Dubai Silicon Oasis Signs Mou With Dubai Department Of Tourism And Commerce Marketing

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) to provide best of class services and support for companies aspiring to develop hospitality ventures within the DSO.

According to this agreement, DTCM will take the responsibility for licensing and categorizing hotels according to DTCM regulations. It will also ensure the implementation of all other procedures related to tourism events activities.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Mohammed Al Zarouni, Chief Executive Officer of DSOA, and Mr. Khalid A. bin Sulayem, Director-General of DTCM, in the presence of senior officials from both organizations.

Dr. Mohammed Al Zarouni, Chief Executive Officer of DSOA, said: “Since the establishment of Dubai Silicon Oasis we have endeavored to develop the technology park into a fully integrated community that offers enabling services and facilities to all our customers. Consequently, we have been engaged with several governmental departments and signed various agreements and contracts that will serve to achieve the ambitious objectives for our business partners.

“Through this partnership, DTCM will be responsible for licensing companies aspiring to develop hospitality ventures at DSO. In addition, it will also oversee tourism related events and activities that will complement the overall deliverables of the technology hub.”

Khaled A. bin Sulayem, DTCM Director General said: “This agreement falls in line within the framework of cooperation and strategic partnership between the DTCM and public and private sector organizations to enhance the tourism industry standards and services. This will go a long way in enlarging the scope of tourism industry and help regulate the hospitality sector to better the tourism product offering of Dubai.”

“Companies that are interested in hospitality business will benefit from the DTCM’s expertise and efforts to promote and market Dubai across the word. This partnership between DSO and DTCM will help create better synergies for better tourism standards and regulations for the hospitality sector,” he said.

DSO is a free zone technology park for semiconductor, microelectronics and other high technology-based companies looking to set up their regional headquarters and R&D facilities in the Middle East and North Africa region. DSOA is the regulatory body for DSO, the region’s premier integrated innovations hub for high-tech industries.

Keep Discovering Dubai Campaign Successfully Wraps Up

Keep discovering Dubai, the largest familiarization initiative ever witnessed in Dubai, has successfully seen over 2400 travel trade and media representatives experience the emirate in less than two months, helping to push tourism and further broaden Dubai’s international appeal.

In partnership with a number of key stakeholders including; Emirates airline and Group, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai hoteliers and Destination Management Companies (DMCs), the campaign included hosted visits of travel trade, MICE organisers and media. Travelling from a total of 62 countries, across six weekends and incorporating over 7,300 hotel room nights, the initiative has been a critical step in further extending Dubai’s reach in these challenging global economic times.

This landmark programme is expected to help bolster and position Dubai as a first choice holiday and conference destination around the globe, with international media exposure from the campaign already proving positive. Feedback from the travel trade has also been exemplary, with many important business relationships established, that are expected to prove fruitful for the Dubai tourism sector across the coming months.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates airline and Group said: “The Keep discovering Dubai campaign is a shining example of Dubai’s key players working together to drive and sustain a positive and lasting image of Dubai. The unique mix of nationalities hosted from across the world has helped Dubai further position itself globally as a leading holiday destination, an important step in retaining market share within the current environment. Emirates has always been committed to actively promoting Dubai around the world and we are pleased that the campaign has been such a success.

“Across the coming months we expect to see a heightened interest in Dubai globally. The purpose of this trip was not only to generate positive leads but also to create lasting business relationships with the many people that visited Dubai. Furthermore, the intense media scrutiny Dubai has received over the last few months has now been overshadowed by the positive experiences of the many high profile international media invited as part of the campaign.”

Mr. Mohammed Khamis bin Hareb, DTCM Executive Director Operations and Marketing Division, said: “The unique campaign, combining both the travel trade professionals and media representatives, has helped tremendously in creating better awareness about Dubai and its strong tourism product offerings to visitors from different parts of the world. The tourism industry will benefit enormously from this initiative in the months to come and this will help boost hotel occupancies and visitors’ number to Dubai.

“At the DTCM, we continue to aggressively promote and market Dubai in our established and emerging source markets. Keep discovering Dubai formed part of our overall strategy that we are pursuing in the wake of changing global economic environment. We are confident that Dubai will be able to post far better results than other destinations in the near future. It is critical that we maintain a constant dialogue with international travel agents, tour operators and MICE agents, about the destination and its growing strengths and attractions. This campaign has helped achieved significant goals that we have set for it, in consultation with the tourism industry players in the emirate.”

