His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced that World’s Coolest Winter campaign concluded with 950,000 domestic tourists across the country and drove AED1 billion of revenue into the hospitality sector within one month.
World’s Coolest Winter, the UAE’s first federal domestic tourism campaign, concluded on January 25th with record success. The 45-day campaign was launched on December 12, 2020, as part of the newly-launched UAE Strategy for Domestic Tourism, to encourage residents and citizens to explore the country’s hidden gems and promoted the features that distinguish each of the seven emirates.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum,Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, tweeted, “We concluded #WorldsCoolestWinter campaign to promote domestic tourism. The campaign attracted 950,000 domestic tourists and AED1 billion in revenue within one month. Over 2,000 media reports and 215 million views on videos that captured the UAE’s beauty and the impact of teamwork. Next winter, we will launch a bigger and better campaign on December 15th, 2021 as the world begins to recover from the pandemic. Thanks to the Ministry of Economy, the UAE Government Media Office and local tourism entities for the successful domestic campaign.
The “Emirates Tourism” app was also launched to guide domestic and international tourists to over 600 hotspots across the emirates and feature over 275 exclusive deals in hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions worth AED72,000 for every user.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said, “World’s Coolest Winter campaign marked the beginning of a solid collaboration among federal and local tourism entities that succeeded in bringing people together, citizens and residents, to discover the UAE’s hidden gems, especially after a critical time that created physical distance.”
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, noted that the campaign helped raise hotel occupancy across the UAE by 17 per cent as compared to last year, increasing the average hotel room price to AED450 per night. He said the rise in hotel occupancy within only one month is the biggest indicator of the campaign’s massive success.
Al Falasi added that the Ministry is currently working on launching future campaigns that stimulate domestic and international tourism. He noted that the unified tourism identity, launched in December, will pave the way for more collaborations among tourism entities across the country to launch major future campaigns that target international tourists.
“World’s Coolest Winter was a successful start in promoting domestic tourism, and we will take future campaigns to the international level. We aim to promote tourism and encourage SMEs in the sector to increase job opportunities.”
Using advanced shooting technologies, the signature visual style of Beautiful Destinations brought a fresh dreamlike perspective of the UAE across five key pillars of culture, food, outdoor adventure, activities and fitness. The campaign with Beautiful Destinations, which ran from January 9 – 25, featured 75 videos on Beautiful Destinations’ Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, garnering 93 million views from all over the world.
World’s Coolest Winter Challenge In a collaboration between du and the UAE Government Media Office, #WorldsCoolestWinterChallenge was launched on Twitter and Instagram to encourage the public to share creative images and videos of their outdoor experiences in UAE for chances to win big. Du has rewarded individuals who best captured the charm of touristic, natural and cultural landmarks across the UAE with weekly prizes that reached AED50,000 in the challenge that ran from December 15, 2020 – January 25, 2021.
When Steve meets East In an exclusive docuseries, American actor and host Steve Harvey embarked on a journey across the UAE to experience life as a citizen. The 6-episode docuseries titled ‘When Steve meets East’ saw the internationally-acclaimed host highlighting the UAE in a new light, revealing its hidden gems and rich culture, nature and heritage. Each episode of 3-4 minutes long highlighted the captivating experience that UAE offers during the winter season, garnering millions of views on social media.
