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Becoming a Dubai Expert is as easy as playing with cards

If you like to pass the time with a deck of cards (or unlocking your iPhone) playing a game of 'Solitaire' or 'Spider' then you're going to love Dubai's new online educational tool for Travel Agents.

If you like to pass the time with a deck of cards (or unlocking your iPhone) playing a game of ‘Solitaire’ or ‘Spider’ then you’re going to love Dubai’s new online educational tool for Travel Agents.

The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has created a fun, new training tool for consultants which is part ‘Flash Card Memory Game’, part training.

Unveiled at Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) over the weekend,’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.

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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 in the city – including family entertainment, gastronomy, shopping, theme parks, culture and heritage amongst others.

Participants can become a destination 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.

How fun!

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Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said partnership with Travel Agents are “crucial” to the destination particularly as leaders “expand our influence and reach across industry channels and stakeholders that influence tourists looking to visit Dubai”.

“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.”

Issam Kazim, DCTCM CEO

“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.”

The card game-inspired platform was created in collaboration with the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and KTM Advance, a specialist in e-learning, the learning tool is a marked departure from traditional training programmes.

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Along with building their knowledge of the destination, Travel Agents can also enjoy benefits such as invites to various events in the city, as well as a ‘Dubai Expert Certificate’..

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.

Are you keen to check out Dubai Expert?