Hundreds of people from multiple nationalities, working across the travel and tourism industry in Dubai, helped coordinate and bring the Keep discovering Dubai campaign to fruition, creating a seamless programme built on Dubai’s core strengths of warm Arabian hospitality, inspirational developments and natural beauty.

Each group that took part in the campaign was individually managed, ensuring the highest quality service throughout. MICE organizers were also targeted as part of the Keep discovering Dubai campaign, in a bid to secure a higher share of the lucrative global meetings, conference and exhibition market.

To further reinforce the key messages and maintain the global buzz achieved during the Keep discovering Dubai campaign, Emirates airline and Group have invested an additional AED 40 million promoting Dubai in their new Meet Dubai global advertising campaign.
 

DTCM Director General Opens Photoworld-Dubai 2009

PhotoWorld-Dubai 2009, the fifth International Digital and Imaging Exhibition – the region’s only specialized photography and digital imaging show, was inaugurated here today by Khalid Bin Sulayem, Director General of Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).Organized by Channels Exhibitions, the exhibition runs till April 22 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and has brought together leading brands such as Canon, Hasselblad, Manfrotto, National Geographic, Vanguard, Hoya, Sigma and Sony.Exhibitors from Italy, Singapore, Germany and India are showcasing cutting-edge hybrid technology in digital imaging at the show. The exhibition also includes leading distributors from regional digital imaging sector such as National Stores, Advanced Media LLC and M.K. Trading.Among the highlights of the exhibition is the series of workshops, organized in collaboration with leading international and local professional photography associations. The workshops focus on the salient features of digital photography, zooming into the various photo-equipment, such as lens, flash as well as concepts such as Digital Asset Management.Geared to both imaging professionals and photo enthusiasts, the workshops are aimed at providing a unique opportunity to get up to speed with the latest techniques, fads and movements within the digital photography scene.In his comments, Mr Justin Boutros, CEO of Channels Exhibitions, said: “PhotoWorld-Dubai 2009 is an annual forum for international digital imaging brands to showcase their latest convergent imaging technology – exhibited through devices capable of video, audio and imaging attributes. The exhibition is being held amidst an interesting growth phase for digital SLR camera, which is expected to grow by 13% during 2009.”The industry is witnessing increased growth on auxiliary services and products for digital imaging like imaging software, web services, web sites, storage devices as more than 50% of images which are captured are edited in some form or the other. PhotoWorld-Dubai 2009 offers not only a good networking opportunity for distributors, dealers and buyers in the imaging industry but also a unique and vital platform for maximizing new business opportunities.The exhibition showcases the latest technology in each category of digital imaging including digital cameras, cameras (medium as well as large formats), consumables, digital imaging educational institutes, digital mini labs, digital video, films, digital printers, digital photo kiosks, lighting and studio equipment, mobile imaging, photographic and printing paper, studio accessories, photo finishing chemicals and digital albums.
 

Sixteen Percent Increase In Number Of Visitors To Dubai Heritage Sites

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has announced 16 per cent increase in the number of visitors to heritage sites in the emirate in 2008 compared with the previous year.

Abdullah Al Mutairi, DTCM Consultant and Director of Heritage Sites, said the heritage sites operated by the DTCM received 1,009,848 visitors last year, up from 873,831 recorded in the year 2007.

The heritage sites under DTCM’s supervision are Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, Dubai Museum, Al Ahmadiah School, Heritage House, Heritage Village, Diving Village, Umm Al Shief Majlis, Naif Museum and Hatta Heritage Village.

He attributed the sharp increase in number of visitors to the aggressive promotional and marketing agenda being pursued by the department locally and internationally through the network of 18 overseas representative offices operated by the DTCM. He said a number of heritage sites have undergone renovation and expansion last year, offering various facilities and attraction to the tourists.

Emiratis topped the list with 24,206 visitors followed by Indians with 10,635. German visitors numbered 8213 followed by UK nationals with 6959.

Dubai Museum received 649,058 visitors while Al Ahmadiah School and Heritage House welcomed 63277 visitors. Sheikh Saeed House hosted a total of 45376 visitors. The Archaeological Site in Al Quoz attracted 92,429 visitors and Hatta Heritage Village was visited by 111,054 people. Naif Museum attracted 3654 visitors.

