DTCM outlines details of sustained growth for 2020

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) director general HE Helal Saeed Almarri has announced plans to achieve sustained 7-9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) across leisure and business visitors as part of Toursim Vision 2020.

Presented at a meeting on January 30 at Dubai World Trade Centre, the plans were shared with 70 of the emirate’s leading hospitality and travel industry decision makers with the aim of further strengthening public-private partnership efforts to fuel visitor growth.

HE Helal Almarri said various factors would contribute to this growth: “Much of the 20 million visitors we are targeting [by 2020] will be from the 25 – 55 year age segment. In our plans to enhance the destination offering, we have prioritised services and products that are specifically targeted at moving Dubai up in the consideration list for the family segment.

“Additionally, we need to elevate Dubai’s overall business destination proposition. This segment is specifically important to us on two counts: firstly business travellers are 20% of our target traffic; and secondly the 24-48 hour travel time that is usual for business tourists is our opportunity to provide a preview to Dubai that will incentivise business tourists to return, for leisure and for longer, with friends and family.”

In response to HE Helal Saeed Almarri’s comments, Arabian Adventures senior vice president Peter Payat commented that said that government departments and the private sector need to work together to ensure there is collective responsibility in driving forward the vision. He commented: “In maximising these opportunities there are some challenges and the need to focus on the continued development of infrastructure is key.”

Time Hotels CEO Mohammed Awadalla commented on the need to regulate pricing in the emirate, commenting: “I have recommended to DTCM that they consider monitoring and regulating prices in hotels – a measure which would have a positive impact in attracting MICE tourism to the city.”

The plans have been put in place to achieve the ambition outlined under the ‘Tourism Vision for 2020” — to attract 20 million tourists by the end of the decade, almost doubling the published visitor traffic from 2012.