Dubai Delivers Comprehensive Trade Support Service

With the UK and Ireland being the largest source market to Dubai since 2003, the Government of Dubai, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is working with the UK and Ireland travel trade to provide up to date information about this innovative destination, and to help staff stay competitive when selling Dubai.

Baerbel Kirchner, director of the UK and Ireland office of the DTCM, commented: “The DTCM understands the training and information needs of travel trade executives which enables us to assist with their knowledge in selling Dubai. We are committed to building a foundation of knowledge for travel agents and tour operator reservation staff about Dubai through our state-of-the-art Dubai Expert online training course. The DTCM also facilitates contact with Dubai based suppliers and passes on knowledge to travel trade executives by participating at exhibitions such as World Travel Market, and by running regular seminars and road shows in the UK and Ireland. We are aiming to continue building on these activities into next year. These initiatives illustrate our constant commitment to providing a comprehensive support service to the travel industry.”

With many new hotels and tourism developments opening in the emirate, and visitor figures from the UK and Ireland remain on the increase, travel agents are encouraged to participate in the DTCM’s frequently updated Dubai Expert online training programme (www.dubaiexpert.co.uk) and participate in DTCM-initiated activities.

Graduates who successfully complete the flexible, free of charge, 18 comprehensive modules of the programme are awarded non-exclusive ‘Dubai Expert’ status. They receive benefits such as business development suggestions; regular, up-to-date and reliable information via email, SMS and an online message board; certificates; a window sticker; inclusion on a referrals list for consumers; mechanisms for relationship building with Dubai based suppliers to access good deals; and the best-performing agents may be eligible for consideration for familiarisation trips to Dubai to reinforce and complement their training with first-hand experience. Coming soon to Dubai Expert will also be online registration and new user group categories.

Feedback from trainees has been overwhelming, including from Agnes Gribben at Stewart Travel: “Dubai Expert is a very interesting, enjoyable programme which is user friendly and easily accessible. You are able to stop the training and pick up where you left off when you access it again.”

By the end of September 2006, the DTCM will have hosted 400 Dubai Expert graduates on three mega familiarisation trips in the emirate. The next group of 100 will visit at the end of September 2006. Flights are provided by Emirates and the groups stay in both beach and city accommodation. A key highlight is a targeted workshop to enhance the trade’s knowledge with representatives from hotels, ground handlers and many iconic Dubai developments. Positive feedback volunteered by some of the Dubai Expert graduates includes: “Dubai Expert is an excellent, yet fairly intensive, programme that was very well presented and followed up by a very well organised familiarisation trip,” said Frederick de Villiers from Flight Centre.

In September 2006, the DTCM will be involved with a first of its kind initiative for the travel industry – a destination workshop on board the cruise ship, Costa Magica, for Dubai Expert graduates. It will be attended by up to 200 travel executives and the experience will inform and familiarise the attendees with both the destination of Dubai and selected suppliers, as well as Costa Cruises’ own product prior to Costa Classica being positioned for weekly departures in Dubai for the winter of 2006/07.

Other activities the DTCM regularly carries out include attending consumer and travel trade events and exhibitions; on-site training for travel executives; bi-monthly newsletters as well as dedicated and themed Dubai supplements which are distributed with travel trade publications; and providing collateral including tourism manuals, window display material and DVDs. A dedicated travel agent helpline assists with information requirements and the DTCM also arranges events, roadshows, seminars and workshops. The next UK and Ireland roadshow will take place in December 2006.

The DTCM indirectly assists travel agents with their sales by raising public awareness about Dubai’s diversity with print and TV advertising, as well as running the biggest ever London taxi advertising campaign which comprises 180 taxis branded with nine different messages for a year until November 2007. Public relations activities include press trips, assisting film crews and hosting media events. The UK and Ireland office of the DTCM appointed its first external PR consultancy, The Communication Group, in September 2006 to extend its existing in-house PR activities.