Following the ongoing success of Hard Rock Hotel Tenerife and Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, Palladium Hotel Group has aligned once again with the world-renowned Hard Rock International to operate Hard Rock Hotel Marbella that will open its doors in July. The hotel will feature 383 exclusive rooms and suites, exceptional leisure facilities, and one of the largest meeting and event centres in Marbella with an extension of 1000m2. Gastronomy is a key part Hard Rock Hotel Marbella with a varied and unparalleled culinary offer that will excite even the most exquisite palates. Hard Rock Hotel Marbella offers unique music-inspired design featuring a curated collection of music memorabilia, the best gastronomy, and incredible swimming pool surrounded by a lush and oasis-like garden, musical events and exclusive wellness facilities and services designed to allure superstars. Located in Puerto Banús, the most exclusive place on the Costa del Sol, is designed to accommodate couples and groups of friends who want to enjoy unique experiences and “wow moments” every day. Parties and music become protagonists, being just another part of the incredible services that the hotel offers. A new concept of hotel where fun, music, service, and attention to detail come together to offer a perfect and unique experience for all guests. The countdown has begun for the Hard Rock Hotel Marbella experiences!

New travel package options have been released by Qatar Airways for fans travelling to Doha to cheer on their team during the intercontinental play-offs this June. The matches will feature four national teams competing in ‘winner-takes-all’ matches to determine the final two teams for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, which will take place in the Middle East region for the first time this November. The fight for the final two qualification spots are set to be high-octane encounters and will serve as yet another prelude to display Qatar’s preparedness ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Fans traveling to Doha for the intercontinental play-off matches are encouraged to purchase their travel packages before tickets sell out, and to capture the sights, sounds and excitement of Doha prior to the mega event. The games will feature four teams from different global football confederations. Australia or United Arab Emirates (UAE) will face-off with Peru on 13 June 2022, followed by Costa Rica versus New Zealand on 14 June 2022 for the final spots in the tournament. The intercontinental play-offs will be preceded by an AFC Fourth Round Match between Australia and UAE on 7 June 2022, also in Doha, to determine the fourth team in the final qualifiers. The extended travel packages to Doha include round-trip flights with Qatar Airways, match tickets, and a minimum of two-nights accommodation. Fans have the option to book their hotel with Al Messila Luxury Collection, Hilton Al Rayyan Curio, or Holiday Inn Business. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways welcomes the competing nations and their fans to Qatar and wish the best of luck to the …

Minor Hotels announces an upcoming addition to its Anantara portfolio in the United Arab Emirates. Anantara Downtown Dubai Hotel will be the brand’s third property in the thriving global leisure and financial hub when it joins the portfolio on 1 July. The property, which is owned by Aujan Group Holding, has 252 guest rooms and suites, each with views of Downtown Dubai – some including the Burj Khalifa, of the Dubai skyline or the hotel pool, a wide variety of food and beverage options, a dedicated wellness floor including a spa, gym and swimming pool, meeting and events spaces and car parking. With the hotel’s central location amidst Dubai’s Downtown and Business Bay areas, close to DIFC the city’s financial district, and with easy access to the central attractions of Dubai Mall, the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Opera and the recently launched Museum of the Future, Minor Hotels plans to position Anantara Downtown Dubai as a lifestyle hub with a range of exciting food and beverage outlets, an Anantara Spa with Thai treatments giving a nod to the brand’s Thai roots and additional wellness offerings. Anantara’s exceptional experiences and luxury touch points will gradually be introduced over the coming months, and a series of property enhancements will commence later in 2022. The addition of this hotel is part of the brand’s strategic expansion into city properties, adding to the existing portfolio of city hotels including Anantara Eastern Mangroves Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Anantara Siam Bangkok Hotel and the growing portfolio of city hotels in Europe including Anantara Palazzo Naiadi Rome Hotel, Anantara New York Palace Budapest Hotel and most recently added, Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam. Minor Hotels kicked off …

The Swiss region of Graubunden, is aiming to attract record numbers of GCC visitors this summer, with a focus on luxury and value-based offers, aimed at family outdoor fun, health and wellness. Graubunden’s summer campaign highlights a range of hotels and serviced apartments, Michelin starred restaurants and immersive cultural experiences, making it the perfect destination for GCC families this summer. “Quite apart from enticing promotional offers this summer, the fresh air, outstanding natural beauty, mild climate and healthy outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, and sailing make Graubunden, an ideal location for families wanting to get away from it all,” said Head of Business Development at Visit Graubunden, Tamara Loeffel. For example, The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, is offering a seven-night detox and health cleansing package, which holistically detoxifies your body under medical supervision. Their treatments support the gentle removal of toxins while simultaneously boosting your metabolism and immune system. Relaxation and healthy nutrition play an important role in this process and includes wellness rituals and detox full board. The Valbella Resort in the Grison Mountains is offering a mountain summer package. Accommodation covers a wide range of rooms located in three buildings on the Lenzerheide, with an extensive culinary offer, wellness facilities, mountain railway tickets and a forest kindergarten. The Pradas resort in Brigels, has a ‘stay seven nights, pay for six nights’ offer, which is geared towards families, staying in holiday apartments. The offer includes free use of the Brigelser hiking bus, and a summer guest card which allows free use of mountain railways, minigolf and various museums. Nature awaits at The rocksresort Design Hotel™ in Laax, with adventure for all the family with their new family summer …

Wizz Air Holdings Plc signed a Memorandum of Understanding (“the MoU”) together with the Ministry of Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (“KSA” or “the Kingdom”), supported by the Saudi National Air Connectivity Programme (a Ministry of Tourism initiative to support the development of the Saudi Tourism Sector). The purpose of the MoU is to explore airline market development opportunities in the Kingdom. The Kingdom has launched a strategic and ambitious vision to triple passenger traffic in the Kingdom by 2030 as part of the Vision 2030 programme. This will provide unprecedented opportunities for airlines and the aviation supply chain. Wizz Air’s innovative and sustainable ultra-low-cost-carrier model is proven to develop markets by making air travel affordable for more people than ever before. The MoU reflects a shared vision between the parties on the potential Wizz Air could bring to the Kingdom to stimulate new demand, thereby making a significant contribution to Saudi Arabia’s planned growth. The parties will work together to enable potential investment and operating models to benefit and add to the Saudi Arabian aviation ecosystem, boosting its tourism industry and significantly increasing its connectivity.  

ATS Travel has extended its partnership with Amadeus as the UAE-headquartered travel management company embarks on an ambitious expansion plan across the GCC. The deal cements a long-term digital transformation partnership between the two companies, adding new value to ATS Travel’s offering and helping position it as a leading travel management company in the Middle East. With the new solutions, ATS Travel will gain new efficiencies by fully automating its ticketing system through Amadeus Auto Ticketing Solution. Meanwhile, Amadeus Remote Ticketing Solution will deliver a fully automated solution for managing pricing, price comparison, and ticketing at remote points of sale. ATS Travel will also benefit from Amadeus Hotels, a one-stop-shop search platform that pulls together content from top hotel aggregators and the world’s leading hotel chains and representation companies into an intelligent single screen solution. Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director, Amadeus Gulf, commented, “The pandemic has led to accelerated demand for digital solutions across the customer journey, particularly for touchless experiences. Amadeus technology will allow ATS Travel to automate many of its functions, delivering superior customer service and cutting costs.” Saleem Sharif, Deputy Managing Director at ATS Travel, said: “The travel industry is one of the biggest contributors to regional economies. Therefore, improving efficiencies streamlines our business and helps us deliver better value to the markets we operate in. Amadeus and ATS Travel have a relationship that goes back many years, and based on the strength of its solutions, our long-term plan is to standardize our technology stack on Amadeus technology.” ATS Travel is the UAE representative of ATG – one of the largest, independently owned business travel management companies globally – with offices in Saudi Arabia and India. The …

Radisson Hotel Group announced the launch of the Concierge Navigation to Success Program (NTS), a new learning programme designed for Saudi professionals working in the hospitality industry. The initiative launched at Park Inn by Radisson in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with key stakeholders from the Radisson Hotel Group supervised by Ministry of Tourism (MOT) that was represented by Princess Noura bint Khalid Al-Saud, the Learning & Development Partnership Manager at the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia. The Concierge Navigation to Success Program launched for Saudi professionals is part of the group’s ongoing expansion strategy in the Kingdom and further cements its intensive recruitment efforts in one of its key market feeders of the region. Designed to upskill the concierge team at Radisson Hotels in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the NTS programme will equip the concierge agents with the tools and resources needed to grow in their career and succeed. This initative is also aligned with the Saudi 2030 vision to raise the contribution of the tourism sector to the domestic product to more than 10% and to provide one million additional job opportunities. Princess Noura Al-Saud said: “We’re delighted to see international hotel groups focus on further development in the Kingdom in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. This only speaks to the group’s commitment to inspiring young adults and the new generations with tailored learning programmes to ensure career growth and the delivery of world-class services. The Human Capital Development Deputyship at the Ministry will always support such an initiative where it comes to develop and uplift the skills within the sector”. The NTS programme aims to enrich the team’s skills needed to tailor guests’ experiences and create …

