As part of a marketing and promotional initiative to increase the number of overseas visitors to Dubai during the Holy Month of Ramadan, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has…
As part of a marketing and promotional initiative to increase the number of overseas visitors to Dubai during the Holy Month of Ramadan, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has launched its inaugural “Dubai – Taste of Ramadan” travel campaign in the Japanese market.
The DTCM initiative is a tourism campaign targeting Japanese leisure travellers to visit Dubai during the Holy Month and to experience first-hand the cultural attractions of Dubai during this special occasion.
The programme itself is regarded as a world first for a tourism office to conduct such a campaign highlighting the attractions of Ramadan to a non-Muslim overseas market. A special brochure in Japanese language, highlighting “Ramadan Tours”, provides visitors with a useful and reference to the attractions of Dubai during Ramadan as well as details of the Holy Month.
The brochure also features information about the sharing of Iftar dinners with local UAE populace, an overview of the special festivities planned at various heritage sites, the culinary delights of Iftar banquets at Dubai’s hotels, and a brief introduction of the “Ramadan Sales” shopping bargains offered by various retailers throughout the city.
Following a series of marketing initiatives and an official launch of the campaign by the DTCM Japan office in May earlier this year, the campaign has been warmly received by the Japanese travel industry with 10 major Japanese travel wholesalers and travel agents creating special “Ramadan Tours” in order to further promote the cultural attractions of Dubai to the Japanese.
According to DTCM`s estimations, through this programme an increasing number of Japanese and UAE residents will be able to create a meaningful and long lasting basis for greater mutual understanding between the two peoples at the grass-roots level.
The culturally themed tours are expected to prove popular especially among Japan’s senior leisure and young culture seeking women market segments who seek cross-cultural experiences with locals when choosing a potential holiday destination.
There is a great underlining interest among the Japanese regarding Arab and Islamic culture, however due to distance and language differences many Japanese were not aware of Dubai’s cultural attractions. The “Dubai – Taste of Ramadan” campaign will provide the vehicle to both simultaneously promote the local cultural richness of Dubai and the special attractions of Ramadan as a unique and special time of year for the Japanese to visit Dubai.
2007 is the inaugural launch of the campaign, which is expected to grow in scale every following year.
Last year, the number of Japanese visitors to Dubai saw an increase of over 37 per cent. This year too the increase is expected to continue as a higher number of Japanese arrived in the first six months, resulting in another 37 per cent increase in visitors compared to the same period in 2006.
The success of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing’s (DTCM) activities in the Japanese market was recently recognised and acknowledged by the Japanese tourism industry, with DTCM being awarded the prestigious “Best Tourism Office” award by the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA). It is only the second time JATA has presented such an award.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
