UAE requires combined marketing strategy: Deloitte

Abu Dhabi and Dubai should join forces to promote a more diverse tourism offering

Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the other emirates that comprise the UAE should join forces to market the country as a destination in its own right, according to an industry analyst.

Speaking at research firm Deloitte’s recent tourism and leisure leaders’ lunch in Dubai, global managing partner, tourism hospitality and leisure, Alex Kyriakidis said: “We’re not marketing the UAE and that’s a big mistake.

“We’re marketing Dubai and we are marketing Abu Dhabi, but we also need to market the UAE,” Kyriakidis said.

“By the time you’ve got the Guggenheim, the Louvre, the other things happening in Abu Dhabi and then all Dubai has to offer, you can actually begin to offer a consumer a balance of cultural, entertainment, leisure experiences, but it can only happen if you market the UAE as a whole.”

He also stressed that big attractions coming up such as Universal Studios and Dubailand should be marketed to global distribution channels now and added that Dubai needed to diversify its product, in particular, to cater to the family market.

“We’ve got to offer more for families to do in the UAE than just sitting by the beach and that is where the Dubailand and the museum attractions in Abu Dhabi come in,” said Kyriakidis.

“We need to begin to think a bit more broadly and offer experiences will bring families here to stay for a week.”