Dubai is ready for M!CE and FIT

Dubai Tourism recently organised its first virtual Fam that saw the destination as well as Dubai Department of Tourism Commerce Marketing (DTCM) showcasing major attractions of the emirate, while also highlighting the safety and security protocols being followed post opening of the destination in early July.

Nisha Verma

Talking about the road to opening of the destination, Bader Ali Habib, Manager, Indian Subcontinent, International Operations, DTCM, shared that the combined effort of UAE’s leadership and tourism stakeholders as well as Dubai Airports, Emirates Airlines and flydubai has resulted in the effective management of the pandemic and opening of the destination. “Dubai also received the Safe Travels stamp from World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which was extremely positive news. The UAE comes first in the region and in the top 10 of the world’s safest countries in terms of managing COVID-19. On July 7, we re-started, and have been welcoming tourists back to our city. We have ensured that all establishments across all tourism touchpoints comply with the health and safety guidelines as part of our effort to instil confidence and trust in travellers, including a new compliance programme called ‘Dubai Assured’ – a certification given to establishments for compliance to health and safety measures and protocols,” he said.

Sharing how the interest of tourists for visiting Dubai is there, Habib said that they have been tracking volumes across all major booking platforms, adding, “Dubai is featuring in the top five almost all the time across all verticals. This data shows that people intend to travel and that Dubai is on their list. Hence, it’s important for us to offer a great product in the next few weeks and that we highlight the safety of the destination and that all COVID-related regulations are in place to protect each individual traveller. The earlier reports from online bookings from our airline partners — Emirates and flydubai — show that bookings are being made for individuals as well as small groups. Hence, we are very optimistic about future travel. Both these airlines are providing free global cover of COVID-19 health expenses and quarantine cost.”

Ready for M!CE with all protocols in place, Habib said that while local M!CE events resumed from September 15, 2020, international M!CE events can resume from October 1, 2020. “Leisure and other events also resumed form September 15, all adhering to precautionary measures for safety and security of visitors and attendees. We’ve issued circulars on clear safety protocols that must be adhered to by event organisers and attendees, which includes sanitisation, social distancing, mandatory face masks and isolation zones,” he added.

Habib also said that India has always been an important market for Dubai, especially as the emirate is second home to many Indian citizens.

“India retained its ranking as Dubai’s top source market in 2019. We started the year strong ahead of the pandemic. We have a very close partnership with our Indian stakeholders and we remain hopeful that India will recover from the pandemic as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming Indian travellers back as soon as they are ready,” he shared.”