Arab Tourists Attracted by Luxury – How to Reach New Guests from UAE

Tourists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are looking for a dose of luxury when choosing a destination, and what draws them to Serbia are Kopaonik and other attractive destinations and the construction of the Belgrade Waterfront and the arrival of the hotel chain St. Regis to Belgrade will complement the offer and attract even more foreigners, it was pointed out at the conference at the Serbia Business Hub, held within Expo 2020 Dubai, announces the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia (CCIS).

– In order for Serbia to attract more tourists from the UAE, it is important to include a dose of luxury in the offer, because tourists from this area appreciate that and they seek destinations which offer that kind of tourism – says Nemo Acimovic, the general manager at Bab Al Qasr Hotel, who addressed business people from Serbia at the 5th thematic week of Expo 2020 Dubai.

The nature of Serbia also attracts tourists from the UAE, who love to visit Kopaonik, Belgrade and other tourism destinations, whereas the Emirates offer big opportunities for Serbian companies in tourism and transport, says Ivan Mladenovic, the human capital director at Officers Club & Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

Dubai is the 4th most visited destination in the world. Last year, the city was visited by around 8.8 million tourists, whereas the number in the pre-crisis year of 2019 was 16 million. The presence of the most famous hotel chains and companies in the sector of tourism and services are a great opportunity for Serbian companies which can offer their products to this prestigious and demanding market, business people from both Serbia and the UAE agree.

Marko Selakovic, the director of the CCIS office in Dubai, pointed out that the good economic relations between Serbia and the UAE were a great basis for the development of cooperation in all sectors, especially in tourism.

– Serbia is perceived very well in the UAE, which considerably facilitates business communication – said Selakovic and added that business partners of this country appreciated honesty and direct communication and that the truest earned was the most important.

Representatives of over 30 Serbian companies talked yesterday at Hungary’s pavilion with the management of the Hungarian national company National Mobile Payment about smart solutions in tourism and mobility. IT solutions for parking systems and the project for unified payment for tourist services V4 Smart Platform 2 were presented.

Mirko Simovic from Inova Tech, which develops IT solutions for parking systems, points out that they’ve considered the possibilities of joint projects with Hungarian partners.

– We expect cooperation in the field of preparation of unified apps for payment which can be used in multiple countries – says Simovic and announces discussions about this topic with partners from Italy and Bahrain too.

Lidija Jurisic of the tourism agency Alfa Travel SEE from Subotica says that the visit to expo is an excellent opportunity to learn about the latest software solutions in tourism.

– Our aim is to network with Serbian partners from within the delegation and from the whole world. Considering that we come from Subotica, our offer has so far focused on one- and two-day field trips and team-building events meant for Hungarian and Serbian tourists. The world expo in Dubai is an opportunity for us to expand our list of clients, and we are already in contact with partners from Estonia, Bhutan and other countries from all continents – Jurisic says.

Privredna komora Srbije

Inova Tech doo Beograd

Alpha travel see doo Subotica

Nemo Aćimović

Ivan Mladenović

Marko Selaković

Lidija Jurišić

Mirko Simović

Bab Al Qasr Hotel

Officers Club

Expo 2020 Dubai