The tourism board is aiming to make Dubai one of the best cities in the world to live in and visit by 2033. Dubai is renowned as a destination for lavish shopping, out-of-this-world hotels and adrenaline-pumping activities like diving into the world's deepest pool or tiptoeing along the edge walk of a 219-metre-high skyscraper. But the city’s tourism authorities want to emphasise that not every trip there has to come with a hefty price tag.
Their latest tourism campaign is focusing on dispelling “misconceptions” about the destination with a view to boosting visitor numbers in 2025. It includes demonstrating that Dubai isn’t just for wealthy travellers and promoting it as a year-round holiday spot. Dubai welcomed 13.
29 million global visitors between January and September this year, a seven per cent increase on the same period in 2023. Hoor Al Khaja, senior vice president of international operations at the Department of Economy and Tourism, said the new tourism strategy hopes to further grow tourist numbers next year. “There are misconceptions about Dubai and the region as a whole,” Al Khaja said.
“We have a saying which goes, ‘If you go, you know’. Once people visit Dubai, they realise the misconceptions were not factual perceptions. We are working hard to educate the public and the trade about that.
” Al Khaja, whose target is to make Dubai one of the best cities in the world to live in and visit by 2033, said one key misconception about the destination is.