TOURISM ISSUES IN DUBAI
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Introduction
There is various tourism issues have been reported in different countries in recent years. Different issues could affect tourism negatively, and it is essential to address them to keep on appealing to the visitors (Khan et al. 2017). Tourism in Dubai has been significantly affected by the Corona pandemic. The infection has delivered a painful blow to Dubai, which is one of the most visited cities globally. Most of the hotels in the city have closed down, and the occupancy rates have fallen to less than 100% in others (Aziz & Davide, 2020). It is essential to consider these issues to identify the viewpoint of the government and the dedication of the citizens to follow the guidelines to prevent the pandemic from affecting the industry more. As a Dubai resident, I have a better insight into the issues facing the city, the government actions, and how people have adjusted their lives during this time. It is also a perfect time to observe some of the changes undertaken in the tourism sector to cope with the issue.
Quarantine and Digital Dubai
One of the major observations is that there are no tourists in Dubai due to the corona pandemic that has affected most countries. The country’s tourism sector has been greatly affected, considering that no visitors are coming from other countries to curb the spread of the condition. The government was committed to reducing the movement of the people, and most workplaces have closed down, encouraging people to work from home. These measures aim at reducing the people coming into contact with one another to prevent the spread of the virus. The government has also enacted stricter policies to ensure that people remain at their homes. It has introduced a lockdown to regulate the movement of the people. These are clear indications the government is using different strategies to manage the crisis in the country that threatens to affect the economy. Based on Dubai’s crisis management analysis, it is evident the city’s plan has a clear objective to protect its citizens and the tourists in the country. I can confirm that the government has been honest about issues regarding the condition, its effects, those affected, and infected. The people are aware of the issue facing the country, which is vital in showing them the seriousness of the issue. The Ministry of Health also sends messages to people’s mobile phones, which ensure they keep on reminding people about how to handle the pandemic. I believe the decision of the government to check on its people is very important in this period. It also shows the importance of digital platforms on reaching out to people.
However, only pharmacies and supermarkets have been allowed to continue carrying out operations. Only one member of the family can leave out, and this, I believe, has minimized the free movement of the people in the city. Delivery culture has made life a bit easier for the residents in the city. According to (The Star, 2020), “most cities are deserted except for the delivery motorbikes and vans racing to their destinations.” Most people are also ordering their food online and have played an important role in ensuring that people can stay indoors. Online shopping is an effective and faster way to acquire products, not forgetting the fact that it is affordable compared to most offline stores (Kot, Chen & Huang 2019). I would also attribute the convenience to the fact that they also offer faster methods of payments, which have proved to be useful for the people.
Most businesses are not doing well, with most tourist destinations receiving no visitors. Most of the businesses like the hotels rely on the tourists, and they have been forced to shut down a clear indication they are incurring losses. Tourism has been affected, and the government is doing all it can to market its industry. Digital marketing has been crucial in promoting tourism in the region over the years. Most businesses can also market their products digitally because they can also target the locals in the region. Digital marketing has also enabled most workers to work from home per the government’s policies.
Digital marketing has also been highlighted as one of the most effective marketing tools (Chaffey & Ellis-Chadwick, 2019). Most businesses have opted to use digital marketing o reach out to their potential clients, especially during these tough times. The tourism sector should ensure it been in contact with its clients to maintain a strong relationship to ensure they can continue with their businesses after the pandemic. Digital marketing is also cheaper, and during these tough times, most companies and businesses are saving a lot of money. In my opinion, considering that most people are staying at home, this is a perfect moment for businesses to utilize digital marketing. The city is also ranked as one of the top smart cities in the world, which can be linked to its plan to become a smart city. Clearly, this should not be a significant challenge for companies that have already adopted various smart tourism enablers. It is also giving companies a wide variety of options, especially in the tourism sector, considering there are billions of people who use the internet across the world. In this case, it will be easier to compete with other companies, which will increase the competitiveness of the tourism sector in the country. Lastly, the tourism industry can use different digital methods based on their target clients, which means it will be effective in increasing the number of leads. It is evident that one of the most effective marketing strategies that have proved to be effective during this period is digital methods. Most businesses can market digitally and reach their clients easily because the government has also lowered the internet costs making it cheaper and affordable for most businesses.
