UAE: Vacation rental company HomeAway has partnered with Dubai Tourism to promote rental properties in the Emirate.
The partnership with Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is aimed at opening Dubai up to families and groups of travellers from around the globe who book their vacation rental accommodation via HomeAway. The site is also working with serviced apartment and branded residence operators to list their inventory.
HomeAway and Dubai Tourism “will work together to strengthen the vacation homes sector in Dubai by raising awareness of and providing support to the many licensed vacation homes operators in the Emirate. Additionally, the two organisations are planning joint traveler-focused campaigns, leveraging Dubai’s world-class marketing team and HomeAway’s global strength in the vacation homes sector”.
HomeAway now features hundreds of Dubai properties on its new Arabic and English website HomeAway.ae. New legislation regarding the operation of vacation homes in the Emirate of Dubai was announced in December 2013, creating the potential for the legal use of thousands of properties across Dubai as travel accommodations. Popular locations including the Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina and Downtown Dubai, will be available as licensed operators list their properties with HomeAway.
“Dubai is the fourth most popular destination in the world for international visitors and is increasingly recognised as an ideal destination for families because of the beautiful beaches and numerous family-friendly attractions that include theme parks, the tallest building in the world, and even the world’s largest indoor ski area,” said HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples. “With thousands of properties suitable for vacation rentals, there is an exciting opportunity for HomeAway travellers to visit Dubai and stay in unique rental properties, which provide the space to bond, relax and create lasting memories.”
Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Tourism, said: “The introduction of legislation regarding the operation of vacation homes in Dubai has resulted in the broadening of Dubai’s accommodation offering, complementing our world-class hotel offering. The implementation of the legislation ensures that visitors can book a private accommodation with full confidence of quality and that homeowners who comply with the regulations have relevant protections. HomeAway are world-leaders in the marketing of vacation rentals and their entry into the market demonstrates the potential that there is within this accommodation category. Our collaboration provides the opportunity for homeowners to leverage market-leading global marketing channels to promote their vacation homes and for Dubai Tourism to promote the emirate to the millions of HomeAway users around the world. This will result in an increase in the number of visitors to Dubai, generating further income in our retail, hospitality, entertainment and food and beverage sectors; and contributing to the achievement of the stated aim of Dubai’s Tourism Vision for 2020: to welcome 20 million annual visitors to the Emirate by 2020.”
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