Tourism Marketing in United Arab Emirates : An Empirical Study of Events

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been making incessant efforts to diversify its economy. One of the policy tracks being pursued by the UAE with great emphasis to attain the avowed objective of economic diversification relates to tourism. Lessons of experience from several countries explicitly suggest that tourism has come to be recognized as a means of sustainable economic growth and development (Blaine, Mohammad and Var, 1993). A number of events including shopping festivals, conferences, cultural and trade exhibitions, and sporting events have been carefully designed as a tourism marketing strategy in the UAE. These events have been the prime movers behind tourism marketing, taking advantage of the positive international business image enjoyed by the country far and wide. In this research study, an attempt is made to examine and analyze the role of strategic events in the tourism marketing strategy of the UAE. Based on a survey exercise, the study has tried to capture the perceptions of a cross-section of tourists particularly about event tourism in the UAE. The results provide interesting insights into the perceived significance of the events for policy makers willing to expand the tourism sector in the vibrant and diversifying economy of the UAE