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Dubai Tourism is launching its first major turn-of-year campaign as it looks to get UK visitors booking early.
Speaking to Travel Weekly at World Travel Market, Ian Scott, director of Dubai Tourism for the UK and Ireland, said it was the first time the tourist board had pushed a big campaign for the start of the year.
He explained that it comes on the back of a successful summer period.
The campaign will begin on December 26, running until the end of February, and will include TV advertising on ITV, Sky and possibly Channel 5, as well as digital and outdoor advertising.
He said: “We have just come out of a summer where we were 27% up year on year for August and 21% up for September.
“Our August arrivals out of the UK were the same as April, and April is our peak time and August isn’t – that was a huge result for us.
“Off the back of a good summer we want to keep this momentum going and we will be investing heavily in a turn-of-year campaign, and that’s something we haven’t really done before.
“We have done tactical things in the past and we will still do these, but this campaign will be much bigger and will include a TV campaign, outdoor, digital and print campaign and trade.
“It’s a brand campaign to bring Dubai front-of-mind. We know Emirates and some of our hotel partners are going to be doing activity around this time too so it will help push Dubai.”
Scott said the aim of the campaign was to move “awareness into consideration”, adding that he would like to convert more people who haven’t visited the destination before and change some of the perceptions people have about the destination.
It’s also expected the campaign would help to give bookings an early boost.
Between now and 2020, when the destination with host Expo 2020, the emirate’s hotel capacity will double from 85,000 to 170,000 rooms and there will also be a greater variety of star rating.
To help attract first timers, Scott urged tour operators to “reclassify Dubai”.
He said: “Some tour operators do need to reclassify Dubai because they put it in as a long haul destination but when put along somewhere like Australia is shows that it isn’t actually a long-haul destination.
“Some put it in as a city break, but there’s a beach too. Some people need to be a little less rigid about how they define Dubai and pigeon hole it.”
Growth in Dubai is also coming from the cruise market with more lines offering itineraries which include the destination.
Scott said he saw a number of similarities between the sector and Dubai in that both are trying to attract first timers and are aware that once they draw in a customer they are likely to return again.
He added: “The two work very well together and the cruise industry is finding that those seasoned cruisers who have sailed a lot in the Med and Caribbean are wanting something a bit different now and that’s why Dubai is becoming more popular on itineraries.
“A cruise gives people an opportunity to experience Dubai for the first time and to taste it. Once they have done two or three nights in Dubai as part of a cruise they’re likely to come back for a land based holiday in the future.”