Dubai eyes enhanced presence at ATM 2016

New and enhanced content strengthens Dubai brand, showcasing breadth and variety of offerings through immersive visitor experience

Dubai Tourism joined by government partners and over 80 co-participants

Dubai‟s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) will be joined by more than 80 co-participants and partners at this year‟s Arabian Travel Market (ATM), showcasing the breadth and variety of Dubai‟s destination offering through numerous content-rich concepts and activations on its new-look stand. Dubai Tourism will also bring in more than 300 travel trade professionals for the event as part of an enriched partner programme, and will use the show – running 25-28 April at Dubai World Trade Centre – to launch a number of new initiatives, programmes and industry reports.

“ATM provides a decisive opportunity to highlight the reasons behind Dubai‟s appeal among a diverse range of traveller segments and source markets asthe emiratecontinues to drive tourism growth in line with our Tourism Vision for 2020.With an ever growing destination proposition, we want to showcase Dubai and all its respective partners to the international travel trade community with a united voice, in a rich and compelling setting,” said Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism & Commerce

Marketing.

“The show continues to be the leading focal point for connecting the industry at large through compelling networking opportunities, so we want to ensure we are helping lead those discussions andensure we are equipping our partners and customers with the various tools that will enable them to bring our destination objectives to the fore,” added Kazim.

Covering an area of 1,200 square metres and rising three storeys high, the enhanced Dubai stand has been designed to offer a unique, immersive visitor experience, bringing together the various aspects of Dubai that make it such an exciting destination via a platform conducive to doing business, networking and discovery.

New components include a giant TV screen positioned horizontally above a section of the stand, displaying Dubai‟s year-round blue skies as well as various airborne attractions, activities and stunts, such as hot air ballooning, skydiving, the jetpack-propelledJetman and Emirates Airline‟s flagship A380. The stand‟s on-site café, meanwhile, will be operated by contemporary Emirati restaurant Seven Sands, enabling visitors and exhibitors to get a genuine taste of local cuisine.

Courtesy of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), artworks from local galleries will be on display throughout the stand, complementing a prominent locally-based artist who will be creating works live on-site. In line with the Year of Reading announced by UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,Dubai Culture will also provide books and reading material freely available in the stand‟s dedicated reading/waiting area. In addition, Dubai 360 – the online interactive tour of the city launched in January 2015 – will return this year, allowing guests to experience some of Dubai‟s most breath-taking scenes and attractions without leaving the stand. Using immersive virtual reality technology, visitors have the chance to share Jetman‟s incredible perspective of the city,ride the Dubai Metro, watch kite surfers on Kite Beach, and shoot down XDubai‟s popular XLine, for example.XDubai itself will also have a presence on the stand, showcasing its numerous extreme sports and adventure attractions and stunts.

Other elements of the Dubai stand include: Dubai Calendar, the official calendar of events in Dubai, highlighting the exciting events and festivals coming up in the next 12 months; an „attractions wall‟ displaying some of the best tourist hotspots in the city; a „content wall‟ featuring the range of video and image content available for use by Dubai Tourism partners; a „#MyDubai wall‟ showing the initiative‟s latest user-generated submissions; as well as press and presentation rooms.

Joining forces with Dubai Tourism are various other government bodies, including: Dubai Police, aiming to underscore the emirate‟s strong safety and security credentials; the Department ofNaturalisation and Residency Dubai (DNRD), which will use ATM to highlight advances in visa policies and processes, making it easier to enter Dubai; and Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), focusing on the emirate‟s medical tourism proposition. These will be joined by a further 80 co-participants, made up of hotels and hotel apartment establishments, tour operators and destination management companies, event and conference space providers, as well as theme park developer IMG Worlds of Adventure.

The Dubai stand (ME 3110 and ME 3140) will be located in Hall 3 of Dubai World Trade Centre.

About Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism)

With the ultimate vision of positioning Dubai as the world‟s leading tourism destination and commercial hub, Dubai Tourism‟s mission is to increase the awareness of Dubai among global audiences and to attract tourists and inward investment into the emirate. Dubai Tourism is the principal authority for the planning, supervision, development and marketing of Dubai‟s tourism sector. It markets and promotes the Emirate‟s commerce sector, and is responsible for the licensing and classification of all tourism services, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents. Brands and departments within the Dubai Tourism portfolio include Dubai Convention and Events.