Alexandre Rocha, special envoy*
alexandre.rocha@anba.com.br
Rio de Janeiro – Dubai should receive a minimum of 20,000 Brazilian visitors this year, according to the forecast of the head at the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) of the emirate, Hamad Mohammed bin Mejren. "I expect the number of tourists this year to double, at the least," he stated last Monday evening during a seminar held at the head office of the National Confederation of Commerce (CNC), in the southeastern Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.
In 2007, according to Mejren, slightly over 10,000 Brazilians visited Dubai, as against little more than 6,000 in 2006. "The direct flight by Emirates Airline only started in October last year, therefore the estimate is higher for 2008," he told ANBA, also stating that from next month onwards, the number of flights should increase from six to seven a week, and in December the company should begin offering two daily flights between Brazilian and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the executive, what attracts visitors the most is the fact that Dubai is a brand new tourist and business destination to Brazilians. "We are glad to see more Brazilians there, and word-of-mouth advertisement has many people wanting to get to know Dubai," he declared.
Mejren recalled that his department should set up a representative office in the city of São Paulo (SE Brazil) in the next few months, and in June it is going to promote workshops for travel agencies in São Paulo and in Rio. The DTCM already has 15 offices around the world.
During his presentation, he listed a series of figures showing the importance of tourism to the emirate. Presently, according to the executive, the activity answers to 33% of local Gross Domestic Product (GDP) whereas petroleum, whose income leveraged investment there in recent years, only has a 3% share.
Mejren also talked about several enterprises turned to the sector currently under construction, such as 400 new hotels, the expansion of the International Airport, whose capacity should rise to 70 million passengers per year, and the new Jebel Ali International Airport.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
