Meet Ahmed Ashfaq, Front Office Manager at JA The Resort in Dubai, UAE. Ashfaq has been working abroad in Dubai for almost 2 years and our team at Travel Trade Maldives decided to gain some insight into his exciting story.

1. What interests you about your particular job?

The most interesting part of my job is that I get to face something very different every day. Every guest you meet is different. I am someone who doesn’t like routine tasks at work. I always tell my team if there is no challenge; there is no fun at work. And of course, when you work in the largest experience resort in Dubai, you will face challenges every day. Our Resort always stands out in Dubai for our heartfelt Hospitality and Casual luxury. One of our values is to be yourself and think out of the box. That gives me lots of excitement to do something different and something new every day.

2. How long have you been working abroad?

I moved to Dubai in 2018 February. I had an opportunity to move within the company. I was lucky that I had already had working Experience with Cluster General Manager of this property back in the Maldives.

3. Why are you willing to work overseas?

For me its all about experiencing something different, something unique which I probably wouldn’t experience in the Maldives. Every day is a different learning experience, Doing the same thing differently most probably more efficiently. Also, I believe it is very important to understand different cultures. Because in this industry we deal with people with very different mindsets.

4. How did you adapt to overseas work culture?

Fist few weeks at work more like a culture shock. Everything here is super quick. If you don’t act quickly, you lose the opportunity. But again it is a new challenge. I came from 34 acres property to 124 acres property with 447 rooms. Looking after Front Office operation for two properties within the resort was extremely challenging at the beginning. So I wanted to learn everything quickly and start giving my inputs. I had great help from the Cluster General Manager who I had worked with back in the Maldives. Also, I got lots of support form some of the senior management team members who I already knew back in the Maldives.

5. Do you believe that working abroad helps your career? Why?

When I got the opportunity to move here, I had no second thoughts. I was aware of how different it would be when I first got the job but never thought how Challenging it would be the Front Office Manager of the largest Experience Resort in Dubai. Working in a city like Dubai, you will get to experience anything which is there in the Hospitality industry. Working abroad helps you to bring the best out of you and introduce you to the best version of yourself. I am very ambitious when it comes to my career. I want to achieve certain things at a certain age. And I feel moving to Dubai is a huge step forward to achieve that.

6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I want to lead a large operation somewhere in the world. But never rule out coming back to the Maldives at some point.