Dubai keen to 'change the narrative' around safety and accessibility
April HutchinsonDubai hopes to assert its appeal as a safe and accessible destination, with a senior tourism leader stressing it is focused on being a welcoming place for all kinds of travellers.
Senior vice-president for international operations for Visit Dubai, 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 chief 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.”
Al Khaja said the emirate was continuing on a huge recovery pathway, with a record 17.15 million visitors in 2023; visitors from January to September this year came in at 13.29 million, a 7% year-on-year increase.
UK visitation could top one million this year, with Dubai already having recorded 922,000 UK visitors during the period from January to September, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
New attractions driving demand include the Dubai Parks and Resorts and Real Madrid C.F. collaboration on Real Madrid World, which opened in the spring and is thought to be the first major football-themed park in the world.
And despite currently having 824 hotels, Al Khaja stressed the focus was very much on attracting more hotel investment. “Demand continues to outstrip supply, so we are keen to keep developing the accommodation we can offer in all kinds – from entry-level, to experiential and wellness hotels.”
She added 70 hotels had so far achieved one of the three tiers of the emirate’s new Dubai Sustainable Tourism stamp, with a continued push for more to do so.
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April Hutchinson
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