South Africa has been hit as hard as the rest of the world with the rising cost of living. We are aware there is a narrative in Mzantsi that a holiday in Dubai is just far too expensive to even consider. But the truth is that the world’s number one ‘City Lover’s’ tourism destination, as voted by TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2022, is far more accessible than you think.
Dubai Tourism has joined partners across the hospitality, medical, entertainment and retail sectors to interact with key trade partners in South Africa in a multiple city roadshow this August.
The 2022 South African roadshow begins in Cape Town on August 15 at The Rockefeller Hotel & Residences, followed by Durban on August 17 at the Southern Sun Elangeni Maharani Hotel, and finally Johannesburg on August 19 at the Marriott – Melrose Arch. The roadshow will highlight Dubai’s affordable experiences and the diversity of the city’s offerings to key travel partners in South Africa. The roadshow will showcase travel, hospitality, entertainment and Dubai’s citywide events, with a focus on leisure, family travel, education and medical tourism.
One of the efforts of Dubai’s Department for Economy and Tourism (DET) is a novel campaign designed to encourage more families and global travelers to select the city for their summer vacation. The ‘Stay More, Pay Less’ campaign is a city-wide initiative supported by more than 60 hotels and resorts, providing outstanding value to international travelers this summer. The promotion provides guests an amazing offer: stay for seven nights at participating hotels and resorts and pay for only five nights or stay for five nights and pay for only three nights.
Key elements of the event will include breakout network sessions, partner presentations, one-on-one meetings, and medical facility updates. The South African tour by Dubai Tourism is part of DET’s commitment to Africa.
The recent TripAdvisor ranking is the result of a carefully designed multi-prong strategy to keep Dubai safe, open and accessible. The new tourism figures from DET show that overall, Dubai hotels maintained an average occupancy level of 76 percent from January to May 2022. According to data from hotel management analytics firm STR, Dubai ranked No.1 globally in hotel occupancy, ahead of other international destinations including New York (61 percent), London (60 percent) and Paris (57 percent), for the January-April 2022 period.
Dubai ranked the world’s No.1 destination for ‘City Lovers’ and the No. 4 destination for ‘Food Lovers’ in the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards 2022. The MICHELIN Guide Dubai, which launched in June, shines a light on Dubai’s position as a global gastronomy hub, providing a fresh perspective and new insights into the diversity, creativity and multicultural nature of Dubai’s culinary offering – one that is drawn from traditional Emirati cuisine, as well as from the cuisines of more than 200 other nationalities living in the city, Africa included.
Some of the organizations that will accompany DET to South Africa include Hotels, Hospitals and other stakeholders in the Dubai Tourism ecosystem.
“As Dubai continues to welcome tourists from around the world, we are focused on accelerating momentum even further driven by the vision of our leadership to make Dubai the world’s most visited destination and the best city in the world to live in and work,” says Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
“This South Africa visit by a major delegation of Dubai’s tourism ecosystem reflects our commitment to fostering enhanced collaboration and building quality trade partnerships in this very important market. During the visit, our delegation will explore opportunities for mutual cooperation and highlight the diversity of our offering, especially those catering to the interests of South African travelers, such as the variety of adventure experiences and beach getaways in the city, as well as our sustainability and nature offerings.
“We will also showcase Dubai as the ideal winter sun holiday hub for travelers from this market. We look forward to working closely with our partners in South Africa to instill confidence and trust in both business and leisure travelers alike and reassure them that Dubai remains open, safe, accessible, and committed to delivering exceptional destination experiences.”
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