Dubai: Dubai is turning on the heat… literally. With its three-month long ‘Summer is Dubai’ retail and hospitality season opening this Friday (June 7), the promoters are looking to pull in a much wider audience than has been the case with earlier editions.
Apart from the core visitor base from the other Gulf markets, a constant factor in seasonal campaigns of the past, the Dubai Festivals & Retail Est. (DFRE) is reaching out to potential visitor inflows from China and India. And it will have the full backing of the Department and Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in this particular outreach programme.
Summer in Dubai will run from June 7 to September 7.
“Due to the proximity of GCC countries, GCC families will always be our main target for the summer season,” said Laila Mohammad Suhail, CEO of Dubai Festival & Retail Es (DFRE). “On the other hand, working under the umbrella of DTCM will surely leverage our expansion across various countries of the Gulf, Asia and Europe [and] helping us reach a wider audience and new markets. This will definitely help us in supporting Dubai’s 2020 vision to double visitor numbers to 20 million.”
For Dubai’s retail sector — currently on one of its golden runs having not experienced a slowdown since the third quarter of 2011 — the upcoming summer campaign should maintain the momentum. DFRE, in fact, is angling for a repeat of 2012.
“In DSS 2011 we had around 3.9 million visitors, and those visitors spent around Dh8.8 billion,” Suhail said. “Though we haven’t announced DSS 2012 stats as yet (it will be this week), we are looking at maintaining the same momentum in DSS 2013.”
As has been the case with any retail-heavy campaign showcasing the city, local malls are pulling their weight once again. The Dubai Shopping Malls Group will have Dh5 million worth of prizes in the form of vouchers, gold and cash deals and eight BMW cars. “Over the years, DSS has positioned itself as the most influential summer spectacle; this has helped energise the retail sector driving impressive footfall and revenue generation,” said Majid Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Shopping Malls Group. “Moreover, our campaigns are a strong draw for visitors, which stimulates the retail sector and enhancing the position of Dubai as a retail hub.”
The promoters have also factored in the changes to consumer habits that Ramadan will bring about during this year’s summer campaign. The heavy retail blitz will coincide with the Eid festivities and the traditional spurt in local retail spending that accompanies the start of a new season in September.
“The key phases include Dubai Summer Surprises and Modhesh World; the next is Ramadan and Eid in Dubai followed by an End of Season (which replaces the back to school theme),” Suhail added. “These key phases of Dubai’s summer will blend seamlessly to promote Dubai’s uniqueness as a family destination.”
The message has been broadcast loud and clear for some two months now. While the campaign aimed at a regional audience broke in May, that for the international markets has been running since April. “Our studies show most international tourists plan their summer holidays two months earlier, while regional tourists start planning their holiday one month earlier... hence the timing of the announcement in May,” Suhail said.
The hard yards have been run in getting the word out and all that remains to be done is to bring on the summer,
