Marriott International, Inc. announced it has signed an agreement with NEOM to open three properties on its luxury island destination Sindalah, situated in the Red Sea off the northwest coast of Saudi Arabia. The multi-deal agreement includes Saudi Arabia’s first Autograph Collection Hotels property, as well as two Luxury Collection properties. “NEOM is one of the most highly-anticipated developments in the world and we look forward to working with its team to develop these three exciting properties,” said Jerome Briet, Chief Development Officer, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Marriott International. “The Luxury Collection and Autograph Collection Hotels properties will express their own unique personality inspired by the exceptional natural landscapes of NEOM. We continue to see growth opportunities for our brand portfolio within the destination and Saudi Arabia overall.” The Luxury Collection in Sindalah Offering global travelers a gateway to the world’s most captivating destinations, The Luxury Collection is expected to open two properties in the highly anticipated island destination, featuring transformational experiences and destination-rooted authenticity. Slated to open in 2024, a beach resort will offer a mix of 70 luxury rooms and suites, including one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom villas all featuring private pools. The second project, projected to open in 2024, is expected to be an all-suite property offering 115 one-, two- and three-bedroom luxury suites, and will be situated in the heart of the retail and marina district of Sindalah. Both Luxury Collection properties are set to showcase multiple culinary experiences and leisure facilities. Autograph Collection in Sindalah Autograph Collection Hotels are a product of passion inspired by a clear vision, soul, and story that makes it individual and special. Expected to open in 2024, the Autograph …

Sojern shares its latest data highlighting that the Middle East continues to build on its strong 2022 travel momentum. With relatively quick bouncebacks from COVID-19 in the UAE, and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) seeking to secure its place on the tourist map with an ambitious visitor push, it’s looking like strong travel intent to the region will continue well into 2023. As of February, Sojern sees that 2023 flight searches are up year on year (YoY) globally; 72% from APAC, 48% from EMEA, 36% from US & Canada, 30% from LATAM and 23% from Caribbean. With last year’s FIFA World Cup boosting travel recovery in the region, Sojern looks at the current state of play for travel now that the tournament dust has settled. Demand for Regional Hotels Up on 2019 Levels in Many Middle Eastern Countries Several recent reports highlight that Middle East destinations are leading global travel recovery, in part boosted by Dubai’s 2020 Expo and last year’s World Cup. Sojern’s latest lodging data supports this positive picture and sees that 2023 interest from most origins to the region is high and even above January 2019 levels. Inbound travel demand from African, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Latin American (LATAM) markets continue to grow with KSA showing one of the most marked increases in demand. The country sees a 541% increase in 2023 versus 2019 international lodging searches from Africa, 358% from Europe, 279% from LATAM, 251% from the United States and 2,547% from Canada. This uplift suggests that their tourist ambitions to draw 100 million visitors annually by the end of the decade appear to be off to a strong start. Qatar continues to ride the World Cup …

‎Qatar Airways drew major attention at ITB Berlin 2023, Airline’s Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, unveiled new destinations, and announced flight resumptions and frequency increases during a press conference held on the first day of the exhibition. Highlighting the success of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, Qatar Airways revealed its new sports sponsorship portfolio as well as a multitude of other projects and partnerships lined up for the year 2023, continuing on the path of bringing people together all while boosting the tourism industry in the State of Qatar. The press conference was also attended by His Excellency, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, Ambassador for the State of Qatar to Germany. At the press conference, H.E. Mr. Al Baker announced over seven new destinations planned for launch in 2023, including Chittagong, Juba, Kinshasa, Lyon, Medan, Toulouse, and Trabzon. Qatar Airways is also resuming flights to 11 destinations: Beijing, Birmingham, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Davao, Marrakesh, Nice, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Ras Al-Khaimah, and Tokyo Haneda. Multiple destinations also saw frequency increases scheduled for the year 2023.* Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is dedicated to enrich the global community which it serves. As the World’s Best Airline, we are excited to offer more ways of bringing the world together, increasing connectivity and bridging gaps within the travel industry. As we expand our fleet, network, partnerships and international presence we look forward to working together to deliver sustainable growth and a compelling future for the industry. “We continue to look forward to our bright future here in Qatar, with multiple projects lined up for 2023 and beyond, such …

