The Singapore Food Festival (SFF), one of the most highly-anticipated events on every foodie’s calendar, returns for its 28th edition over three weekends from 27 August to 12 September 2021 with the theme ‘Savour Singapore in Every Bite’. SFF 2021 is a highlight of SingapoReimagine , a campaign that invites travellers to experience new possibilities that redefine what Singapore has to offer. In line with SingapoReimagine, SFF spotlights our diverse culinary culture and the people who keep it alive, by offering global foodies the opportunity to reignite passions and experience travel anew through our hybrid offerings. Beverly Au Yong, Area Director, Singapore Tourism Board, MiddleEast: “Singapore Food Festival 2021 continues to innovate by bringing foodies a plethora of activities which people can explore virtually this year. The three weekends are packed with activities for everyone from attending live masterclass to uncover new flavours and recipes with Singaporean chefs to exploring Singapore through virtual experiences and docu-features. We continue to engage the Middle East audience through such virtual activations and encourage them to fulfil their passion for travel and discover reimagined experiences in Singapore safely and sustainably when travel resumes.” An exciting breadth of live masterclasses, both free-to-view and paid, will bring international audiences up close and personal with some of the most well-known chefs in Singapore’s culinary scene. Foodies can also work up an appetite through curated walking tours to indulge in stories of culinary heritage and invention; peel back the layers to uncover new flavours through recipe videos and explore Singapore through virtual experiences and docu-features. The only festival in Singapore dedicated to local cuisine and F&B talent, it continues to innovate, bringing foodies more than 50 gastronomic and …

In response to exceptional Khareef season demand for Salalah in Oman’s southern Dhofar Governorate, Oman Air has gradually increased weekly flight frequencies from an average of 18 weekly flights in July to a total of 41 weekly flights at the beginning of August.  Both Muscat-to-Salalah and Salalah-to-Muscat reached a total of 41 weekly flights and 7820 weekly seats each way, for a grand total of 82 weekly flights and 15,640 weekly seats. The extra flights reflect Salalah’s popularity as a leading domestic destination during Khareef (monsoon) season, a time of year when the region is bathed in an abundance of rain, lush greenery, and cool air. Adil Al Zadjali, Oman Air Country Manager (Oman) said, “Salalah remains an extremely popular domestic destination and our commitment at Oman Air is to provide travel flexibility for our valued guests with the convenience of extra flights when needed. Khareef season—and all the visual splendor it offers—transforms Muscat to Salalah into one of our busiest routes. By progressively introducing 23 additional weekly flights in each direction, visitors to the region have been able to book their seats with full confidence. As domestic travel rebounds, our aim now is to develop a revised flight schedule that lets us maintain exceptional year-round frequencies to Salalah.” In July this year, Oman Air scheduled its Boeing 787 Dreamliner with 3-class configuration on flights between Muscat and Salalah, featuring award-winning Economy and Business Class cabins and luxuriously appointed First Class Suites. Initially planned to service the route until 31 July, the airline will continue to operate the 3-class Dreamliner on select flights to Salalah, adding to an already optimized mix of aircraft type and offering a wider choice of …

With the recent announcements of the UAE easing entry protocols for 12 countries*, and the UK adding the UAE on its ‘amber list’, Emirates is actively responding to the spike in travel demand across its network to make it easier for customers to connect to Dubai and beyond through the scaling up of its operations. In line with the easing of restrictions, the airline will be restoring capacity across 29 cities on its network on over 270 flights as well as fine-tuning its schedules to boost frequencies and capacity as demand proliferates for international leisure and business travel. By October, the airline will increase its services to 73 weekly flights to the UK, including a six times a day London Heathrow operation; double daily A380 flights to Manchester, ten weekly services to Birmingham and daily services to Glasgow. Emirates will begin serving London Heathrow with three daily flights, all operated by its flagship A380. Throughout August and September, Emirates will gradually increase its operations to London Heathrow, and by the middle of October, the airline will have restored its operations to six daily flights, of which four will be served by the A380. The multiple daily flights served by the airline’s flagship A380 will provide significant connection opportunities to one of the highest demand leisure and business markets in the world. For Emirates customers wishing to travel to the UK, the airline has optimised schedules to create the best connection options from its network, particularly across major cities in Africa like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Lusaka, and in West Asia including Karachi, Islamabad, among other cities. Emirates currently flies to 12 cities in the United States on over 70 weekly …

