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Lou Hammond & Assocs. has inked a two-year contract to drive awareness in the US and Canada about the tourism attractions offered by Dubai.
The US ranks as Dubai’s No. 6 source market, while Canada checks in at No. 18.
Dubai Corp. for Tourism and Commerce Marketing’s RFP lists the key barriers to visiting the emirate.
They include perceptions that it is unsafe as part of the “Middle East” box, artificial with no culture or heritage, and overly expensive. There also are concerns about Dubai’s poor human rights record.
Lou Hammond’s agreement calls for brand positioning, establishment of an always-on press office, fam/press trips, content partnerships, “out-of-the-box” activations, media monitoring and crisis management.
The PR firm has an eight-member Dubai team, which includes the presidents of its Charleston office (Gina Stouffer), New York (Terry Gallagher), Atlanta (Carter Long), and Toronto (Charmaine Singh).
The contract stipulates that Stephen Hammond or any subsequent CEO of the firm, shall be available to Dubai, as when reasonably required, to access the progress of the effort.
Lou Hammond’s annual fee is capped at $325K.
Weber Shandwick is providing PR and marketing communications services to the Moroccan National Tourist Office in New York.
Finn Partners has filed its six-month contract with the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation, which is worth $240K.
Weber Shandwick wrapped up its work for the Ministry of Bahamas at the end of 2023.
The Aruba Tourism Authority is boosting its budget 29.4 percent to $2.2M at Zeno Group, according to its 2024 contract, effective Jan. 1.
As inflation continues to impact spending, consumers are revisiting their list of what they’re willing to spend more of their money on. Luckily for those in the travel industry, experiences seem to be trending up on the “splurge” list. 
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