Dubai inspires curiosity as a tourist destination

Today, Dubai has become home to some of the most iconic buildings known across the planet. 

It is over a decade since Issam Kazim joined Dubai Tourism, setting out a detailed strategy to set up the emirate for its leap into the world’s leading destinations.

Since he joined in 2014, the emirate has become one of the most sought-after holiday spots in the world, and the tourism and economic sectors have merged to turn the city into not only a tourism hub but a business capital in the region, under Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).

“We never relied on oil and it gave us an entrepreneurial spirit,” he told Khaleej Times.

“When Dubai started, it was about living off the creek, pearl diving, trade … and even before the formation of the UAE, we were reliant on the creek. So the first mega project for Dubai was the dredging of the creek, which showed the passion and drive the city has, which has continued until today,” he said.

Today, the city has become home to some of the most iconic buildings known across the planet. “Burj Al Arab, the ‘world’s first seven star hotel’, was a a statement to the world, the same as Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower,” he said. “We wanted to scream to the world we are here … this was us announcing to the world we are ready to receive.”

Last year, Dubai won a host of accolades. It secured the first place in Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Best’ awards, and at the 31st annual World Travel Awards, announced in November, Dubai was crowned the world’s leading shopping destination and the world’s leading exhibition destination.

It was a record year for visitors, the city welcoming 18.72 million international overnight visitors from January to December 2024, a 9% year-over-year increase that surpassed the previous record of 17.15 million in 2023, according to data from the DET.

Dubai has long been a trade and logistics hub, with infrastructure such as Jebel Ali Port a key driver. With regional and global HQs based in the emirate, and even manufacturing as diverse as the world’s largest producer of snowboards, the city has also attracted some of the world’s top corporates.

“A lot of the regional and global companies chose Dubai as their headquarters because of its connectivity and reach, not just because it caters to 3.5 million or the 9 million within the UAE.

“Within a four hour flight radius, you’ve got one third of the world’s population, and within eight hours’ flight radius, you’ve got about two thirds of the world’s population, right at your doorstep so that is a big factor in attracting more and more business here as well,” he said.

In spite of shows such as Dubai Bling and Love Is Blind: Habibi sometimes offering a somewhat stereotypical view of life in Dubai, there have been other challenges for the emirate to overcome in breaking down misconceptions.

“We realised that a lot of people have misconception about Dubai,” he said. 

“You can’t visit Dubai in summer, Dubai is too expensive, we had women’s rights issues, many, many things that we know from living in Dubai that are not true.

“People say it’s only superficial, that it’s only luxury, that it only caters to certain segments and so on. But these are all good problems to have, because we knew exactly what the problem statements are and we already have the answers,” he said, but today, the growth seen in the city is “unprecedented”.

The city inspires curiosity. No longer exclusive to the luxury market, a host of accommodation from glamping and lodges to five star hotels now welcomes everyone, throughout the year.

From the multicultural fabric of the city with the over 200 nationalities who make up 90 per cent of the population to the authentic areas such as the Al Fahidi district and the Bedouin villages of Hatta, there is so much more to the emirate than meets the eye.

“It’s not beautiful buildings and shiny architecture. It’s actually rocky mountain landscapes, more dry, more arid. It’s in its landscape that the desert people used to see and you see the beautiful villages that people are still living in and thriving. Those things exist in Dubai as well,” he added.

A changing visa landscape with golden visas for talented individuals in areas such as culture, remote working and retirement visas among the many on offer, has also transformed the kind of residents coming to the emirate, many of those first starting as transit passengers.

“Each one of those [transit passengers] is an opportunity,” said Kazim, because many of them come back and a large number relocate.

How the emirate markets itself is also changing as the city matures. While the likes of Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Shah Rukh Khan and Jessica Alba have played a vital role for Dubai in terms of putting it on the world map, now, the focus is on the real life residents and their life here to be the true face of the emirate.

The latest global campaign focuses on six or eight key markets, taking couples or families from those cities such as New York or LA, living in Dubai, speaking in their own language, so that people say ‘that person can be my neighbour’.

“All of a sudden it’s a very different story and these are real people. They’re not actors. And then you can actually research them. You can follow them on Instagram. You can see the story of their life in Dubai.

“So all of a sudden you have advocacy coming up from residents in Dubai, sharing their stories, and you can actually interact with them and ask them, so what made you move to Dubai, what do you like about Dubai, how is it raising your daughters in Dubai,” he said explaining that the campaign aimed at being more organic and authentic.

Now, in this ever-growing and ever-evolving emirate, Kazim is excited for what’s still to come. One of these is Palm Jebel Ali which he says is “going to be massive”. Palm Jumeirah having been such a success as a tourism and luxury lifestyle attraction, these things have now been fine tuned for Palm Jebel Ali, set to open next year.

But the emirate’s gastro scene is a feature he is also excited to share, from the Michelin starred restaurants to the homegrown hidden gems, it is a part of the city he wants every tourist to explore.

“It’s almost like a sneak peek into Dubai’s culture,” he said proudly.

“Through its food, you’ll find unbelievably authentic Chinese food, Iranian food, Arabic food, whatever it is that you’re looking for. I encourage everyone to even find those little holes in the walls that have been there for 30 or 40 years.