14/05: Middle East tourism forum for people with special needs to highlight development
Category: General
Posted by: Richard Thompson
The Third International Tourism Development Forum for People with Special Needs in the Middle East will once again highlight the need for developing infrastructure to support tourism for special needs people in the region.
Addressing a press conference to announce the annual event today organisers said that the Forum, to be inaugurated at the hands of His Highness Shaikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines and Group, will feature international experts in the field of tourism, hospitality and travel for special needs people.
The Forum lays emphasis on enhancing the position of the Middle East in general and of UAE in particular as a major destination for special needs tourists, organisers Dr. Abed Alrahim CEO Media Hub Int., said:
'The Forum seeks to achieve these objectives by developing the infrastructure, enhancing the quality of services required by individuals with special needs and by developing the logistics and regulations that serve the immediate and future needs of disabled individuals.'
The Forum calls upon the travel and tourism sector in the region to acknowledge the economic and humanitarian significance of tourism for people with special needs; and urges governments as well as key market players in the private sector to join hands as strategic partners in planning the future of this segment of tourism in the Middle East.
Describing the forum as a promising chance and qualitative addition for developing tourism in the region, the tourism and travelling sectors can add billions of dollars annually to their revenues by just providing basic facilities for people with special needs.
There are over 30 million special needs people in the Arab World alone. Considering that special needs tourists need travelling companions more often than not, and that they need to spend more than an average tourist, it is estimated that this segment is worth US$ 3 billion annually
The opportunities for regional tourism are not limited to disabled people just in the region, there are almost 700 million special needs people worldwide. There are approximately 55 million special needs people in the US and well over 40 million in Europe. According to 2002 statistics, disabled citizens in the US spent $13.6 billion in around 31.7 million trips, generating over 100,000 jobs in hospitality, and tourism and travel industry. With the flow of tourists to the UAE from the West on the rise, the Emirate's tourism industry and allied service sectors stand to benefit immensely by catering to the special needs tourists.
The issue has acquired greater significance for the region in general and the UAE in particular with huge investments being directed into the tourism sector. Dubai is preparing to accommodate more than 15 million tourists by the year 2010, a goal for the accomplishment of which the emirate has already launched numerous gigantic projects with budgets exceeding Dh800 billion in all.
The efforts are already being made in the UAE to attract special needs tourists. Consistent with the country's great interest in the tourism sector, revenues from which are expected to increase to US $ 46 billion by 2015, the UAE, according to the World Tourism and Travel report, is also proactive in highlighting the humane face of the tourism industry through translating the principle of "tourism for all". That as a result of this, the UAE is focusing its attention at becoming the region's most preferred tourist destination for people with special needs. It will achieve this feat by creating the necessary facilities for this special segment of the society.
'Efforts are on across the seven Emirates of the country to provide better services to tourists with special needs and attract more tourists from this segment. A big chunk of these efforts are connected with hospitality industry with investments in hotel properties exceeding Dh60 billion."
The new investments are at the heart of the country's drive to boost tourism, mainly by expanding the existing hotel capacity by another 90 thousand rooms by the end of the year 2010. Almost 50 thousand of these will be in Dubai, 18 thousand in Abu Dhabi, and 10 thousand each in Sharjah and Fujairah. A large number of hotels projects are also under study in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.
Dubai is developing infrastructure for tourists with special needs to strengthen the city's image as a friendly destination for this segment of tourists. As part of this plan the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai has made it mandatory for five-star hotels, more than 42 of the total 306 hotels operating in the Emirate, to customise about 2 per cent of their rooms for people with special needs.
Based on the projects that have been disclosed until today, airports in the region will be able to accommodate an additional 300 million passengers by the year 2020, and more than 200 new hotels will be built to add 100,000 rooms to what is available now. The number of visitors to the region is expected to increase to nearly 150 million, thus increasing the number of flights and aircraft fleets by 150% until the year 2025.
Addressing a press conference to announce the annual event today organisers said that the Forum, to be inaugurated at the hands of His Highness Shaikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines and Group, will feature international experts in the field of tourism, hospitality and travel for special needs people.
The Forum lays emphasis on enhancing the position of the Middle East in general and of UAE in particular as a major destination for special needs tourists, organisers Dr. Abed Alrahim CEO Media Hub Int., said:
'The Forum seeks to achieve these objectives by developing the infrastructure, enhancing the quality of services required by individuals with special needs and by developing the logistics and regulations that serve the immediate and future needs of disabled individuals.'
The Forum calls upon the travel and tourism sector in the region to acknowledge the economic and humanitarian significance of tourism for people with special needs; and urges governments as well as key market players in the private sector to join hands as strategic partners in planning the future of this segment of tourism in the Middle East.
Describing the forum as a promising chance and qualitative addition for developing tourism in the region, the tourism and travelling sectors can add billions of dollars annually to their revenues by just providing basic facilities for people with special needs.
There are over 30 million special needs people in the Arab World alone. Considering that special needs tourists need travelling companions more often than not, and that they need to spend more than an average tourist, it is estimated that this segment is worth US$ 3 billion annually
The opportunities for regional tourism are not limited to disabled people just in the region, there are almost 700 million special needs people worldwide. There are approximately 55 million special needs people in the US and well over 40 million in Europe. According to 2002 statistics, disabled citizens in the US spent $13.6 billion in around 31.7 million trips, generating over 100,000 jobs in hospitality, and tourism and travel industry. With the flow of tourists to the UAE from the West on the rise, the Emirate's tourism industry and allied service sectors stand to benefit immensely by catering to the special needs tourists.
The issue has acquired greater significance for the region in general and the UAE in particular with huge investments being directed into the tourism sector. Dubai is preparing to accommodate more than 15 million tourists by the year 2010, a goal for the accomplishment of which the emirate has already launched numerous gigantic projects with budgets exceeding Dh800 billion in all.
The efforts are already being made in the UAE to attract special needs tourists. Consistent with the country's great interest in the tourism sector, revenues from which are expected to increase to US $ 46 billion by 2015, the UAE, according to the World Tourism and Travel report, is also proactive in highlighting the humane face of the tourism industry through translating the principle of "tourism for all". That as a result of this, the UAE is focusing its attention at becoming the region's most preferred tourist destination for people with special needs. It will achieve this feat by creating the necessary facilities for this special segment of the society.
'Efforts are on across the seven Emirates of the country to provide better services to tourists with special needs and attract more tourists from this segment. A big chunk of these efforts are connected with hospitality industry with investments in hotel properties exceeding Dh60 billion."
The new investments are at the heart of the country's drive to boost tourism, mainly by expanding the existing hotel capacity by another 90 thousand rooms by the end of the year 2010. Almost 50 thousand of these will be in Dubai, 18 thousand in Abu Dhabi, and 10 thousand each in Sharjah and Fujairah. A large number of hotels projects are also under study in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah.
Dubai is developing infrastructure for tourists with special needs to strengthen the city's image as a friendly destination for this segment of tourists. As part of this plan the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing in Dubai has made it mandatory for five-star hotels, more than 42 of the total 306 hotels operating in the Emirate, to customise about 2 per cent of their rooms for people with special needs.
Based on the projects that have been disclosed until today, airports in the region will be able to accommodate an additional 300 million passengers by the year 2020, and more than 200 new hotels will be built to add 100,000 rooms to what is available now. The number of visitors to the region is expected to increase to nearly 150 million, thus increasing the number of flights and aircraft fleets by 150% until the year 2025.
