Dubai hosts Natalie Tours Congress for the second time

Being held at the Grosvenor House hotel, the six-day gathering has attracted 220 top travel professionals from the network of Natalie Tours, the biggest tour operator in Moscow. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) and leading five-star hotels are supporting the prestigious meeting.

Details about the congress were announced on its opening day by the DTCM Manager Media Relations, Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, Mr. Ghassan Al Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours, Ms. Natalia Vorobieva, Director General of Natalie Tours, and Ms. Pam Wilby, General Manager, Le Royal Meridien and Grosvenor House.

Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman said the emirate has been attracting greater attention in the Russian and CIS markets as a destination of choice for business and leisure.

The department, which operates a representation office in Moscow for the Russian, CIS and Baltic regions, has been actively participating in different Russian tourism exhibitions, including the just-concluded Leisure-2006 for the past nine years. It also conducts regular sponsored familiarization trips for the Russian media representatives and tour operators.

The support for the Natalie Tours Congress, he said, was part of the promotional and marketing initiatives of the department with the aim of attracting more visitors to Dubai as its tourism product gets expanded.

Over 422,000 Russians stayed with the Dubai hotel establishments in the year 2005 while a 10 per cent increase in the number of Russians utilizing the Dubai International Airport was recorded. For the 2005/2006 season, as many as 830 tour operators are featuring Dubai in their programmes, 38 per cent more than the previous period.

Mr. Ghassan Al Aridi said the DTCM support to the conference for the second time speak volumes about Dubai's commitment to the Russian market and its keenness to build long-lasting relations with the tourism and travel industry and its decision-makers.

He said the holding of conference by Natalie with the top travel agents of its network also affirms their growing interest in Dubai as a year-round business and leisure destination.

There will be a substantial increase in the Russian visitors to Dubai as an outcome of this congress.

Ms. Natalia Vorobieva said more than 220 top travel agents out of a network of 7,000 travel agents in Russia were hand-picked for the congress in addition to the tours reservations staff of her Moscow-based company.

She said Russians consider Dubai a safest destination and a best place to visit throughout the year. The conference will allow the delegates to explore Dubai's strengths and attractions and experience first-hand all its world-class facilities.

This conference will also facilitate their networking with industry professionals in the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. The delegates will be taken on a tour of the attractions in the emirate, including hotels and new projects that are changing the Dubai skyline.