Dubai wants more air connectivity with India, to double the number of tourists from its biggest source market in the coming years. A record 2.1 million Indians visited Dubai in 2017, and the number continues to expand in the current year.
“The air connectivity is never enough. We are running at almost full capacity. With the kind of campaigns we are running, demand should keep going up. We are working with Indian carriers to facilitate dialogue with the civil authorities and the airports in Dubai to make it easier for them to bring in more capacity,” Issam Kazim, chief executive, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said.
About 1.2 million Indians visited Dubai in the January-July period of this year, growing about 2 per cent over last year. “The base is high,” said Kazim.
India has continuously been the biggest source of tourists for Dubai since 2015. Kazim said the numbers from India can double to 4 million in the next few years.
“I truly believe our tourism products resonate so well with the Indian audience and this will be visible when we reach out to the right people with the right messages. The potential to double the numbers from India is realistic. The outbound travel from India is starting to grow a lot more,” he added.
Saudi Arabia is Dubai’s second-largest source market followed by the UK, China, and Germany. A total of 15.8 million people visited Dubai in 2017, 6 per cent higher than the previous year. Dubai wants to attract a total of 20 million visitors (double than what India attracts every year) by 2020.
Kazim’s team have come up with focussed campaigns and doing elaborate road shows in India for the local travel trade partners.
“We have done two road shows, inviting the right partners to showcase the right products. A third will be done in November. We invite 150-200 trade partners in each such event and we bring representatives of attractions, cruises, hotels, and destination management companies from Dubai. It is a market we are serious about,” he said. DTCM is running a campaign to attract Indian visitors during Diwali.
Kazim said 70 per cent of people travel via Dubai for an onward destination and do not visit the Emirate. It is therefore working to soon roll out a free 48-hour transit visa to tempt those who have not visited Dubai. There is also a visa on arrival for those having a US visa and green card at a minimal cost.
“We would like to break their trip on either side so that they at least get a sample of Dubai,” he said.