Why UAE is the ultimate destination for travellers
DESPITE BEING RELATIVELY NEW to the tourism game, the UAE has very quickly become the ultimate destination for travellers from across the globe, says Ghassan Aridi, chief executive officer of Alpha Destination Management.
“The country has a multitude of attractions to offer tourists,” he said. “We are very well organised and well maintained in terms of infrastructure and global connectivity. The growth which the UAE has achieved, and the laws, protect the industry against anything negative. We definitely wish to have peace everywhere so that there is economic and political stability across the region.”
Aridi also noted that 2017 has been a very good year for the industry. “Some markets came back very strongly, particularly [those] from the CIS and the Russian market. We have also seen a very good increase from the UK market. Both are very significant source markets for Dubai... added several activities and tours [have also helped].”
“2018 looks equally promising. Helicopters are still doing very well, and we are trying to have several points by adding more helipads in Dubai.”
He also revealed that the industry is going to see a lot of changes in tourism demographics. Additionally, the growth of Emirates airline and flydubai is also playing a major role in providing the very best of connectivity options to Dubai, which is one of the main reasons in increasing the business to the emirate.
“The number one, number two and number three feeder markets are always changing for Dubai. Some markets have witnessed double-digit increases, while some markets are up by five, seven and eight per cent, which is considered to be a very high growth as per the World Tourism Organization’s data achieved by top destinations. I think another positive thing is that we are now approaching the club of 20 million, and we are going to be short-listed in this club. This for us is the most important rating, listing us in the top league while comparing us with leading destinations in the world,” he noted.