Artist's impression of The Royal Amwaj Resort on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, which will offer an all-inclusive option.
Ask the travel trade
SNTTA Emir Tours manager — M.I.C.E Richard Devadasan said he has seen demand from clients for all-inclusive hotels in the UAE, which he would be keen to sell if available.
“I think to grow the business to our destination we must adapt to what clicks for our customer. Yes we have seen an interest for such an [all-inclusive] offering from clients. All they need is a venue (usually resort type) wherein clients can avail the F&B offerings all day long, even if it has to be from designated outlets,” commented Devadasan.
“We have lost business to other destinations because of the non-availability of such offers from hotels, so yes we will certainly be able to sell this whenever asked, but even otherwise because it will indeed affect the bottom line for the client in the positive sense.”
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Chairman and owner of the Vision Destination Management, Ali Zaid Abu Monassar, took a more cautious view, however.
Echoing Rezidor’s Yigit Sezgin’s points he said: “All-inclusive packages are demanded from destinations like Germany and the UK but I think Dubai, with the exception of a few hotels, has never had to do this, because if we start we will never end”.
Monassar continued: “The UAE is famous for its luxury hotels and when it comes to luxury hotels you cannot offer all-inclusive. The only places where you can is in island destinations like the Maldives where there are no other options.
“In Dubai, where you have so many options to dine in a variety of places and you want to be entertained, you have to discover the city. All-inclusive clients tend not to leave the hotel. The destination does not benefit. It would be a disaster.”
He conceded, as did PKF’s Sven Gade, that there could be limited periods when hotels could offer all-inclusive packages — for example, during the summer months when beach hotels are not as full.
But Monassar said this would have to be decided on a “case by case basis” as ultimately, “all-inclusive ends up being cheap”.
But he said generally, people travelling to Dubai didn’t expect these sorts of packages.
“The people that are coming to Dubai are not coming because they want to stay in a hotel and save money. They are coming for the destination — coming for the malls, the fine dining options and the tours — and they know they have to spend money [when they are here].”
Of Royal Amwaj’s plans, Monassar concluded: “The Palm Jumeirah is the icon of Dubai; if we start to offer all-inclusive hotels on The Palm what will happen to all of the other hotels?”.
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Apr 21, 2011 , United Kingdom
I think we need to stop comparing the Dubai all inclusive concept with hotels in destinations such as Egypt and Turkey. They are very different to aspirational Dubai and we should be looking at hotels in Mauritius or the Caribbean as a benchmark. Understandably, the tax and duty levels are diff...