Wednesday, Jun 12, 2013
Dubai: A senior Dubai Tennis Championships tournament official has said the world-class status of the event is largely due to the input of UAE leaders and owners Dubai Duty Free.
“Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, have persistently shown a keen interest in our tournament. This has encouraged us to seek out ways and means to innovate and make our tournament better than the previous year,” Salah Tahlak, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Communications and Tournament Director, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, said on the second day of the Middle East Sports Event Summit held at The Address hotel in Dubai Marina.
“One of the regular exercises that I’ve had to do each year is to go and meet our leaders and brief them on how we can keep Dubai at the top of the tennis world,” Tahlak said.
Citing a case in point, Tahlak pointed out that Dubai Duty Free spent a meagre $20,000 (Dh73,458) to get Andre Agassi and Roger Federer to play on top of the Burj Al Arab hotel way back in 2005.
“But it was that one image that fetched Dubai returns in excess of $20 million. The photo shoot had no branding about the tournament; it was just about Dubai,” he added.
“We do make money, but we spend money as well. We have reached break-even figures while upgrading facilities each year. We realise that we’ve got to be different and this can be done by constantly seeking to innovate each year.”
First held in 1993, the Dubai Duty Free Men’s Open celebrated its 20th anniversary this year — and much of the success can be attributed to the in-house organisation of the tournament, Tahlak said.
“More than 700 members of our staff are involved in the operation of the tournament, and we are blessed to have a great team working together right from marketing to the actual organising of the event,” he added.
“Ours is one of the top ten events in the world, but we are always looking at what we can do better each year. Our tournament has an intimacy of its own and nothing can beat that. Tennis is good for Dubai.”
By Alaric Gomes Senior Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
