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UAE plans for bumper tourism growth by 2020

A vision to increase tourists numbers in the UAE by 10 million is being firmly pursued by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

Hamad Mohammed Bin Mejren, Executive Director, Business Tourism, at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has underscored that the department is on the right path to implement the objectives of “Dubai Vision 2020”, for improving the tourism sector, which has been directed and approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to increase the number of tourists to Dubai.

The Vision 2020 is designed to multiply the number of tourists from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million by the advent of 2020. It also intends to double the annual share of the tourism in Dubai economy three-fold (Dh300 billion) compared to Dh100 billion.

In a statement on the sidelines of the Gulf Incentives, Business Travel and Meetings Expo (GIBTM), which will run at Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (ADNEC) during March 24^th-26^th, he said Dubai had managed to surge ahead and advanced to seventh position globally in terms of its international visitors, and ninth worldwide and on top on regional level in business tourism.

“Dubai acquires more than 50 per cent of the activities of the international conferences on the region”, he said, adding that the number of tourists heading for Dubai rose to 11 million last year, a growth of 10 per cent. A part of the plan is to maintain the annual growth rate by not less than 9 per cent per annum until 2020.

Infrastructure

Bin Mejren also affirmed that there has been a strong cooperation between the DTCM and all public and private institutions to prepare the infrastructure required to accommodate the annual growth targeted in the Dubai 2020 vision pertaining to developing the tourism sector.

He unveiled that a total of 29,000 new hotel rooms are expected to come up in Dubai this year and the coming two years. This will increase the overall number of hotel rooms from 84,000 rooms to 113,000 rooms by 2016.

Powerful revenues

Bin Mejren added that the returns generated from the hotel sector in Dubai had risen last year by 16.1 per cent coming to Dh21.84 billion.

What gives the tourism sector in Dubai the hallmarks is the aviation and airports advantage. “Dubai is linked to around 145 world airlines, which connect Dubai with direct flight routes to as many as 260 destinations all over the world.”

“That figure shll go up upon the completion of Al Maktoum airport, when Dubai could house 160 million travelers annually, and 12 millions tones of cargo,” he noted.

Bin Mejren said that Dubai will welcome the single largest incentives group in its history next month (April 6-16), comprising over 14,500 delegates from Nu Skin Enterprises Inc. in China. The group will be staying in Dubai for 10 days, he said.

He foresees that such delegates would go up over the coming period especially from China, from which the tourism in Dubai has grown by 11 per cent.