Holding the annual tourist conference "Dubai - an all-weather destination" in early June has already become a good tradition. So this year, from June 8 to 10, representatives of Russian tour operators and travel agencies, as well as the leaders of the emirate's hotel complex, gathered in the halls of the Dubai five-star Habtoor Grand Resort hotel to discuss the prospects for further promotion of Dubai as a year-round destination in the context of the international financial crisis , exchange opinions and tell about successes and achievements.
Among the conference delegates were both persons and companies already familiar to us from the two previous events - the network of travel agencies “Burning Tours Shop”, the law firm “Persona Grata”, and such players in the tourism market as the “Treasure Island” firms, the “Hot Tours” network , VKO Club, Glory Travel, "Express Tour", "Rest Master" and others.
As always, the conference was organized by the Moscow tour operator Intrevel-Stoleshniki together with its Emirate partner, Royal Park Tourism Services. The conference was held under the patronage and with the assistance of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai. The venue for the conference and its participants was provided by the Habtoor Grand Resort.
For the first time this year, Sergey Shpilko, President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, took part in the conference. Before starting his speech, Sergey Shpilko presented the PCT certificates of appreciation to Abdullah Al Suweidan, DTCM Deputy General Director for Foreign Campaigns, and M. Chaco Mani, Royal Park Tourism Services CEO. Then, speaking to the audience, Sergey Shpilko noted that the general trends in the development of international tourism have so far demonstrated the dynamics of a decrease in tourist flows in all directions. Citing the reports of the World Tourism Organization, he emphasized that tourism in a situation of economic growth always shows the highest rates of return, and in times of crisis - the deepest level of decline. According to analysts, international tourism will begin to emerge from the stagnation phase 3-4 months after the global economy emerges from the crisis. According to Sergey Shpilko, tourism products such as balneological tourism and sea cruises are more resistant to situations in the global financial markets, corporate tourism and beach family vacations are less stable.
Since Dubai is considered to be a recognized resort among Russian tourists, some figures were indicated showing the development of the situation in the Dubai direction. So, in 2008, Dubai was visited by 500 thousand tourists from the CIS countries, of which more than 300 thousand from Russia. Since 1998, the growth of tourist flow from Russia to Dubai has been 20-25% per year, over the past two years, these figures have dropped to 8-9%, and there are objective reasons for this. One of them is the lack of hotels (many new hotels have just begun to be commissioned this year), and the second is the general rise in price for Dubai compared to other popular foreign resorts. Despite this, the number of Russians arriving for a vacation to Dubai still allows Russia to hold second place after the UK in terms of the number of arrivals at Dubai International Airport.
In conclusion, Sergey Shpilko noted the excellent work of the office and representative office of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic States, represented by its General Director Sergey Kanayev, calling the Moscow office of DTCM one of the most effective foreign representative offices in the Russian capital. He also emphasized that Dubai was and remains a prestigious tourist destination, but in the current situation of increased competition and liberalization of visa formalities for Russians in major tourist markets, including the European one, he expressed hope for receiving good news from Dubai.
It must be said that among the conference delegates, besides Muscovites, there were representatives of travel agencies from Orekhovo-Zuev, Ivanov, Voronezh, Omsk, and other cities that successfully sold vacation packages to Dubai. According to the director of the VKO Club company Alexei Nikonov, the preferences of Russian tourists traveling on vacation to the Emirates through his company are as follows: Dubai (44.7%), Sharjah (30.8%), Fujairah (13.9%), Ajman (4.2%), Ras Al-Kheim (3.9%), Abu Dhabi (1.5%) and Umm Al-Quwain (0.3%). And, despite the fact that beach hotels are at least 3 times more expensive than city hotels, Russians still prefer a vacation by the sea and are willing to pay for it. Sergey Agafonov, Director of Last Minute Vacation Stores Chain Company, noted that the popularity of the UAE as a tourist destination among its customers, according to data from January to May 2009 (6.9%), did not significantly decrease compared to the same period last year. (6.1%).
To once again convince representatives of Russian travel agencies that there is something to do in Dubai in the summer and do things for children, the delegates were addressed by Suheila Gubash, event manager of the organizer of the festival "Dubai Summer Surprises". In her speech, she spoke about all the advantages of a good summer vacation in Dubai, including great shopping with amazing prizes, interactive games and educational programs for children, a lot of fun for the whole family under the roofs of air-conditioned shopping centers and other venues.
Further, leading Dubai hoteliers conducted their interactive seminar, presenting to Russians the most noticeable advantages of their hotels. Within the framework of the conference, a special seminar / master class on the intricacies of sales of Dubai as a tourist destination was held by the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing. Open discussions were held, reports of representatives of law and insurance companies were heard, various presentations were viewed. Then all the guests of Dubai - the heads of Russian travel agencies and the media - had the opportunity to visit the recently opened luxury hotel Atlantis, The Palm on the first man-made island The Palm Jumeirah, as well as go on an evening safari to the desert to experience for yourself what it is like in Dubai summer.
Summing up the 3rd annual conference will be this summer and those tourists who, not afraid of the heat, will come to Dubai and plunge into the world of good relaxation, delicious international cuisine, dizzying adventures and fantastic shopping. See you in Dubai in the summer!
