Dubai Tourism has launched an innovative new experiential marketing campaign, 'Here Today, Dubai Tomorrow', designed to give British holidaymakers a ‘live’ taste of what they could enjoy on a trip to Dubai.

The new initiative aims to further boost the city’s reputation as one of the UK’s favourite holiday destinations.

The campaign, running till September 11 , sees London’s Waterloo Station transformed into a living, breathing recreation of Dubai’s top experiences. Cutting-edge technology lets people experience the sights, sounds and attractions of the city right there on the station’s concourse, with daily prize trips to the destination up for grabs on-site throughout the campaign period, and a grand prize available via dubaitomorrow.com. Prizes are being supplied courtesy of Emirates Holidays.

At the heart of the campaign is an innovative experiential customer zone at Waterloo Station, allowing visitors to get up close to Dubai via interactive 360 video gaming, virtual reality displays and unique optical illusions, which sees ‘mirage’ like characters seemingly appear on the concourse, from skydivers and camels to scuba divers and golfers.

Among the amazing experiences on offer at Waterloo are:

• Interactive animations that flick from visitors' phones to a large LED ‘mirage’ screen, bringing to life Dubai’s many experiences in a truly immersive way as if the characters were in the station;
• Virtual reality headsets that let people step right into a host of the city's top attractions for a personal 360 degree tour;
• A 360 degree video game in which players are transported to Dubai to find hidden gems concealed in the cityscapes which will give them a chance to register to enter them into a daily draw for a holiday to the destination.

Visitors to Waterloo station can enter to win one dream holiday to Dubai every day at the experiential zone, with eight holidays on offer. For those in a rush or who can’t make it to Waterloo can take part in the competition and experience a selection of the live experiences by visiting dubaitomorrow.com where they also have the chance to win an additional dream holiday. They can also follow via #DubaiTomorrow for exclusive content and additional chances to win.   

The campaign represents Dubai Tourism’s largest ever experiential marketing activation in the UK. The move underlines the organisation’s strong focus on the UK travel market as the city becomes more and more popular with British holidaymakers, particularly those seeking the winter sun. Last year, more than 1 million British tourists visited Dubai, making it Dubai’s third highest source of visitors during that period and its largest in Europe. With 175 direct flights between the UK and Dubai every week, the number of Brits visiting the city is expected to rise further in 2016.

Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce Marketing, said: “This is an opportunity to bring a part of Dubai to London and the UK, allowing people to engage with the destination in new and innovative ways. Dubai has a rich history of welcoming travellers from the UK, and we want to continue building on that. With an ever evolving destination proposition, there is more and more for UK travellers to experience, whether first timers or regulars, which we hope to bring alive in this latest campaign.”   

The Waterloo activation is backed up by an integrated marketing programme involving PR, digital, social and a nine-day advertising domination of Waterloo Station’s entire concourse. The campaign also features a series of promotional partnerships with parenting blog site Tots100, Virgin Radio and Global Radio stations including Heart FM, Capital FM, Smooth FM and Classic FM.

In addition, Dubai Tourism has teamed up with influential lifestyle YouTuber Patricia Bright for an exclusive video partnership and is also collaborating with rising photography star Rich McCor, better known as Instagram genius Paperboyo. He has created eight brand new images giving iconic London landmarks a distinctly Dubai twist with his unique cardboard cut-out creations. These include a pair of camels passing a palm-topped Shard, a twilight Dubai skyline spread across a London Underground sign, and Burj al Arab transported to Trafalgar Square. All campaign content is also available via dubaitomorrow.com or at the hashtag #DubaiTomorrow.

The 'Here Today, Dubai Tomorrow' campaign is being run in partnership with Emirates Holidays, which is providing the competition prizes, and is sponsored by Dubai Parks and Resorts.

When it opens at the end of October, Dubai Parks and Resorts will be comprised of three theme parks - Bollywood Parks Dubai, Motiongate Dubai, and Legoland Dubai, together with Legoland Water Park.  The destination will also include Riverland Dubai, a themed retail, dining, and entertainment experience, along with the Lapita™ Hotel, a Polynesian-themed family resort. The entire range of products and prices will be announced soon. - TradeArabia News Service