Young travellers flying Emirates as unaccompanied minors can now relax and wait for their flight in a newly upgraded lounge dedicated for them at Dubai International Airport, located next to Emirates’ First Class Lounge in Concourse B. Emirates’ lounge for unaccompanied minors is open 24/7, and the newly upgraded facility offers fun video games, drinks and snacks, comfortable seating areas, free wi-fi, and washrooms designed for kids. Parents or guardians who have pre-booked Emirates’ Unaccompanied Minor service, can drop off their young flyers at Dubai Airport Terminal 3, where Emirates’ airport team will check them in for their flights in a special lounge area for unaccompanied minors. This  facility is located in between the Economy and First/Business Class Check-in halls. After check-in formalities are completed, one of Emirates’ friendly airport services team members will escort the young flyers through immigration and security, onward to their dedicated departure lounge in the airside concourse, and later, from the lounge to the boarding gate. Young flyers enjoy priority boarding, and Emirates cabin crew will be waiting to welcome young flyers at the aircraft door, and help them to find their seats and settle in for their flight. Onboard, young flyers can look forward to delicious meals and snacks designed for their palates, toys and activity packs, and kid-sized headsets to enjoy the selection of over 50 Disney movies and 130+ TV channels for young travellers. Emirates is currently offering young flyers cool take-home toys and bags onboard, inspired by Expo 2020 Dubai and featuring little Emirates characters. All toys and bags use recycled material and bags are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Young solo flyers with a connecting flight in Dubai are …

SAUDIA delighted guests with a series of festival-themed surprises during a special flight from Paris to Riyadh on 8 February 2022. The initiative came as part of the airline’s efforts to promote the popular cultural and entertainment event among guests arriving in the Kingdom. Passengers found themselves on board a fully decorated aircraft featuring Riyadh Season’s official colors on the plane’s seats, safety instruction cards, and meal wrappers. Cabin crew members also wore brooches bearing the official logo of the festival. Guests enjoyed a promotional video highlighting the main attractions of the cultural and entertainment event, which was shared on the aircraft’s inflight entertainment system. Passengers also received special branded gifts and free tickets for several of Riyadh Season 2021’s most prominent events, including Riyadh Boulevard.. Commenting on SAUDIA’s role as Strategic Partner and Official Carrier for the festival, Khaled Tash, Group Chief Marketing Officer at SAUDIA, said: “We are proud of our initiatives to promote Riyadh Season among our Guests and highlight Saudi Arabia as a major global tourist and entertainment destination. We hope that these activities and the special gifts provided to our passengers will encourage them to visit the festival and discover its many unique events and attractions. Our sponsorship of Riyadh Season comes as part of our commitment to serving as the ‘Wings of Vision 2030’ by supporting the growth of travel, tourism, and entertainment in the Kingdom, in line with our ambitious target of welcoming 100 million visits annually by 2030.” SAUDIA’s participation in Riyadh Season 2021 follows the national carrier’s major success in supporting the previous edition of the festival. This year, several companies under the SAUDIA Group including SAUDIA Air Transport, Saudia Cargo, …

Sabre Corporation and Eihab Travels, Oman’s leading IATA accredited travel agency, have announced a new multiyear technology agreement to help transform the travel experience in Oman. While travel is showing signs of recovery in Oman, this new long-term agreement will see Eihab Travels deploy Sabre’s latest technology and best solutions to drive growth, boost revenue and transform its business. The agency will now use Sabre’s next-generation travel agency desktop, Sabre Red 360, to deliver an intelligent and consultative service to travellers, create compelling shopping experiences for customers and provide an enhanced level of expertise to respond to evolving travellers demands. “The travel landscape has evolved dramatically following the pandemic, and that required a fresh outlook at our digital transformation and technology investments,” said Dinesh Poojary, General Manager, Eihab Travels.  “Sabre has the technology and innovation strategy to support our goals, advance our technology and operations and enable our digital transformation to compete on a global level.” As part of its strategic plans to transform the future of travel, Sabre recently announced multiple intelligent solutions, such as Sabre Travel AI and its intelligent retailing engine, which will be infused across its technology platform to power the future of personalized travel. “We have been working to empower our customers to be ready for recovery,” said John Mathew, Oman County Manager, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “We are excited to partner with such a committed, forward-thinking partner like Eihab Travels that clearly understands the role technology plays in travel’s recovery – and we remain committed to equipping the agency with the most innovative solutions to achieve its goals” Sabre has been working with many leading travel companies in The Sultanate of Oman to …

Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Maldivian, the national airline and leading domestic carrier in the Maldives, to explore codeshare, interline, and joint holiday package opportunities. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Maldives is one of the most popular leisure destinations in Emirates’ network and we are very pleased to be exploring a partnership with the nation’s local carrier. A codeshare and interline agreement will immensely benefit both carriers. For Emirates customers, its enhanced connectivity to and from the Maldivian archipelago. For Maldivian travellers, it’ll ease access to our extensive network of more than 120 destinations, via Dubai. We look forward to continue strengthening our partnership and to offering customers a seamless travel experience.” Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Maldives, said: “Emirates’ impact to the Maldives’ tourism industry is significant, with the airline ranking first in terms of international passenger traffic. The possible partnership between the two airlines will benefit the Maldivian economy and strengthen economic ties between the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates.” Mohamed Mihad, Maldivian’s Managing Director, said: “The opportunity to explore a partnership with the largest airline in the world brings about endless opportunities for Maldivian. The growth prospects that could follow such a partnership is key when we look to expand our operations and develop partnerships that will allow us to position ourselves in the post Covid aviation industry. The interline and codeshare arrangement being explored would enable both Maldivian as well as Emirates to enhance the connectivity and expand on the service offerings.” The two carriers are reviewing a codeshare agreement that will enable Emirates’ customers to conveniently book and connect from Male’ to more than 15 …

The Spanish region of Extremadura will have its day in the Spain Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai this week. A wide range of activities have been organised starting on Tuesday 15 February, the Day of Honour of Extremadura. In attendance will be the President of the Regional Government of Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, the Spanish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Iñigo de Palacio, the President of Acción Cultural España and Commissioner of the Spanish Pavilion, José Andrés Torres Mora, and Executive Commissioner Carmen Bueno will participate. Fernández Vara will also have an institutional agenda, meeting representatives from the political, economic and commercial fields of the United Arab Emirates. The Spain Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is located strategically in the ‘sustainability area’ close to the nerve centre of the Expo, the Al Wazl plaza, which makes it highly attractive to visitors. The common theme will be: ‘Spain, Intelligence for Life’, which embodies the country’s communication objectives: to highlight Spain’s capability in innovation and creativity and its efforts to ensure a good quality of life on the planet for us and future generations. On 15 February there will be a presentation of Extremadura before a range of representatives from the field of Emirati tourism and society, in which the region will be projected as a tourism destination and a good place live and invest in. The commitment to sustainability and tourism as a connecting link between Extremadura and the United Arab Emirates will be the central theme of this event, in which two videos of Extremadura will be shown. One is focused on sustainability and archeoastronomy, i.e. the importance of the stars in the construction of monuments by different …

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has partnered with VFS Global to provide efficient passport renewal services to a vast population of Sri Lankan nationals living in the Kingdom. Serving as an alternative platform, VFS Global passport renewal services allow customers to submit a passport renewal application and/or collect the renewed passport from 13 locations across the Kingdom. This service is in addition to the service currently offered by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Riyadh. The first VFS Global Sri Lanka Passport Application Centre was inaugurated on 06 February 2022 in Riyadh by H.E Mr. Pakeer Mohideen Amza, Ambassador of the Democratic Socialist of the Republic of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Mr. Sumanth Kapoor, Regional Head – KSA, Bahrain and Oman, VFS Global. The centres in Jeddah and Al Khobar were also made operational on the same day subsequently. The passport renewal services will further extend to 10 locations including, Al Jauf, Al Khobar, Al Qaseem, Hail, Jazan, Jubail, Madina, Makkah, Najaran, and Tabuk by 15 February 2022. During the inauguration ceremony, H.E Mr. Pakeer Mohideen Amza, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia said, “Through our partnership with VFS Global we extend our network to reach Sri Lankan nationals residing all across the country. Holders of Sri Lankan passports who find it difficult to visit the Mission personally, can now submit their renewal application conveniently to the nearest VFS Global passport renewal touchpoint instead of visiting the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh”. As part of the constant and ongoing endeavour to add value to customers’ experience, VFS Global offers optional services that make the process …

The Scenic Group, which includes Emerald Cruises and Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, has cemented its commitment to drive growth from The Gulf Cooperation Council union (The GCC) encompassing Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. To drive expansion in these emerging cruise source markets, The Scenic Group is working in partnership with consultant and sales strategy expert, Daniel Essex. Starting this month, Essex is the former consultant of sales strategy & planning for Cruise Saudi and is charged with delivering greater brand awareness for The Scenic Group and its brands within the GCC’s travel trade community as well as both the mice and charter-incentive markets. The move follows after Scenic Group successfully provided charter sailings in Saudi Arabia late last year on board Scenic Eclipse, The World’s First Discovery Yacht™. In addition, brand new luxury super yacht Emerald Azzurra is set to visit the region including home-porting in Doha, Qatar this coming winter. Dominika Lange, General Manager Sales & Marketing EMEA, Scenic Group commented: “I am delighted to welcome Daniel to the team, his impressive track record will be invaluable as we focus our intentions on bringing the Scenic Group’s portfolio of incredible brands to life for guests in the region.” Agents interested in working with The Scenic Group should contact Achim Weber, Head of Sales at Scenic Group – cruises@scenic.eu

In implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council, to proceed with the partnership agreement signed between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Cruise Company to operate Cruise autonomous vehicles to offer taxi and e-Hail services in Dubai, His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority announced the start of trials and preparations of digital maps needed for these vehicles by the end of this year, in preparation of 2023 actual service launch. As such, Dubai will be the first city outside the USA to operate such vehicles. Al Tayer made these remarks during a meeting with a delegation of the American Cruise Company headed by Anthony Gregory, Vice-President of Market Development, Cruise, USA. The meeting discussed the latest developments relating to the agreement signed between the two parties for operating Cruise autonomous vehicles in providing taxi and e-Hail services. Discussions also covered the supply of vehicles, operations, the latest developments of operating autonomous vehicles in San Francisco State, and the production of Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle, as Dubai will be the global platform for launching the operation of this vehicle. Attendees included Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, CEO of Public Transport Agency, and Abdullah Yousef, CEO of Licensing Agency from RTA in addition to Jamie Best, Director of Corporate Development, from Cruise, and several directors from both parties. “This initiative enhances Dubai’s pioneering role in self-driving transport. It is an important step towards realising Dubai Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy aimed to transform 25% of total mobility journeys in Dubai into journeys on various …

SAUDIA has underlined its commitment to contributing to the growth of the Kingdom’s tourism and sports sectors with the launch of the airline’s first-ever polo team. The three-man team will compete in the Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo 2022, one of the most eagerly awaited events of the AlUla Moments season. The team’s participation comes as part of SAUDIA’s strategic partnership with the Royal Commission for AlUla, and is the latest in a series of collaborations designed to highlight the historic destination’s rich heritage and natural beauty. The national carrier has contributed to a variety of events and activations showcasing the ancient desert city’s unique attractions. These include the world’s first “Museum in the Sky” flight, which highlighted AlUla’s cultural significance as a living museum and the home of Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a challenging equestrian event that attracted 200 riders from more than 30 countries to compete across 120 km of rugged desert terrain. The Richard Mille AlUla Desert Polo tournament is one of several upcoming events supported by SAUDIA. From 27 February to 12 March, visitors will be able to soar high above the desert landscape for a magical hot air balloon ride as part of the AlUla Skies Festival. Guests can also look forward to experiencing a Symphony Under the Stars on 11 March, as a dazzling musical performance takes place against the stunning backdrop of the famous Arch Rock. Khaled Tash, Group Chief Marketing Officer at SAUDIA, commented, “This is a period of incredible growth for SAUDIA, AlUla, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We are proud to be part of the ambitious plans to …

The Philippines brought to life its 4,000-year story in its push for cultural sustainability at Expo 2020 Dubai, which witnessed one of its grandest National Day celebrations to date. From the flag raising ceremony at the Philippines Pavilion and the Al Wasl Plaza, to the magnificent culmination gala presentation at the Jubilee Park, the Philippines added elements of the importance of preserving and retelling the story of their rich cultural history through visual art, immersive music, and impressive artistic performances. With cheerful smiles and upbeat vibes, the Philippines filled the streets of Expo 2020 Dubai with day-long celebrations of colorful, fun-filled cultural festivities witnessed by thousands of Filipinos come came in from all over the UAE, alongside thousands more of Expo 2020’s visitors last February 11, Friday. Philippines Department of Trade and Industry Assistant Secretary for the Trade Promotions Group and PH Expo 2020 Dubai Alternate Commissioner General Rosvi C. Gaetos underscored that not only was the one-day event well-attended and received by Filipino expats, it likewise captured the hearts of Expo 2020’s visitors from all around the world. “It’s always a delight to see our fellow Filipino compatriots who have driven from all seven emirates to converge in Dubai for this momentous occasion that celebrates the pride of our nation. As equally astounding is how Expo 2020 Dubai’s global audiences resonated and responded with smiles and gratitude to all of our events and presentations, and joined in the excitement of our festivities,” said Gaetos. The Philippine flag was raised twice – both in the Philippines Pavilion and in the Al Wasl Dome on Philippines National Day, with many Filipinos singing the Philippine National Anthem with pride at the world’s …