The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism (MOHT), hosted the largest Global Travel Week Middle East this week with the participation of 200 professionals in the field of luxury tourism from around the world, along with 40 local Omani tourism industry key players. It was two days of networking opportunities to connect with the luxury exhibitors across the globe in the Sultanate of Oman. Asma bint Salem Al Hajriya, Deputy Director General for Tourism Promotion at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism in the Sultanate of Oman said in her closing remarks stated, “On behalf of my country, the Sultanate of Oman, and on behalf of my entire team of the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, we are all delighted to welcome you here today – we hope you have a very enjoyable time and are excited to learn more about our beautiful country. Oman is a blessed country with a diverse landscape, nature, heritage and history and of course, without forgetting the most aspect of its people, the most renowned friendliest and hospitable people of Oman are the assets of this country. With all these components, Oman delivers a unique luxury travel experience.” She further reiterated, “striking the perfect balance between international outlook and traditional atmosphere, our deep culture and heritage combined with world-class hotels and authentic Arabian experiences, means that we are very well placed to make the most of the growing interest in visiting our region. Events like today are an invaluable opportunity for you to connect with our stakeholders, and I hope that as we end this two day event you had fruitful meetings and good knowledge of what Oman offers …

Millennium Hotels & Resorts Middle East and Africa (MEA) will assume management of Dubai’s iconic Crowne Plaza Dubai. The property will be rebranded as Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel and is a testament to the company’s commitment to regional growth. Fahad Abdulrahim Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Millennium Hotels and Resorts MEA, said, “The hotel is an icon of the Dubai skyline, and its enduring legacy is a testament to the continued transformation of the city. We are excited to reimagine and redevelop the property in line with the needs of tomorrow’s traveller, whilst retaining the charm and familiarity that has made it a favourite destination in Dubai.” “Its location on Sheikh Zayed Road and landmark status exemplify the type of properties that Millennium Hotels & Resorts (MEA) strives to add to its portfolio. This announcement is very much in line with our development strategy focused on growth in prime locations in the region.” An AED500m renovation program is already underway and is due to be completed over the next two and half years, including the hotel tower with 568 rooms, suites and apartments, meeting spaces, F&B outlets, and the commercial tower. The hotel is well-placed in the heart of the city, a 5-minute walk from the World Trade Centre, across the road from the Museum of The Future and Dubai Financial Centre, 15 minutes from Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, Dubai Mall, and 10 minutes from Dubai International airport.

Wego revealed the top booking trends for Ramadan. Ramadan is just around the corner, and with it comes a surge in demand for hotel bookings across the UAE. Ramadan brings in a vast number of tourists and locals alike, looking to indulge in the traditions, customs, and festivities that are part and parcel of this holy month. Travellers worldwide are showing an increased willingness to venture beyond their immediate surroundings, leading to a rise in travel-related activities. Spike in Airfare Rates As we enter the month of Ramadan, airfares from the UAE are expected to increase compared to the same period last year. Cheap flights may be harder to come by as the prices for flights to India and the UK have already risen between 13 to 32 percent, according to our data. This year’s Ramadan is coinciding with school breaks, which could be a reason for the instant spike in travel demand. We expect to see a further increase in airfares as we approach the Eid break. We saw that the price for flights to India, for instance, have increased to Dh713.06, up from Dh627.37 in 2022. Similarly, travel to the UK and popular European destinations also experienced rate hikes compared to February 2022. High occupancy rates for hotels Dubai’s hospitality sector saw a strong rebound in 2022 after the COVID pandemic, with 14.36 million international visitors arriving in the emirate and daily occupancy remained over 70% throughout the year.  Due to a busy event schedule and the upcoming Ramadan season, hotel rooms in Dubai have experienced slight price increase and limited availability compared to last year. Many hotels were close to full occupancy due to conferences and the …

