Unprecedented rebound has been witnessed in Dubai following the reopening of tourism on July 7th
Dubai being the most searched destination, and one of the destinations where tourism has resumed in full pace, has seen a good recovery in tourism and hotel sector.
Thanks to the Dubai government and concerned authority’s safety initiatives, coupled with many hotels in the city offering staycation deals at affordable rates to attract both the residents and tourists alike.
In an interview given to Emirates WAM, Jose Silva, CEO of Jumeriah of the leading luxury hospitality brands said: “In the first week following the reopening of international tourism, online bookings for planned stays on Jumeriah website doubled from the previous weeks while its properties recorded an average daily increase of 109 per cent in booked room nights.”
A significant contributor to the rapid recovery were the bookings made from Emirates and flydubai, which show a positive response to the tourism sector. Emirates is currently operating around 70 destinations across six continents and flydubai is set to widen its network to 66 during the summer period.
Improving market sentiment and impression of Dubai as one of the safest destinations in the world are the essential drivers for increasing the momentum of recovery. According to Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of Dubai Tourism commented that people are more optimistic and well informed and ready to go and enjoy holidays to destinations that are safe that have put robust protocols in health and safety.
According to the World Tourism Organization (UNTWO), COVID 19 Global Pandemic could cost the tourism sector a loss in revenue from between USD 1.2 to USD 3.3 trillion depending on the time taken for recovery.
One of the critical factors to the strategic recovery plan is to focus on domestic markets as this segment of the market has proven extremely important in terms of demand. Dedicated staycation offers ranging from room discounts, and F&B to family entertainment have helped drive the ongoing interest together with enhancing the customer experience by introducing new concepts for dining and other services.
Effective management of the pandemic by the Dubai government and a zero-tolerance approach in the management of health protocols have resulted in reducing infection numbers and rising recovery rates which enabled the city to be reopened on July 7th.
