Dubai to enhance air connectivity with India to boost tourism
India is the biggest tourism markets for Dubai and it aims at doubling number of tourists in the coming years. Last year around 2.1 million Indians visited Dubai. In order to achieve the target, Dubai is planning to enhance the air connectivity with India.
“Air connectivity at present is not enough; we are running at almost full capacity. With the kind of campaigns we are running, demand will increase further. 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,” said Issam Kazim, Chief Executive, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
“Around 1.2 million Indians visited Dubai during the first half of this year; showing about 2 per cent increase over last year,” added 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 reverberate 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.
Dubai tourism have come up with focused campaigns and doing elaborate road shows in India for the local travel trade partners.
“We have done two roadshows, 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 will bring representatives of attractions such as cruises, hotels, and destination management companies from Dubai. India is a market we are serious about,” said Kazim.