InterContinental Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa is preparing for a grand opening in Q1 2022, offering an idyllic, luxury island experience on the pristine Hayat Island shoreline in Mina Al Arab, United Arab Emirates. The 351-room expansive escape will mark the first property for the luxury hospitality brand in the emirate, making it the flagship beachfront resort. All accommodations provide overwater views and access to a private balcony or terrace area – perfect for a relaxed morning coffee or gazing upon the glowing dusk hues. From the spacious rooms for a romantic retreat to private pool villas for family escapes, each sanctuary seamlessly fuses modern luxury living with elegant local touches, just 45 minutes from Dubai. Bringing a new level of luxury to Ras Al Khaimah, the all-new five-star haven will present six new culinary outlets to the emirate, that have been inspired by the surrounding mountains, desert and sea, including the fine-dining Levant & Nar, complete with 360-degree sea views. For an elevated stay, guests can look forward to the unmatched Club InterContinental. A resort within a resort, Club InterContinental is housed in an exclusive building that provides an end-to-end guest experience, with personalised service, separate check in area, access to a private pool, and special privileges that enhance every aspect of the stay. An oasis of tranquillity, the resort’s five-star spa is equipped with a spacious Turkish hammam, as well as 10 treatment rooms with pioneering treatments, while younger guests can learn more about the world in the Planet Trekkers and Teens Club facilities, that are only available at select InterContinental resorts around the world. From dazzling beaches to desert-cloaked landscapes, the resorts Concierge programme helps guests …

In a few hours you can connect with travel agents and DMCs from Philippines to network, learn and understand the new normal strategies, new places, attractions, new gastronomical ideas and strategies promoted especially designed for the GCC clientele. Department of Tourism Philippines have been proactively working over the past months making sure that the destination will be top of the mind for the clients in GCC. As four countries in GCC are added in the green list outbound travel to the Philippines would be much smoother. This virtual meeting will bring together DMCs and agents from across the Philippines to meet with agents from the GCC for six hours of valuable meeting time. If you haven’t registered yet, sign up on http://www.letsvisitphilippines.com/ Virtually connecting just before the holiday rush will ensure that you reconnect with your business partners or meet with new contacts who will be able to kick start plans for the upcoming months. Air connectivity is of utmost importance and the new arrangements made to ensure a smooth passage to the destination will surely regain the positive momentum from before which attracted a good number of visitors from the GCC.

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) revealed that the emirate welcomed 4.88 million visitors between January – October 2021 with international visitation during October alone reaching over one million. Reflecting the rising growth momentum and stability of the industry, strong international visitation was complemented by a robust domestic tourism market, further boosting the hospitality sector resulting in 9.4 million room nights sold between January – October 2021 in comparison to 7 million room nights sold in the same period in 2019. The latest tourism figures were released at the second bi-annual City Briefing of 2021 held by the Department of Economy and Tourism to provide stakeholders with key updates on the tourism sector’s positive growth and insights into current and future strategies and global marketing campaigns. As Dubai continues to lead the global tourism rebound and stimulate international business growth, the forum featured a detailed presentation on domestic and global developments, including an overview of increasing visitor numbers, hotel occupancy, and activities in international markets, which have all reinforced Dubai’s profile as a safe, must-visit destination and the world’s best city to live, work and visit. The meeting was presided by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and was attended by over 1,150 representatives from leading establishments in the hospitality, travel, and tourism sectors. The forum was part of DET’s regular dialogue with business leaders to encourage collaboration and exchange insights to ensure the industry is seamlessly aligned with tourism growth initiatives and strategies. Held at Ain Dubai, the forum discussed ways to further accelerate growth in the industry, leveraging the latest landmark attractions to open in Dubai. HE Helal Saeed Almarri, …

