Dubai may cut target of 15mn tourists by 2015

TOURISM BOOST: Dubai plans to unveil a strategy to attract holidaymakers to the emirate amid the global financial crisis. (Getty Images)

Dubai might be forced to cut its target of attracting 15 million tourists by 2015 as the global financial crisis causes holidaymakers to cut back on spending, a senior official said on Monday.

Khalid Ahmed bin Sulayem, director general of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing, said Dubai would unveil a new strategy in the next two weeks to help attract tourists to the emirate after completing a study on the matter, newswire Bloomberg reported.

Bin Sulayem said the strategy would include marketing targeted at the UK, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.

“We are gathering information, looking at trends around the world of travel and tourism and having daily meetings,” bin Sulayem was quoted as saying.

He said Dubai might revise its tourism target “depending on the feedback we get” from the study.

Hotel room rates in Dubai have dropped as much as 30 percent amid the global financial crisis, UAE daily The National reported on Monday citing tour operators.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Reduce touristis?
Posted by Manjunath, Dubai, UAE on Wednesday 26 November 2008 at 09:31 UAE time

While we need agree that the tourism forecast has to reduce owing to prevailing global financial scenario, it's worth considering the prevaling cost of visit visa, which are increased of late by 3 fold, Visa for 30 days used to cost AED 200.00 in the past is same costing AED. 700.00 living aside additional deposit charges of AED 2000.00. What the above means is visitor has to shell out US$ 6.35 (AED 23.00) per day in addition to his accommodations expanses, is this feasible for promoting tourism?

Dubai Sewage problems
Posted by stuart mayhead, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 14:31 UAE time

Of equal concern to the global 'Credit Crunch' are the Sewage problems. An article by Chris Haslam in last week’s UK Sunday Times Travel Section p 2 reports the problems of the Dubai beaches "Tourists who use Dubai beaches run the risk of contracting serious illnesses as the Middle Eastern resort struggles to combat a tidal wave of illegally dumped sewage..." This is not the image required to attract tourists and need to be quickly addressed and the solution communicated internationally before the reputation of the resort is lost.

reduce tourists?
Posted by james on Tuesday 25 November 2008 at 09:37 UAE time

it's not about cutting the number of tourists... it's about cutting the ridiculously sky-high hotel prices in Dubai that they shd be doing to attract more tourists!

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