DTCM unveils Dubai's Tourism Vision for 2020

On the eve of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013, His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, today officially approved Dubai’s Vision for Tourism: By 2020, Dubai will welcome 20 million visitors per year and triple tourism’s contribution to the city’s economy.

The ‘Vision’ to double annual visitor numbers from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million in 2020, was developed by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) under guidance from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Dubai has already been able to double the number of tourists from five million yearly to 10 million tourists a year during the past eight years, with the current economic contribution estimated at in the range of AED 100 billion (US $27.2).

HH Sheikh Mohammed said: “We are aware that such goals are ambitious, but more important than ambition is realizing these goals in reality. We are confident that the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is capable of achieving what it aims for given the previous accomplishments and the positive results attained.

“We need to bear in mind that tourism is a broad service sector that one entity cannot solely be held responsible for its development; therefore, it is important that other government departments and institutions share this responsibility and join in developing this sector in order to strengthen our macroeconomic capabilities. Moreover, we expect the private sector to play a similar role in supporting this goal within the framework of the partnership that we have established decades ago. This partnership between the government and private sectors is a source of our pride and we will do all what it takes to make it a success,” His Highness added.

As a part of ‘Vision 2020’, DTCM has outlined three areas where Dubai can focus investment in order to boost visitor numbers, from the promotion of the UAE as a world leading family destination; increasing focus on business visitors and the promotion of Dubai as the MICE capital of the region; as well destination tourism, with the aim of moving from a regional events hub to a global events and entertainment destination. As part of this, both the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) - organiser of festivals such as Dubai Summer Surprises and Dubai Shopping Festival - and Dubai Calendar, were recently integrated into DTCM.

DTCM director general Helal Saeed Almarri said: “The strategy behind the Dubai Tourism Vision for 2020 will further leverage a sector which has been a central pillar in the city’s economic growth, success and diversification. It is based upon two central tenets: the first being to widen our range of tourism offerings across events, attractions, infrastructure, services and packages and to enhance the overall visitor experience from arrival to departure. The second tenet is to adapt our marketing approach in order to showcase Dubai to a wider audience and grow the conversion rate of awareness to bookings. There are a range of initiatives we will put in place in both of these areas which will work together to attract more visitors to the city and encourage them to stay longer and spend more money during their time with us.”

“Our role at DTCM is to act as a facilitator of growth, harnessing the collective power of stakeholders in the city and deepening engagement with parties outside of Dubai, so that we deliver the vision. The target of 20 million visitors will be achieved through meeting a number of objectives. First, maintaining existing market share of the outbound tourism of all source markets: economic and demographic factors will increase the amount of outbound tourists in each market, therefore maintaining Dubai’s existing percentage market share will deliver an up-lift in visitor numbers. Second, increasing awareness and consideration to visit in a number of source markets which DTCM has identified as having significant potential for growth, such as Latin America, China and the emerging economies of Africa. Third, increasing the number of repeat visits, already a significant driver for tourism in the city,” concluded Almarri.