As part of a marketing and promotional initiative to increase the number of overseas visitors to Dubai during the Holy Month of Ramadan, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has launched its inaugural “Dubai - Taste of Ramadan” travel campaign in the Japanese market. The DTCM initiative is a unique tourism campaign targeting Japanese leisure travellers to visit Dubai during the Holy Month and to experience first-hand the cultural attractions of Dubai during this special occasion.

A special brochure in Japanese, highlighting “Ramadan Tours”, provides visitors with a useful reference to the attractions of Dubai during Ramadan as well as details of the Holy Month. The brochure also features information about the sharing of Iftar dinners with local UAE populace, an overview of the special festivities planned at various heritage sites, the culinary delights of Iftar banquets at Dubai’s leading hotels, and a brief introduction of the “Ramadan Sales” shopping bargains offered by various retailers throughout the city.

Following a series of marketing initiatives and an official launch of the campaign by the DTCM Japan office in May earlier this year, the campaign has been warmly received by the Japanese travel industry with 10 major Japanese travel wholesalers and travel agents creating special “Ramadan Tours” in order to further promote the cultural attractions of Dubai to the Japanese.

The culturally themed tours are expected to prove popular especially among Japan’s senior leisure and young culture seeking women market segments who seek cross-cultural experiences with locals when choosing a potential holiday destination.

2007 is the inaugural launch of the campaign, which is expected to grow in scale every following year.

Last year, the number of Japanese visitors to Dubai saw an increase of over 37%. This year the increase is expected to continue as a higher number of Japanese arrived in the first six months, resulting in another 37% increase in visitors compared to the same period in 2006.
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