Dubai Applied Covid-19 Lessons During Regional Conflict, Says Issam Kazim

[Editor's Note: Follow the Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.]

Dubai's aim was to make sure that there is a sense of continuity after the US-Israel-Iran conflict broke out and this initiative was led by the leadership, said Issam Kazim, CEO - Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

"There was a coordinated approach across all of the different sectors where we were constantly meeting with our stakeholders. From the first moment, we need to make sure that there was a sense of continuity across the city," he said.

"One of the key focuses was around visibility of leadership at that moment. Our leaders took this responsibility upon themselves to make sure that they are visibly seen across different approaches within the city as well as that create confidence," he added.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

Kazim was speaking at the annual Dubai Stakeholders City Briefing held at Dubai Opera on Wednesday, which was organised by DET to reflect on recent developments and to align on the priorities for the period ahead.

On Saturday, February 28, the US and Israel launched an attack on Iran, targeting its political and military leadership. Tehran later attacked the Gulf countries, including the UAE, with missiles and drones.

“We immediately got in touch with all our key stakeholders, making sure we had constant sessions with them to understand exactly what their concerns were-and, more importantly, to address any of their questions immediately as well. This is something that we learned and adapted really well during Covid-19: creating that constant communication loop, understanding from the industry – who are in touch with their stakeholders – then raising it to us from a government perspective so we could address things immediately,” Issam Kazim said during the annual City Briefing.

The Dubai tourism chief stressed that lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic - such as constant communications with key stakeholders - were applied after the outbreak of the regional conflict to ensure continuity.

He added that different support measures such as a Dh2.5 billion relief package were announced by the government to support the private sector.

He added that agility was also a key factor in ensuring the continuity of the city's different sectors.

“With every test – and bear in mind that the nation is just over 54 years old – we've seen a lot of transformation, changes, and growth within this period of time. We've also seen how the city and the country respond to these circumstances, and how resilience has truly become part of that spirit,” he said.

The Dubai tourism chief pointed out that many local hotels closing for renovation and upgrades had been planned well before the start of the military conflict in the region.

He added that these hotels took advantage of the regional situation and brought forward their refurbishments so they would be fully ready and better prepared to hit the ground running when the market picks up.

'Focus not just on recovery': UAE plans strategy to stay ahead of global shocks '40-day crisis will never determine UAE's economy in the future,' says UAE minister

MENAFN03062026000049011007ID1111207752