Proactive approach to capture markets

The German leisure market has been proven to be the most lucrative in the tourism sector. As pioneers of tourism, tourists from the German market have evolved over the years but their basic requirements when on holiday remain intact. Industry experts share their opinions with TravTalk.

TT BUREAU

Olwin Desouza, General Manager, Ghaya Grand Hotel
Figures show that the average length of stay of leisure visitors from the German market in Dubai is above 10 days. This offers considerable potential and fits well with other corporate and short stay business that we enjoy at the Ghaya Grand Hotel Dubai. DMCs have reported strong growth in meetings and events from Germany, as well as leisure travel. The staging of ITB Berlin will enable us to get across the message that our hotel enjoys an excellent location in new Dubai, close to shopping malls, golf courses, beaches and other landmarks. At this year’s event, we will portray that for long-stay guests, this will offer a cost-effective alternative to full-service hotel rooms, without forsaking all amenities of a five-star property. ITB is a chance to understand business trends and give us an insight of 2018-19 expectations. We will continue to renew contracts with our existing suppliers and enter new partnerships.

Shahzad Butt, General Manager, Coral Dubai Al Barsha Hotel
ITB Berlin gives us the ideal opportunity to further enhance our relationship with key partners and establish ourselves in new markets. For many years, the German market has proved consistent for our hotel. However, due to the ever-increasing number of properties available in the marketplace, it’s vital that we maintain our presence. The hotel’s location is one of its key strengths, as it’s centrally situated and very close to Mall of the Emirates. Although we’re not exhibiting, we look forward to learning about the latest news from the international tourism industry, as well as meeting our fellow professionals and promoting our five-star luxury property. We’re confident that our presence at the event will boost the productivity of our future endeavours.

Samir Arora General Manager, The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel
Discussing new business opportunities and meeting potential business partners during the upcoming exhibition will be our top priority. Germany is one of the top feeder markets for not only UAE but for us too. Having such a unique wellness concept is allowing us to target both the key German tour operators and niche wellness travel agents. This is our first ITB Berlin after the official opening of The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel. Our goal is to create awareness about our holistic well being concept and expand wider into key international markets.

Thameem Razick, Director of Sales & Marketing, Rose Hotels & Hotel Apartments
Being involved in an exhibition like this helps us build new opportunities, gain more guests and open up new markets. The German market with our property is quite nominal because Rose Park Hotel is a new property in the market and this exhibition will be an edge to maximise this market share. Meeting new groups of people, involving business-to-business, exchanging knowledge and opportunities will be out main approach to the event as our presence is more important than the result. Expectations will remain high but we understand the ground reality that Rose Park Hotel is brand new in the market and will take some time to get the desired results.