Dubai
Gerald Lawless, the president and CEO of Jumeirah Group, said he is looking to attract more UAE nationals into careers in tourism.
“There is a need to attract Emiratis to the hospitality profession and this should be done through vocational training and by spreading awareness about the opportunities in these sectors,” he said.
The number of opportunities available to citizens is growing faster than in other related professions, such as human resources, and offers good benefits, he said.
He also highlighted the recent boom in the tourism sector in Dubai and attributed the success to a world-class infrastructure of advanced road and metro network, as well as airlines and easy visa facilities that attracted a large number of tourists to Dubai.
His comments came during the CEO Dialogue on ‘Dubai’s Tourism Industry: Achievements, Strengths and Future Growth Prospects’, organised by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) yesterday.
Moreover, he added that the establishment of international theme parks will sustain tourist interest and help attract more visitors from all over the world to the emirate.
Hamad Buamim, Director General of DCCI, anticipated Dubai’s visitor numbers to reach 15 million by the year 2015. Hotel room capacity in the emirate is likely to increase to more than 100,000 by 2015.
“Tourism industry is one of the leading drivers of Dubai’s economic growth and despite being buoyant and competitive, there are numerous opportunities for additional investment, especially given future growth forecasts for this important sector,” he said.
He added that Dubai is working non-stop to attract more travellers to the emirate by expanding its network of plush international hotels as well as continuing with the development of new infrastructural and themed projects targeting a wide section of global tourists.
Dubai has received 10 million tourists during 2012 achieving 9.3 per cent growth, compared to the same period in 2011.
Alan Leibman, Chief Executive Officer, Kerzner International, said that Dubai’s strong public-private sector partnership is behind the success of the tourism sector which has reflected positively on the emirate’s other important sectors like logistics and infrastructure.
