Interviewed: Elena Olkhovskaya
The president of this Dubai travel company, M. Chaco Mani, is a well-known person in the Emirates. Since the early 1990s, his company has successfully developed tourist relations between Russia, the CIS countries and the UAE. We met and talked with Mr. Mani about the impact on the tourism industry of the global financial crisis, interesting initiatives and future plans of Royal Park Tourism Services.
Mr. Mani, is it true that it was you who stood at the origins of the development of tourism between Russia, the CIS countries and the UAE?
Yes true. The first tourists from Russia and the CIS to appear in the Emirates, and everyone knows this, were the so-called shuttles who flew here to shop. Our company, together with the Russian tour operator “Space Travel”, headed by its director, Mrs. Galina Zozul, was the first to set up a charter flight from Moscow in 1992. We were the first to offer tourists additional services, such as meeting and seeing off at the airport, buses from city hotels to the beach, receiving, packing and sending their goods. In other words, we understood from the very beginning that even if a tourist stayed in a three-star city hotel, this does not mean that he cannot get a good rest in addition.
I even remember how we decided which beach to carry tourists to. I took the driver, and we went with him to the Jumeirah area. There, right behind the Dubai Marine Beach Hotel, we saw a strip of excellent open beach, where we began to send our buses, every day and at a certain time. Now it is a well-known municipal free beach in the city, and many residents of Dubai call it “Russian Beach” because of the large number of Russian-speaking tourists who are brought there from different city hotels today.
A little later, we thought about how to diversify the relaxation of a person staying in a city hotel. And they began to offer special programs for children by the rooftop pool, babysitting services for parents and so on. Then we thought about the fact that people come to Dubai to shop, and the shops in which they buy, as well as the goods offered must be of high quality and at affordable prices. Then I invited the owners of the main electronics stores to a meeting, and we agreed with them that they would give Russian tourists good prices, without laying any fees in them, so that tourists would trust these sellers and not have problems buying, because then one of The most important factor was the language barrier. We asked traders to show non-English speaking prices on a calculator. Now this is a common practice, however, Russian-speaking sellers now work in almost all stores. I then explained to the merchants that the Russian market in Dubai was just beginning, and if they were the first, they would succeed. But at the same time, if they play with prices, knowingly inflating them, and then giving discounts, then we will put their store on the black list and will not recommend it to our tourists.
The staff of Royal Park Tourism Services already met tourists, and on the very first day they drove them to all the necessary shops with their own transport. Moreover, to our regular customers, before they flew to Dubai, we sent faxes with the latest prices for gold, fabrics, electronics, perfumes and so on. Then we began to give recommendations to our tourists, where to buy furniture, carpets, other goods needed in everyday life. That is, we all the time expanded the list of our services for shop-tourists, among other things, offering them high-quality packaging and storage of the goods they bought. So it all began. To Dubai merchants, many of whom I know personally, I said then: "Be more active, this market will become the most successful for you, at least for the next five years."
More than fifteen years have passed since then, and the tourism market from Russia and the CIS continues to be one of the main markets for Dubai. It turns out that you made a mistake in your predictions?
I made a mistake, and I don’t regret it at all. Over time, the contingent of tourists has changed. Firstly, the tourist flow has increased significantly, and secondly, people began to stay in more expensive hotels. This does not mean that they forgot about class 3 * hotels, no, but the requirements on the part of tourists have changed as well - they needed more spacious rooms, an expanded range of services and good staff at the reception. All this we brought to life in the Savoy Suites, where only 126 tourists from Russia and the CIS were welcomed in 126 rooms. We offered our guests a range of services comparable to a 5 * hotel, despite the fact that this is a city hotel. Many services were presented by us for the first time, which made this hotel extremely popular. But, most importantly, we were able to set the bar that others today are equal to. We told the market that tourists coming from Russia and the CIS should receive an adequate level of services and equal respect, as well as tourists from other countries of the world.
Today, my many years of experience nevertheless tells me that Russian tourists prefer to stay in five-star beach hotels. They are in main demand, and if there is no such hotel, then the tourist will go to Sharjah beach "four-stars", and only then he will consider accommodation options in Dubai city hotels, even with their own buses to the beach and shopping centers.
Mr. Mani, Royal Park Tourism Services, together with the Moscow travel operator Intravelstoleshniki, with the support of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai, also initiated the first conference “Dubai - a year-round destination”, which was held for the third time with great success this year . What was the reaction of the market to such a bold statement, including by Russian tour operators, and what, in your opinion, can be called the main achievement of this conference?
Firstly, in Dubai we traditionally talk about summer. Why? Because we do not want Russian tour operators to stop selling the Dubai destination in the summer. In other words, we don’t want them to turn their attention to Turkey, Egypt, Thailand, and other countries. Thanks to our conferences, today Dubai is also sold in the summer. This is the first plus.
