Dubai is mounting an unprecedented overseas marketing and promotion campaign by sending an all-time record 132-member delegation to the World Travel Market (WTM-2001) event starting in London on Monday, the Khaleej Times reported.
This is the first global tourism fair to take place after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US which debilitated the travel industry on varying scales in every destination.
Nevertheless, Dubai is “doing much better than other places,” said Khalid bin Sulayem, the director general of Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
According to bin Sulayem, the WTM is “the best platform to reinforce Dubai's presence on the world tourism map.”
Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai and the chairman of the DTCM, has instructed authorities “to go all-out to bring more tourists to Dubai,” the Dubai-based paper said.
Ibrahim Ahli, DTCM manager for overseas promotions and missions, said the WTM helped reach out to the world, but the focus was still on the Europe, which sends the bulk of the tourists who visit Dubai.
"We have a big budget for the WTM. The demand to participate in Dubai's delegation to the WTM has been very strong. We have turned down requests from four organizations as there is no space left at our stand," said Ahli.
The DTCM officials said the Emirates' latest decision to buy $15 billion worth of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing as part of its fleet expansion by the year 2010 had helped draw world attention to Dubai.
Now into its 22nd year, the WTM is the travel trade's biggest international business-to-business event. Last year, it attracted over 5,000 organizations from over 177 countries and a total of 48,418 participants – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
