By Huda AlMulla
DUBAI — On Nov. 16, 2016, Zayed University students from the Planning and Promotion for Events and Festivals (COM 475) class, from the College of Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS), in association with the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA), hosted the 6th MEPRA Student Chapter. This event took place at Zayed University’s Convention Centre, Dubai campus. The topic of the event was “Opportunities in Tourism: A Human Capital Perspective” speakers highlighted various employment opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector especially for young Emirati women.
Our three invited guest speakers engaged the students in interesting talks about the growth of tourism and hospitality in the UAE, Dubai in particular and how our local Emirati students can contribute to and benefit from this sector. Alex Malouf, corporate communication and reputation manager from Procter & Gamble, shared his knowledge and experience about the benefits of having local Emiratis working in the private sector.
Nada Badran, the founder and owner of Wander with Nada who started a unique walking tour company in Dubai inspired our students to “go out there in the real-world and dream”, she was very popular with our female students. Nada’s advise to our students was to value their ideas and ambitions and she provided them encouragement to consider the tourism sector to work in. She used herself as an example of how she as a single woman conceptualized and created a unique tourism service called Wander with Nada. One of our student’s Maryam Ali, said “I always thought that being a tour guide is unsuitable for an Emirati woman, but after seeing Nada I really would love to get a tour guide license and begin working”.
Jeff Strachan, the business development director from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), presented interesting facts and figures about Dubai as a tourism destination. He brought to our students’ attention the lack of Emirati locals in the tourism and hospitality sector. He stated, “Dubai needs more Emiratis like you to work in the front lines of the tourism and hospitality industry”. During the event all the speakers showed the importance of having Emiratis working within the tourism and hospitality industry, since they are the local citizens that tourists would like to meet and interact with. They highlighted that overseas tourists who visit the UAE want to learn more about the Emirati people, their culture but today unfortunately these tourists are unable to connect with Emiratis to discover a real authentic UAE experience.
The 6th MEPRA Student Chapter carried a very clear message that young Emiratis like our students need to consider the tourism and hospitality industry, this will enhance the tourists experience especially with Expo 2020 coming in under four years.
This story was originally published on Dec. 15, 2016. It was re-uploaded on Dec. 31, 2020.