A delegation from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna was recently in Dubai, led by Stefano Bonaccini, the President of Emilia-Romagna, with the aim of displaying the region’s expertise and excellence in industry, academia, research, tourism and innovation. The President was accompanied by the Regional Minister of Tourism, Andrea Corsini, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agro-Products, and professional and industrial universities specialized in developing solutions capable of responding to global challenges. The Emilia-Romagna mission is working to transfer its expertise to the UAE and its visitors during Expo 2020 Dubai through representatives from the industrial, scientific, technological, social, tourism and cultural fields. A series of special events and initiatives are being organized at the Italy Pavilion and the M-Eating Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai around these themes. In the same context, the mission’s tasks included several strategic meetings that brought together Bonaccini, accompanied by the Consul General in Dubai, Giuseppe Finochiaro and Ahmed Al Falasi, CEO of Dubai’s new Department of Economy and Tourism. The mission also organized a visit to the Dubai Future Foundation, where President Bonaccini met the Foundation’s CEO, Khalfan Belhoul, and discussed ways of cooperation and partnership. On the 9th of December, Emilia Romagna organized a press conference at Expo 2020 Dubai, in the presence of the regional minister of tourism, travel and tourism pioneers and representatives of various related sectors, in the presence of local and international media. The conference highlighted the Emilia-Romagna industry of excellence in the sectors of industry, agriculture, specialized tourism and higher vocational education, which together highlight Emilia-Romagna’s enormous potential, infrastructure, and economic and tourist attractions. “Expo 2020 Dubai comes after the very hard months of …

Etihad Airways and ITA Airways have signed a codeshare agreement connecting the networks of the two airlines. This new commercial partnership is designed to boost business travel and tourism between Italy and the United Arab Emirates, and will offer travellers more options and better connectivity when travelling through Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Abu Dhabi. Available for sale today for flights from 14 December 2021, ITA Airways will apply its ‘AZ’ code on services operated by Etihad between Italy (Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa) and the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi). Similarly, Etihad will codeshare AZ flights connecting Italian domestic services beyond Rome Fiumicino Airport (Genova, Bari, Brindisi, Catania, Palermo) plus regional European services (Malta). The new codeshare flights are now available for sale through the airlines’ respective websites (ita-airways.com and etihad.com), reservation systems and in travel agencies. The partners are also working together to expand the scope of their cooperation over the coming months to offer customers even more seamless travel options.

Philippine tourism board will be conducting a virtual roadshow tomorrow Monday 13th December 2021, from 11am to 5pm UAE time. As Philippines prepares to open borders to the GCC with four of the countries added to their green list, namely United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman. Before the pandemic, Philippines received a really good number of visitors from the GCC hence, reconnecting with the travel trade from the GCC will be the ideal way to kick start the reciprocal relationship once again. Register now on http://www.letsvisitphilippines.com/ Over the pandemic Philippines Department of Tourism has been proactively working to ensure that the agents are kept well informed about the destination, making sure it is kept top in mind with special virtual dinner events, comprehensive webinars showcasing the new normal offerings and the safety regulations of the destination. Last week a two part series specialized webinar was conducted to also share insights on how to sell the destination of Philippines to the GCC market with travel trade experts from the GCC to the stakeholders in Philippines which proved to be very informative and insightful.

German National Tourist Office in UAE for GCC along with Visit Berlin conducted a special press conference sharing the latest campaigns for winter and 2022. Yamina Sofo, Director Marketing and Sales Office Gulf Countries shared that Germany’s diverse mix of cultural, naturistic, and family-focused leisure attractions are proving to be a big hit with GCC tourists, with the European country recording a rise from the region for the first nine months of 2021. Overnight stays in Germany by visitors from the GCC are up 29.6 per cent year-on-year, as of September 2021, with travellers rating overall satisfaction, choice and quality, accommodation, and opening times as the highest rated fulfilment factors in the Quality Monitor survey for the German tourism industry. “Campaigns that have seen success this year and will continue through to 2022 include German.Local.Culture which saw a keen focus on Germany’s wealth of authentic cultural experiences, as well as the FEEL GOOD campaign which highlights the sustainable tourism offerings we have. The new 2022 campaign Embrace German Nature will round up our campaigns and showcases Germany’s recreation and nature in all its facets” said Yamina Sofo, Director of Sales and Marketing of the German National Tourist Office. “Our global 2021 campaigns were attractive to our GCC travellers as they tend to search for cultural experiences that offer them an insight into different countries, as well as the increased interest in sustainability and being one with nature.” The country, including Berlin, has this year opened several key attractions, adding to its attraction for GCC visitors, a travel segment which is likely to continue a steady upward trajectory for the German capital. Humboldt Fort has recently opened its doors as an …

