Dubai travel agencies target GCC families

Promotional offers from various tourist and travel companies vary; they cover the whole spectrum from family offers, weekend offers and special offers to special offers for marine cruises, or trips with children. Other attractive freebies thrown in the mix include free nights offered with every hotel booking by families, and a free rental car, in addition to free entrance to amusement parks. A four-night stay in the UAE may also win the vacationer a free mobile telephone line.

Some of the promotional offers cover lodging and transport to and from shopping malls hosting DSS activities. And there are special offers for long-stay tourists, with reduced car rental fees and the like.

"The number of GCC tourists to Dubai is constantly increasing. Especially with the current situation in Lebanon, many families have preferred coming to Dubai for their vacation. Dubai's visitors have increased by 10-12 per cent over the summer months,"

said Salah Sharaf, chairman of Sharaf Travel Company.

"DSS has also tipped the scales in favour of Dubai as a summer tourist resort. It has attracted families who want to go on shopping trips, for the sheer number of options," he added.

Sharaf Travel Company targets European, Asian and African markets. Some of their offers include special hotel prices, according to the number of stars of every hotel.

According to Sharaf, Asian tourist movement has not reached desired levels because of the circumstances in the Middle East. A good percentage of tourist traffic from Africa is mostly business-related, while from GCC, it is mostly families.

Riyad Al Faisal, Director General of Al Majed Tours, also agrees that DSS has helped greatly increase the numbers of tourists from GCC countries and Europe. "The season was good, but due to the crisis in Lebanon, the mood has turned sombre. Al Majed Tours has promotional deals and package tours on offer, with competitive prices for hotels, and a free night for every three-nights stay in one of these hotels," he says.

Tourist and travel companies in Dubai play an important role in stimulating the summer economy. Says Laila Suhail, DSS Executive Project Director, "The role of tourist and travel companies has now extended beyond the cool season when the weather is nice, and many activities and tours are conducted for tourists visiting Dubai for a short period of time."

"Earlier, summer entailed visiting other countries, but now with DSS here, the number of tourists and visitors has increased and families are looking to the UAE for their holidays and vacations. That is why travel companies are competing to offer attractive packages and gain as much business as possible," she says.

The 10-week long DSS, which opened with Ice Surprises week on June 21, celebrated the Arts Surprises Week, International Food Surprises, Adventure Surprises, Cartoon Surprises, Nature Surprises, Knowledge Surprises, and continues with the weekly themes of Flower Surprises, Heritage Surprises and will conclude with Back-to-School Surprises on September 1.