Emirates and the Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop cooperative collaboration and strategies targeted to bring growth in investment to Dubai by being an aid to new and current firms registered or licensed in the freezone.
Under the MoU, both parties will explore opportunities to offer a number of travel-related incentives for new and existing SMEs and larger businesses too, including potential enrolment in the airline’s Business Rewards program.
Emirates currently has over 20,000 SMEs enrolled in its Business Rewards program and is providing them with benefits including simplified enrolment, easier earning and redemptions, and greater flexibility on retaining and using points in addition to upgrading opportunities.
Ahmad Al Haddad, chief operating officer, Parks and Zones, DP World UAE said that SMEs make up nearly 95 percent of all companies, employing 42 percent of the workforce and contributing around 40 percent to Dubai’s GDP. “We are committed to our role as the economic driver for Dubai, building on our 33.4 percent contribution to the emirate’s GDP,” said Al Haddad.
Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer for Emirates Airlines, added: “Emirates has been a long-standing supporter of a number of initiatives targeted to support SMEs and innovative start-ups in our home base the UAE, and today’s signing with Jafza reinforces our commitment to helping stimulate diverse economic activity in Dubai by providing companies with a range of highly competitive travel incentives so they can scale up their businesses both regionally and globally.”
From November 15 to March 31, the Emirates Business Rewards program was structured such that members may earn 25% more Business Rewards Points on their travel to Dubai during Expo 2020 Dubai. Businesses may get 1.25 points for every dollar spent on inbound flights to the emirate under the program.