Soft tourism could also prove to be an effective method during this period for the country to work on various issues affecting the tourism industry. I believe that the private sector should use various strategies like minimizing the impact of the issue facing the industry. Soft tourism campaigns by the private sectors would be useful in educating people about the effects of pollution on tourism (Steiner & Wippel 2016). I understand that most cities have recorded a decrease in the pollution levels, which has most of our daily activities contribute to increased levels of pollution. Some of the campaigns that could contribute to the reduction in pollution could include encouraging people to embrace recycling, sewerage treatment, proper waste disposal, and adopting alternative, less-polluting energy sources. Lastly, green marketing would also be an effective way to create a better cleaner society. Some of these campaigns will also show the commitment to safeguard the lives of their clients, and it also shows they are socially responsible.
Hunting for Heritage in (DUBAI) within an Urbanized Culture
I have observed that tourists see Dubai as a developing city without cultures. There are various threats that could affect tourism in the region. The global spread of pathogens threatens humans, livestock, and plant life and the threat of new pandemics like SARS, MERS, and avian influenza. In this case, the Corona pandemic has been a perfect opportunity for the cooperation of the government with the World Health Organization. I also observed that some of the tourists ask where the host community, whether there are artefacts, and local food. I would agree that most developed cities in the modern world are characterized by various features, including extensive housing, advanced technology, modern infrastructure, and some of these have contributed to the loss of heritage. Consequently, development has also been found to affect culture, either positively or negatively.
Most people abandon their ancient cultural values considering them to be either primitive or old-fashioned (Su, Bramwell & Whalley 2018). In most cases, when a generation abandons these values, the next generation will also follow the new cultures they find, and the erosion process is gradual. It is, in most cases, caused by westernization. Heritage is defined as “what past generations have preserved and hand on to present significant society.” However, in the tourism context, the term heritage means passed on from one generation to another. These include both tangible cultures like body language, art, folklore, religion, symbols, and values. Intangible culture includes sports, crafts, skills, costumes, food, artworks, documents, and books. Natural heritage includes birds, animals, insects, natural wildlife, plants, trees, insects, landscapes, and woodlands. Cultural heritage can be rejected by one generation, although it was attributed to being part of the previous generation (Zaidan 2019). A heritage that survives for generations must be irreplaceable, special, and very unique to the people. I can attest that Dubai does have plenty to see, but the culture is hidden, and one needs to look for it by booking trips and tours to get a glimpse of the culture.
Tourists coming to Dubai sometimes ignore the culture and go for their leisure because it can’t be seen. In my opinion, Dubai is one of the cities with rich cultures that are based on Islamic traditions, and this influences their music, attire, cuisine, and lifestyle. The city also has a lot of activities that enable people to experience the cultures of the region. They include the Dubai art, historical places, Bedouin lifestyle, museums, and Emiratis National Dress (Anthonisz & Mason 2019). I, however, found out that most of the tourists were not aware of some of these places, which meant they did not get an opportunity to experience the cultures in these places. This can be attributed to the fact that some of these sites are hidden, and most tourists do not book their safaris through the tour companies, which could be more effective. Additionally, it would be important for the city to market some of these activities and historical places during their booking, which would increase the number of visitors interested in visiting such sites and increase the revenue earned. Urban regeneration would play an important role in helping to cope with the rising population growth in Dubai as well as the demographic changes which have been attributed to urbanization. It is important to highlight some of the issues that could be attributed to tourism in the region like climate change, pollution, overcrowding, and depletion of natural resources in the city. Dubai’s Sustainable Development Goals are focusing on urban regeneration by promoting sustainable communities, which I believe is vital in reducing the negative impacts of tourism in the city.
