Premier Inn MENA plans to take Britain’s biggest hotel brand to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2023 as part of its Middle East expansion, with discussions with several investors and potential business partners under way. Premier Inn, which currently has 11 hotels across the UAE and Qatar, is also planning further expansion in its existing markets and elsewhere in the region as part of its long-term Middle East growth strategy . Simon Leigh, Managing Director, Premier Inn MENA, said: “Premier Inn’s focus for 2023 is to further evolve our brand and footprint in the region – on our existing ‘home grounds’ of the UAE and Qatar, elsewhere in the GCC and in other markets in the wider Middle East. “With its huge investment in tourism under Vision 2030, a bid to host EXPO 2030 and world-class developments in full swing across the country, Saudi Arabia offers excellent opportunities for Premier Inn.  We would be immensely proud to bring our much-loved brand to the Kingdom and be part of its ever-growing tourism and hospitality sector. Fruitful discussions are continuing, and we are confident that Premier Inn will make its KSA debut this year.” Premier Inn also plans to launch a new, higher-grade room category in the Middle East, as well as more enhancements at its existing properties this year, reinforcing its commitment to the region and to maintaining its position as MENA’s hotel brand of choice for high quality, high value accommodation. “2022 was a record year for Premier Inn MENA in terms of trading and growth, fueled by large-scale events such as Expo 2020 and the World Cup, the continued post-pandemic bounce-back, and the opening of our 11th property, …

Emirates will soon build an advanced training facility to accommodate 6 Full Flight Simulator Bays (FFS) for its future Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X aircraft. The brand new, 63,318 sq. ft. facility is slated to open in March 2024. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group, said: “This US$ 135 million investment to build a new pilot training centre will ensure Emirates’ readiness to commence its pilot training ahead of the delivery of its new aircraft fleet starting from 2024. The building will be equipped with the latest, technologically advanced simulators to provide the best training for pilots, while using solar power to reduce energy consumption.” The new building will be adjacent to the existing Emirates Training Facilities in Dubai, which will provide a great integration and close proximity to all the other pilot training centres. Pilot trainees will also benefit from being able to set-up and configure the cockpit environment using bespoke devices as part of the pilot training module and upload the data to the Full Flight Simulator (FFS) prior to commencing their training session. This innovative, first-of-its-kind concept is designed to shorten the trainee’s preparatory time inside the simulator, help them maintain focus and take full advantage of the training duration. With the addition of the new building to Emirates’ existing training colleges in Dubai, the airline will have the potential to expand its pilot training capacity by 54% per year. Across the airline’s training buildings, Emirates’ pilots will have increased flexibility and facilities to hone their flying skills with 17 full flight simulator bays offering a capacity of more than 130,000 training hours a year. In line with …

Qatar Tourism, in collaboration with industry partners, took part in OTM Mumbai Show 2023 in order to attract the Asian market. Qatar Tourism won the ‘Best Design and Decoration’ award for its booth at the event. This year’s booth featured industry partners including Expo 2023 Doha – Ministry of Municipality, NH Collection Oasis Doha Hotel, Park Hyatt Doha, Radisson Blu Hotel, Doha, Tawfeeq Holidays, Mannai Holidays and Inbound Tourism L.L.C., Regency Travel & Tours and Travel Designer. Qatar Tourism’s booth also included a photobooth activation where visitors chose from a variety of iconic destinations in Qatar, capture a photo and keep it as a souvenir from the event in addition to a Arabic calligraphy workshop.

Red Sea Global (RSG) and Amaala, has revealed two new brands, WAMA and Galaxea, set to deliver incredible guest experiences at RSG destinations. Last year the developer rebranded as Red Sea Global, promising the establishment of a series of RSG-owned subsidiary businesses that prioritized stringent sustainability standards while continuing to support the evolution of RSG developments into destinations that will play a critical role in the Saudi tourism sector. WAMA and Galaxea are the first two subsidiary businesses to be announced since then, ahead of The Red Sea welcoming its first guests this year. “Creating experiences is just as important as building hotels, and WAMA and Galaxea are sure to deliver unforgettable adventures for our guests. Whether it’s kayaking, canoeing, stand up paddleboarding, foiling, kite surfing, sailing, or exploring the Red Sea’s incredible submarine world, WAMA and Galaxea will create extraordinary moments and beautiful memories that last a lifetime,” said John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global. “What’s more, these brands have been created with sustainability at their core and will continue to build on our ambition to deliver a regenerative approach to tourism development and operations. It is our hope that eventually they will become standalone brands operating at destinations around the world.” In line with this approach, Galaxea is working closely with Saudi Water Sports & Diving Federation, alongside PADI International to ensure that all diving facilities operated by Galaxea lead in regenerative tourism standards and set the blueprint for future diving development around the world. WAMA, named from combining the word ‘water’ in English and Arabic, is responsible for creating invigorating water sport adventures, from Stand-up Paddleboarding through the destination’s mangrove forests, to sailing the Red …

