30 minute interview

Dubai Calling Indians

Kashika Singh General Manager, Al Shams Plaza Hotel Apartments

Kashika Singh, general manager, Al Shams Plaza Hotel Apartments talks to Savio Rodrigues about working in Dubai and the growing tourism market in the Gulf.

With the Dubai Hospitality scene growing rapidly over the past couple of years, what opportunity do you see emerging for professionals from the Indian hospitality industry looking for jobs in the Gulf?

Indians are practically ruling Gulf as no one can match their intelligence, there are so many projects in the pipeline and we Indians are behind it. What the job aspirants must do is to get a right start with a group and believe me, hoteliers are very well looked after.

While it is no hidden matter that money is the real draw for individuals to work in the Gulf, is the working environment thwarted with uncertainty and exploitation as portrayed or is it different?

Definitely it is different. The UAE government has been liberal, flexible and has lifted the ban on immigrants making it possible for Indians to work in the country. The Government has some set policies laid out for expatriates, as there are so many who try to break the laws and it is difficult to monitor each one of them. There are different norms for different industries.

How do you see hotels in both Dubai and India, working with travel agents and tour operators from their respective country?

The future is bright as both countries are doing phenomenally in tourism whether leisure or business, which opens up market for joint promotions between the countries.

What role has your company played to forge ties with Indian tourism related companies to grow both inbound and outbound tourism in Dubai?

We have executed lot of changes and geared ourselves for tourists and corporates as we are in the commercial hub of Bur Dubai. The entire refurbishment is over now and the companies, travel agents and tour operators have shown a very positive response towards us. We have also recently inked an agreement with Mumbai based Anjmal Travels & Tours to be our GSA in India, as we see a huge market in India.