Luxury tour operator Lightfoot Travel has added to its Singapore and Hong Kong hubs by launching a sales office in Dubai at the end of last year, as part of its efforts to grow its market in the Middle East. The Dubai office is primarily responsible for developing outbound travel to Lightfoot Travel’s destinations in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe, as well as increasing the company’s expertise and product offerings in the Middle East region.

Industry veteran Matt Vlemmiks takes the helm as regional Director, bringing with him a decade of experience in the luxury travel sector.

“I am excited about the challenge of introducing Lightfoot’s brand of impeccable customer service and unrivalled destination knowledge to the Middle East. This market is perfectly poised for an influx of these values, as travel packages from the UAE have tended to focus on one-stop beach destinations or pre-planned group packages. Lightfoot will offer fully tailor-made itineraries to suit the exact requirements of each client, while promising the most attentive customer service before, during and after their holiday.”

Outbound tourism in the UAE is rapidly increasing, with the Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports offering extensive international routes and continually adding new destinations. Currently, top destinations include the United Kingdom, United States, France and India.

Sample holidays with Lightfoot include African safaris, cruises to the Arctic Circle and Antarctica, multi-country South American tours, as well as beach holidays to destinations such as Thailand, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.  

Lightfoot Travel Managing Director Simon Cameron says, “This is a key strategic opening because we have seen our Dubai-based clients bound for Asia increase significantly over the past few years. We really want to be in a position to capitalise on these changing tastes, as UAE residents begin to move away from predominantly European travel.”

“Also, with the expatriate population largely in the region on short-term contracts, the trend is to travel more often than they normally would do at home”, says Cameron. “With the long school summer holidays and the urge for expats to depart en masse to escape the uncomfortable temperatures of July and August, our range of global destinations means that we can really target areas that are perfect at key travel times from the Middle East.”

Lightfoot has also seen an increase in the number of Asia-based clients bound for the Middle East and North Africa, to destinations such as Jordan, Oman and Morocco as well as the UAE.

“For well-seasoned travelers from Asia, places like Bali and Phuket don’t hold much allure anymore. They are willing to travel further for destinations that are more remote and experiences that are off-the-beaten-track. Touring the ancient city of Petra, camping in the Oman desert and trekking the Atlas Mountains in Morocco are all holidays we’ve been seeing more and more requests for,” says Cameron.

This is in line with industry trends, as dozens of luxury hotel brands are popping up in the greater Middle East region, catering to both leisure and business travellers – with corporate travel also being something that Lightfoot Travel is poised to tap into.

Vlemmiks says, “My background in the travel industry has been concentrated on regions in North Africa and the Middle East, and the second aspect of my role is to maximise inbound sales from our Asian offices into the area. Dubai is already renowned as a premier inbound destination with an ever expanding portfolio of world-class hotels, golf courses and experiences. Abu Dhabi too has enormous potential, with the continuing high profile developments on Saadiyat Island. With the vote for the World Expo 2020 set to take place imminently and Dubai well in the running, there is no more exciting time to be based in this region.”

For more information please contact Director of the Middle East Matt Vlemmiks at matt@lightfoottravel.com or +971 4 455 8788. For marketing enquiries please contact Regional Marketing Manager Nikki Pang at nikki@lightfoottravel.com or +852 2815 0068.