The Republic of Mauritius is looking forward to the full reopening of its borders on 1st October, when vaccinated international travelers will be welcomed in without restrictions. Visitors who present a negative PCR test taken in the 72 hours before their departure will be able to explore the island freely from the moment they arrive. At this time of year, visitors will find the perfect climate for enjoying the various outdoor activities Mauritius has to offer, such as hiking, kite surfing, water sports, as well as of course relaxing on the country’s world-renowned beaches. Mauritius opened for international travel in the middle of July. Currently, vaccinated guests spend 14 days in a special ‘resort bubble’ hotel before going on to discover more of the Indian Ocean paradise. The approved Covid-19 safe resorts are available at: www.mauritiusnow.com The successful acceleration of the country’s vaccination programme has allowed Mauritius to progress with the full reopening and welcome visitors into a safe and secure environment. At this moment 1,322,232 vaccine doses have been administered in total to citizens and residents. The percentage of people vaccinated:  first dose: 60% and  fully vaccinated: 48% The Mauritian government took the decision in January to prioritise tourism workers and hotel staff in the vaccine rollout to ensure visitors will be welcomed into a safe and secure environment in Mauritius. Arvind Bundhun, Director of MTPA, said: “Mauritius is delighted to see the world opening up again for travel. We have been welcoming international visitors to our island since the middle of July and the ‘resort bubbles’ have proven a great success. “We are looking forward to the next stage of our reopening on 1st October, when vaccinated visitors …

Gulf Air has extended the IATA Travel Pass trial to include more routes after the initial kick-off on flights from Bahrain to Athens, London and Singapore flights. Starting from today, the airline will include flights from Bahrain to Dubai, Frankfurt and Paris flights to the IATA Travel Pass trial project to expand to more passengers and more destinations. Moreover, another milestone will be added to the extended list of destinations in which passengers with non-biometric passports on both iOS and Android devices will be able to take part in the trial to simplify and manage COVID-19 travel requirements and enhance the overall travel experience. Passengers flying to Athens, Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Singapore will be able to trial the app which helps passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. Gulf Air passengers will be able to create a ‘digital passport’ allowing them to match their travel itineraries with the COVID-19 health requirements of their destination country, and validate compliance. Bahrain is one of the first governments to participate in a trial of the IATA Travel Pass with its national carrier to help pave the way for the re-establishment of global connectivity while managing the risks of COVID-19. Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi said: “We’re on the right track with our IATA Travel Pass trials and now we’ve added 3 more popular routes to be part of the trial. Our passengers can now participate when flying to Dubai, Frankfurt or Paris, even when using non-biometric passports”. He added: “We will keep adding more routes to the list to make it more convenient to our …

  The fourth property under the SGroup S19 hotel opened with 94 rooms in Al Jaddaf just 200 meters from the metro station overlooking the Dubai creek, burj khalifa and Dubai mall for both leisure and corporate guests. The group started off in 2018 with their first property in Dubai Science Park titles S Hotel which was their first midscale brand. General Manager Sameh El Amri shared, “S Hotel Group, when we launched our first property in 2018 we decided to tackle different market segments for different customer profiles so we dedicated luxury brands, upscale and midscale brands and hotel apartments and budget hotels. So we opened the midscale brand in Al Barsha in Science Park, S Holiday Homes which are luxury apartment and villas and today we celebrate the opening of S19 the first in the midscale segment.” Their unique as they combine traditional hospitality with contemporary amenities to ensure that all guests will have a memorable experience during their stay. At a time when details and experience are pivotal to all guests, the hotel focuses on ensuring that all boxes are ticked when it comes to providing the best in service standard to all the guests both corporate and leisure. As borders open they are hopeful of source markets coming in to Dubai and their unique location to both business and leisure precincts is another reason to drive in the traffic. Some of the rooms face the creek which is an excellent view. The fusion restaurant is an all-day dining area that could also be accessed by the pool and the terrace. All other regular amenities such as pool, gym, prayer rooms etc are available to all guests. …

Gulf Air in response to the surging travel demand will increase its direct flights to the Maldives capital, Male, to be daily starting from 15th August 2021. The route has been very popular in the recent months due to the relaxed rules and regulations for passengers to enter the Maldives which led passengers from Bahrain, the GCC and Europe to prefer the destination to many other Indian Ocean choices. Commenting on this upgraded daily service to Male, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented: “The decision to increase our flights to Male is a classic example of demand and supply. We witnessed a growing demand for travel to the Maldives, being a year-round destination and one that’s open for tourism. Going daily with our flights is a fantastic feature for passengers to be able to depart or return on any day of the week depending on their calendars”. The airline recently upgraded its flights to Istanbul and Paris to become daily and restored its flagship double daily direct passenger flights to London Heathrow. It also extended the validity of miles of its loyalty programme, Falconflyer, to 31 December 2021. All miles, loyalty points and tiers that are expired or due to expire are now valid until the end of the year. Gulf Air began the summer season with flights to 80% of its pre-pandemic network and it continued to resume operations and restore services to cities of its original 2019 destination network. The airline has also announced that it has successfully launched all of its seasonal destinations for the summer of 2021 with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and …