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines presented its new Premium Comfort Class, an intermediate cabin offering more space, luxury, service options, comfort and privacy than Economy Class, at lower prices than World Business Class. The new Premium Comfort Class allows KLM to more closely meet the needs and wishes of leisure and business travellers. Premium Comfort is an entirely new inflight class with its own cabin, offering a new type of seats as well as distinctive service and catering concepts. Depending on the aircraft type, the capacity of Premium Comfort Class will vary from 21 to 28 seats, which will be wider than standard seats, offering more legroom, a larger screen and a footrest. Premium Comfort seats can also recline further than Economy Class seats. The reconfiguration of aircraft cabins will be carried out by specialists at KLM Engineering & Maintenance at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Boet Kreiken, executive vice president of KLM Customer Experience: “We have great expectations for this new Premium Comfort Class, based on extensive market research. The new class will meet the wishes of business passengers as well as leisure travellers, strengthening KLM’s standing as a global network carrier offering an appealing and varied range: World Business Class, Premium Comfort and Economy Class. It also reaffirms our partnership with Delta Air Lines, Air France and Virgin Atlantic on North Atlantic routes, where we can now combine all products on all routes.” Premium Comfort also has a distinctive catering concept. On intercontinental services, one or two hot meals will be served, depending on the duration of the flight. There will always be a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian dishes. After the meal, passengers will be offered coffee, tea, liqueur …

Saudi Arabia moved up 10 places to 33rd in the world overall, in the 2021 World Economic Forum (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index, which was released recently at Davos. The independent index benchmarks 117 countries on 17 pillars crucial to the development and resilience of their travel and tourism industries. Saudi Arabia moved from 43rd in 2019 to 33rd in 2021, the second largest rise in rankings, as a result of improvements across almost all indicators.  This is the first report to be produced since Saudi Arabia opened for international tourism in September 2019. In 2019, Saudi Arabia launched the National Tourism Strategy, a clear plan to drive forward the aims of Vision 2030. These aims will increase the contribution of the tourism sector to 10% of GDP, create 1million new jobs, and attract 100 million local and international visits annually by 2030. The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index is a key indicator of Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary journey as a global tourism leader. Saudi Arabia’s leadership, resources and ambition are driving the monumental growth of the sector and delivering on Vision 2030 goals. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia said: “I am proud of the progress the Kingdom has made through our Vision 2030 reforms as we have opened to the world. Our success is demonstrated by our strong investment in the tourism sector – from creating jobs opportunities for citizens to working with global partners who are invested in our transformation.” “Our ranking is proof that since 2019, despite the global pandemic, Saudi Arabia has demonstrated incredible global leadership as a new tourism destination. We have made it easier to …

Premium destination, Vienna is ready with its new luxury experiences for the travelers from the GCC as they announce some of their latest openings from the airport to hotels etc. Summer is the main time of the year where GCC travelers explore and spend their family vacation in the lap of luxury in cooler areas in Europe. “We are looking forward to welcoming visitors from the GCC region, so that they can experience the premium destination Vienna first-hand. Vienna has a host of surprises for the luxury-loving guest from the GCC region, who prefer the more tasteful things in life. And it wouldn’t be Vienna if the extravagance were not accompanied by a hint of the city’s typical charm.” Matthias Schwindl, Media Manager Middle East at the Vienna Tourist Board In Vienna luxury can take a highly traditional form. Although the Austro-Hungarian monarchy ceased to exist in 1918, the high quality standards set by the former purveyors to the imperial court continue to have their place in the modern era. Around 500 companies were granted the royal k. u. k. (kaiserlichen und königlichen) warrant, making them Hoflieferanten. With this honor came the right to supply the Imperial Court with goods and services. Whether they had the imperial seal or not, in Vienna these long-standing local companies and their artisanal traditions continue to shape the city’s unmistakable appearance and fuel unique shopping experiences in the twenty-first century. Since 29 March 2022 Vienna International Airport put Terminal 2 once again into operation, ensuring a new travel experience for passengers. The oldest airport terminal was completely modernized and expanded to encompass new features. Travelers can take advantage of a modern and very exclusive …