Saudi kicks off its first participation at ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest travel show and convention, celebrating key milestones for Saudi’s tourism growth story and showcasing the breadth and depth of Saudi’s extraordinary destination offering. In the run up to the event, Saudi hosted members of media at the press conference session “Unexpected Arabia: Discover Saudi,” on Monday 6 March, giving a preview of Saudi’s diverse offerings and developments. During the week there will be interactive on-stand experiences, bringing to life the rich culture and heritage of one of the world’s last frontiers of tourism. Visitors will have an opportunity to immerse themselves in the authentic home of Arabia, to feel the unparalleled hospitality for which the country is known. As the largest exhibitor at this year’s edition of ITB Berlin, a record number of partners for Saudi are on the stand showcasing a record number of bookable products for the destination (200+) spanning experiences, packages, hotels, and cruises for trade partners. This presence reflects the incredible growth the country is witnessing. Since opening to tourism in 2019, Saudi has been recognized as the world’s fastest-growing tourism destination in the G20. With an extraordinary +121% increase from pre-pandemic international tourism levels, Saudi achieved 93.5 million visits in 2022 and is outpacing global tourism sector recovery as recognized by the UNWTO. As the world’s biggest investor in tourism, Saudi has committed $550bn to new destinations by 2030. Preserving heritage and history, a $50.6 billion masterplan will transform Diriyah, a 300-year-old city and birthplace of Saudi, into one of the world’s most exciting cultural sites. In 2023, Red Sea Global, the world’s most ambitious luxury tourism development, will debut its first hotel …

After a hiatus of two years, ITB Berlin is back on track with a brand new theme, titled, “Open for Change” which is ironic as all borders have not opened up and in many ways different than before. 7th to 9th March 2023, the travel, tourism and hospitality fraternity across the globe gather together to network, understand, learn the new ropes, and initiate business for this new era of tourism. Deborah Rothe, Exhibition Director, ITB Berlin, shares with TTME. “With the motto of this year’s ITB Berlin “Open for Change,” the world’s leading travel trade show celebrates its live comeback from 7 to 9 March in Berlin.  As a pure B2B show, it now has a duration of three days for buyers, trade visitors, exhibitors and media. As usual, the tourism industry’s most important Think Tank, the ITB Berlin Convention will also be held in parallel with the trade show under the motto “Mastering Transformation”. In terms of the number of exhibitors she responded, “We are very satisfied with the current booking status – more than 90 percent of space is fully booked, and we are still receiving exhibitor registrations at short notice. At the moment we count more than 4.500 exhibitors from over 150 countries, not including companies to be represented by exhibitors that are not on site. The ticket sales for trade visitors are in full swing, and the general profile of trade visitors is high. The ITB Buyers Circle, for example, an exclusive community for top-tier buyers with backgrounds in corporate, leisure, business travel, or MICE, has already more than 1,500submissions from buyers. These are reviewed manually, based on fixed criteria, and are currently being approved one …

It was announced that Haitham Galal has been appointed as the General Manager of the Tower Plaza Hotel Dubai. Galal will oversee the repositioning of the hotel including all recruitment. He will play an active part in promoting The Tower Plaza Hotel as a leisure destination. Engaging with the local community is a key focus for Haitham and the hotel. Prior to joining the hotel, Haitham, who has worked in the hospitality industry for over 25 years, was cluster operation manager at the Novotel Al Bustan Abu Dhabi, and prior to this spent his time with IHG,  Accor and Rotana in different positions.  

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world to recognize the achievements of women and advocate for gender equality. In the Philippines, women have played a significant role in the tourism industry, contributing to the growth and development of the sector. Let us see how the Philippines celebrates International Women’s Day in terms of tourism. The Philippines is a popular tourist destination, known for its natural beauty, cultural attractions, and hospitable people. The tourism industry in the country has grown significantly in recent years, contributing to the country’s economic growth. Women have played a critical role in this growth, working in various capacities, including tour guides, hotel staff, and travel agents. To celebrate the achievements of women in the tourism industry, the Philippines organizes various events on International Women’s Day. These events aim to showcase the contribution of women to the sector and inspire other women to pursue careers in tourism. They also provide a platform for women in tourism to network and share their experiences, challenges, and success stories. The nation goes above and beyond in supporting and showcasing women travellers, offering them a seamless and safe experience when travelling to and from the country.   The Philippines also recognizes outstanding women in the tourism industry through awards and honours. These awards aim to recognize women’s contributions to the growth and development of the sector and inspire other women to excel in their careers. For example, the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines organizes the Mabuhay Awards, which recognizes individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the tourism industry.   In addition to these events and awards, the Philippines promotes gender equality in the tourism industry through …