The National Aquarium Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZSCF), is proud to announce the commencement of groundwork in West Africa for the ‘African Manatee Conservation Project’. This vital initiative was announced during the curtain drop event on the 3rd of April 2024, where two African Manatees were introduced into their new home at the Aquarium. As one of the select locations globally where the African Manatee species can be observed and studied, the National Aquarium Abu Dhabi now plays a pivotal role in advancing conservation efforts for this vulnerable species in West Africa. The National Aquarium commits to an annual contribution of US$25,000 to sustain this project, sourced from proceeds generated by its Manatee Retail Shop. These funds are managed by MBZSCF in collaboration with the African Aquatic Conservation Fund (AACF), a seasoned NGO with over a decade of expertise in aquatic mammal conservation across 19 countries in West Africa. AACF strategically allocates these resources towards extensive research, conservation, and educational outreach initiatives, with a focused objective of safeguarding vulnerable African manatee populations in their natural habitats in Senegal and Guinea. The African Manatee Conservation Project will focus on several key areas, including in-depth studies on the manatees’ population genetics, acoustics, feeding ecology, and physiology. This research is crucial for understanding the threats these manatees face and developing strategies to mitigate them. Additionally, the project will provide support for at least ten researchers and African graduate students, covering essential expenses such as fieldwork, laboratory analyses, and travel to present their findings at international conferences. The project also prioritizes community involvement and education, actively engaging local communities in Senegal and Guinea through outreach programs …

Air Tanzania has launched its inaugural flights from Dar es Salaam to the United Arab Emirates. Air Tanzania’s latest route to Dubai International Airport, Terminal 1, features four weekly flights, connecting Tanzania with the UAE and Beyond. A testament to the tireless endeavors of the carrier’s Corporate Planning Unit in Dar es Salaam, the new route marks a significant milestone for the company, highlighting its vision to expansion through new operations and markets; both domestically and internationally. AVIAREPS Middle East, renowned as a global leader in international representation, marketing, and communications within the aviation, tourism, and hospitality sectors, has been selected as the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Air Tanzania in the UAE. With a worldwide presence spanning 68 offices across 65 countries, AVIAREPS, including its Middle East arm, AVIAREPS Middle East, will be supporting Tanzania’s flag carrier airline with a full spectrum of sales and ticketing services in UAE, extending its services and impact to the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries and beyond. Flight Details: DAR-DXB: Flight Number: TC 404 Operates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday. Departure from DAR at 20:00 (local time) Arrival at DXB at 02:30 am (local time) the following day. DXB-DAR Flight Number: TC 405 Operates on Mondays, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays. Departure from DXB at 04:00 (local time) Arrival at DAR at 08:30 (local time) Eng. Ladislaus Matindi, CEO and Managing Director, Air Tanzania, said: “We are delighted to join the ranks of global airlines in launching the Dubai route, fulfilling a longstanding aspiration to enhance connectivity and enrich the travel experience for our passengers. Our direct flights to Dubai, operated four times weekly with our state-of-the-art aircraft B737-9 MAX, promise exceptional comfort …

Virgin Hotels  announced its first London hotel to open on 1st August 2024 in the heart of Shoreditch. Continuing its global expansion, London will be the eighth Virgin Hotels location as it brings the brand home to its birthplace and where it all started for Sir Richard and the Virgin Group. It will become the 17th property for the wider Virgin Hotels Collection, having just announced a new property in Kenya and following the successful launches of Virgin Hotels Edinburgh and Virgin Hotels New York in 2023. The hotel will form part of a long-term agreement between Virgin Hotels and Reuben Brothers – global leaders in real estate investment and development. It will bring Virgin’s iconic trademark and unrivalled personalised hotel experience to one of London’s most vibrant neighbourhoods, known for its tech, fashion, culture and creative arts scene. The 120-bedroom hotel, located at 45 Curtain Road in the heart of Shoreditch, is one of the most striking buildings in London’s East End landscape, making it the perfect fit with Virgin Hotels’ ethos and philosophy. Its seven other luxury lifestyle hotels are also located in iconic urban locations across key cities in the US and UK. Sir Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, commented: “We’re all absolutely delighted that Virgin Hotels Collection will be opening a Virgin hotel in London. Since the inception of Virgin Hotels, we’ve had our sights set on London; a place that so many of our customers either call home, or name as one of their favourite destinations – and of course where Virgin’s story started. “At Virgin, we’ve been disrupting the travel industry for more than 40 years, from land to air to sea …

