Dubai Tourism had recently organised Dubai Leisure Roadshow in India. It was a strategic decision to hold the roadshow at this time of the year, ahead of Diwali holidays. The roadshow in fact saw one of the biggest delegations coming from Dubai. Khalid Al Awar, manager – India and Pakistan, International Operations, Dubai Tourism said, “Mumbai is a key market for Dubai and contributes top number, given the strong connectivity between Mumbai and Dubai. We are also focusing on Tier II cities. The Nijhawan Group has a well established distribution in India.”
Pointing out that for Indian travellers Dubai is a familiar place, he said, “Unlike other tourism boards we do not have the challenge of creating awareness. In Dubai, we are able to give Indian travellers different experiences. This time we have merged cruise and leisure tourism, given the rise in cruise travellers from India.” He believes that Dubai is a year-long destination for Indians. The ease of visa processing has led to more growth. Those with a US visa can get visa on arrival for 48 hours.
Family travel comes at the top of the list. There is a lot of investment from the private sector and the government in this segment for developing new attractions targeted at families. The government also has plans to waive off visa fee for children below 18 years.
“Dubai is one of the safest destinations in the world. This is of particular significance to families. We also see a lot of women travelling in groups, for them Dubai is perfect – safety, shopping, spas and other facilities,” said Al Awar.
There has been growth of repeat visitors to Dubai from India. “The Indian traveller is always evolving and looking for new things. We need to promote different products for these travellers to come again,” he mentioned, adding that segments like sports tourism is key for Dubai, for instance the upcoming Asia Cup, which will have pull for Indian travellers.