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be conducting the Formula E race on January 28 and 29, 2022. The Ministry of Sports announced the launch of ticket sales for the first and second rounds of the Diriyah Formula E race, as part of the eighth season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. The event took place in At-Turaif in historic Diriyah, in the presence of officials from the Ministry of Sports, Alberto Longo, Formula E Co-Founder and Chief Championship Officer, and Carlo Boutagy, CEO and Founder of CBX, the event promoter, as well as the champion of the last edition, British driver Sam Bird. Tickets for the race, which will take place on January 28 and 29, 2022, are available through the website https://diriyah-eprix.com. Prices start from 150 SAR, with 10,000 Grand Stand tickets. Additionally, the BOSS | EMOTION club will be providing world-class hospitality with the ultimate experience, entertainment and exclusive opportunities to engage with the ABB Formula E teams and drivers. Twenty-two drivers, including last year’s Diriyah race winner Sam Bird, the reigning World Champion Nyck de Vries, and new drivers Antonio Giovinazzi, Dan Ticktum and Oliver Askew will tackle the fast and technical circuit illuminated by LED lighting during Formula E’s only night races. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al Abdullah Al Faisal, Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), Ministry of Sport, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of tickets for the Formula E race in its first and second rounds, which will start at the end of January 2022. We look forward to doing what is required to ensure the event runs in the best possible way, to host sports …

With the end of school term and the start of the holiday season, Emirates is expecting over 1.1 million passengers to pass through Terminal 3 at Dubai International during this busy travel period which will run through until 21 December. This weekend will see a peak surge of close to 250,000 travellers departing from Terminal 3. Customers are encouraged to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to their flight departure and ensure they have all the required documents for their destination before proceeding to the check-in desk. To expedite their airport experience and ensure a smoother departure, passengers can choose to avoid the rush by physically checking-in 24 hours before their flight departure, drop off their bags and collect their boarding passes, using the 32 self-service bag drop machines and 16 check-in kiosks available at Terminal 3.* Customers using the self-service kiosk must still complete their immigration formalities no later than 60 minutes before their flight departure. Customers can also opt to check in online up to 48 hours and until 90 minutes before their flight departure and download digital boarding passes on their mobile phones for select destinations. Customers who check in less than 60 minutes before departure will not be accepted for travel. To speed up the process even further, customers can also utilise Emirates’ biometric path in Terminal 3 for a contactless journey from specific check-in desks, Emirates lounges and boarding gates. The biometric path allows customers to complete immigration formalities and board their flights with virtually no document checks and queuing. Once checked in, passengers are advised to ensure they arrive to their boarding gate on time. Gates open 90 minutes before departure, …

As the Philippines prepares to open its borders to the GCC countries an insightful webinar took place with two experts sharing their valuable information with stakeholders in the Philippines about selling the destination in the new normal era. At the inception, Verna C Buensuceso – Undersecretary Tourism Development Department of Tourism Philippines shared that as the borders will open to the four destinations in the GCC namely, KSA, UAE, Oman and Kuwait a two part webinar series will be conducted in order to navigate the new normal in the Middle East and understand the market trends and provide information to the stakeholders to keep themselves updated with regard to the way forward in this very important market for the Philippines. She further reiterated that their requirement at present was to make Philippines a top of the mind outbound destination for the GCC travelers as they seek new destinations especially at this point of time. The first session focused on how to sell the Philippines to the GCC which had two of the most senior experts in the industry in the GCC in UAE and KSA in particular. Nasir Jamal Khan – CEO – Al Naboodah Travel and Tarique Khatri Executive Vice President Center of Excellence Seera Group. Moderator of the Session San Jeet Market Representative of Philippine Tourism in the Middle East shared that during the pre- pandemic era, Philippines received a substantial number of visitors from the GCC and the aim at present is to reposition Philippines to attract more numbers from this market as it has all the offerings and requirements. One of the first questions raised by San Jeet Moderator of the session to Nasir Jamal Khan …