DUBAI
The travel and tourism industry in Dubai sees Dubai Pass — a new tourism initiative launched by the emirate’s tourism body on Monday — as a promising move.
“With affordability taking the front seat the pass not only offers incentives for families, but also gives schools the opportunity to organise student friendly trips to the city,” Ajay Nair, consultant at ITL Travels, told Gulf News on Tuesday.
Available to both residents and tourists, the pricing for the prepaid pass starts at Dh389, allowing access to 33 attractions across the city.
“The pass is meant to complement the rich offering of the city. We are working with top attractions to deliver a value enriched experience for visitors” said Ahmad Al Khaja, CEO, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishments (DFRE). The pass, which was designed on popular demand following a market feedback, aims at increasing international visitation to attain the goal of 20 million visitors by 2020.
“The pass will support different markets and will ensure that visitors have all the knowledge they require about the leisure attractions in Dubai in advance,” he added.
Economical pricing combined with value offerings would allow customers to streamline their travel plans quite conveniently, say industry experts.
“It would be quite experiential for customers to get access and assurance of a product before they arrive at a destination. Such an offering would also be beneficial to transit passengers who would then be able to enjoy attractions even with only a few hours to spare,” said Kulwant Singh, Managing Director, Lama Group.
Echoing his views is Mike Lees, regional director at Big Bus Tours. “Since a lot of customers prefer pre-departure bookings, the pass provides great value for business while keeping in mind purchasing patterns,” he pointed out.
The passes can be purchased online or at select sales desks across Dubai. “The online booking facility is not only convenient but also provides visitors adequate transparency to plan their vacations in advance,” said at ITL Travels’ Nair.
Cruise industry, too, is keen to ride on the boom. It’s an initiative that cruise tourism segment would be keen to be a part of, says Lakshmi Durai, CEO of CruiseXplore. “When people come on a [cruise] tour, they hardly have a day or two to see the attractions. A pass will allow them to streamline what they have to see at an economic rate, allowing them to use their limited time effectively,” she said.
DFRE’s Al Khaja says the pass will eventually include more attractions and discounts while delivering on its promise to boost tourism.
Lisa Jacob is an intern at Gulf News.
