Tour de force

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Al Muhairi believes in slow and steady growth.

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Abdul Rahman is not worried about tourism growth.

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Qatar plans to build more museums to attract cultural visitors.

What are you doing to compete with other tourism bodies in the region?

Abdul Rahman: You can't compare Dubai with other areas. We're helping Abu Dhabi very much of course, and we're pushing them to succeed, but you can't compare a 40-year old man to a 10-year old boy. Our tourism industry is very far ahead, because we started as a commercial hub in the 19th and 20th centuries.

I think we can compare ourselves with the biggest tourist countries in the world, like France. On the culture side, we don't have a culture but we do have a modern city; we have the Palm, we have the Burj and the shopping malls. I think there are seven wonders in the world? In Dubai we have 3 or 4 wonders now here alone.

Al Muhairi: Abu Dhabi is a very different offering compared to other destinations in the region. Abu Dhabians have an immense respect for each other, for their land, their rulers, their religion and their traditions. A warm, open-door hospitality lies at the heart of Abu Dhabi today and is a direct and living link with its past.

Both emirates, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, offer different things and complement each other - Abu Dhabi offers attractions that reflect the heritage and culture of the emirate and offer visitors an authentic experience.

Al Nuaimi: The goal of QTEA is to develop Qatar as an upscale destination known for quality and excellence, and guide the development of sustainable events. By combining exhibitions and tourism under the control of a same authority, it enables us to create a unique tourism strategy, offering a business-oriented tourism, combined with leisure activities.

What have you found to be the most difficult aspect of promoting tourism in recent months?

Abdul Rahman: The marketing. It's the whole operation, how to deal with the financial crisis, and how to deal with the media outside, who are attacking us. The problem here is that the media and writers are talking about Dubai without even coming to see it. But all successful destinations are attacked by somebody, and we have to just be quiet. We are marketing Dubai and inviting people to come and see, but the media is really targeting Dubai.

Al Muhairi: The downturn. There is no doubt that 2009/10 will be a challenging period for tourism globally, with the World Tourism Organisation predicting zero growth in world tourism arrivals. The economies of many of our key inbound markets such as the UK, Germany, and the Eurozone are in recession, while economic growth rates of others such as China, India, Australia have been significantly reduced. This will flow through into reduced rates of outbound tourism from these markets. Economic growth rates within the GCC and UAE have also been revised in the light of the global financial crisis.

Al Nuaimi: In such a global economic climate, affluent travellers are reluctant to show off that they still can afford and enjoy luxury vacations. Yet despite the economic downturn, we have been extremely successful in launching our brand, with a lot of interest from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the United States.

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