Dubai has emerged as an exemplary example of a city that has resumed tourism and is coming back on track. This is after having successfully reopened its borders and economy. The information was shared by experts during a webinar hosted by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The webinar, Trust in Tourism 4.0: How Dubai Adapted to Welcome You Back, was held by Dubai Chamber’s representative offices in Latin America, and was attended by over 470 participants, including business leaders from the UAE and many Latin American countries, like Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Argentina, and Guatemala.

The virtual event featured informative presentations from: Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Omar Khan, Director of International Offices, Dubai Chamber; Khalifa Al Qama, Head of Dubai Future Labs, Dubai Future Foundation; Stephane Perard, Managing Director- Brazil, Emirates; Ricardo Fracalossi, Sales Manager- Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, Emirates; Marc Descrozaille, COO - India, Middle East & Africa, Accor; and Adriano Konialidis, Director - International Participants Expo 2020 Dubai.  

Presentations showcased Dubai’s adoption of pro-active policies, advanced technologies and preventative measures to help curb Covid-19 spread, face new challenges due to the pandemic and resumption of business activities earlier this year, including implementation of procedures related to aviation and hospitality sectors.

Few days before officially reopening to international visitors in July, Dubai was declared as safe destination by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and was issued a Safe Travels stamp, thus validating the safety protocols placed across the city.

Issam Kazim shared various factors that helped in ensuring safe and successful reopening of Dubai. These include government’s proactive approach to ensure the health and safety of all citizens, residents and tourists, which included a pan city sanitation programme, and collaboration between society and private sector.

Kazim also highlighted the New Dubai Assured Programme, an award stamp which is issued by the government to all businesses who meet high safety standards. He also added that Dubai Tourism maintained open communication within key source markets all through the year. This helped in keeping stakeholders well-informed of new developments taking place as business meeting and events resumed in the emirate.  

Omar Khan noted that Dubai stood firm on its promise of welcoming international visitors. He also reflected during webinar how emirate’s business landscape has evolved during the circumstances. He also said that many business and events have already taken place in Dubai, and announced the holding of GITEX Technology Week, the region’s largest technology exhibition, is a positive signal towards recovery. 

Khan said that UAE has always introduced new measures to attract investors and companies from across the world. He specially mentioned country’s recent decision of approving 100% ownership of mainland companies for foreign nationals as groundbreaking. He added that Dubai Chamber’s offices in Panama, Brazil and Argentina are ready to assist companies from Latin American to help capitalise this opportunity and explore the Dubai market.

 WAM