How technology is driving tourism in Dubai

For many, travel is an investment -financially and emotionally. The increase in disposable income combined with millennials who seek immersive experiences, has encouraged the evolution of the travel industry. Motivated by a wide range of traveller needs, the industry is quickly moving towards digital solutions that forge deeper engagement for global travellers. Whether the rationale is to evoke nostalgia, learn a new skill, experience a new culture or go off the beaten track, our travel experiences are now far more democratised than ever before. Today, we travel for more than one reason and therefore the traditional list of tourist destinations has diversified.
Pioneering the breakthrough on this journey, Dubai is continually applying emerging technologies to optimise travellers' journey.
Each year, millions of tourists visit Dubai to experience the local traditions, revel in unique culture and explore the depth of the city's offering. In fact, tourism is core to Dubai's economic growth and diversification. With the growing presence of technology in the travel lifecycle, travellers have become more discerning; seeking more bespoke customer-centric experiences and multiple shades of curation. It remains more crucial for Dubai to stay abreast of the consumers' rapidly evolving needs and embrace data, analytics and disruptive innovation to continue its upward trajectory towards world-class services whilst retaining the country's culture of hospitality. Guided by this principle, the city is leading technological advances in innovation for the industry, welcoming new participants and innovative start-ups into the ecosystem to deliver better value in terms of higher and faster visitor conversion, and greater GDP impact.
Given the strong and effective entrepreneurial ecosystem Dubai offers, the tourism sector continues to reap the benefits of powerful partnerships that propel the emirate forward in its journey towards becoming a global hub for innovation. The synergy of private and public-sector collaborations focused towards shared goals has resulted in it being fertile ground to catalyse innovation across the hospitality and tourism sectors. As such, Dubai has initiated several innovative trends and technologies including integrated mobile apps, Audio Tours, the use of immersive gamification, Digital Reputation Animation and more, to raise the bar within the industry.
Transforming many aspects of standardised operations into seamless digital experiences, some of the initiatives and tools developed by Dubai and its tech partners for the tourism and hospitality industry are as follows:
. The 'Visit Dubai' mobile application is a dedicated app developed for both residents and tourists to explore Dubai itineraries and events, offering a range of features including a customisable 'My Trip' itinerary tool that meets current demand for personalised experiences.
. The 'Dubai Calendar' mobile application and website is the official resource of all events and activities across the city, offering users a quick and convenient way of discovering and comparing the must-attend events without having to use multiple platforms. Dubai Calendar's app is a free resource with an average of 150 events listed at any one time, and 35 new events added weekly. Tickets can be purchased quickly and securely through the app's purchasing platform.
. Enhancing internal platform offerings, mobile and website the TSR dashboards provide key senior leaders in the industry access to comprehensive tourism sector data to enable planning and decision making.
. Dubai Fitness Challenge was relaunched following the resounding appeal of its launch edition, with an all-new Dubai Fitness app, action-packed with a calendar of events and a host of free fitness activities all across the city. The challenge encourages every resident and visitor in the city to exercise daily for at least 30 minutes for 30 consecutive days.
. With digital city tours becoming increasingly popular amongst world travellers, Dubai collaborated with two digital tour apps to launch two new free Dubai tours aimed at helping visitors discover and learn more about significant landmarks and historic sites in the emirate. The tours are available to download for free from the Apple Store and Google Play.
. Aimed at the wider travel trade audience internationally, 'Dubai Expert' was launched last year as an online training initiative for travel agents in 12 languages and 40 countries. The training platform helps agents provide potential tourists with customised and unique experiences in Dubai across leisure, shopping, cuisine, culture, family entertainment, and more.
. The Digital Reputation report has been introduced with the aim of measuring the satisfaction of a visitor's stay at individual hotels within the city, one of the most important parametres that define visitor's experiences to the city.
. The Futurism Competition goes into its second leg this year activating the start-up community to uncover technologies that will help transform the tourism experience in Dubai. Twenty applicants will be selected to pitch on stage at Gitex Future Stars, following which, the winners will be selected to receive a Dh50,000 cash prize and invited to participate in the four-week incubator programme. The tourism sector and its partners will actively be serving as mentors to teach the startups about their business challenges, identify pilots and investment opportunities.
. DUBZ - a technology start-up - recently partnered with dnata to introduce two new innovative baggage services at Dubai Airports. The company currently provides services for departing and arriving passengers, with additional extras on offer for remote doorstep check-in and luggage drop-off (departures), as well as belt luggage pickup and delivery (arrivals).
As a key driver in a highly competitive industry, Dubai Tourism continues to lead the way in driving home the Dubai Government's agenda and strives to enhance experiences, anticipate future needs and adopt new solutions that go beyond providing a service alone.
Issam Kazim is CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM)