Fresh from announcing the UAE has recorded a US$7 billion increase in revenues in the first seven months of 2023, the Emirates has announced another move towards becoming the region’s, and the world’s, most profitable tourism destination.
Occupancies across the country averaged at 75 percent from January to July this year, which equated to around 56 million room nights.
Now, Emirates Tourism Council, chaired by HE Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, has formed a Hospitality Advisory Committee to enhance the competitiveness of the UAE’s hospitality sector.
This announcement comes after the UAE hospitality sector recorded AED26 billion revenues from January to July.
Who is on the Hospitality Advisory Committee?
The Committee comprises private sector leaders and will work towards attracting investments and fostering dialogue with hospitality companies to help achieve the UAE’s ambitious tourism goals.
The Committee will be headed by HE bin Touq Al Marri and the other members include:
- Abdul Baset Al Hai, general manager of Wasl Hospitality
- Amit Nayak, vice president of Hospitality Asset Managers Association MEA
- Benoy Kurian, Group CEO of Al Hamra
- Fahad Kazim, CEO of Millennium Hotels and Resorts.
- Khaled Anib, CEO of Abu Dhabi National Hotels
- Rashad Barajkli, general manager of The First Group
- Vijay Rajhavan, CEO of Arenco Group
World’s Coolest Winter
The Emirates Tourism Council announced the Committee during its most recent meeting, where it also discussed the results of the third World’s Coolest Winter campaign, which encourages domestic tourism in the UAE throughout the cooler months.
The UAE Government Media Office said hotels made almost US$500,000,000 on the back of the campaign, which was instigated by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.
Hotels enjoyed revenues of AED1.8bn (US$490 million), amounting to 1.4 million domestic tourists.
Officials attributed a portion of the success to the campaign’s strong social media presence. Various World’s Coolest Winter activations collectively achieved more than 5.8m interactions on different platforms and the #WorldsCoolestWinter hashtag was used in more than 18,000 photos and videos on social media.
The campaign was accompanied by more than 161 promotional videos, produced by the UAE Government Media Office and content creators in the country, achieving more than 158.2m views from all over the world.
The fourth edition of the campaign will launch soon.
UAE Tourism Strategy 2031
The UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 is based on four main pillars.
- Strengthening national tourism identity
- Development and diversification of specialised tourism products and building tourism capabilities
- Encouraging the entry of nationals into the sector
- Increasing investments in various tourism sector areas
HE bin Touq Al Marri emphasised that the national efforts to achieve the Strategy’s goals continue.
Also discussed was the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority’s preparations for the 10th Sharjah International Tourism and Travel Forum 2023 at the Sharjah Expo Centre on November 22, 2023.
Source : CATERER
