Dubai keen to 'change the narrative' around safety and accessibility

Senior vice-president of international operations at the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, Hoor Al Khaja, said: “We know people feel there is a lot of volatility at the moment, but the UAE is one of the safest places in the world in general.

"And in addition to that, we welcome a range of travellers and wish to continue to do so. We want to ensure we appeal to solo and female travellers in particular: people can feel safe here.”

She said ongoing perceptions of the destination was a continual challenge. “The safety narrative is something we continue to work on educating people around. This includes the recent ‘Dubai. If You Go You Know’ campaign, which focuses on residents talking about their own life in Dubai.”

Al Khaja said Dubai had a determined focus on making the destination more accessible too. “We prefer to say ‘People of Determination’ rather than talking of disabilities,” she added.

“This crosses everything we do now. For example, Dubai International airport is one of the only ones in the world to be certified autism-friendly, with all staff trained to help ease the journey.

“I am proud of where we are with accessibility – we already have a lot of the basics in place, and we will be seeing many more measures rolling out, for example, trying to get autism awareness rolled out on a city-wide level.”

The tourism lead said she was also focused on educating people that Dubai can cater to a range of budgets. “People sometimes have an impression of Dubai as an unattainable luxury destination, but that’s not the case," she continued.

"We have developed budget itineraries and have plenty of free things to do, as well as affordable places to stay. As we grow in general, we diversify.”