DTCM briefs tourism industry on key activities in the upcoming quarter

More than 500 members of Dubai's front office tourism industry were hosted by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at the first city briefing event. Held at JW Marriott Marquis, DTCM invited Destination Management Companies (DMC) operators as well as hotel concierges and front of house staff to join for a briefing on major upcoming events for the next quarter, such as the Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai Food Festival, Dubai Football Challenge as well as other updates on the Emirates tourism offer. The objective of the event was to provide customer facing teams in the Emirate's travel industry with information necessary to offer knowledgeable service to visitors.

Issam Kazim, CEO of DCTCM said: “Concierges, hotel front house staff and tour operators and guides are the primary point of contact for visitors to Dubai. With continual enhancements to our destination offering it is essential to ensure that our partners are kept up to date with developments and that they have all of the information they require to provide a world class service. We are about to enter a new year and what is traditionally one of Dubai’s busy periods; therefore, it is even more important to ensure that our frontline staff always have the latest information. With this in mind, we are thrilled that so many of our partners we able to join us today.”

2015 marks the 20th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), taking place from 1 January-1 February across Dubai. Attracting visitors from near and far, the 20th edition of this hugely popular festival will feature a wide array of activities, exclusive shopping events and promotions as well as international concerts and musical performances to entertain all the family.  www.mydsf.ae

Following a successful inaugural event in 2014, Dubai Food Festival is back for a second year from 6-28 February 2015. The festival will showcase Dubai’s emergence as a culinary destination through a 23 day programme of consumer and trade events, activities, promotions and appearances by food celebrities. The 2015 festival will promote the diversity, creativity and multi-cultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offering – from 5-star gourmet to quality multicultural dining & street food; international brands to a burgeoning scene of home-grown concepts influenced by traditional Emirati cuisine and the flavours of the 200 nationalities that live in Dubai. www.dubaifoodfestival.com

Issam Kazim, CEO of DCTCM added, “With events a key pillar of our destination offering, 2014's busy calendar has further demonstrated Dubai's position as a world-class events destination. The year will conclude with one of the Emirate’s most high profile football match –the Dubai Football Challenge – before the New Year’s Eve fireworks. With Dubai Shopping Festival commencing on the first of January and being followed by Dubai Food Festival in February, the importance of festivals and events to Dubai’s tourism economy is demonstrated.  Looking ahead to 2015 we expect another busy year with an exciting range of events for residents and guests to enjoy”.

With a packed calendar of events planned in Dubai for 2015, the group received updates covering events falling during the first few months of the year, typically a busy time with visitors to Dubai. Industry partners were also encouraged to use the newly launched Dubai Tourism mobile application and website www.DubaiTourism.ae as a resource to stay up to date on everything happening across the Emirate which might be of interest to visitors. The application and website include over 800 pages of content detailing the full events calendar and a MyTrip feature allowing users to create their own itineraries for trips to Dubai. Industry professionals and visitors alike can also make sure of pre-built itineraries which give a flavour of some of the activities and attractions Dubai has on offer, with deals and offers.