Hilton Al Khobar King Fahd Causeway has opened its doors to guests, marking the arrival of the latest Hilton property in Al Khobar. The hotel comprises 344 rooms and suites, ranging from standard and deluxe guest rooms to executive suites, spacious one-bedroom suites, presidential suites, a royal suite and hotel apartments, each with a panoramic sea view. Hilton Al Khobar King Fahd Causeway is situated along the beautiful Corniche, offering stunning views of the Arabian Gulf while guests get to enjoy a harmonious blend of Saudi Arabia’s rich cultural heritage and Hilton’s world-class hospitality. Discover the vibrant energy of Al Khobar Corniche, located just steps away from the Hotel, or immerse yourself in a world of retail therapy at Al Dharan Mall, one of the largest shopping centers in the eastern region. Hilton Al Khobar King Fahd Causeway Hotel is part of Hamad Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Mousa Holding Company for Hotel Investments, which is committed to offering the finest hotel and tourism establishments. Mr. Hamad Bin Abdul-Aziz Almousa, Chairman of Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Group and owner of Hilton Al Khobar King Fahad Causeway, said: “We are pleased to announce the opening of Hilton Al Khobar King Fahd Causeway, as a hotel that aspires to become the main destination in Al Khobar City, offering Hilton’s globally recognized hospitality and high-quality amenities as part of our commitment to boosting the local economy and tourist attractions in the Kingdom.” Emad Mahmoud, General manager of Hilton Al Khobar King Fahd Causeway, said: “We are delighted to bring Hilton’s award-winning hospitality to Al Khobar. We aim to provide an unparalleled experience for guests by providing modern facilities complemented with world-class service, all amidst a breathtaking backdrop of the …

Etihad Airways and Egyptair have signalled their intent to strengthen their partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to enhance commercial and operational ties to provide travellers with wider choices, higher quality services and increased value.* Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “This agreement will help further deepen our codeshare with EGYPTAIR opening up seamless travel for guests of both airlines across our networks. It also lays the tracks for co-operation across both our frequent flyer programs and will enable us to explore collaboration on joint-marketing campaigns and promotions designed to stimulate and reward our customers.” Yehia Zakaria, Chairman & CEO at EGYPTAIR, said: “This MoU strengthens our strategic partnership with Etihad Airways, and underscores our commitment to providing our valued customers with a seamless travel experience and access to a wider network. “I am confident that this partnership with Etihad Airways will not only benefit our passengers but also foster a stronger relationship between Egypt and United Arab Emirates. We look forward to a successful collaboration, soaring to new heights together.” The existing codeshare agreement gives customers of both airlines enhanced connectivity to destinations across each other’s networks, between Egypt and the UAE as well beyond Cairo into Africa and beyond Abu Dhabi into Asia. The agreement enables guests to book their entire journey on a single ticket and have their baggage checked through seamlessly to their end destination. This MoU will see codeshares between the two airlines extended, giving one-stop access for EGYPTAIR travellers to more of Etihad’s network in addition to several destinations in Asia and Australia that already exist. Equally it gives Etihad customers seamless access to further destinations on EGYPTAIR Network, …

KlasJet, an exclusive private and corporate flight charter company and a part of the world’s largest ACMI providers, the Avia Solutions Group family, is pleased to announce that it has successfully achieved the IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) registration. This registration is an acknowledgment of KlasJet’s strict adherence to the highest operational and safety standards in the aviation industry. Administered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the IOSA program is designed to assess the management and control systems of airlines. KlasJet’s acquisition of the IOSA registration highlights its ongoing efforts to uphold globally recognized safety and quality benchmarks. Justinas Bulka, CEO of KlasJet, commented on this achievement: “Receiving the IOSA registration marks an important step for our company. It reflects our dedication to safety and our ongoing work to enhance the quality of our operations. I am immensely proud of our team, whose expertise and continuous hard work have enabled us to meet IOSA’s detailed requirements.” This registration assures partners and passengers of KlasJet’s focus on providing a reliable and secure flying environment, enhancing the airline’s appeal as a cooperative partner for international carriers. “With the IOSA registration, we look forward to new growth and collaboration opportunities in the international aviation sector. Our priority continues to be offering outstanding service and ensuring the safety of all our passengers,” said Justinas Bulka. KlasJet is part of the Avia Solutions Group family, the world’s largest ACMI providers (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance), operating a fleet of 213 aircraft. The group also provides a range of aviation services including, MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul), pilot and crew training, ground handling, as well as a variety of associated services.

In keeping their commitment to the digital transformation UN Tourism partnered with UAE to integrate an e-platform for the governing body meetings. Under an agreement announced during the 121st session of the UN Tourism Executive Council, the United Arab Emirates will sponsor the implementation and maintenance of a Mobile Application integrated platform. The platform includes an electronic voting system for the Organization that would be available at the meetings of its Governing Bodies (the General Assembly and the Executive Council) and its subsidiary organs. It also offers other features such as documentation management, online registration process and interactive communication between participants, among other features. The adoption of the new electronic platform sponsored by UAE further underscores UN Tourism’s commitment to the digital transformation of every part of the tourism ecosystem, as well as its ongoing focus on promoting innovation and modernizing its processes. UN Tourism will make use of a new electronic voting system for the meetings of its key statutory meetings and other meetings of its Governing Bodies.  

