Jeroen Elmendorp, General Manager, Ritz-Carlton, Dubai.
Video content disruptor to unite tourism sector providers in 175 global destinations. New platform taps into global tourism recovery by enabling users to book direct, with providers bypassing commission-based aggregators.
DUBAI, UAE – Welcome To The World (welcometotheworld.com), a new, online global travel and tourism initiative which promotes direct bookings by bypassing commission-driven aggregators, has launched in Dubai.
The video content platform, which aims to showcase the most popular and recommended hotels, restaurants, attractions and experiences of 175 global tourism hotspots, is set to disrupt travel and leisure booking norms by giving buyers the opportunity to book directly and support local businesses.
“This is an initiative borne out of the need to spur global travel and tourism resilience in the wake of the near critical industry slow-down caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” explained Stefanie Schachtschabel, Founder & Managing Partner of Globally, who has pioneered Welcometotheworld.com.
“Welcometotheworld.com provides travel and tourism buyers with a purchasing alternative that enables and empowers them to support local businesses via the platform’s book direct functionality. The platform will create more value for tourism sector stakeholders by eliminating over-reliance on commission-heavy online travel agencies and accommodation aggregators.”
Via the platform, travel and tourism operators can create online merchant profiles via a free-of-charge option or a fixed yearly fee which leverages the content revitalisation features of Welcometotheworld.com. Individual users create complimentary personal accounts to unlock welcoming benefits.
“Merchants can opt to pay a fee as part of an integrated Marketing as a Service package, which we believe will be a huge net saving on commission charges incurred on other booking aggregator sites. We are ready to work with operators of all sizes to curate and create video content that populates their profiles and drives revenue,” explained Schachtschabel.
The platform’s compelling video content proposition – a mix of repurposed brand-owned material and dedicated new video created by Welcometotheworld.com – gives users a comprehensive overview of each destination’s best options in six segmented categories – Sleep, Eat, Do, Discover, Socialise and Shop – and allows them to click-through and book direct at merchant-owned booking portals.
Schachtschabel says Dubai was chosen for the Welcometotheworld.com launch as the platform’s disruptive nature clearly aligned with the emirate’s acknowledged reputation of being ahead of the curve on tourism promotion and resurgence.
“Dubai has a strong reputation of tourism invention and reinvention in close public-private sector collaboration which ideally fits with the ethos of Welcometotheworld.com,” said Schachtschabel. “Travel and tourism, as the world’s biggest employer, deserves the support of all who rely on it for a living and all who benefit from its ability to deliver huge wellbeing benefits.”
Welcometotheworld.com has already won support from various hotel groups globally, which see the platform as a reboot mechanism for the marketing efforts across the hospitality sector.
“We were quick to seize the opportunity of supporting the Welcometotheworld.com initiative, which will serve as a new benchmark in global tourism recovery,” said Jeroen Elmendorp, General Manager, Ritz-Carlton, Dubai.
Welcometotheworld.com merchants will also benefit from crucial customer data insights, with the platform able to deliver better decision-making on future product and offerings refinement.
“While we are breaking the mould on booking norms, we are enhancing opportunities for suppliers and buyers alike. In this climate, that’s got to be good news as we look to revitalise the sectors following the seismic impact of the pandemic,” added Schachtschabel.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
