Dubai Spending Millions on PR Campaign to Promote Tourism

Tourism officials hope to dispel negative perceptions of Dubai in a campaign that will show world travel’s opinion makers the emirate as it really is.

“Keep Discovering Dubai” will bring more than 2,000 travel industry professionals and media to Dubai from now until May.

The campaign would help change “current negative perceptions” of the emirate, a source at Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said.

The source was referring to illegal dumping of sewage on Dubai beaches and reports of an outbreak of legionnaire’s disease at a hotel, which were later disproved.

At stake is the emirate’s largest single revenue generator, worth Dh57 billion every year – 19 per cent of its economy.

Hoteliers and tour operators welcomed the move by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), in partnership with Emirates Airline.

“Bringing in people to see the emirate first-hand is going to make a huge difference,” said Kulwant Singh, the managing director of Lama Tours, one of the largest operators in Dubai.

“At a time when countries such as Malaysia and Singapore are at war with Dubai to snatch tourists from us, the DTCM is supporting the brand it has created and putting up a fight.”

The department will pay for familiarisation trips of three to four days to more than 1,000 of the travel agents and tour operators, and more than 300 members of the media, the source said.

“These two groups have been identified as our main target through which we will effectively influence potential travellers.”

The objective of the familiarisation trips is to provide travel agents and media with first-hand experience of desert safaris, restaurants and cultural attractions such as the Bastakiya neighbourhood near the Dubai Creek.

“It looks like a great initiative to educate the retail travel agents,” said Jeff Strachan, the area director of Marriott Hotels in the Middle East.

Since the start of the crisis, the leisure capital of the UAE has seen hotel occupancy rates and margins fall….SOURCE

Too bad they are too buy destroying actual culture like the Dhow harbor and Satwa.

Oil Slicks Threaten Fujairah: Meanwhile Red-Tide Continues on the East Coast

Three oil slicks in the Arabian Gulf are threatening to wash up on the shores of Fujairah, local fishermen say. They are concerned by an increase in the number of slicks since the start of the year after an apparent reduction in previous months.

The slicks, which threaten marine life and the coastline, are thought to be the result of illegal dumping by tankers.

“One thing’s for sure, whatever it was that allowed these slicks to happen is now back,” said Wayne de Jager, the owner of East Coast Fishing Charters, a small sport fishing company in Fujairah.

“It started getting bad again about a month ago. We’re discovering this oil all around us now. Literally, it’s all over the place and it’s getting worse.”

Mr de Jager said he and his crew saw three slicks over the weekend – 5km, 12km and 20km offshore. Some of the oil could wash up today or tomorrow, he and others said.

Andrey Malinin, 41, a Russian resident of Fujairah who regularly fishes in the area, said he and several friends saw a vessel dumping what appeared to be diesel fuel into the water at 8am on Saturday. “I was afraid to light my cigarette next to the boat, it was so bad,” he said. “There was a drainage point on the hull that was spewing the oil in the water.”

Fujairah, whose refuelling facilities accommodate nearly 200 tankers at any given time, has long been plagued by oil slicks.

Hoteliers in the emirate complain that business has been damaged by oil residue and diesel fuel that regularly blacken the beaches, while diving shops in the area have also been affected. Environmentalists have warned that petrochemicals are destroying delicate marine ecosystems.

Fishermen said they noticed an improvement since July, when Fujairah authorities, vowing to stop illegal dumping, began penalising boats. In September, after fishermen released photographs of a Saudi Arabian-managed vessel discharging fuel, the operator was fined several thousand dirhams…SOURCE

The Ministry of the Environment and Water has announced plans to tackle the “red tide” of algae devastating the waters off the coast of Fujairah. Part of the strategy is to help officials predict conditions likely to lead to new outbreaks and to react swiftly. But it does not expect an instant cure… The bloom has killed fish and coral, causing huge environmental damage as well as financial losses. Asmak, an aquaculture company with extensive facilities on the east coast, lost 600 tonnes of fish, Dr bin Fahad said. Diving operators and hotels are suffering financially as are desalination plants because of the costs of changing water-intake filters…SOURCE

Lootah says, Dubai Beaches are Clean

Dubai’s ‘beaches are clean’

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/02/02/10281264.html

02/02/2009 08:07 AM | By Ashfaq Ahmed, Chief Reporter

Dubai: Dubai’s beaches are clean and free of pollution, said chief of the civic authority Hussain Nasser Lootah, dispelling fresh reports that beaches are tainted with sewage water.