SriLankan Airlines made an upbeat comeback to South Asia’s Travel & Tourism Exchange (SATTE), for the first time since 2019 to reconnect with the trade and jump-start Indian outbound travel to Sri Lanka. SriLankan ran a stall at the expo from 9 – 11 February 2023, and successfully galvanized the support of visiting travel agents, tour operators and other industry allies for the airline as well as national efforts to restore tourism in Sri Lanka. Indian travellers flocked to Sri Lanka before the borders closed in 2019, encouraged by the short travel time and unmistakable similarities of culture. SriLankan Airlines was often the preferred conduit of travel between the two countries owing to its broad Indian network and unparalleled flight frequencies and connections to the East and beyond. The airline is well-placed to welcome Indian customers onboard and to the shores of Sri Lanka once again, and this was the core message driven home to agents at SATTE 2023. In supporting its commercial goals, SriLankan seized the platform offered by the SATTE expo to give a boost to SriLankan Holidays’ package, ‘Dil full of Sri Lanka,’ that was introduced in India recently.  The three-day package provides an unbeatable value proposition combining the airline’s warm and convenient service with four-star properties of partner hotel chains. SriLankan remains strongly committed to its Indian customers and currently operates 80 weekly flights between Colombo and nine Indian cities. Travellers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Madurai, Mumbai, Tiruchirappalli and Thiruvananthapuram can expect a seamless travel experience when flying to Colombo and beyond on SriLankan Airlines. For more details and bookings visit www.srilankan.com    

At a recent interview with Tourism breaking news, JVR Fernando Chief Commercial Officer Satguru shares how they have been actively opening offices across different parts of the world, from the far east to the Middle East, Europe and South America over the past few months. “This year we have opened our offices in Manila & Vietnam in the Far East, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan & Israel in the Middle East and Madrid in Europe, Argentina and Mexico in South America.” Venturing into different areas in order to ensure that each touch point is taken care of, Satguru is on a journey perfecting and adding products, services, new platforms and verticals to create a whole suit of services. Highlighting their new B2B venture Fernando reiterates, “we would like to highlight our brand “ITVAR” which is the flagship of our group. We would also like to highlight the new look and feel of B2B business “T3”.Other new ventures include our charter division, Medical tourism, Cargo, Cars in Africa ( Our Rent A Car division) and Visa Done( Our online visa portal).” Their new GSA wing has caught the attention of many B2B partners over the past few weeks as they started venturing out with their new campaigns. Fernando explains, “Itvar is our GSA Wing representing all our air and non-air products. ITVAR is launched to provide a more cohesive and consistent representation service to clients and ensure that clients’ representation needs are met in a timely, efficient and effective manner. Currently, Itvar holds 65+ GSAs around the globe.”

Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) has commenced an official partnership with the world’s preeminent Twenty 20 cricket league, the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL). Cricket is one of the most popular sports around the world. Through this partnership, STA aims to tap into a strong fanbase between the two countries, encourage affinity and increase awareness of Saudi as a leading destination for Indian travelers, especially among young people. With more than half of its population below the age of 30, India shares a similar demographic profile with Saudi Arabia, where 58 percent of the local population is in the same age group. As part of Saudi’s tourism strategy, India represents immense potential as it is expected to be Saudi’s largest tourism source market by 2030. The partnership is a strong example of Saudi supporting the country’s Sports sector. Saudi continues to strengthen its competitive advantage in the market, and it will look to welcome more than two million visitors from India this year. IPL is one of the biggest events on the international sporting calendar and the partnership adds to a growing portfolio of STA’s global strategic relationships. Partnerships like IPL are a key pillar of Saudi’s tourism strategy as they bring fans, athletes and nations together, while sparking curiosity from those that may want to be among the first to visit Saudi as a destination. The dynamic partnership builds on Saudi’s history and love for cricket, with the first governing cricket body established in 2003. In 2020, the Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation (SACF) was established and it currently looks after 16 regional associations in 11 cities, and counts 8,000+ registered players and 400+ registered clubs, with a total participation of 35,000 …

