It’s Not How Much, But How You Spend Your Budget That Matters

Carl Vaz, country manager, Dubai Representative Office in India, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Government of Dubai, in conversation with Charmaine Fernz talks about their success and the company's future plans

What does the award mean to you?

The award is a prestigious honour and to add to that, receiving it from the travel industry, is a high. We thank the industry for voting for DTCM. However, this is just the beginning and there is a lot more we can do and achieve. We also consider the award an important milestone as this was the first ever travel awards in the industry.

What according to you was the secret of your success?

I would not term the award as a success of my success but rather of the work implemented, as we were voted for it. To achieve this honour, we did the regular work of marketing the destination for tourism and investment. We also built a credible retail chain for Dubai liaisoning it with the travel industry. We firmly believe in the principle - It's not how much you spend but how you spend it that matters.

How do you plan to retain this success?

We have consistently reached out to the trade with a host of activities and will continue to do so. We will also maintain our cordial relationships with our agents be it in the big or small cities since its my personal belief that all agents who sell Dubai as a destination are important for us.

What is DTCM's future plans?

The first project on hand for DTCM is media commercials. We will be airing TV commercials presenting the varied facets of Dubai like heritage, sports, fun and entertainment and MICE. We would also be having celebrity endorsements, which would be carried out in January. We would also be participating at WTI (World Travel India) in a big way with an 11-member team. Apart from the above, we would also be conducting a roadshow in the first quarter of 2004.