Dubai emerges as top global summer destination with over 20m video views
Two-month long campaign effectively captures emirate’s diverse attractions, experiences
DUBAI: Following two months of showcasing Dubai’s distinctive summer offerings, the latest phase of the #DubaiDestinations campaign wrapped up on Sunday after achieving extensive audience engagement and participation.
Launched under the directives of Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Media Council, the year-round campaign highlights the exceptional activities and experiences that make Dubai a one-of-a-kind destination across all seasons. The vibrant finale of the collaborative campaign, implemented by Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), utilised the power of storytelling to enhance the city’s profile as a top global summer destination.
Shaima Al Suwaidi, Director of Brand Dubai, said: “The summer phase of the 2024 #DubaiDestinations campaign brilliantly captured the essence of Dubai’s diverse and exciting experiences, further cementing its status as a leading global destination. This year’s campaign achieved impressive engagement from both local and global audiences, with captivating content shared across various platforms that inspired millions to discover Dubai’s diverse summer destination offerings.
"The overwhelming response, with tremendous public engagement and more than 20 million video views across social media platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and X, underscores the campaign’s success in showcasing Dubai’s multifaceted appeal. More than 3,000 pieces of content were also shared across digital channels, reflecting the campaign’s widespread impact.”
Interactive storytelling
Featuring interactive storytelling and visually engaging content, this phase of the campaign highlighted beach destinations, waterparks, indoor activities, and hotel pools, showcasing the city’s wide array of attractions that appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Some of the emirate’s most accomplished creatives, including influencers, photographers, digital media content creators, animators and videographers, came together to create compelling content across traditional and new media, raising the visibility of the city’s major attractions and recreational destinations while capturing Dubai’s distinctive summer vibe. The campaign was rolled out over digital, broadcast, print and outdoor media to ensure it reached large sections of local and international audiences.
Al Suwaidi expressed her heartfelt gratitude for the exceptional partnership between Brand Dubai and all the young and talented creatives. She acknowledged their efforts in showcasing Dubai as an ideal summer destination. The campaign offered a rich variety of content, all designed to capture the essence of Dubai’s unique summer experience and create lasting memories for families of all ages.
The content creators that contributed to the campaign expressed their happiness in showcasing the city’s diverse tourism, entertainment, and family destinations. They highlighted that Dubai continually sparks creativity and artistic expression and expressed pride in producing content that further raises Dubai’s profile as the world’s best city to live, work and visit.
Interactive guides
Throughout the campaign, Brand Dubai issued four interactive bilingual guides designed to help people discover many attractions and hidden gems in the emirate. These guides showcased a variety of exciting summer and weekend experiences, including seaside dining, top-rated summer camps for children, thrilling water adventures, indoor sports activities, staycations, and popular indoor venues, among others.
Furthermore, the campaign prominently shed light on unique homegrown businesses from the ‘Proudly from Dubai’ network, an initiative launched by Brand Dubai to highlight the success stories of businesses born and initiated in Dubai. A guide titled ‘Dubai’s Summer Essentials’ spotlighted diverse homegrown businesses offering an array of summer essentials including refreshing F&B options for gatherings and light summer clothing lines.
Dubai’s growing popularity as a destination is evidenced by the record number of visitors the emirate received in the first half of the year. The city welcomed 9.31 million international overnight visitors from January to June 2024, a nine per cent increase over the 8.55 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2023. Dubai was named the No.1 global destination for an unprecedented third successive year in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards in January this year, making it the first city to achieve this accolade.
The first half of the year also saw Dubai named the Middle East’s leading destination by the World Travel Awards.