THE Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) the principal entity tasked with delivering Dubai's tourism vision of attracting 20 million visitors by 2020, has announced the launch of a new GCC trade marketing and communications strategy to further reinforce Dubai's positioning and offering to GCC guests. The new two-pronged strategy is one of the key strategic efforts directed towards ensuring that the vision of attracting 20 million visitors to Dubai by the year 2020 is achieved. The first part of DTCM's strategy involves internalization of its efforts directed towards raising the profile of Dubai's tourism offering in the GCC rather than continuing to rely on outsourcing this function. Previously DTCM was operating in the GCC through close association with El Zayat Tourism & Hospitality Consultancy, which was known as the Overseas Trade office. The second pillar of this strategy involves putting in place a dedicated expert team led by Mana Al Suwaidi, regional director — Middle East and Subcontinent, International Operations at DTCM which works closely with the regional markets and the different teams to deploy enhanced marketing tools, launching innovative tourism-boosting community initiatives, and intensifying direct sales efforts. This also includes the appointment of TRACCS, the region's largest independent public relations network with more than 200 employees across 13 markets in MENA as its communications consultancy in the GCC. As part of this engagement, TRACCS will work with DTCM providing consultancy services, marketing and communications support, and media services with the aim of raising the profile of Dubai Tourism's offering in the GCC and the wider MENA region. Commenting on this new direction, Issam AbdulRahim Kazim, CEO — Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) said, "The GCC is extremely important and strategic for Dubai to achieve these goals with steady growth in visitor numbers witnessed over the years. It is one of the biggest feeder markets for the city's travel, tourism and hospitality sectors with 2.8 million visitors during the first ten months of 2015, which represents approximately 25% of the total number of visitors to Dubai." Kazim added, "In order to promote Dubai's overall offering as unparalleled in the region which has immense appeal in itself, we will need to directly engage with the people within the market to further promote Dubai as a family, leisure and business destination, and grow visitor numbers. For this reason we have appointed TRACCS as our regional agency, enabling us to work with local experts that understand the people and market dynamics as well as reinforce our presence and strategic offering to the GCC tourists going to Dubai." Commenting on the new partnership with DTCM, Mohamed Al Ayed, CEO of TRACCS said, "These are exciting times for us at TRACCS. To be selected by DTCM to drive its communications efforts in the GCC, aimed at solidifying Dubai's unassailable positioning as the leading tourist destination in the region, is a daunting but invigorating challenge and one that TRACCS is singularly capable of transcending. We are looking forward to building on the success of Dubai as a destination and brand through our deep understanding of the regional markets, and travel and tourism trends and preferences of the local populace." DTCM's 2020 mandate is inspired by the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, of welcoming more than 20 million visitors per year by 2020. The aim is also to make and promote Dubai as the world's leading family tourism and MICE destination by the end of the decade.
