The President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Mr. Jean-Claude Baumgarten, has met the Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, at the…
The President of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Mr. Jean-Claude Baumgarten, has met the Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, at the Dubai Stand in Arabian Travel Market (ATM-2007) and reviewed the global tourism industry developments in general and Dubai in particular.
Present on the occasion were Mr. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Executive Vice President Commercial Operations, Emirates Airlines, and Mr. Ufi Ibrahim, WTTC Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. bin Sulayem briefed Mr. Jean about various projects taking shape in the UAE in general and Dubai in particular and DTCM initiatives to promote the emirate in various source markets. He also informed him about the working of the network of 15 overseas offices of the DTCM.
He said the Dubai tourism industry has been developed at a phenomenal pace to match the demands and it hosted an all-time record 6.5 million hotel guests in 2006, recording revenues of over AED11 billion.
The WTTC official praised the development of Dubai as a global tourism destination and various ambitious projects that are taking shape and planned for the future. He was impressed with the pace of growth of the tourism industry in the emirate.
He extended an invitation to Mr. bin Sulayem to attend the 7th Global Travel and Tourism Summit the WTTC is hosting in Lisbon (Portugal) from May 10 to 12.
The World travel and tourism is expected to generate over US$7 trillion in 2007, rising to more than US$13 trillion in the next decade, according to the WTTC’s Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) research, released at ITB Berlin.
The results show strong performance for travel and tourism demand in 2007, growing at a rate of 3.9 per cent.
The forecast points to mature but steady growth for the industry in the short and medium term, averaging 4.3 per cent per annum, between 2008 and 2017.
The WTTC has, in its long-term forecast for the UAE travel and tourism sector potentials, said that earnings from inbound visitors would grow by 7.2 per cent annually till 2015.
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