Hottest new training game for agents

Gaming, entertainment, technology, let's play concept. Angry screaming pre teen boy in headset with pc computer playing game at home

By Amy Bryant

Dubai Tourism has unveiled its flashy new ‘Dubai Expert’ training tool at ATM 2017.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) launched the innovative online educational game exclusively for travel agents.

Created in collaboration with the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and KTM Advance, a specialist in e-learning, the learning tool is a sign of the tourism body shifting away from traditional training programmes.

It features an engaging interface that includes information on Dubai’s tourism attractions in an easily-digestible format that will enable agents to promote the plush destination as the ideal vacay spot to their customers from around the world.

“Our partnerships with travel agents are critical to us as we look to expand our influence and reach across industry channels and stakeholders that influence tourists looking to visit Dubai,” said the CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), Issam Kazim.

This also means that we need to keep developing new tools that allow us and our partners to highlight what makes Dubai a ‘must-visit’ destination

“With the ‘Dubai Expert’ platform, we have used technology innovation to transcend typical training programmes and create an experience that enhances their knowledge of Dubai, so they can build customised itineraries that will attract more visitors.

“‘Dubai Expert’ has been created to facilitate this process and is part of our continued endeavour to achieve our strategic goal of welcoming 20 million visitors by 2020.”

‘Dubai Expert’ operates as a turn-based card game, where participants will need to select the best cards – each with an attraction in the city – from an automatically generated deck, to create an ideal itinerary for a traveller.

Various traveller profiles make up the 30 ‘missions’ of the game, with the best combination of activities earning higher scores. The platform also includes 25 videos from experts that serve as a guide of what to do in Dubai – including family entertainment, gastronomy, shopping, theme parks, culture and heritage amongst others.

Participants can become a ‘Dubai Expert’ by completing 20 successful missions and watching all 25 expert videos, with a higher ‘Dubai Expert’ level achieved by completing all 30 missions and answering all pop-up questions about the city. In order to maintain this status, players are required to return to the game every year and complete updated missions and watch newer expert videos.

“While we strive to engage more individuals with the city’s booming tourism industry, we also understand the importance of reaching out to global travel agents,” General Manager, Dubai College of Tourism, Essa Bin Hadher added.

From flights and accommodation to dining and experiences across the city, travel agents streamline the entire booking process for tourists – and in turn help increase the number of visitors to Dubai every year

Along with building their knowledge of Dubai, travel agents can also enjoy benefits such as invites to various events in the city, as well as a ‘Dubai Expert Certificate’ and the use of the ‘Dubai Expert’ logo. The tool will first be launched in English across multiple key markets and will then be translated into various languages including French, Mandarin, Russian, German, Italian, Bahasa, Korean, Japanese, Polish, Czech, and Spanish.

There are also plans to create a global league table of Dubai Expert users, allowing agents from all over the world to compete against each other to achieve the highest score.

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