Honing Abu Dhabi’s Asian And Chinese Outbound Markets
PolyU signed Memorandum of Understanding with Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) to collaborate on the rolling out of educational strategies aimed at honing Abu Dhabi’s ability to engage the rapidly-emerging Asian and Chinese outbound markets.
The MOU was signed by Professor Kaye Chon, chair professor and director of PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM), and ADTA deputy director general, Mr. Abdul-Aziz Al Hammadi. Under the MOU, the two organizations will cooperate on the staging of workshops and seminars for Abu Dhabi’s industry stakeholders and will share best practices and research findings.
The educational strategies, which include custom-made executive development programs for ADTA’s management and employees, will be formulated with SHTM. “The MOU demonstrated Abu Dhabi’s confidence in our ability to deliver to exacting standards,” remarked Professor Chon, SHTM director, “and we will contribute to the advancement of the rapidly-developing hospitality and tourism industry in the Gulf states.”
The first event after the signing of the MOU was two industry seminars delivered by Professor Kaye Chon to the local industry professionals. Professor Chon spoke on “Service Quality Management in Asian Context” and “Asian Paradigm in Hospitality and Tourism: Understanding and Profiting from the New Waves in Hospitality and Tourism Industry.”
The Asian and Chinese markets are increasingly important to the Arabian Gulf emirate, particularly as the UAE now has the Approved Destination Status from the Chinese authority, which allows its main operators to proceed with group bookings to the country. Indeed, Abu Dhabi has all the right qualifications for resonating well with the Asian travelers – the natural assets, cultural attractions, quality accommodation, and, above all, reputation for safety.
“The needs of the Asian travelers are specific and must be addressed if we are to reach our potential in attracting this segment,” Mr. Mubarak Al Muhairi, ADTA director general, pointed out, “and we want to ensure that all within the destination are better equipped to fulfill these exacting requirements. PolyU is one of the world’s leading hospitality and tourism education institutions and in it we have a partner with the relevant experience and pedigree to assist us in meeting our goals throughout the region.”
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management is a leading provider of hospitality education in the Asia-Pacific Region. It is ranked no. 2 in the world among hotel and tourism schools based on research and scholarship, according to a study published in the Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research in November 2009.
With 60 academic staff drawing from 18 countries, the school offers programs at levels ranging from PhD to Higher Diploma. It was awarded the 2003 International Society of Travel and Tourism Educators Institutional Award in recognition of its significant contribution to tourism education and is the only training center in the Education and Training Network in Asia recognized by the United Nations World Tourism Organization.
Comments
Dear Editors,
In regards to this article may I respectfully emphasize that the geographical location referred to as the "arabian gulf", has been known to the entire civilized world for over 2 millennia only as the "Persian Gulf" and any other reference to the contrary is inaccurate.
In Australia, the only recognised term is the Persian Gulf as per the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website (page 61) www.dfat.gov.au/publications/megrowth/ch3.pdf
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names (BGN), the final authority on U.S. geographical nomenclature standardization, has officially recognized and adopted the Persian Gulf as the sole name for this body of water and has mandated the U.S. government to refer exclusively to it by this proper name. Accordingly, the policy of the U.S. Department of Defense is to refer to that waterway by its historically correct and legal name "Persian Gulf" (http://www.state.gov/p/nea/ci/ir/.) The past U.S. presidents and administrations have consistently addressed the Persian Gulf by its valid name.
The following are links to the United Nations Geographical maps of the world and the Persian Gulf region. Please take time to view them and notice that the UN refers to this body of water as the Persian Gulf.
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/iran.pdf
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/maplib/docs/escwa.pdf
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/qatar.pdf
Most importantly, the United Nations with 22 Arab member states has on two occasions officially declared the name of the waterway to the south of Iran as the Persian Gulf. The first announcement was made through the document UNAD, 311/Qen on March 5, 1971, and the second was UNLA 45.8.2 section C, on August 10, 1984. Persian Gulf is also the recognized name by the British Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (PCGN).
I've submitted the above links in order to support this position and clear any confusion as to what to call the Persian Gulf. I also hope this has been only an unfortunate oversight and that it will be corrected immediately. I look forward to your reply and thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Please contact me if you need more information with regards to this topic.
Sincere Regards,
Saeed Tasbihsazan
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