Tourism sector is upbeat in the Middle East as the inter-regional and domestic travel is on the rise, according to experts. On the contrary, international tourism is expected to retreat by two to three per cent this year and that reflections would continue for six months to 12 months, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

The inter-Gulf and inter-Arab tourism are preferred by the regional tourists as an alternative for the European, North American and Asian destinations.

The experts see the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Oman and Tunisia as some of the destinations to witness considerable demand from tourists this summer.

Tourism and aviation experts also expected substantial demand for home tourism in the UAE and Dubai in particular with tours of new projects and tourism landmarks such as Dubai Mall, Burj Dubai and the Marina. Tourism forms up to 18 per cent of UAE's gross domestic product (GDP).

The tourism analysts denied any effect by the two major challenges to world tourism this summer; swine flu and the global financial crisis, on UAE's tourism sector.

The experts said no swine flu cases have appeared in the UAE, and the authorities have taken preventive measures in all air, sea and land points of entry.

The travel experts called for promotional campaigns and programmes to face any drop in tourism resulting from the loss of American and European jobs and to encounter the policy of big reductions that some Asian countries might resort to. Those plans and programmes should focus on lowering prices of air tickets and hotels, they said.

Meanwhile, Executive Director Media Relations and Business Development of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) Eyad Abdul Rahman said Dubai's tourism situation this summer is promising for many reasons including that the DTCM earlier this year started several marketing initiatives and programmes to attract more tourists and visitors from all over the world, especially the Gulf. More attention was given to inter-Gulf tourism.

One promotion campaign was organised in Saudi Arabia to attract Saudis during the weekend. Special prices and offers were offered by hotels. The campaign goes on until Eid Al Fitr.

The department in March launched a promotion campaign, inviting 1,700 representatives of tourism agencies in addition to 300 representatives of the media. The campaign, which runs until May, is organised in co-operation with Emirates airline and some hotels and tourism agencies.

Earlier this month, the department launched DefinitelyDubai.com during the Arabian Travel Market. The department is set to launch a campaign, "Visit Dubai this summer", which will cover world markets and GCC states. The campaign will continue until the end of the year.

Abdul Rahman said his department is in consultation and co-ordination with the tourism sector to reach the best solutions to encounter crisis and beat rivals. "We reached marketing offers that include room discounts and other offers."

Figures of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing show that Dubai saw a considerable rise in hotel occupancy during the first quarter of the year. There was a five per cent rise in the number of customers and a 17 per cent increase in the number of rooms occupied. Hotel apartment occupancy was up by 30 per cent.

Director-General of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority Mohammed Al Noman said promotion efforts focus on Gulf tourists who form around one third of some 1.5 million tourists a year.

Al Noman said intensive promotion efforts are made to attract more Gulf tourists in anticipation of any drop in the number of tourists coming from Europe as a result of the global crisis.

The Europeans make around 35 per cent of the total number of tourists, he said, adding that January witnessed a drop of 13 per cent in the number of European tourists in comparison with the same month last year.

He said hotel occupancy in 2008 was 86 per cent as the number of tourists went up to 1.5 million in comparison with 600,000 in 2001. Over the same period, the number of hotels rose to 107, with 8,000 rooms. The number of rooms is expected to go up to 12,000 by the end of 2010.

In the meantime, Net Tours Manager Ali Abu Monassar said the emergence of swine flu has been a positive element for tourism in the UAE and Dubai in particular since the disease has appeared in 40 countries including Asian countries that compete with the UAE to attract tourists. This will force tourists to change their destinations to the UAE and other Gulf countries, he said.

Abu Monassar expected UAE tourism to lose some tourists coming from the United States and Europe as a result of the global financial crisis.

However, inter-Gulf tourism can make for the shortage. He described as a failure the policy pursued by some countries to drastically reduce prices to attract tourists.

In such circumstances, focus should be on attracting tourists from new markets such as China, India and Pakistan whose tourists like to explore and visit Gulf countries, he said.

Ghassan Al Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours, said there is a state of anticipation in the world after swine flu outbreak. Many people delayed their travel bookings for some time to discover the extent of the disease's outbreak and select holiday destinations.

He expected international financial crisis will have positive effects on cross-Arab and GCC tourism as well as internal tourism. The most prominent Arab destinations that will attract tourists in this summer are Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, the UAE and Oman.

Regarding internal tourism, Al Aridi said there are many new landmarks in Dubai, which are unknown even for Dubai's residents, like Burj Dubai area, Dubai Mall, Jumeirah and Marina.

Husamaldin Mohammed, Manager of Moonlight Tours, said global tourism was impacted this year by swine flu and financial crisis. "Though some hotels reduced prices by 50 per cent, tourism demand did not return to its former state."

He underlined the necessity that the hotels' discounts continue during summer months, especially as many Asian countries, such as Malaysia, announced discounts that go up to 75 per cent and Thailand that cancelled the condition of obtaining of visa, which will be given at the airport.

Rashid Al Nouri, Chairman of Business Travel and Atlantis Holidays, said the UAE was not affected at all by the swine flu, as the country is free from any case and there are measures taken by concerned authorities. In addition, most of the region's countries do not have direct trips to Mexico, where the disease appeared, and passengers coming from the US and Canada go through strict measures applied in both the countries.

However, the GCC states will be impacted by the financial crisis and occupancy rates in Dubai fell by 25 per cent in the first quarter of 2009. Al Nouri said the UAE, in general, and Dubai, in particular, enjoy safety and security. Many Western tourism groups today ask for formation on two factors; security and swine flu.

"The UAE has big tourism potential, such as beaches, shopping centres, infrastructure and hotels," Al Nouri said, adding the importance of flight trips coming from the US and Australia to Dubai, as they are considered the main air bridge that motivate tourism, especially as oil and travel ticket prices dropped.

He said the GCC tourism firms had a big number of bookings for people who wish to travel to Dubai and the UAE, especially after the country's tourism departments organised promotional campaigns in the GCC states and unveiling new tourism landmarks.

The falling prices of airlines and hotels would activate tourism season in the UAE in 2009, said Nouri.

Egypt plan

Mohammed Al Abbadi, Egypt Air's Regional Manager for Dubai and Northern Emirates, said the number of summer bookings is the same as of last year's season. He expected that the falling prices of airline tickets as a result of the drop in oil prices, outbreak of swine flu and financial crisis will help increase travel rates.

He added that the previous factors will make travellers head to destinations that are cheaper and free from the disease. Egypt Air has lined up special offers this summer. They are for the passengers who travel from Dubai to Cairo and from Cairo to Dubai.

Pricing policy

Marwa Muharam, Director of Public Relations at Sheraton Dubai, said the hotel's management revised the pricing policy with the beginning of the global crisis. The management sent the new prices that dropped between 15 and 25 per cent to corporate clients, which contracted with the hotel. The number of Russian tourists now exceed the number of British tourists. The Russian tourists form 80 per cent of the hotel's total guests.

   

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