A Dubai Tourism delegation led by Issam AbdulRahim Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing participated in ITB Asia last week. The teams attendance facilitated business between Dubai suppliers and buyers in Asia through a series of trade and media meetings with key industry decision makers. The exhibition was also an opportunity to further increase awareness of the destination to buyers and media in Asia, promote Dubais family destination credentials and contract travel business for the year ahead.

Issam AbdulRahim Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing said, Our attendance at events such as ITB Asia is incredibly important, holding face-to-face meetings with decision makers in the market is truly valuable in order to cultivate stronger working relationships. On top of this, it gives us the opportunity to really highlight all that Dubai as a destination has to offer and the enhancements that have been made and will come online over the next year across events, attractions, experience and hotels.

Dubai Tourisms participation in the show highlighted Dubais family offering and the range of attractions and activities that appeal to visitors of all ages with a variety of interests - adventure, the beach, sports, culture and heritage, the arts, shopping, events and gastronomy.

Aside from popular attractions such as two of the worlds top waterparks, Aquaventure and Wild Wadi, desert driving and Dubais indoor ski slope Ski Dubai; Dubai Tourism also showcased recently opened family-friendly attractions including At The Top, Burj Khalifa SKY, the worlds highest observation deck offering visitors a chance to enjoy extraordinary 360 views of the city; The Beach at JBR, a beach front promenade, features a range of boutique shops and restaurants; the iPILOT flight simulator, and indoor trampoline parks Bounce and Jump Boxx.

There are also plenty of attractions due to open in Q4 2014 and throughout 2015 which visitors to the stand got the chance to learn about, from adventure parks Wire World and the Dubai Safari Project to cultural spots including Hatta Village Inn and Market Project, Deira Fish Market and Quran Park for visitors looking to get to the heart of Dubai. Arts and design enthusiasts were able to discover more about the upcoming opening of Dubai Design District, also known as d3, which is a purpose-built community dedicated to promoting and nurturing emerging local talent while also providing a creative home to established international design, luxury and fashion brands.

Our figures show that the Far East is a key market for us in 2013, 5.4 million passengers passed through Dubai Airport travelling between Dubai and the Far East; and Dubai welcomed 311,000 hotel guests from these countries. These numbers are expected to increase in 2014 as for the figures for the first part of the year show that we have already received 156,412 hotel guests from the Far East. Our participation in events such as ITB Asia shows our continued dedication to further growing our business partnerships in these markets, said Issam AbdulRahim Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

ITB Asia, the annual three-day B2B trade show and convention, was held from 29 31 October 2014 at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, Singapore. The event was attended by top international buyers from the MICE, leisure and corporate travel markets.

Dubai Tourism industry participants included Gulf Circle Tours, Discovery Travel and Tourism, White Sands Tours & Travel, Palazzo Versace, Orient Tours, Akkad Tours, Hilton Dubai Creek, Cassells Al Barsha Hotel, Dubai Business Events, Crowne Plaza Dubai, Damac Hotels Management, Sofitel The Palm, Dubai, VIDA Hotels & Resorts LLC and JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai