New ATM Global Stage opens with high profile panel session on
future outlook for UAE tourism; each emirate to focus on own USPs but committed
to shared vision for sustainable growth
The Future of the UAE as a Global Tourism Hub was the headline
session opener for the all-new Global Stage at ATM 2016 yesterday (Monday, 25
April 2016), as eight of the Emirate’s leading tourism and hospitality minds
shared their experience and insight into opportunities for sustained future
sector growth.
Moderated by BBC World
News anchor, Zeinab Badawi, the panelists included Gerald Lawless, Head of
Tourism, Dubai Holding; Issam Kazim, CEO, DCTCM; Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al
Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO,
Shurooq; Sultan Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director, Tourism, Abu
Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority; Aligi Gardenghi, VP Marketing EMEA and
Commercial Director MEA, Hilton; Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President
& CCO, Emirates Airline; and HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah
Commerce & Tourism Development Authority.
Differentiation as part of a shared UAE-wide tourism vision was
the consensus of the eight-strong panel, with each emirate highlighting its
individual contribution to the tourism big picture as the Emirates looks to the
long term.
“We are not looking at competing, but complementing; you don't see
the Côte d’Azur racing to become the next Paris. We are all busy trying to
leverage our greatest assets to position ourselves in the market,” said Haitham
Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority; a sentiment that was
echoed by the other non-Dubai panelists.
Sultan Al Mutawa Al
Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director, Tourism, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture
Authority (ADTCA), said: “What we do as the seven emirates in promoting the UAE
and each city so aggressively [means] that we are complementing one another. We
are not just growing visitor numbers we want to retain them.”
According to Marwan bin
Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO, Shurooq, the UAE’s tourism authorities are not in a race
to emulate Dubai’s success; rather the focus is on developing and showcasing
unique attributes and attractions.
“We focused on features
that we can actually build on like the heart of Sharjah historic district;
eco-tourism on Sharjah’s east coast where, for example, you can kayak in Kalba
and see turtles and kingfishers,” he remarked.
For Issam Kazim, CEO,
DCTCM, future growth is still reliant on public-private partnerships, but with
the need to take things to the next level and showcase the depth of Dubai’s
tourism product, as well as continuing to promote the safe and secure environment
of the UAE. “The region has been in the middle of negative noise for quite some
time, and we need to show the positive energy that is coming out of the UAE,”
he said.
“Rather than our
original six or seven source markets, we are now focused on the 20 markets that
we need to be going after; and this can also benefit the other emirates,” he
added.
Gerald Lawless, Head of Tourism, Dubai Holding, and newly
appointed Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), commenting
on challenges to future tourism growth, said: “It is important for all
governments to look at the facilitation of travel. We want to make it more
secure by having a common visa process.
“It’s not about which country a person is coming from, but the
individual. For all of us in the tourism industry, this would facilitate travel
in a very secure manner for the future.”
Continued peace and harmony with its neighbours was also raised as
crucial for the UAE tourism sector’s stability and growth; and this extends to
destination marketing on a global level.
“It’s important to be
able to manage perceptions, and this can be achieved through stronger bonds and
collaboration with the media,” noted. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman,
Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority.
Arabian hospitality was also identified as a key driver for
tourism growth. “When you come here, you feel [at] home. It is a place where
everybody smiles at you. We are a place that welcomes people, and a lot of
people dismiss this when they travel,” remarked Marwan bin Jassim Al
Sarkal, CEO, Shurooq.
“Designed to showcase the very best speakers in the business, with
a wealth of high level strategic topics, the ATM Global Stage certainly provided
a strong start to the 2016 proceedings with an impressive and incisive discussion,”
concluded Nadege Noblet-Segers, Exhibition Manager, Arabian Travel Market.
For more information on Arabian
Travel Market 2016, please visit the website at www.arabiantravelmarket.com
Photo caption:
Left to right
- Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO, Shurooq; Sultan Al
Mutawa Al Dhaheri
- Sultan Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director,
Tourism, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority
- Aligi Gardenghi, VP Marketing EMEA and Commercial Director
MEA, Hilton
- HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce
& Tourism Development Authority
- Zeinab Badawi, anchor, BBC World News
- Issam Kazim, CEO, DCTCM
- Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development
Authority
- Thierry Antinori, Executive Vice President & CCO,
Emirates Airline
- Gerald Lawless, Head of Tourism, Dubai Holding