Dubai Airports wins global award for best airport use of social media

Dubai Airports’ ‘flash mob’, performed in the heart of the Dubai Duty Free offer, was a huge viral hit


UAE. Dubai Airports has been named winner for ‘Best use of a social media platform’ in the international airports category at the inaugural Travel + Leisure Social Media in Travel & Tourism Awards (Smittys) announced in New York last week.

Dubai Airports gained the recognition for its now famous ‘flash mob’ at Dubai International, which was orchestrated late last year to promote the DXB Connect airport prepaid card and has since gone viral on YouTube with over 2.7 million visits.

“We are absolutely thrilled about winning this prestigious award, especially because it is one of the very few that recognises creative and effective campaigns involving the emerging media,” said Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths. “It is the first major international recognition for our efforts to utilise social media platforms such as twitter, Facebook and YouTube, which are increasingly important to connect with our customers.”

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_yXy4YGOyvU

Dubai Airports has a fast-growing presence on the social media scene with its Facebook page attracting 400,000 views and nearly 8,000 ‘tweeps’ following its twitter feed (@DubaiAirports).

The Smittys has three types of awards, including ‘best use of a social media platform’, ‘best single promotion through social media’, and ‘best promotion of travel deals’, open to 14 company categories including hotels, airports, airlines, cruise line and tour operators among others.

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