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the New Murabba Development Company (NMDC), announced the launch of the New Murabba Development Company which aims to develop the world’s largest modern downtown in Riyadh, contributing to the city’s future development in line with Saudi Vision 2030. The New Murabba project will be built around the concept of sustainability, featuring green areas and walking and cycling paths that will enhance the quality of life by promoting healthy, active lifestyles and community activities. It will also feature an iconic museum, a technology and design university, a multipurpose immersive theater, and more than 80 entertainment and culture venues. The project will be situated at the intersection of King Salman and King Khalid roads to the North West of Riyadh, over an area of 19 square kilometers, to accommodate hundreds of thousands of residents. The project will offer more than 25 million sqm of floor area, featuring more than 104,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms, and more than 980,000 sqm of retail space, as well as 1.4 million sqm of office space, 620,000 sqm of leisure assets, and 1.8 million sqm of space dedicated to community facilities. Inspired by the modern Najdi architectural style, the “Mukaab” will be the world’s first immersive destination offering an experience created by digital and virtual technology with the latest holographics. The “Mukaab” will encompass a tower atop a spiral base, and a structure featuring 2 million sqm of floor space that will be a premium hospitality destination with a multitude of retail, cultural and tourist attractions, along with residential and hotel units, commercial spaces, and recreational facilities. The New Murabba project …

Tourism Malaysia boost its promotion activities in Iran by participating in the 16th Tehran International Tourism Exhibition (TITEX) which was concluded last week. This provided a platform to reconnect and further develop more partnership in positioning Malaysia as a preferred destination for Iranians. This four-day exhibition features networking sessions between travel experts, tourism and hospitality sectors that are based in Iran. Tourism Malaysiais participation in TITEX this year sees six tourism industry players from Malaysia including travel agensts, hotels and airlines namely BetterBooking Travel & Tour, Toranj Tour and Travel Company, Gulliver Tour and Travel Company, Siahrood Holiday Sdn. Bhd., IOI Cluster Hotels and Air Arabia. Malaysia’s participation in the exhibition provided an avenue for Malaysia tourism industry players to network and solicit for new business with the Iran counterparts. It is also a platform to update industry players of Malaysia’s latest tourism developments and strengthen awareness on Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination for this market. Furthermore, TITEX will also gave visitors an insight to the many exciting packages and to promote some of the country’s latest attractions and destinations such as Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands and Penang for shopping, family fun and theme parks. Last year’s road show to Tehran which was led by the Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’ Hj Zainuddin Abdul Wahab in May  2022, together with Malaysian travel trade players and officials validated that Malaysia maintains as one of the top of the mind travel destinations for this region. Tourism Malaysia’s promotion campaign as such is a continuous effort to boost inbound tourism to a greater height in the hope to achieve 15.6 million international tourist arrivals with MYR 47.6 billion in tourism receipts …

Emirates Palace Hotel has officially rebranded as Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi, signalling a new golden era as part of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group portfolio. This exciting chapter will celebrate and build upon the hotel’s distinctive legacy while introducing unparalleled experiences for guests, further cementing its position as world’s most iconic beachfront resort. Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Mohammed Al Junaibi said: “We are thrilled as Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi enters a new golden era of hospitality. Guided by the legacy and expertise of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, the resort is set to become an icon of global luxury in line with our leadership’s quest to extend world-class hospitality to anyone visiting or living in the UAE.” Commenting on the rebranding, James Riley stated, “Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi marks a milestone for our brand and confirms our commitment to the region. The palace is a globally recognised landmark in the UAE and we are delighted to manage a property with such rich historical and cultural relevance.” The beachfront palace boasts renovated rooms, innovative dining experiences, and brand-new spa and sports facilities, each elevated by Mandarin Oriental’s legendary service. The reimagined accommodation will include the region’s very first vegan rooms with compassionate design, sustainable bedding, plant based in-room dining options and cruelty-free bath amenities. The hotel’s new signature suites offer a haven of sophistication and style, complete with priority access to the resort’s facilities, whilst The EP Club comprises 660 square metres of elevated living, dining, and relaxing areas exclusively for members and suite guests. Crown Your Love at the Palace by Chaumet represents a highlight of the resort’s grand wedding offering, providing a luxury …