FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Desert oasis tailor made for Thai tastes

Desert oasis tailor made for Thai tastes

MAYBE it's not wrong to describe Dubai as an incredible city that has put up the world's tallest skyscraper Burj Khalifa from its desert. Interestingly, more mega construction is still underway and it seems never ending.

This metropolis is being built not only to house its 2.3 million residents but also to lure overseas investors and travellers. Under Dubai Tourism Vision 2020, the government targets 20 million tourist arrivals, surely including Thai visitors.
“In the first half of last year we welcomed about 17,000 Thai travellers. Thailand |is a huge market in Southeast |Asia for us. We want to work |with Thai travel agents to help promote Dubai to attract more Thai |visitors,” Shahab Abdulla Shayan, head of external affairs at Overseas Offices of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, told The Nation last week.
But the truth is that Dubai is considered a high-end destination from the Thai perspective because of its vibrant economy that attracts many upscale shopping malls, skyscrapers and luxury hotels.
It appeared that the manager for Asia-Pacific acknowledged that point of view, so he wants to introduce what Dubai can offer and change the perception of Thai travellers.
“We want to be the number one family destination as well as a MICE (meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition) centre,” he said.
Dubai offers a wide range of activities for families, such as shopping at the Dubai Mall and Mall of Emirates, ice skating and skiing at Ski Dubai at Mall of Emirates and exploring unique activities in desert safari. And there are all-year-round events such as food festivals. Visitors can also get a deep understanding of the city’s history at the Dubai Museum and Al Bastakiya.
Positioned as a financial hub, Dubai was a perfect place for the MICE business, particularly related to healthcare, retail, infrastructure and real estate.
For example, JW Marriott International has placed its second flagship JW Marriott Marquis brand in Dubai’s business district after its first property in Miami.
Steffi Chollet, assistant director of marketing communications at the world’s tallest hotel, said her 355-metre twin towers targeted MICE travellers. In the peak season, the hotel was fully booked with mainly Gulf Cooperation Council guests, but the average occupancy was about 75 per cent.
In preparation for welcoming a new tourist segment, the government in 2013 introduced mid-market hotel incentives to attract both local and overseas hotel companies to invest in three- to four-star hotels in Dubai.
Eligible hotels registering before 2017 would be granted a waiver of the 10-per-cent municipality fee for four years from the date the building permit is issued. This was a result of collaboration between the department and Dubai Municipality. By 2020, the city expects to have 35,000 mid-market rooms of a total of 155,000.
The government is also pro-|moting Dubai as a holiday home |for overseas investors, focusing on service provision throughout a tourist’s journey, training taxi drivers as tour guides as well as tour guides to speak different languages, easing visa regulations and enhancing electronic gates and infrastructure.
The department is also colla-borating with Emirates Airlines |to promote tourism in Dubai. |Jabr Al-Azeeby, manager for Thailand and Indochina, said his airline was working closely with the department to offer promotions such as short breaks in Dubai for travellers flying to Europe and encouraging them to take a break and explore the city.
“Part of our work involves organising the Emirates Travel Fair in Bangkok from February 26-March 1. The event will highlight the attractions in Dubai and give Thais a flavour of what to expect during their visit,” he said.
Given those collaborations, easing legislation and new development projects, the department aims to turn its tourism vision into reality |as well as to welcome more Thai |travellers.

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