Key heritage sites in Dubai have, at times, been visited by unguided tourists, and it is likely that these sites could also record huge numbers of tourists in the coming years. Consequently, this could affect the preservation of some of these sites, which have cultural importance to the people. Additionally, this is one aspect of the culture that cannot be replaced once it is lost; and it cannot be restored. It is, therefore, important for Dubai to also adopt digitization of such cultures to ensure they reach out to more people as well as preserve them better. It is also important to embrace climate change actions to focus on the factors that could affect the natural resources, which are also part of the region’s heritage.
Preserving cultures is important because it has various intrinsic benefits because they are deeply personal to people. It is also vital in creating a cohesive community that unites people through different cultural activities. Such communities are also characterized by cohesion, empowerment, social inclusion, and tolerance, which are very important in any society. Involving the community in tourism is vital because it could impact their lives negatively. It is, therefore, important to consider the impacts tourism is going to have on the community and how a sustainable tourism environment can be created. It is also vital to listen to their opinions, which are vital in developing Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring that they benefit, and their safety is also guaranteed. In Dubai, the community has not been involved in the tourism sector, and this could explain the residents’ perception of tourism. Most Emiratis accept tourism because it has significant benefits to the city. According to research conducted by (Esmat & Jason, 2017), 42.8% of the people supported the existence of tourism in the city while 47.9% slightly support tourism. 7.9% do not support tourism, and 1.4% strongly opposed the tourism activities. People attributed cultural differences and differences in general behaviours to the major issues. This is an indication of some of the challenges Dubai could experience and how it could also affect the lives of the resident partly because they have not been involved and considered by the government.
The Hospitality and Travel Sectors Support during this Pandemic (DUBAI)
The hospitality sector has also supported the government in fighting the pandemic. The pandemic could be congested due to the increase in the number of cases reported. I have observed the hospitality sector is cooperating with the government, and some hotels are being used as hospitals. As I see it, this has been one of the most crucial decisions that have helped to reduce the congestion in the health care facilities during the crisis. During the crises, most hotels do not receive guests, and it is a perfect opportunity for the hotels to develop proactive relationships with the locals (Teare 2016). They should also be ready to participate and help in various ways, and this is evident in Dubai’s case. They should also maintain open communication with the people and the authorities to make cooperation between the involved parties easier. Other hotels have also been used as quarantine centres where the government kept incoming passengers like tourists.
I also saw the government’s involvement in fighting the pandemic without any kind of segregation. In my own opinion, during a crisis, the preparedness tells a lot about a nation. Dubai’s government’s act to fly a tourist to his country at their own cost showed they appreciate tourists, and this sent a clear message to the whole world about their commitment to creating long term relationships with other countries. Dubai has also helped its state-run Emirates to evacuate more than 1,700 nationals from other countries (Alexander & Aziz, 2020).
I believe that the effort of the Dubai government to support the world to fight the pandemic is telling a lot of positive attributes of the government. Its contributions not only help its citizens but also people from other countries, and it has been recommended for its acts of kindness. Additionally, the government is committed, and it also built a laboratory that will be vital in conducting researches on the condition. These efforts show its commitment to overcoming the pandemic that has affected the tourism sector greatly. Coordination of the government, airline’s companies, and hotels in the region is an effective measure to curb the disease.
Conclusions
Dubai has been one of the destinations preferred by tourists globally. The city is one of the culturally rich cities in the world. The city has shown its dedication to overcome the pandemic it is currently facing to ensure that it responds accordingly during these tough times. It has encouraged most people to adopt online shopping and digital marketing, which have proved to be an effective way for the tourism industry reaches out to some of the clients. Online marketing should title be based on Maslow’s theory, which ensures that all the client’s needs are considered making it more effective. It was also clear that Dubai is the home culture, and it has preserved its cultures, which was one of the major tourist attractions. The city has maintained its cultures besides urbanization, which has increased over the years. However, some of the tourists did not get to see these attractions, which led to most tourists considering alternatives. This would affect the impression of the tourist towards the city, and in this case, digital marketing would be so effective in ensuring they are aware of their rich cultures. Lastly, the hospitality and travel sectors have shown their dedicated efforts to fight the pandemic in various aspects. These acts create a good impression on these sectors to the tourists and the locals.
References
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