Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Dubai showcases growing portfolio of attractions at ITB Berlin

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) reinforced its commitment to the German market during the 2019 edition of ITB Berlin, the world-renowned travel trade show that took place from March 6 to 10.

Bringing together Dubai’s network of industry stakeholders across the public and private sector, the international show provided a platform to share key market insights, further cementing the emirate’s relationships with operators and offering the opportunity to promote Dubai’s ever-evolving destination offering to a highly targeted audience.

With a host of new hotels, attractions and experiences set to open across the city in 2019, the year ahead promises to further strengthen Dubai’s status as the destination of choice for German travellers. Showcased on Dubai’s state-of-the-art stand, the show highlighted the emirate’s ever-evolving proposition in front of a global audience, revealing new and upcoming attractions, whilst also developing and strengthening existing in-market trade partnerships.

Speaking about Dubai Tourism’s participation at this year’s ITB, Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said: “Germany has maintained its position as one of Dubai’s top 10 feeder markets in 2018 as we welcomed an impressive 567,000 tourists to the city, representing a 12 per cent year-on-year increase over 506,000 visitors in 2017.  We are constantly striving to improve our capabilities to further deliver memorable visitor experiences across our core strategic propositions and exhibitions such as ITB Berlin continue to present strong opportunities for us to spread awareness of Dubai’s evolving destination offering. We will continue to work closely with our industry partners in Germany to accelerate our growth in the market.”

With a variety of new attractions and international hotel brands catering to a wide range of tastes and budgets, Dubai once again proved its remarkable versatility at the exhibition, highlighting the breadth of the city’s destination appeal. Examples include the brand-new W hotel on The Palm, the first Mandarin Oriental in the Gulf-region and Marriott International’s tech-savvy Aloft brand hotels that have recently opened their doors in Dubai.

During ITB Berlin, Dubai Tourism also presented details of the pipeline of experiences and openings planned for 2019 that will continue to drive growth across the city’s tourism sector. Key attractions highlighted during the show included: Al Shindagha Museum, the city’s newly opened museum on the banks of the Creek in Old Dubai and the first phase of the ambitious Dubai Historic District (DHD) project; Bluewaters Dubai, home of Ain Dubai, housing 132 shops and restaurants, Caesars Palace Hotel, the new Cove Beach, and Hatta’s Hajar Mountains, which celebrate the serenity and breath-taking landscape of the mountain enclave of Hatta, offering a range of new developments and adventure sports.

Visitors to Dubai’s stand at ITB Berlin also discovered more about the emirate’s packed calendar of events, including Art Dubai, the leading international art fair set to take place from March 20-23 at Madinat Jumeirah, which will feature 41 countries, providing a platform to showcase emerging talent. - TradeArabia News Service