Dubai emerges as leading example of a city successfully reopening to tourists

Dubai has emerged as a leading example of a city that is getting tourism back on track following its successful and gradual reopening of its borders and economy, industry experts said during a recent webinar hosted by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The webinar, titled Trust in Tourism 4.0: How Dubai Adapted to Welcome You Back, was organised by Dubai Chamber’s representative offices in Latin America, and joined by over 470 participants, including business leaders from the UAE and several Latin American countries, including Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Argentina, and Guatemala.

The virtual event featured informative presentations from: Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Omar Khan, Director of International Offices, Dubai Chamber; Khalifa Al Qama, Head of Dubai Future Labs, Dubai Future Foundation; Stephane Perard, Managing Director- Brazil, Emirates; Ricardo Fracalossi, Sales Manager- Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, Emirates; Marc Descrozaille, COO – India, Middle East & Africa, Accor; and Adriano Konialidis, Director – International Participants Expo 2020 Dubai.

Presentations examined Dubai’s adoption of pro-active policies, advanced technologies and preventative measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, navigate new challenges created by the pandemic and restart business activities earlier this year, including specific procedures implemented with the aviation and hospitality sectors.

Only days before officially reopening its borders to international visitors in July, Dubai was recognised by the World Travel and Tourism Council, WTTC, as a safe destination and issued a Safe Travels stamp, validating the stringent hygiene and safety protocols in place across the city.

Issam Kazim outlined several factors that ensured Dubai’s successful reopening, including the government’s proactive approach to ensuring the health and safety of citizens, residents and tourists, which included a comprehensive city-wide sanitation programme, close cooperation with the private sector and wider society.

Kazim highlighted the New Dubai Assured Programme, an award stamp issued by the government to businesses meeting high safety standards, as an effective tool in this regard, adding that Dubai Tourism maintained communication within key source markets throughout the year, keeping stakeholders informed of new developments as the emirates restarted business events and meetings.

For his part, Omar Khan noted that Dubai delivered on its promise to welcome international visitors, and offered participants insights on how the business landscape in the emirate has changed in the new normal. He revealed that a number of business and leisure events have already been hosted in Dubai, and said the return of GITEX Technology Week, the region’s largest technology exhibition, is a positive development signalling a recovery on the horizon.

Khan pointed out that the UAE continues to introduce new measures and incentives to attract companies and investors from around the world, describing the country’s recent decision to approve 100% ownership of mainland companies for foreign nationals as game changing. He added that Dubai Chamber’s offices in Panama, Brazil and Argentina are ready to assist Latin American companies that are keen to capitalise on this major opportunity and explore the Dubai market.

WAM