Hotels, theme parks and other tourism hardware are mushrooming in Dubai, which is positioning itself as ideal for family travel
There is a building fever across Dubai. Cars on spacious highways inevitably whizz past construction sites of upcoming malls, hotels or attractions, evident of the huge infrastructure development aimed at creating a showpiece city.
In fact, Dubai is trying to position itself as the “ultimate family destination in the world”, thus it is pulling out all the stops to develop its tourism hardware towards its visitor arrival target of 20 million in 2020, doubled from 10 million in 2010.
Supporting this ambitious pursuit are 15,000 to 20,000 new rooms in the pipeline, many in the mid-range category and due to be ready by 2015-2016.
“Five-star hotels don’t appeal to couples while families would rather spend more money on shopping or entertainment than on a hotel room. Hence we know there will continue to be growth in the three- to four-star segment,” said Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM).
Highlighting Dubai’s strengths in the family tourism segment, Kazim cited the results of a family travel study released by YouGov, the UK’s Internet-based marker research firm, at the May 4-7 Arabian Travel Market held in Dubai. According to the study, 64 per cent of the 2,000-plus Middle East and North Africa-based survey respondents had travelled with their children in the last 12 months. Families also take an average of two trips per year, and those with younger children (0-12 years old) tend to travel more often than those with 13 to 18-year-olds.
But Dubai is looking at the entire spectrum of family travel. Kazim told TTG Asia: “We are talking about different types of families coming to Dubai – couples and honeymooners, couples with kids, families with grandparents etc.”
To lure leisure and family visitors, three upcoming theme parks await – Legoland Dubai, Bollywood Parks Dubai and Motiongate Dubai. These three parks are located at the same site between Dubai Airport and Abu Dhabi Airport, with Phase 1 opening planned for October 2016. Alongside this mega entertainment site will be the Marriott-managed four-star Lapita hotel with 503 keys. Riverland, a posh retail, dining and entertainment walkway can also be expected in the vicinity.
Also opening in 2015-2016 is the IMG Worlds of Adventure, expected to be the world’s largest indoor theme park, which will offer four zones – Marvel, Lost Valley – Dinosaur Adventure and Cartoon Network.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s cruise industry has also contributed to tourism growth following the opening of the emirate’s third cruise terminal. This year, 425,000 cruise passengers are expected, a 30 per cent increase over the previous year, according to DCTCM.
In terms of air connectivity, already the emirate boasts two international airports, which connect hundreds of destinations across six continents. It is also planning to allow multiple-entry visas, especially for Asians seeking to make several visits.
Amorntheep Bhatia, managing director of Bangkok-based Orient Travels, said the multiple-entry visas would definitely encourage more visits and boost business for Dubai.
Shujaat Yyar, deputy general manager at the Le Meridien Dubai Hotel and Conference Centre, noted that Dubai’s vision to welcome 20 million visitors by 2020 is significantly accelerating the infrastructural development of the city.
He added: “The number of flights to and from Asia, the extensive choice and quality of hotels, event venues, indoor and outdoor incentive activities as well as the reassuring fact that Dubai is virtually crime-free, make this emirate a preferred choice for Asian travellers.”
As part of its strategy towards achieving the 2020 arrivals target, the city also strives to treat today’s business visitor as tomorrow’s leisure tourist.
“To achieve that goal, we need strong branding and marketing, which are in the works, while infrastructure is already in place,” opined Steen Jakobsen, director for Dubai Business Events, the city’s official convention bureau.
Perhaps branding has materialised in the form of performances, such as that delivered by Frenchman Luc Marin, who mesmerised an audience of travel consultants, hoteliers and travel writers with sand art and animation on a warm Monday evening at Atlantis, The Palm.
To the tune of haunting Arabian music, Marin used soft white sand to draw and depict the changing history of Dubai on a backlit, sand-covered box, while an overhead camera projected his work onto a giant screen. The perfect start to any family holiday earned a huge round of applause from the audience when it ended.
This article was first published in TTG Asia, July 17, 2015 issue, on page 19. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe
