The Ascott Limited (Ascott) announces the re-opening of its fully renovated Qatar-property, Somerset West Bay Doha.  The revamp is in line with the group’s tenacious expansion plans for the region. Owned by Katara Hospitality, Somerset West Bay Doha originally opened in 2008 with a total of 200 units comprising of two- and three-bedroom apartments and was primarily focused to cater to long-stay guests. In line with changing traveller needs, the newly revamped property now offers 228 units in one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and is the perfect choice for solo, business, and leisure travellers. Mr. Vincent Miccolis, Ascott’s Managing Director for the Middle East, Africa, Turkey and India, said: “We are delighted to announce the re-opening of our newly renovated flagship Qatar property, as we introduce stylish urban living in the heart of Doha once again.  Sharing the neighbourhood with some of the country’s most iconic establishments, we are confident that Somerset West Bay Doha will provide an elevated accommodation offering for our existing traveller base as well as new markets. This much awaited re-opening is among the many exciting upcoming projects we have planned for the region in the coming months and beyond.” Offering style, comfort and a sense of home, the fully refurbished rooms exude a warm setting, inspired by contemporary and Arabesque décor. Each guest room is complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that provide breathtaking views of the gleaming Doha skyline, along with a range of modern appliances, a fully-equipped kitchen and a dedicated living and dining area, to make each stay convenient and memorable. A range of recreational facilities, lifestyle activities and business support services are available at the property, including a swimming pool, gymnasium, business centre, …

Hilton and Al Taif Investment announced the signing of an agreement to open DoubleTree by Hilton Fujairah City Centre – a new build hotel that will soon welcome guests to this vibrant city of the northern United Arab Emirates. This hotel will provide all of those travelling to and living in Fujairah with Hilton’s world-class service standards and DoubleTree by Hilton’s signature hospitality,” said Carlos Khneisser, vice president, development, Middle East & Africa, Hilton. “We are grateful for the opportunity to bring DoubleTree by Hilton to the emirate and delighted to support the vision of our partners at Al Taif Investment – as we strive to support Fujairah as it continues to enhance its tourism and visitor offering.” Located in the city centre, the hotel forms part of a mixed-use development known as Al Taif Business Centre which includes offices and residences. Al Taif Business Centre also has a shopping mall, which the hotel will have direct access to. We conceptualized and designed Al Taif Business Centre as an inclusive facility, providing an iconic fusion of business and leisure facilities, and we are pleased to be working with Hilton to open the hotel at our flagship project in Fujairah,” said Khalid bin Kalban, CEO, Al Taif Investment. “With the emirate continuing to be an important logistics hub for the UAE, hosting several world-class medical facilities and developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects, it is an ideal venue to host many domestic and international tourists – and we are positive that this new addition will serve as a catalyst for the emerging needs of the emirate.” Expected to open in late 2022, DoubleTree by Hilton Fujairah City Centre will have 228 …

flydubai announced that flights to Gassim in Saudi Arabia will commence on 01 May with a daily service. This brings the number of destinations served by the carrier in the Kingdom to eight. flydubai has built a network of more than 95 destination in 50 countries served by a young fleet of 63 Boeing 737 aircraft. With the resumption of daily flights to Gassim, flydubai’s network in Saudi Arabia has now grown to eight destinations including AlUla, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Taif and Yanbu. Flights to Gassim International Airport (ELQ) will operate daily from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB) between 01 May and 09 May. These flights will temporarily operate from Dubai World Central (DWC) during the northern runway refurbishment project announced by Dubai Airports which is scheduled to take place from 09 May to 22 June 2022.  Flights to Gassim will resume from Dubai International (DXB) from 23 June. Return Business Class fares from DXB to ELQ start from AED 4,500 and Economy Class Lite fares start from AED 1,450. Return Business Class fares from ELQ to DXB start from SAR 4,500 and Economy Class Lite fares start from SAR 1,390.  

Dubai is to host the next edition of the International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies (IFOS) World Congress, providing its members with the opportunity to finally meet face-to-face at the first in-person edition of their flagship global gathering since 2017. The 22nd edition of the congress will be the first to take place in the Gulf region in cooperation with the GCC ORL Head and Neck Society, Emirates ORL Head and Neck Society, and will be held 17-21 January 2023 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Arrangements are being made after the Emirates ORL Society, offered to relocate the event to Dubai from its originally planned host city.   Led by the UAE ORL Society and with support from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism and Dubai Health Authority, the city has shown a strong commitment to providing the IFOS with a platform for the hosting of its flagship congress, maintaining fruitful dialogue with the international organisation in recent years.   As a member of the Al Safeer Congress Ambassador Programme, which brings together sector leaders and members of global organisations to position Dubai as a hub for international business events, the UAE ORL Society has been able to leverage support from Dubai Business Events, part of DET and the city’s official convention bureau, to ensure it can present optimised propositions to IFOS.   His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism said: “The decision by IFOS to bring its next congress to Dubai is a testament to the city’s positioning as a world-class business events destination and knowledge hub. It is also a demonstration of the confidence that continues to be shown in Dubai’s handling of …

UAE-based smart and green facilities management (FM) company Farnek, is to launch ‘Trendz’ a new standalone hotel management company, at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), which takes place at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on 9-12 May 2022. “‘Trendz’ offers a unique 360-degree service for hotel owners and operating companies with an accent on technology and sustainability, two of the most important trends in hospitality today,” said Walter Knight, Director of hospitality at Farnek.   “Farnek, which has over 8,000 employees, has traditionally provided manpower and outsourcing services, such as cleaning, security and property maintenance. However, ‘Trendz’ takes that market proposition one stage further, managing front office requirements, reservations, concierge, housekeeping and room service – we can also manage sales operations, marketing and PR.   “It is a cost-effective and totally flexible hospitality proposition. Hotels can engage with us for specific operational requirements or contract us to manage an entire property, either under the ‘Trendz’ brand or as a white label product,” added Knight.   One of Farnek’s most recent accomplishments, was the development of an app called ‘Flexi-Guest’ which digitalises the guest journey from pre arrival to check out.   The app, which was developed in-house, interfaces with a hotel’s property management system (PMS) affording guests a whole suite of services from uploading travel documents, such as vaccination certificates, ordering a car on arrival, room service and laundry. The hotel app can also send automated electronic updates and alerts to the guest, as well as e-registration documents, e-invoices and e-receipts, all in one convenient space.   “This gives the guest an enhanced experience, providing a seamless pre-arrival and check-in procedure. They can order room service in advance, have laundry …

Zamzam.com announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AlBirr Charitable Society in Makkah Al Mukarramah. The MoU aims to help develop the Information Technology Unit at the association and was signed by the CEO of Zamzam.com, Mr. Omar Siraj Akbar, and Mr. Hisham Abderrahman Shilly, Vice Chairman of the Board of the AlBirr Charitable Society in Makkah Al Mukarramah. As part of its commitment to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to provide support to the society, and within the framework of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)  initiatives, Zamzam.com joins hands with the first charitable association in Makkah al Mukarramah to build its infrastructure with the aim of streamlining operations. Under the MoU, for the next year, an amount from every booking completed on the site will be donated towards AlBirr Charitable Society in support of several programs that have been developed to serve the community such as sponsoring orphans, providing financial assistance, developing educational programs and kidney dialysis treatments to name but a few. Omar Siraj Akbar, the CEO of Zamzam.com, said, “Inspired by purpose and our core values of integrity, reliability, and transparency, we are honored to partner with AlBirr Society for this charitable initiative and reiterate our commitment to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 by developing the operations and facilitating the electronic transformation of all its services. Through this partnership, we are hoping to use technology to serve and give back to the communities in which we operate”. Hisham Abderrahman Shilly, Vice Chairman of the Board said: “The AlBirr Charitable Society spares no efforts to undertake voluntary humanitarian initiatives to benefit all segments of society, develop the broad spectrum of its services and create a lasting and …

In a very successful start to Ramadan, Umrahme, recorded a strong growth of 80% during the first 15 days of Ramadan. Following the launch of its direct to consumer service and customised Umrah packages, the company observed a massive surge in bookings. This led the company to reach the historic milestone of surpassing bookings for 3.5 million pilgrims globally since its inception in 2019. The unprecedented growth is reflection of Umrahme clinching the coveted award for the Best Online Agent for Hajj & Umrah Pilgrims by the World Hajj & Umrah Care Foundation (The WHUC Foundation). “We expect a strong finish to the current Umrah season with the largest share of bookings. At the start of Ramadan, Umrahme also became the first company to launch B2C Umrah packages which is why we were able to outperform the industry average by a huge margin and showcased multi-fold expansion. We are particularly delighted to see that our investments towards our product has yielded positive results in a short time,” said Mohammed M.S Binmahfouz, Founder and CEO, Umrahme. The Umrah industry continues to experience strong activity and growth since the removal of travel restrictions in February. Along with the overall industry growth, pilgrims’ booking patterns have also witnessed a shift. Pilgrims now prefer to have the flexibility to design their own custom itineraries including the selection of hotels to stay in. This is in stark contrast to the traditional booking process where pilgrims had to book through local Umrah agents with very limited customisation options. Umrahme’s B2C service, offering customised packages to pilgrims globally including flights, hotels, airport transfers, and visas witnessed tremendous growth. During the first 15 days of Ramadan, the company …

