Dubai’s tourism and hospitality sectors are seeing a “rapid rebound” after the July 7 reopening, in a positive turn of events which has surprised the travel industry.
Bookings by Emirates Airline and flydubai are also on the upswing, with the former now confirming 70 destinations, while flydubai will cover 66 destinations over summer, says a Gulf News report.
“Since then (July 7), we have been greatly encouraged by the market’s response in the second phase of our recovery strategy, which was activated along with the gradual resumption of economic sectors, as well as the staggered and tentative restart of travel across the world,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General of Dubai Tourism.
“People are much more optimistic and well-informed now and are ready to go on holidays to destinations that are safe and have put in place strong health and safety protocols,” said Al Almarri.
Whatever has emerged since July represents quite a mood change during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, when sentiments were “circumspect”. The tourism industry bore the brunt of restrictions on domestic and cross-border mobility. The pandemic could cost global tourism and related sectors between $1.2 billion and $3.3 trillion in lost revenues “depending on the timing of recovery”.
For Dubai, during the “pause phase”, according to Al Marri, the focus was on “planning and repositioning”, the Gulf News report said.
“We rethought business strategies and plans working with stakeholders and partners to develop innovative initiatives to manage the new normal,” he added. “In cooperation with key authorities, we mapped out stringent health protocols and precautionary measures that would reassure even the most demanding safety-conscious tourists.”
“The UAE and Dubai were decisive, strategic and methodical in tackling the pandemic,” the tourism chief added. “We also remain optimistic due to the pivotal role being played by our key partners like Emirates and flydubai in facilitating tourism growth through a wide range of measures designed to instill confidence among travellers.”
