Dubai and Egypt are exploring ways to take up joint marketing to promote two of the world's popular Arab tourism destinations in various countries, including China and Australia, it was announced during a meeting of senior tourism officials on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM-2012). A Protocol of Cooperation between Egypt and Dubai for the joint destination marketing and promotion is also on the cards. The Egyptian Tourism Minister, Mr. Mounir Fakhry Abdul Noor, called on Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) at the Dubai Stand in the ATM-2012. Both discussed issues of mutual interest and latest trends and development in the tourism industry in general and the Middle East and the UAE in particular. Mr. Abdul Noor has a word of praise for Dubai tourism's success story and its emergence on the world map as a leading business and leisure tourism destination. He said several destinations can benefit from its recipe of success and could be part of Dubai's continuing journey of success through exchange of expertise and mutual cooperation. Present during the meeting were Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, DTCM Executive Director of Business Development and Media Relations, Mr. Khalid bin Touq, DTCM Executive Director for Licensing and Classification, and Mr. Ibrahim Yaqoot, DTCM Executive Director for Corporate Support, among others. Both sides highlighted the historically strong relations between Egypt and the UAE in general and Dubai in particular and strongly agreed for enhancing bilateral relations and joint cooperation, especially in tourism domain. Speaking to the Media after the meeting, Mr. Abdul Noor said that he had extended invitation to Mr. Bin Sulayem to visit the Arab Republic of Egypt for a meeting in Sharm El Sheikh where the terms of agreement for joint destination marketing in places like China and Australia will be agreed upon. He said this agreement will be the first step in the enhancing the bilateral relations taking into account various factors, including the enhanced air-connectivity between Dubai and Egypt. The minister said the joint marketing will be beneficial to both the popular holiday hotspots as the tourists will be able to explore and experience the two equally appealing destinations given their rich history, varied tourist attractions, old world charm traditions and culture and modernity. The joint destination marketing initiative was first of the measures in works by the Egyptian government to tap the tourism growth potential from various countries and regions. The next meeting of the Egyptian and Dubai officials will identify the salient features of the joint cooperation in all areas and participation of the government and private sector tourism organizations as a way forward to implement the initiative. On the sidelines of the meeting, a cooperation agreement for the exchange of expertise and knowledge in the tourism domains between the two destinations will be signed. Mr. Abdul Noor expressed his admiration on Dubai's striking achievements and explosive growth levels in various economic sectors, more so in tourism and aviation, and how Dubai is a good reference point for tourism industry development. Mr. bin Sulayem welcomed the joint cooperation move and pointed out that Egypt and Dubai were not competitors but promoters of tourism industry. He said the joint destination promotion will enrich the tourism sector and both the destinations will benefit from each other by tapping their immense strengths and growth potentials. Mr. bin Sulayem said Egypt has been a popular tourist destination long before Dubai's emergence on the world tourism map and when both destinations join hands to utilize their strengths and advantages it will result in tremendous growth in the number of tourist arrivals to the region. Egypt is diversifying from its traditional tourism markets and wooing new source markets like BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as it tries to meet its target of $25bn in tourism revenue by 2017. There are already signs of improvement, with tourist arrivals increasing 32% in the first quarter of 2012, a big improvement considering the 2011 figures of 9.8 million. It is trying to bring the number of tourists this year to the 2010 levels of 14.7 million. Dubai had further consolidated its position on the world tourism map with its hotels and hotel apartments posting impressive all-round performance in hotel guest numbers, cruise passengers, revenues, guest nights and average length of stay. Dubai hosted an impressive 9.30 million hotel guests and cruise passengers and generated revenues of Dhs16bn last year. In the first quarter of 2012, the emirate achieved a 9% increase in guest numbers and 24% increase in revenues. In January 2012, Dubai was ranked number one on the STR Global's hotel occupancy list with 86.2% level, up from ninth place a year earlier, higher than in Tokyo, Paris or New York.
