30/07/10, 05:49:28 EDT

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Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing hosts Natailie Tours Congress

dubaicityguide.com

For the third consecutive year, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), in cooperation with Alpha Tours, hosted the annual Natalie Tours Congress, the biggest tour operators in Russian market who are also responsible for attracting the most number of tourists to the UAE.

Being held at the Grand Hyatt hotel, the three-day gathering attracted 220 top travel professionals from the network of Natalie Tours. Details about the Congress were announced on its opening day by the DTCM Executive Director Media Relations Division, Mr Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, Mr. Ghassan Al Aridi, CEO of Alpha Tours and Ms. Natalia Vorobieva, Director General of Natalie Tours.

Mr. Eyad said the emirate has been attracting greater attention in the Russian and CIS markets as a destination of choice for business and leisure.

The DTCM, which operates a representation office in Moscow for the Russian, CIS and Baltic regions, has been actively participating in different Russian tourism exhibitions, including the just-concluded Leisure-2007 for the past 10 years. It also conducts regular sponsored familiarisation trips for the Russian media representatives and tour operators.

The support for the Natalie Tours Congress, he said, was part of the promotional and marketing initiatives of the Department with the aim of attracting more visitors to Dubai as its tourism product gets expanded.

Over 422,000 Russians stayed with the Dubai hotel establishments in the year 2006 while a 15 per cent increase in the number of Russians using the Dubai International Airport was recorded. For the 2006/2007 season, as many as 983 tour operators are featuring Dubai in their programmes, 18 per cent more than the previous season.

Mr. Ghassan Al Aridi said the DTCM support to the conference for the third time speaks volumes about Dubai ?s commitment to the Russian market and its keenness to build long-lasting relations with the tourism and travel industry and its decision-makers.

He said the holding of the Congress by Natalie with the top travel agents of its network also affirms their growing interest in Dubai as a year-round business and leisure destination.

There will be a substantial increase in the Russian visitors to Dubai as an outcome of this Congress.

Aridi said the number of Russian tourists who visited Dubai through Natalie tours increased from 32,000 in 2005 to 45,000 in 2006 and by 2010 the number will touch 100,000 representing 30% of the total Russian tourists coming to UAE.

Ms. Natalia Vorobieva said more than 220 top travel agents out of a network of 7,000 travel agents in Russia were hand-picked for the Congress in addition to the tours reservations staff of her Moscow-based company.

She said Russians consider Dubai a safest destination and one of the best places to visit throughout the year. The Congress will allow the delegates to explore Dubai ?s strengths and attractions and experience first-hand all its world-class facilities.

This Congress will also facilitate their networking with industry professionals in the UAE in general and Dubai in particular. The delegates will be taken on a tour of the various attractions in the emirate, including hotels and new projects that are fast changing the Dubai skyline.

 Printable Version  | published Oct 09, 2007