Tourism

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) expects an influx of visitors by the turn of the decade, and these projections are helping to drive the construction of theme parks, hospital wings, shopping malls and several new hotels. Dubai announced total international visitor figures of 14.2m for 2015, an increase of 7.5% on 2014, and became the fourth-most-visited city in the world. Additionally, Dubai International Airport (DIA) was crowned the world’s busiest air transport hub for overseas flights in 2015, pulling ahead of London’s Heathrow and staying ahead since. In the years leading up to 2020 a number of key developments are taking place that are designed to attract and cater to increasing numbers of tourists. The emirate is targeting new segments of the travel market geographically, as well as adapting its offering to entice more family groups and medical tourists.

This chapter contains interviews with Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) and Raed Al Nuaimi, CEO, Dubai Parks and Resorts.