In their latest trend report by Travelport it is shared that there has been a rise in international travel to the Southeast Asian region as borders have reopened. Philippines and Thailand account for over half (51%) of all international flight bookings to the region in Q1 2022. Manila, Singapore and Bangkok rank as top three destinations for international travelers from the top five countries such as Saudi Arabia, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea. As borders begin to reopen across Southeast Asia, increased flight bookings show how excited travelers are to return to the region. All countries in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Brunei, have started to remove their travel restrictions and are reopening their borders to international tourists in hopes of rejuvenating the industry that was hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic: tourism. Travelport released the below trend data showing how the easing of restrictions has affected the international demand for travel to Southeast Asia. Hot Spots According to Travelport’s booking data, the top ten destinations in Southeast Asia for international travelers to visit in 2022 are: Manila (Philippines) Singapore (Singapore) Bangkok (Thailand) Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) Jakarta (Indonesia) Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) Hanoi (Vietnam) Phuket (Thailand) Bali (Indonesia) Angeles/Mabalacat (Philippines) For the first quarter of 2022, international flight bookings to Southeast Asia overall have increased and have showed upward trajectory with the Philippines taking the lead by achieving 42% of its international bookings in the first quarter of 2019 prior COVID-19 pandemic. The Philippines and Thailand were among the earliest countries in Southeast Asia to reopen their borders, and travelers are already clamoring to visit. In the first quarter of 2022, these two countries alone …

After its successful start in Europe, with more than 40 affiliated hotels in just 5 months –including the first hotel affiliated in Northern Cyprus, Celebi Garden Hotel, in Famagusta– the European hotel group Quartz Inn Hotels & Resorts arrives in the Middle East to help hotels and independent establishments boost their sales under the umbrella of a sustainable brand. Egypt, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will be the first countries in which the group plans to develop its operations. Quartz Inn was presented last year at the World Travel Market in London, with great media coverage, after being the first European hotel chain made up entirely of independent and sustainable properties. The idea is based on facilitating access to technology for those independent hotels that do not have sufficient means to compete with the large chains. Direct sales is one of the factors on which they have put their main focus, in order to avoid the high commissions paid to OTAs. The properties that join the group must commit to comply with a series of standards in terms of respect for the environment, such as the elimination of single-use plastics in the rooms, saving energy and water or minimizing food waste, among others. The group carries out different sustainability programs, to which the affiliates can join. According to Ignacio Merino, co-founder and Managing Director of the London-based group, “We are very excited to be able to contribute to the development of independent hotels and the local communities in the Middle East that need help in terms of technology, marketing and sales, as well as in the implementation of sustainable policies. In Europe, more than 40 establishments in 10 …

As the most important month of the Islamic calendar, signifying a period of reflection and spending time with loved ones. Ramadan is also the time to experience the true essence of Arabian hospitality in addition to the diverse attractions Dubai is known for. With a number of events, iftars and activations taking place during Ramadan, the city welcomes residents and visitors to enjoy the abundance of activities taking place during this special time. Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has curated a list of some of the best ways to observe the month of Ramadan with family and friends. Family friendly attractions The architecturally impressive Museum of the Future recently opened its doors to the public, welcoming guests to explore, learn and create. The attraction focuses on different elements including the ecosystem, bioengineering, outer space and transportation, in addition to exciting exhibitions offering an insight into the future. An iconic, cultural landmark and centre for future innovations, Museum of the Future is a must-visit attraction. Located along the waterfront of Deira Islands and home to over 400 shops, Souk Al Marfa is among the city’s newest shopping centres. The wholesale market sells everything from carpets and spices to clothing and electronics, with stores and kiosks run by both local and international businesses. Sky Views Dubai at Address Sky View is the city’s newly opened attraction that takes city sightseeing to new heights. Adventure seekers can take on the Edge Walk and Sky Glass experience located on the 52nd and 53rd floors of the iconic twin-towered Address Sky View hotel. Guests can also brave their fears and ride the breath-taking Sky Slide in which you hurtle from floor-to-floor more than …