Dubai, the best-known city within the United Arab Emirates, aims to build on its position as a stopover, and market itself as a destination in its own right this year.
“In the past, Dubai has been perceived as a stopover destination, with a focus mainly on shopping. Now we are positioning it as a place to spend up to a week, as there are multiple activities to do,” said Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing UK and Ireland manager Barbel Kirchner.
She added: “Dubai is a complete product. Next to the shopping, there are desert activies, beaches, and watersports from scuba diving to deep-sea fishing. It has good restaurants with a choice of Middle Eastern and international cuisine. There are also events such as the Dubai shopping festival in March and April and the famous World Cup [horse race] in March.”
To raise consumer knowledge of the emirate, the organisation plans to makes its debut at the Destinations ’99 show in London as well as the Glasgow Holiday Show and the British Birdwatching Fair ’99.
Working with the retail trade is also a priority for the organisation. A series of agent educationals are on the agenda, and will be jointly run with the airline Emirates. In May, 50 agents from the London area will fly out, with 20 retail staff from Manchester sampling the emirate in the summer.
While Dubai attracts the lion’s share of leisure tourists to the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi looks set to get more exposure on the UK market as a short-break destination, with the recent launch of a new brochure from Gulf Air.
The company’s first winter breaks brochure, a joint venture with Travel 2, offers a three-night package at a lead-in price of ú296. The deal includes accommodation in a four-star hotel, breakfast and transfers.
Gulf Air marketing co-ordinator for UK and Ireland Douglas Johnson said: “This is a tactical offer to try and raise the profile of the destination. Abu Dhabi is growing as a short-break destination, mainly because of its constant sunshine.”
Abu Dhabi also offers desert excursions, where visitors can indulge in sand skiing, wadi bashing – driving over dried-up river beds – or watch falconry displays.
Meanwhile, the emirates of Sharjah, Ajman and Fujairah – still niche destinations – are featured as day trips from Dubai with upmarket operator Elite Vacations.