The online programme, which can also be accessed on all smart mobile devices, is delivered through practical video lessons that offer students the opportunity to learn basic but important information that they can rely on during their regular interaction with tourists. The video toolkit features online activities and assessments and provides interactive knowledge of Dubai’s history and heritage, its future developments, attractions, infrastructure, and as well as lessons in customer service.
It’s a seamless sign-up process, whereby to conduct the training, each colleague will have to log on to the platform with their establishment code and Emirates ID number, which gives DTCM a thorough understanding of each hotel’s progress.
Ghosh elaborated on the programme, saying: “Dubai Way training platform has two levels and eventually all our colleagues have to undergo the training with a 100% completion score. Level two is for front of the house colleagues, who are in direct contact with guests and therefore it's mandatory that they have an in-depth knowledge about the city. Level one is for the back of the house colleagues — a simplified version for those employees, who don’t directly interact with guests.”
Level two of the programme includes 31 training videos, 15 activities and nine mini-assessments, followed by a final assessment. The topics covered during the programme include the following: ‘Introducing Dubai’, ‘Life in Dubai’, ‘Getting Around and Basic Services’, ‘A Tour of Dubai’s districts’, ‘Dubai Way of Customer Service’, and ‘Communicating with Travellers’.
The programme will also have constant updates. Ghosh told Hotelier Middle East that “Dubai is rapidly changing and there is a number of projects coming up on a daily basis, therefore the programme will also get renewed every year to ensure that employees will always have the most recent information in hand.”
The cost is US$102 (AED375) per person and the certificate, which each colleague obtains after a successful completion of the training, is valid for two years. For a hotel that has 100 front facing employees, for example, it would amount to $10,211 (AED37,500) to complete the programme.
IHG executives, who were some of the first people to complete the Dubai Way initiative last year, have also praised it as a platform for their employees to contribute towards the success of Dubai’s tourism industry, and in the process, further enhance their individual careers.
“We are focused on developing our people on the job and developing them in terms of their knowledge so they are able to advance in their careers. Dubai Way helps promote Dubai as a great tourism destination, and the more our employees know about Dubai, they will be more informed about their role in helping tourists enjoy their stay in the emirate,” Crowne Plaza Dubai – Deira area general manager George Koumendakos said. “The success of our employees in the Dubai Way programme will certainly be an inspiration to other staff in tourist-facing roles in the emirate.”
Dubai is projected to overtake London for tourist arrivals by 2025 after seeing the highest growth rate in the top 10 of this year’s Euromonitor Top 100 City Destinations Ranking, and according to Bin Hadher: “The Dubai Way programme comes at a key time for Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors, with 15.8 million tourists visiting in 20187. By 2020, that figure will rise to 20 million.”
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