Dubai-Maldives tourism co-operation discussed

The delegation, comprising of Mr. Hamdun A Hameed, Minister of Planning and National Development, Mr. Mahamood Shougee, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Mohamed Mauroof Jameel, Minister of Construction and Public Infrastructure, and Mr. Ibrahim Rafeeq, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, visited Dubai from May 11 to 13.

The team called on the DTCM Director General, Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, at the DTCM Head Office on Saturday and exchanged views about tourism and infrastructure development issues.
Mr. Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, Director of Dubai Convention Bureau, Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Manager Missions, Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, DTCM Manager Media Relations, and Mr. Khalifa Ali Buamaim, DTCM Manager Overseas Promotions, accompanied Mr. bin Sulayem during the talks.

The delegation members informed the DTCM officials that the main purpose of their visit was to get familiarized with the developments in Dubai, particularly visitors' attractions and infrastructure, and learn first-hand from the emirate's success story in different economic domains, ranging from airport management to real estate developments and hospitality industry expansion.

DTCM arranged a presentation on 'Dubai Experience' that highlighted the evolution of Dubai's tourism industry and the crucial role that DTCM has been playing in giving a major fillip to the hospitality sector.

The Maldivian Minister of Planning and National Development, Mr. Hamdun Hameed, said:

"Dubai is an excellent example of tourism development and its successful role in contributing to the economy. Dubai's vision is phenomenal. Dubai is setting the trend. We wanted to see Dubai to gain first hand experience. What amazes us the most is the speed of development (of destination)."

Mr. bin Sulayem said Dubai's tourism growth agenda forms part of the overall development master plan for the emirate.

The department, he said, has been successfully promoting and marketing Dubai in source markets through a variety of tools, including participation in major trade exhibitions and holding road shows.

He said the pace of development of tourism in the emirate was in line with the expectations of the tourism industry and designed to achieve the goal of attracting more tourists from different parts of the world in the coming years.

Last year, Dubai's 407 hotels and hotel apartments played host to 6.2 million guests, 14 % more than the previous year.

There had been a five per cent growth in the number of Dubai hotel guests from the Indian Ocean republic of more than 1,000 islands with a total population of 300,000.

A total of 31 weekly flights are available between Dubai and Maldives, served by Emirates and Sri Lankan airlines.