Miral, Abu Dhabi’s leading curator of magnetic experiences, in partnership with SeaWorld® Parks & Entertainment, announced today significant progress on the construction of SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, the next generation of marine life theme parks and Yas Island’s latest mega-development.  The marine-life park, which is set to feature the world’s largest and most expansive marine aquarium and the new Yas SeaWorld® Research and Rescue Center, is currently 64% complete. On track for completion in 2022, recent major construction milestones include the completion of the primary steel erection and near finalisation of the envelope enclosure of the marine-life park. Additionally, the structure’s façade is currently in progress, as well as over 70% of the acrylic panels installed across the park. SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, once complete, is set to be home to the world’s largest and most expansive marine-life aquarium, containing 25 million litres of water and housing more than 68,000 marine animals, including sharks, schools of fish, manta rays and sea turtles. A main focal view of the aquarium will present visitors with the “Endless Vista”, an impressive 20m tall vertical window across multiple levels revealing stunning aquatic scenes. Building off SeaWorld’s extensive research and rescue expertise, the Yas SeaWorld Research and Rescue Center will act as an advanced knowledge hub focusing on indigenous Gulf and marine life ecosystems. The facility will be located adjacent to the aquarium and theme park, and will be the first dedicated marine research, rescue, rehabilitation and return center in the UAE.  It will integrate with SeaWorld’s ongoing efforts related to research, rescue, conservation, and education. Accessible to visitors by reservation, the Research and Rescue Center will also demonstrate the work from resident scientists and researchers, enriching …

Flight shoppers and travel agencies can now see targeted, modern and appealing NDC offers when booking with Emirates partnership with ATPCO to enhance and enrich the airline’s new distribution content (NDC) offers with Routehappy Content. The new integration is now live via Emirates’ direct connect NDC API Gateway platform, enabling a more bespoke shopping experience for travel agents and corporate shoppers who use Emirates Gateway. The deal further expands the retailing reach of Routehappy Content around the world, with more agencies now able to consume ATPCO’s user-friendly and customer-centric rich content. Emirates’ NDC offers can now be viewed alongside highly targeted rich content, delivering a more innovative and transparent customer and shopping experience. The more visually appealing offer displays emphasizes Emirates’ award-winning ground and in-flight services, and the niche offerings that are only available for certain flights or promotions. Emirates was one of the first airlines to innovate with Routehappy Content to increase its merchandising and retailing capabilities for its indirect channels. The airline is now focused on its omnichannel distribution strategy and getting enriched offers to agencies connected to Emirates’ NDC API Gateway. This ensures no matter where an Emirates ticket is being booked, customers can see the right offer, with the right content, at the right time. “Our NDC offers are no longer just a customized price, attached to a schedule that is targeted to a certain agency. It is now a fully packaged offer that showcases a more accurate, compelling, and enriched experience for those consuming our Gateway API,” said Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer at Emirates. “ATPCO’s Routehappy Content enables this richer shopping capability so our travel agency partners can see what their customers are getting …

Emirates has launched an exclusive offer for customers to experience the excitement of the World Expo, the largest-of-its-kind event in the region. Emirates customers visiting Dubai, and travelling through Dubai, anytime during the much-awaited mega event running from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022, will be eligible to receive a free Emirates Expo Day Pass for every flight ticket booked with Emirates. The special offer is valid on all return tickets that include a flight to or through Dubai, for travel dates between 1 October 2021 and 31 March 2022.* The offer is applicable to tickets purchased in First Class, Business Class and Economy Class and extends to tickets booked through Emirates for flights on flydubai and customers travelling to anywhere on Emirates’ global network with a connection time of at least six hours in Dubai. One-way ticket holders whose journey originates outside the UAE are entitled to receive the complimentary Expo Day Pass if travelling to Dubai or onwards to other destinations if the minimum connection time is met. To make the deal even sweeter, the special added-value offer applies to all fare types including Special, Saver, Flex and Flex Plus. For more information on this promotion, please visit the dedicated offer page. Whether exploring Dubai solo, as a family, or reconnecting with family and friends, there has never been a better time to visit Dubai than now. Besides being at the epicentre of the largest themed event that promises to bring the world to one destination, visitors to Dubai during the six-month period can expect to enjoy a host of activities and special offers to celebrate the UAE’s golden jubilee, marking the 50th anniversary of the country’s …