Marketing, Travco Travel Dubai, said, "The average occupancies being enjoyed by hotels of over 90% is a great improvement on the scenario five or even two years ago. This is a sure sign that DSF is only growing. Another phenomenon is that DSF used to be visited by a majority of GCC travelers, but now there are also a large number of tourists from many other parts of the world. Its interesting when you consider the demographics and their involvement with the festival. A European family is typically small, and their average stay is 5-7 days. The GCC family is usually large, and their stay is 7-10 days, especially around the Eid Al Adha holidays. The Middle Eastern family, like Jordanians and Lebanese, are small again, and their stay averages 3-5 days."

"Every year, the activities and events offered during the festival just keep getting better. The bundle- and discount-offers are especially attractive, and this applies to all tourists who visit Dubai. Now that the regional situation has calmed down, people are quite eager to start traveling again, and DSF 2004 comes at an ideal time. We are already full booked for the DSF season, and the challenge now is to provide the visitor with as many interesting and exciting activities as possible, to keep them coming back year after year", he said.

Mr. A.R. Ghori, General Manager- Tours and Operations, Orient Tours, said, "We are an inbound tour operator, having clients and tie-ups in Europe and all parts of Asia. We handle safaris, tours, excursions, business conferences and initiatives, and we have found that there is no other time comparable to Dubai Shopping Festival in terms of volumes of visitors. There are two main segments that we deal with; one is the inbound sector, which is partnered with tour agencies worldwide, and the second is the safaris and excursions within the UAE."

"We get our rooms from hotels, with whom we directly contract, enabling savings for the tourist. While the average stay of our guests is a week, it ranges from 3 days to 15 days. We encourage all visitors to make all bookings well in advance, and we conduct satisfaction surveys when they are here, so as to know how we could improve our services the next time around. This event, Dubai Shopping Festival, is something unique, and we fully endorse it. We are confident that Dubai is being positively highlighted around the globe through the success of this tourism marvel", he added.

-Ends-