Secondly, in summer, Dubai hotels offer much more favorable conditions for living, especially hotels on the coast. And this year we are seeing a 20% increase in the flow of tourists from Russia and the CIS to Dubai in the summer months, compared to last year. This is the second plus, and we are happy. By the way, local tour operators are wondering who these tourists are, due to which there was an increase in tourist flow? Those who used to stay in 3 * and 4 * hotels in the city, or a new segment of tourists specially waiting for the summer to enjoy a beach holiday for less? As it turns out, a new segment. That is why, today, almost 80% of our business is tourists vacationing in beach hotels. You ask what happened to tourists who preferred
and once city hotels? Where did they go? They have not disappeared, just today they also prefer hotels on the coast, not forgetting about shopping. What is this talking about? The fact that Russian tourists have always preferred beach hotels, only the prices did not always suit them. It is the summer season that provides unique opportunities for relaxing on the beach at affordable prices.
At the same time, I should note that city hotels offer specialized packages of additional services in the summer, which is quite convenient for both traveling businessmen and vacationers with children.
As for the main achievements of the conference, first of all I would say what Russian tour operators clearly know today - Dubai is open for tourists not only in winter but also in summer. Second, airlines from different cities of Russia and the CIS began to carry out a greater number of flights to Dubai in the summer season, moreover, by providing discounts on tickets. Thus, half of the battle we won. We have moved the minds of travel industry professionals off the ground. This happened with the great support of the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai, which is making great efforts to popularize Dubai as a year-round destination. Moreover, the situation has changed not only in relation to the Russian market, in Dubai there are more tourists from Ukraine and Kazakhstan. All three markets have activated. And this is a very good opportunity for everyone - both for tour operators and for tourists. So let's not miss her.
What are your expectations from the upcoming exhibition "Leisure 2009", which will be held in late September in Moscow? What is happening in the field of international tourism in general?
If in general, then tour operators usually intensify their activities in anticipation of the "high" tourist season - they are negotiating with their regular partners, charter carriers and so on. Surprisingly, tour operator activity has increased this year compared to last year. In other words, I do not expect any special ups for the long term, but I am sure that the current “high” season will be more fruitful for tourism in the UAE than the same period last year. I am trying to analyze what is happening. After all, everyone around is talking about the crisis, including in Russia. But tour operators from Russia make it clear to us that the demand for Dubai has not disappeared, and this demand is high. In my opinion, this demand is determined by those tourists who, until today, considered Dubai not the most affordable destination. Now that there are more carriers, and prices from hotels in Dubai have become more thoughtful, this category of tourists has every chance to visit the Emirates. And it is these tourists who once again stir up a wave of interest in Dubai as a wonderful tourist destination. This means that one should expect positive results from the exhibition, because in essence, Rest is a working platform for meeting partners on the eve of the new season, discussing important issues not by correspondence, but face to face.
Now is a great time to attract tourists to Dubai, and I am grateful to Dubai hoteliers for this, because they represent very attractive prices for accommodation and a lot of additional bonuses. All market participants are well aware that, despite the many recently opened new city economy class hotels in Dubai, beach hotels still set prices for destinations. Russian tourists prefer the beach, and there's nothing to be done about it. True, first-class city hotels, our tourists do not bypass their attention.
Is Royal Park Tourism Services preparing any special offers for the upcoming season?
We form our vacation packages based on what hotels offer us. Therefore, every season we negotiate with hotels in Dubai and other emirates to provide us with more favorable prices and special offers for our tourists. Considering that tourists from major cities of Siberia, for example, such as Krasnoyarsk, arrive by charter flights and flights from there are not the cheapest, we ask hotel managers to make concessions when setting prices so that our vacation packages for these categories of tourists are competitive. Thanks to such preliminary work, we offer our partners from Russia and the CIS the most profitable ways to sell Dubai destinations.
I want to note that we in Dubai have finally come to the conclusion that hoteliers listen to the requests and requirements of travel companies. That is why Dubai is a direction that has not so much felt the negative impact of the global financial crisis, compared to other markets. Tourism in the emirate continues its development, the purchasing power of tourists coming to Dubai has remained at the same, pre-crisis level. Therefore, we are very optimistic about the upcoming autumn-winter season.
What about competition with other leading Dubai tour operators working with Russia and the CIS? Has the competition with the onset of crisis tightened?
I think that all the major market participants today are, on the contrary, determined to support this market through joint efforts. Five major Dubai travel companies, including ours, as well as Alpha Tours, Planet Tours, Desert Adventures, working with tourists from the CIS countries, have long developed their clear behavior strategies, have well-established relations with Russian tour operators and occupy their own market niches. I always said and say that the tourism market in Russia and the CIS is huge. And we can’t cover it. Every tour operator and travel agency in Dubai has a job. The main thing is to maintain respect for each other and not "cross the road" to your colleagues. There is no point in unfair competition. It makes sense to all together to further popularize the direction of Dubai in Russia, the CIS and the Baltic countries.
Then share with us your plans for the future? What remains to be done by Royal Park Tourism Services to continue to maintain its leadership position?
We have many plans. I would like to expand the geography of our activities. I am personally attracted to the Russian Far East. I really want to establish relations with tour operators from Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, calculate all the logistics and start bringing tourists to Dubai from this gigantic Russian region. You may even have to arrange a charter flight. Today we also work closely with Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other CIS countries. China seems to me a promising direction. I think that tourism, like all other sectors of the economy, will come out of the crisis and begin a new round of development. And by this time we’ll definitely come up with something.
Allow me to wish you good luck in the upcoming season and in the implementation of all future plans. See you soon.
