DTCM honours Germany's leading premium tour operator

The DTCM Director General, Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, presented the Certificate of Appreciation and a crystal falcon as a memento to Mr. Ladwig at a ceremony held at the DTCM Head Office yesterday.

It was attended among others by Mr. Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb, DTCM Director Operations and Marketing, Mara Kaselitz, Director DTCM-Germany, Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Manager Missions, and Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, Manager Media Relations.

Members of an influential German media group accompanying Mr. Ladwig were also present at the ceremony held after Mr. bin Mejren's Presentation on Dubai's evolution and development as an ideal year-round business and leisure destination.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. bin Sulayem said: "The Certificate of Appreciation is to honour Mr. Ladwig for his great personal dedication and commitment for the past 20 years to establish a very successful and durable relationship between the emirate and Airtours."

He said Germans have been very consistent in according their unfaltering support to Dubai over the years and strongly believes in the vision and hard work of Dubai in making the destination even more appealing.

The five-day tour of Mr. Ladwig and representatives of six influential German publications and TV channel has been arranged by the department jointly with the Emirates Airlines, Jumeirah International and Travco to offer them the opportunity to experience Arabian hospitality and explore ongoing developments.

Mr. bin Mejren said: "Dubai has remained a sought-after holiday destination for Germans due to the availability of world-class hospitality services in addition to year-round sunshine and high safety levels. The Airtour mission's visit will help further promote Dubai as a unique and rapidly-expanding destination effectively and extensively in the German market."

Mara Kaselitz, Director DTCM-Germany, who is accompanying the delegation said: "The personal attendance of Mr. Ladwig reflects the importance that his organisation accords to Dubai and its commitment. Their visit will help bring in more Germans to Dubai."

Airtours added Dubai to its portfolio for the first time in1984 and has been sending nearly 10,000 up-market German visitors to Dubai every year.

Airtours' Distant Lands summer brochure features Dubai extensively and devoted almost over 30 pages, making the emirate one of the biggest highlights in the worldwide portfolio of the company.

The company, with annual revenues of about 250 million euros and 190 employees on its rolls, is selling Dubai trips to more than 4,200 travel agencies in Germany and Austria.

Mr. Ladwig heads the company which is a full-fledged subsidiary of the world's leading travel company, TUI Group. About 60 per cent of the Airtours' clientele consists of repeat visitors, with the main target group being those with very high net incomes.

Mr. Ladwig has visited Dubai in the past on five to six occasions, the last being in December 2001.

"The innovative and unique developments taking shape in Dubai has amazed us enormously. The sheer size and diversity of developments, and more importantly the speed of implementation, makes Dubai different from other places."

He said the visitors' experience was bound get enhanced once the ambitious projects takes off.

He remarked: "Despite the negative economic trends in different parts of the world, especially Germany, the market for Dubai is getting enlarged in established markets and segments and we are confident about maintaining the growth levels in the coming years. The up-scale segment of the German travel market in which we are strong is going to witness strong growth. The convenient and extensive air connections and the availability of world-class hospitality and recreational facilities make the emirate an ideal aviation hub."