Expats are untapped ‘treasure' for GCC tourism

20623 e-Passport transactions by GDRFA-Dubai
UAE shares border control success story at Frontex
GDRFA-D, EAHM signs training deal
GDRFA-D now has a Customers Relations Manager
Dubai to host Future of Borders conference in 2015

Dubai, December 17, 2014: Major General Mohammed Al Marri, Director General of General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA-Dubai), said achievement, innovation, and streamlining are the three pillars of the management philosophy at the GDRFA-Dubai which aims to provide high quality services in line with the vision and instructions of the UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of being a truly government of excellence.

In his message for the December edition of Manafez Dubai, the bilingual newsletter of GDRFA-Dubai, he added: “We are happy that we have within a short span of few years managed to become an inspiring force to reckon with in terms of technology and innovation. We will continue the journey of excellence with firm determination and commitment with our passion for excellence driving every aspect of our work.”

Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of GDRFA-Dubai, in his message, said: “The UAE has attained big achievements in the border control industry that makes the country a role model for others. There is a need for giving a tremendous momentum to cooperation among the stakeholders to carry out the scheduled expansion and future growth plans.”

“Dubai, which has invested millions of dollar to develop border control systems, install smart gates and build a large digital infrastructure to support the developments in the border industry, has a lot to showcase to the world,” he added.

In an interview with Manafez Dubai, Lt. Col. Salah bin Suloum, Assistant Director General for Entry Permits Section at GDRFA-Dubai, called upon the authorities concerned to explore the possibility of allowing GCC expatriates who have valid residency to move between GCC states without a prior visa.
He said such a step will enhance intra-Gulf tourism and economies in general and the UAE in particular which has developed tourism infrastructure, will contribute to improving tourism across the GCC where millions of expatriates are living in similar conditions in terms of security checks and residency rules.

He said that this step will be a trial for what will come when the GCC rail project is completed which will be a huge factor for justifying such a move. Lt. Col. Salah said that applying this new service could achieve the Gulf tourism boom and build the way for new levels of prosperity that will benefit the airlines, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and car rentals among others.

He also noted that the Ministry of Interior’s decision Number 22/2014 to modify the visa issuance fees has created new type of visa - cruise visa - that was earlier complicated and costly, but will now help cruise tourism to grow in the UAE and the region. There was a real need to reconsider the number of nationalities that are exempted from prior visa requirements. The expansion of waiver list will also help attract more tourists to the UAE.

The 24-hour AMER Centre operated by GDRFA-Dubai for providing information about its services to the public, handling their inquiries and receiving their suggestions and complaints has been playing a vital role in providing excellent customer services.

During the first half of 2014, the centre handled 269,103 phone calls, recording an 83 per cent increase over the corresponding period previous year. The number of e-mail messages received also jumped from 13922 in 2011 to 18344 in 2013, a 34 per cent increase, according to Captain Salim Al Ali, Manager, Customer Services Section at GDRFA.

As a step towards bringing UAE’s success closer to the world and learning and benefiting from success stories from across the world, the GDRFA-Dubai is hosting an international conference on the Future of Borders in Dubai from 11th to 12 March, 2015.

More than 500 participants from all over the world are scheduled to attend the conference. The participants will include interior ministers, managers of border control authorities, airport operators and airlines, international organizations such as IATA, ICAO and ACI.

emaratech, the technology partner of GDRFA-Dubai, has been awarded the 2014’s Minister of Interior’s Excellence Award for “best strategic partner” category. The award recognizes emaratech’s excellence in the Naturalization, Residency and ports sectors.

“We are proud to receive this award. It is a great recognition and motivation for our teams to continue their utmost efforts in the implementation of the many strategies for these sectors”, said Thani Alzaffin, Director General and Board Member of emaratech.

emaratech was able to form a unique strategic partnership model with these sectors the past years, resulting in many achievements in the areas of reengineering processes, automation of operations leading to reducing costs, increasing efficiency and effectiveness, increasing revenues as well as raising customer satisfaction.

emaratech has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization Certification (ISO 27001) by TUV Nord Middle East for its world-class information security management systems (ISIM).The certification is part of emaratech’s journey to internationally recognize its security procedures and protect its Intellectual Property.

In the Opinion Columns section, the benefits of migration has been asserted by Laura Thompson, Deputy Director General of International Organization for Migration, while Scott Morrison, Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, has put across his views about restoring public confidence in Border Protection.

In the In Focus section, the newsletter has shared insights into the forecasts of an international study about a dramatic shift in talent management landscape globally.

The newsletter has two special reports - an ILO study about skills mismatch in Europe and UAE’s high ranking globally in a unique index that measures and tracks the relative ease of sourcing, hiring and retaining contingent workforce.

Conceptualized, produced, marketed and promoted by Nadd Al Shiba PR & Event Management, the online version of the glossy, multi-colour publication in English and Arabic is available at www.manafezdubai.com.