SiteMinder and Cloudbeds have established a strategic partnership to expand connectivity between platforms and create new revenue capabilities for more than 60,000 hoteliers globally. This collaboration will provide Cloudbeds customers with direct access to SiteMinder’s powerful revenue platform, while SiteMinder customers can explore the industry-leading PMS platform offered by Cloudbeds. As a result, this partnership means expanded distribution capabilities and deep actionable insights for hoteliers, enabling them to make better commercial decisions. This partnership aims to set a new benchmark in platform connectivity, delivering an improved onboarding experience and exceptional operational accuracy for mutual hotel users. “In late 2023, we announced our mission of making sophisticated revenue management accessible to every hotel in the world. We are excited to partner with an industry leader like Cloudbeds to propel this mission, by removing the friction that comes with having critical data hidden away in isolated systems,” says Sankar Narayan, CEO and Managing Director at SiteMinder. “This partnership is a testament to the US$50 billion hotel revenue that is processed by SiteMinder’s platform each year as well as the unique position that we hold to completely transform revenue management for the global hotel industry. It continues SiteMinder’s long history of breaking down silos in a highly-fragmented industry.” Adam Harris, CEO at Cloudbeds, explains: “Our partnership with SiteMinder is about two of the hotel industry’s biggest names coming together with a mutual commitment to drive forward deeper connectivity between hotel platforms and create new standards that benefit hoteliers everywhere. This partnership empowers hoteliers worldwide by providing unified visibility and control across our platforms. This is just the beginning. We are excited to deliver incremental revenue opportunities for hoteliers while optimizing and streamlining the …

Kuwait Airways new rail service agreement with Flex flight operated by Deutsche Bahn will connect German cities such as Munich, Bremen, Munster, Hannover, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Stuttgart, Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, Hamburg, and Nuremberg via Frankfurt, and rail routes: German Rail (QYG) via Frankfurt or Munich or Amsterdam. The company added that Kuwait Airways passengers could book rail services directly through the company’s website or electronic application or the various reservation channels of travel agents. As part of Kuwait Airways’ efforts to develop and include new services for its esteemed customers, the company announces the signing of an agreement with Flex Flight (W2), which will enable the Blue Bird customers to book German Rail Services operated by Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) and number of cities that Kuwait Airways operates starting from June 2024. In this regard Kuwait Airways stated, “As part of its relentless endeavours to provide exceptional and diverse services to its valued customers, Kuwait Airways is pleased to announce that it has signed this important agreement with Flex Flight to book on the German Rail Services operated Deutsche Bahn AG (DB). This agreement will enhance the tourism and commercial relations between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Germany.” Kuwait Airways reaffirms its keenness to provide the best services to its valued passengers and to enhance their experiences to reach the highest-level of qualitative services provided to them.

SODIC and Marriott International, Inc. signed an agreement to bring the Tribute Portfolio brand to two of the leading developer’s hotels in Egypt. The anticipated hotels in West Cairo and the North Coast will join Tribute Portfolio’s growing global family of independent hotels, offering captivating designs and vibrant social experiences. Slated to open in 2027, the Tribute Portfolio Hotel at Forty West – SODIC’s signature residential building complex in West Cairo – will comprise of 170 guestrooms, including 48 suites along with multiple dining experiences and recreational facilities. Ideally situated in the heart of the flagship mixed-use development, SODIC West, the hotel will be easily accessible from the newly opened Sphinx Airport and a short drive away from the Grand Egyptian Museum and Giza Pyramids. Anticipated to open in 2029, the second Tribute Portfolio Hotel will be located in June, SODIC’s Miami inspired beachfront destination within the up-and-coming Ras al Hekma area on the North Coast. The hotel will be part of a vibrant development within June, which offers residents and visitors access to a beautiful sandy beach, pristine sea water and a bustling boardwalk and beach club, along with residential villas and serviced apartments. Plans for the hotel include 180 guestrooms along with a variety of dining and leisure facilities. Commenting on the signing, Ayman Amer, SODIC’s General Manager: “We are very excited to be collaborating with Marriott International on these two upcoming hotel developments. This comes as a testament to SODIC’s commitment to joining forces with renowned global industry experts that create further value for our developments. The Tribute Portfolio brand gives SODIC the opportunity to create hospitality offerings that truly reflect the developments’ ethos. We look forward to …