DTCM unveils new brand for Dubai at ATM 2014

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is leaving no stone unturned to achieve the target of attracting 20 million annual visitors by 2020 (Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020), leading the emirate’s tourism authority to set a new ambition to become the world’s most visited city. In line with the tourism target, DTCM has launched a brand—’Dubai’—for the emirate, which was unveiled at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2014, which was held early this month in Dubai.

HE Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, DTCM, said, “Previously we didn’t have a brand for Dubai. Dubai has reached a level of maturity and many projects have been completed in the emirate. Collating marketing efforts was required and it was also important for all our stakeholders internally to speak around one word. Dubai is known as a place with innovation and wonderful experiences. Keeping all these aspects in mind, it was required to come up with a brand. The new brand is simple; just one word, ‘Dubai’. We didn’t want a slogan. When we surveyed tourists around the world, each one had different reasons to come to Dubai. So the focus was on Dubai and how remarkable it is. The best way to do this was to come up with one word and see how cultures merged. The logo is a good merge of Arabic and English scripts, making it easy to read and understand.”

In 2013, Dubai recorded 11 million hotel guests, a 10.6 per cent year-on-year rise. Almarri stated, “Soon after HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the Tourism Vision for 2020 at last year’s ATM, the UAE won the bid to host World Expo 2020 in Dubai. The first phase of our second international airport has opened at Dubai World Central and a substantial number of hotels, attractions and events have either opened, taken place or been announced. In addition to the UAE federal pre-entry visa regulations on European Union member states being lifted, major legislative changes have been made, which will directly and positively impact the tourism sector and enable us to attract more business and leisure travellers.”