Retaining its number two source market position for Dubai, India registered a growth rate close to ten per cent in 2012 (763,000 visitors) compared to 2011. In the first half of 2013, Dubai received 460,000 Indian visitors registering a growth of 15.8 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. According to Mansoor Bawazir, Head of Region, India, Middle East & Southern/Eastern Africa, Overseas Promotions and Inward Missions, Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing's (DTCM), Dubai is the seventh most visited city in the world. “Dubai recorded more than 5.5 million visitor arrivals in the first half of 2013, representing an 11.1 per cent year-on-year increase. We are here to promote and showcase our products in the Indian market and further increase Indian arrivals. India is huge market with great potential and will be one of the important source markets to achieve our target of 20 million visitors by 2020,” stated Bawazir.
The multi-city workshops will target over 1,000 Indian trade professionals comprising major travel and tour operators, wedding planners and up-market leisure operators across India.
Speaking on the sidelines of roadshow in Mumbai, Carl Vaz, Director - India, DTCM, said, "The growth from the Indian market has been achieved as a result of our focus on Tier-II and III cities (besides the metros). Earlier, we focused on consolidating our position in metros and Tier-I cities. We are looking at penetrating deeper into Tier-II cities like Pune, Indore, Nagpur, Chandigarh and Jaipur and Tier-III cities such asVisakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Raipur and Bhubaneshwar. Currently, we have 2,000 certified experts from metros, Tier-I and II cities of India under the Dubai Expert Training Programme and we are now looking at adding 1,000 agents from Tier-III cities as Dubai specialists."
A 22-member strong delegation participated in the three-city roadshow (Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai) comprising hoteliers, DMCs and attractions. Emirates, Atlantis, The Palm and Lama Tours, the co-sponsors of the roadshow also made presentations at the roadshows that targeted over 1,000 Indian trade professionals covering major tour operators, wedding planners and high-end leisure operators.
According to Vaz, “The roadshow provides us with a platform to interact with a significantly higher number of travel agents, tour operators and even wedding planners from various parts of India enabling them to cater to new segments and repeat visitors. The main market segments that we are looking at tapping in India this year are the group series departures and the family segment along with the niche segments of weddings / honeymoon, school groups, adventure / sport and luxury seekers and single women travellers who will be heading for the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2014.”
Vaz further added, "We want to achieve year-on-year double digit growth from the Indian market and our focus is on tapping the Wedding and Honeymoon segments. We have launched an advertising campaign targeting these segments. We are also looking at developing niche segments and will work closely with tour operators dealing with single women travellers, ‘silvers’ (senior citizens) and women shopping groups. In addition, we want to tap group movement of management students for industrial tours to Jebel Ali Port, Dubai Internet City and Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU). This will give the students an insight on Dubai's culture and these MBA students will become our brand ambassador."
Speaking about new products and services, Kulwant Singh, Managing Director, Lama Tours, said, "We introduced Lama Express Visa service two months ago in Delhi and till date have processed 1,600 visa. We are looking at introducing the same service in Mumbai by November and in Bengaluru by December this year.” Commenting on the impact of the depreciation of the Indian rupee, Singh said, “While the fall has affected the gross revenue but we are hoping for 10-12 per cent growth from the Indian market by year end." As a first time participant in DTCM road show in India, Munir Mohammed, Sales Manager Middle East, Big Bus Tours said, “We offer unique sightseeing experiences on-board traditional double-decker buses. For our hop-on and hop-off day tour services in Dubai, we have 20 stops and provide recorded commentary available in a choice of up to 10 languages. Through the road shows we aim to create awareness about our products and services in Indian market.”
Praveen Punnose, Manager Operations, Royal Gulf Tourism LLC, said that while India is a competitive and demanding market they have witnessed around 20 per cent year-on-year increase in business from Indian market. Jeetu Frantz, Managing Director, Binali Tourism LLC informed that they are looking at tapping the luxury wedding segment and Tier II & III cities in India.
Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/
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