São Paulo – Dubai will invest heavily in tourism until Expo 2020, the six month-long world exhibition that the emirate will host four years from now. Attractions designed to make the city an even better tourism destination were presented at a workshop by the Dubai Business Events (DBE) this Monday (24) at venue Casa Panamericana, in São Paulo. The DBE advertises Dubai as a business events destination.
The emirate welcomed 14.2 million tourists last year and its goal is to reach 25 million before the world expo. Dubai has a population of 2.2 million. Tourist-oriented investment plans include expansion of metro lines and new hotel rooms, DCE executive for MICE Accounts (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions) Dinah Policarpo said in Brazil.
Leisure options will also be worked on. October will see the launch of the Dubai Parks complex, comprising three theme parks: Motiongate, focusing on the movie industry and featuring characters from American studios; Bollywood Park, devoted to the Indian film industry; and Legoland, featuring Lego-inspired toys. Two months ago, 2,000 seat culture and arts venue Dubai Opera opened, with a view of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
“We can expect lots of new things for the next there years, because Dubai is getting ready for Expo 2020,” Policarpo told the audience of agents, tour operators and journalists. Some of the new sites are already up and running, such as IMG Worlds of Adventure, the world’s biggest indoor amusement park, which opened in August of this year. Hotel room expansion is also underway, with 20,000 new rooms going online before the end of this year. Total hotel capacity is 100,000 at this time.
Expo 2020 is regarded as the world’s premier business event, and the emirate relies on this niche to increase tourist numbers in years to come. Brazil is on Dubai’s radar as a source of this type of traveller. DBE senior manager for Sales and Convention Services Karina Lance said incentive travel from Brazil to Dubai is on the rise. This is the kind of trip given as gifts or raffle prizes by corporations to staff or customers.
Policarpo discussed Dubai’s ability to welcome these tourists, who will both go on leisure routes and attend conventions or corporate prize ceremonies. She mentioned a few options of place for them to stay in, such as the Madinat Arena, which boasts a big events area, The Meydan Hotel, featuring a horse track, and Hotel Armani, located in the Burj Khalifa. Policarpo made a point of saying there are several three-star hotels in the emirate. Out of its 676 hotels, 264 fit the bill, she asserted.
Policarpo told ANBA that tourist numbers from Brazil are going up, and that the bulk of Brazilians’ trips are stopovers. They are travellers headed for Asia who will spend two or three days in the emirate. According to her, the average stay is also increasing. Like Lance, she mentioned incentive travel from Brazil to Dubai. “The numbers go up every year,” she says.
The workshop also featured a few less obvious attractions in Dubai, like riding a zipline in front of the Burj Khalifa, going skydiving, playing camel polo or visiting a Muslim center to chat about the local habits and culture. The best-known places include the markets or souks, 95 different malls, desert safaris and boat rides along the Dubai canal.
Authorities attending the workshop in São Paulo included the United Arab Emirates consul general in São Paulo Saleh Ahmed Al Suwaidi.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
