Mr. Khalid A. Bin Sulayem, Director General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) today opened GCC Tourism workshop which was attended by 224 decision makers of tourism sector of the region and representatives of media as well as 38 co-participants.

The workshop is organized in Dubai for the first time for providing an opportunity to the major tour operators in the GCC to interact with their counterparts in each others’ country and share their experiences and extend cooperation to boost their businesses as well as help DTCM in its efforts to promote tourism.

Mr. Bin Sulayem, on this occasion said holding this workshop in Dubai shows our priorities and importance of GCC market. “GCC market enjoys high priority in our strategic plan”.  The increasing numbers of visitors from this market to Dubai especially during events like Dubai Shopping Festival and Summer Surprises reflect the importance of the market and the destination for each other, he added.

This workshop would provide an opportunity to the tour operators of the GCC market to know the latest developments, improvements in the facilities and infrastructure and current attractions of Dubai besides having some insights into the upcoming events and attractions, he said.

Mr. Bin Sulayem said that DTCM has two representative offices in Saudi Arabia that reflects how much importance we give to this region. Saudi Arabia is on the top of GCC and Arab countries regarding the number of visitors to Dubai as 1,284,226 tourists visited Dubai last year showing an increase of 16% over the previous year.

Talking about the potential and importance of this event, Director General of DTCM said that 70 Chief Executive Officers and top officials with contract signing authority are attending the workshop and they can sign accords with their counterparts in Dubai for the mutual benefits of their businesses. “We have 40 co-participants including tour operators, hotel and hotel apartments, rent a car, Ski Dubai, Shopping Festival, Summer Surprises offices, emirates hotel and resorts who are keen to expand or cooperate with their counter parts in GCC market.”

Mr. Khalid bin Sulayem said the main reason to hold this workshop in Dubai is that during the previous workshops which were held in GCC countries, all the intending co-participants were not accommodated due to their increasing number. “This time we organized the workshop here in Dubai so that everyone could have a chance to participate and meet their counterparts from the GCC region”, he added.

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PHOTO CAPTION: DG DTCM OPENS WORKSHO; SPEAKERS OF GCC TOURISM WORKSHOP; DG VISITS WORKSHOP STALLS; DG TALKS TO MEDIAMEN; GCC TOURISM WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS IN OPENING CEREMONY