The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai has revealed plans about launching the new desert tour and camp regulations that are aimed at boosting the already popular and the best-in-class standards by setting benchmarks for tour operators, including managing outdoor, cultural, and hospitality activities.
The operators will now be evaluated on several categories like visitor experience, health and safety, marketing, advertising, insurance coverage, and transport services and logistics.
The new regulations will focus on ensuring the implementation of sustainable, environment-friendly practices. These regulations will be implemented in three months time.
Guest safety is the prime focus of the new regulations. Child car seat regulations, vehicle inspection criteria, provision to ensure in-car safety equipment as installed by approved vendors form part of the regulations. Moreover, it is mandatory that all drivers complete their tour guide certification from Dubai Tourism, deliver mandatory safety briefing to guests and have all correct RTA licenses.
About 20 percent of all tourists who visit Dubai usually include a desert experience as part of their agenda. Desert-based activities are liked by all and are among the top ten must-do activities in Dubai. To further elevate this signature experience and make it integral to the tourist agenda, a rule book has been established for operators which sets targets, standards and best practices, said Khaled bin Touq, Executive Director, Tourism Activities and Classification Sector.
With new regulations in place, Dubai Tourism hopes to position the desert tour industry of the emirate as being safe, authentic and dynamic extension of Dubai travel experience. Dubai Tourism will complement the standards with better investment on infrastructure, new regulations for maintenance of facilities, e-permit systems to streamline the processes, and inspection system to track offensive drivers / operators.