World Travel Awards To Be Held In Dubai

The tourism industry’s highest accolade, The World Travel Awards, will be held in Dubai this year on the 5th of May, 2009. The event which has been hailed as the “Oscars of the Travel Industry” by the Wall Street Journal will celebrate the travel and tourism industry’s best practices by recognizing achievements from over 100 travel and tourism brands from across the Middle East.

This year’s event promises to be the most hotly contested ever as leading players address the global downturn by raising their standards even higher. The World Travel Award recognizes leading airlines, hotel operators, hotel developers, tourism boards, travel media, destination marketing campaigns, MICE businesses and several other companies that make a difference in the quality of travel and tourism.

The World Travel Awards, established 16 years ago, encourages travel and tourism organisations to set new boundaries for customer service, value and innovation in their quest to create the ultimate travel and tourism experience. Winners are decided by votes received from agents and travel professionals from around the world.

Commenting on the choice of Dubai for the Middle East ceremony, the President of the World Travel Awards, Graham Cooke commented, “By hosting the event here, we are clearly making a statement – that the travel and tourism industry believes in Dubai and we stand firmly behind it, even in these difficult times. In less than a decade, Dubai has created a world class destination. This city is known over the world for its innovative tourism offerings and world-class service that have set the benchmark for the industry worldwide. Therefore, it is fitting that we will host our Middle Eastern regional ceremony here again.”

Speaking on behalf of the host city, Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, Executive Director Media Relations and Acting Director Business Development at Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said, “It is an honour to have such a prestigious ceremony hosted in Dubai, which remained a destination of choice for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry. The World Travel Awards are an icon of the travel and tourism industry and we are proud that the best of the industry will be in Dubai to receive their awards. The hosting of this award clearly reflects the continued world confidence in Dubai and its vibrant tourism industry, especially in these economically-challenging times.”

Last year’s World Travel Award winners included Etihad, Dubai, Jumeirah, Royal Jet, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Rotana, Orient Tours Sharjah and Regency Travel & Tours Qatar and was attended by over 800 senior travel and tourism executives.

The Middle East Ceremony, hosted at the Monarch Dubai, kicks off the World Travel Awards Grand Tour 2009, with seven events across seven continents including Durban, South Africa (Africa Ceremony); Singapore (Asia, Australasia & Indian Ocean Ceremony); Riviera Maya, Mexico (North & Central America Ceremony); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (South America Ceremony); Óbidos, Portugal (Europe Ceremony); culminating with the Grand Final in Jamaica.

DSF Office Briefs DSS Organizing Committee On Plans For 2009 Dubai Summer Surprises

The DSS Organizing Committee convened on Wednesday, April 8, at The Monarch Dubai, as the DSF Office presented the initial plans for the 12th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises that will be held from June 11 to August 14 this year. The meeting was chaired by Ibrahim Saleh, Coordinator General of the DSF Office, and attended by representatives of 19 government departments that make the Committee.

Topics discussed at the gathering included the new shift in the marketing strategy, the main events, and road shows to be undertaken for DSS 2009 in light of the challenging economic situations. Additionally, the role of government departments was also discussed extensively.

Representatives of the following government departments were present in the discussion: Knowledge and Human Development Authority which will be participating in a DSS edition for the first time, Roads and Transport Authority, Community Development Authority, Dubai Airports, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Naturalization and Residency Department, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Department of Health and Medical Services, Dubai Police, Dubai Municipality, Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Dubai e-Government, Dubai Media Corporation, Dubai Culture, Dubai Civil Defence, Centre of Ambulance Services, Dubai Sports Council, Watani, and Dubai Shopping Festival Office.

While welcoming all the attendees for the gathering, Ibrahim Saleh praised the role undertaken by government departments during DSS and their efforts in ensuring the event’s success. “An increased level of coordination amongst government departments has been an essential element of DSS’s success and we can be proud of the fact that this cooperation has been and is still a differentiating and stand-out character of DSS when compared to other events in the region,” he said.

Saleh also mentioned that initial preparations for the region’s leading summer event were in place and future Organizing Committee meetings would focus on suggestions from government departments to enhance and finalise preparations.