Dubai Summer Surprises Roadshows in GCC region evoke exceptional response

The entourage across the GCC cities was led by Mr. Ibrahim Saleh, Chief Operations Officer of Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), and Lieutenant Colonel Jassim Abdul Ghafour, Assistant Director of Executive Office, Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD). The delegation included the DSS Mascot Modhesh, as also representatives of hotels and hotel apartments, tourism companies, rent-a-car companies in Dubai, who are offering special promotional packages for the duration of the Surprises.

Elaborating on the response generated during the roadshows, Mr. Saleh said: "The GCC roadshows have played a very critical role in creating awareness for the event concept of Dubai Summer Surprises ever since the inception of the event in 1998. In the recently concluded roadshows, our objective was to introduce the new activities and promotions to the GCC residents. The DSS roadshow team's interaction with the media and travel trade in the various destinations generated a positive response."

He said all the press conferences and the workshops organised during the roadshows generated a lot of interest among the resident media, tour operators and the travel agents in all the GCC cities.

"Tour operators and travel agencies who attended the roadshows confirmed our belief that there is an increasing amount of interest amongst GCC residents to opt for travel within the region rather than opting for faraway destinations. Having said this, the Gulf traveller is not stereotypical, but prefers a varied product and this is the distinct advantage of Dubai Summer Surprises which showcases a wide array of activities for the entire family," Mr. Saleh added.

He said that the DSS 2004 will succeed in attracting a lot of visitors from the Gulf countries, which was epitomised by the huge participation of the travel agents and rent-a-car companies at the roadshows. The Dubai-based hotels, tour operators and travel agents, who were part of the DSS entourage, also generated a lot of inquiries and interests from families across the Gulf countries, he added.

Mr. Saleh said that the Gulf traveller had lot of information about the DSS and they were aware about the importance of the event in the annual calendar. "The families consider a sojourn to Dubai as the best choice during summer, primarily in view of the vast range of innovative activities organised during DSS. This, in turn, also provides a major fillip to the tourism industry as well," Mr. Saleh said.

Mr. Saleh also expressed his gratitude to Emirates Airline, one of the key sponsors of DSS, for the support provided during the roadshows in the various GCC cities. "Their participation and help played a pivotal role in the overall success of the roadshows, which covered the entire GCC countries," he added.

Lt. Col. Abdul Ghafour said the various roadshows reflected the interest generated over the event across the region, and their keenness to visit Dubai during DSS. "The media, visitors and tour operators made a beeline at all the roadshows and they displayed a lot of awareness and knowledge about the services and facilities offered by the DNRD," he said.

Lt. Col. Abdul Ghafour said that his department was fully prepared to receive GCC visitors and is ready to take on the task of issuing a high number of visit visas during DSS 2004. He also said that the department is already co-ordinating with the committee that is arranging to receive people at the Dubai International Airport and the various entry points in the UAE.

The DSS roadshows were organised in Muscat, Manama, Kuwait City, Doha, Jeddah and Riyadh.