“Beach goers should not worry at all as Dubai beaches are absolutely safe for swimming and the issue of sewage dumping was resolved a month ago,” Lootah told reporters on Sunday.

He said the water samples from the beaches were tested recently and were cleared of any pollutants harmful for human health.

“We took very serious note of illegal dumping of sewage by some sewage tanker drivers in the storm drains opening in the sea. At least 208 sewage tankers were issued fines,” said Lootah, who has recently been appointed as Director General of the Dubai Municipality.

Travel Heads-Up For Desert Palm Resort,Dubai: It Stinks, Literally

Here is how the Desert Palm Resort describes itself:

Chic luxury emerges from a dramatic desert landscape.

Contrast. The vast sandscapes of the Arabian landscape versus the lush surrounds of green in an extensive polo property. The conventional opulence of Dubai luxury hotels versus signature Per Aquum chic subtly merged with the elegant forms of local architecture and design.

Set amidst green fields and palm trees, Desert Palm offers sensually designed accommodation – Arabia touched with the avant-garde…SOURCE

Well this is true, if avant-garde means the close proximity to Dubai’s smelliest spot.  The Al Aweer sewage plant sits in close proximity.  The National recently described the sewage plant this way:

Sewage tanker drivers admitted yesterday that some of them were dumping waste water illegally around Dubai to avoid queues of up to 18 hours at the city’s only treatment plant.

The problem of illegal dumping was highlighted at the weekend when the beach next to the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club was closed because of sewage contamination. Dubai Municipality warned bathers not to use the beach for health reasons and promised swift action against the offending sewage operators.

However, tanker drivers told The National the problem would continue until the capacity of Al Aweer treatment plant was raised.

“It’s a nightmare for us doing this job. No one can blame a driver for getting frustrated and dumping the waste illegally,” said Omar Khan, who had spent 10 hours at the plant yesterday queuing to discharge his load.

The treatment plant sees nearly 10,000 sewage tankers lining up to empty their waste each day. With just over 40 sewage discharge pumps, drivers say they have to wait between 10 to 18 hours to dispose of one load.

“The line is getting longer with each passing day,” said Ayaz Mohammed, another driver. “The stations operate 24 hours a day but it is still not sufficient to meet the demand of the city.”

The drivers collect sewage water from labour camps in Sonapur, Al Quoz, Jebel Ali, Al Rashidiya and also from other locations in the city.

Desperate to empty their tankers, the drivers sometimes try to overtake each other as they jockey for position in line. This can lead to street fights and even serious accidents.

“These big truck try to overtake each other and in the process hit each other and have often almost run over people,” said another driver. Traffic fines of Dh500 (US$136) to Dh1,000 have not stopped them recklessly racing up to the plant. “It’s a dangerous place to be at night as people just violate rules to get to the stations,” he said.

Drivers said that those queuing up at night often got so tired of waiting they simply disposed of the waste at the side of the road and left.

“In the night, many just open the taps and let the waste flow on the road or the parking areas. This is why there is a strong stench in this area all the time,” a driver said…SOURCE

Traveling through the area tonight, the stench was so bad (in a sealed, air-conditioned car with environmental filtering) that I nearly vomited.  Not ewww it smells, but the smell that signals totally losing your lunch.

God bless the owners of the resort.  I feel for them.  I have only one thing to offer our readers, caveat emptor.

Sphere: Related Content