Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled a transportation plan to serve visitors of Expo 2020 from around the United Arabi Emirates. The plan specifies 9 locations across UAE in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah. A total of 70 dedicated buses will be deployed to run 193 daily trips during weekdays, and 213 daily trips on Thursday and Friday. His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), reiterated RTA’s commitment to facilitating the movement of visitors from various emirates to and from Expo 2020. The plan aims to make public transport the ideal mobility choice of Expo visitors. “As part of its master operational plan for transporting Expo 2020 visitors, RTA has dedicated a full fleet of public buses compatible with the low carbon emission standards of Euro 6 buses, which will be making their debut in the MENA region. The plan illustrates RTA’s keenness to reduce the carbon footprint of these buses. Each bus has a low-floor entry to make it easily accessible to people of determination. Buses are designed to deliver premium services to mass transit riders thanks to the high-class finishing works, roomy seats, dedicated seats for children, WiFi service, USB charging ports and an array of smart systems,” said Al Tayer. Abu Dhabi and Al Ain “The plan specified 4 stations in Abu Dhabi for transporting Expo 2020 visitors. The first is at Abu Dhabi International Airport. RTA will deploy 10 buses to run 31 daily trips in both directions from Saturday to Wednesday, and 33 daily trips in both directions on Thursday and Friday,” announced Al Tayer. …

Leading independent travel company Travel Counsellors has launched a brand-new internal Community Platform, “TC World”, to further unite the global community of over 2000 Travel Counsellors and support colleagues, inspired by how its people have come together to support and learn from each other during the pandemic. This comes as the business continues to focus on building and enhancing its platform of support for its business owners, with the company seeing a continual increase in enquiries and bookings, as consumer confidence builds, and travellers look for trusted travel advice more so than ever. The business has also reported more and more people taking this as an opportunity to start their own businesses as part of the proven, customer focused business model including the 20 new Travel Counsellors who joined the business here in The UAE in the last year. Throughout the pandemic, Travel Counsellors witnessed the true power of having a strong community, as its people came together to support one another, even when they couldn’t physically be together. Each day, the company’s business owners were producing huge amounts of user-generated content, to advise, help and care for each other. There was so much collaboration happening, that Travel Counsellors recognised a huge opportunity to bring this content together in a meaningful way, which inspired the launch of TC World. A blend between social and forum technologies, the platform is a virtual space where people can come together to meet, connect, and collaborate, enabling them to reach their goals, whilst at the same time creating social bonds that will last a lifetime. Karen Morris, Operations Director at Travel Counsellors said “As a business, we have built an incredibly strong culture, focusing …

The United Arab Emirates University, the flagship institution with an independent pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, reveals the pavilion façade design built on the theme of the ‘University of the Future’ (UoF), a new model of education which is focused on preparing the next generation in solving employability challenges, by transforming the youth from ‘job seekers’ to ‘job creators’ with the Pathfinders Program and the Institute of the Future (IoF) among its central initiatives. The façade, exterior face of the building, shows a visually distinctive image on the upper panel showcasing three adventurous pathfinders walking in the Arab desert towards the unexplored opportunities, creativity and intellectual education, in a deeper sense, to ‘Discover, Become, and Co-create’ and pointing towards the stars. Together with the UAEU Expo team, TODO designed the main artwork that expresses the symbolic narratives of Pathfinders Program of re-imagining the possibilities around humanity’s yet most daring adventure of building and sustaining a human colony on Mars. The red planet here metaphorically indicates a new beginning for humanity and a source of new ideas for addressing some of Earth’s most complex challenges. The Arab desert echoes the UAE’s valued local landscape. Eventually, the Pathfinders are inclined to address the unemployment dilemma by pointing to the stars, indicating solving the 100 million stars unemployment challenge in the Arab World and beyond, the UoF’s primary mission of fostering job creators rather than job seekers. Dr. Nihel Chabrak, Executive Director of UAEU Pavilion at Expo 2020 said, “The Façade is a reflection of the UAEU philosophy and drive: being rooted in the country natural and cultural heritage while aspiring for a better future for humankind. The UAE plan to colonize Mars …

Visitors to the Syria Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai will be able to see a replica of Ugaritic alphabet, widely believed to be the first alphabet in history, dating back to around 1,400 BC. The pavilion will reveal more about the development of writing and the alphabet in several areas across Syria, in addition to the alphabet’s impact and the influence of the Arabic language on many other languages around the world. The pavilion will showcase a rich civilisation that contributed towards laying the foundations that connect the world as we know it. Syria was historically home to the very first crop yield, alphabet, poem and musical notation, making Syrian culture an embodiment of Expo 2020’s theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Visitors to the pavilion will learn more about words of Arabic origin that are now present in their other languages around the world, helping to highlight that what unites us is greater than what divides us. There will also be an audiovisual interactive experience in which visitors can take part in singing and playing mankind’s oldest musical notation, which was written in Ugarit more than 3,500 years ago. This experience aims to speak to visitors in the universal language of music. Other attractions at the pavilion include a group exhibition for Syrian artists entitled ‘I Am Syrian’. It will showcase artworks that each represent a portrait of a Syrian face, highlighting the similarities and connectedness that humans share and how, together, we can create a brighter future for Syria and the whole world. Each face displayed in the exhibition will tell an individual story, and all artworks will have a unified signature by the artists saying “I am …

Aleph Hospitality has announced the launch of its hotel Innovation Lab to help drive innovation in the travel, tourism and hospitality as the industry recovers post pandemic. The company is on the lookout for dynamic and innovative startups that are transforming the travel, tourism & hospitality sector, and that seek support on their journey from a dynamic, experienced, and entrepreneurial team of senior industry professionals. “At Aleph Hospitality we operate with an entrepreneurial spirit in everything we do, and we pride ourselves on our culture of innovation. As a team we have been looking at ways to help drive innovation in travel, tourism and hospitality, in a time our industry needs it the most”, said Bani Haddad, Founder and Managing Director of Aleph Hospitality. “Through the Innovation Lab we want to support and promote entrepreneurs that are changing the face of our industry and offer them a springboard to launch and grow their business by providing office space, business support and advisory, product testing facilities and investment opportunities.” Aleph Hospitality is looking to onboard the first start-ups in its Innovation Lab in the company’s headquarters in Dubai by the end of September 2021.UAE based start-ups – and international entrepreneurs willing to relocate to Dubai – with innovative products, solutions and/or technologies in the fields of Artificial intelligence (AI), hotel guest & employee guest experience, sustainability & renewable energy, food & beverage and/or community service(s) are encouraged to apply for the Innovation Lab. Candidates can register their interest on the Aleph Hospitality website and the submission deadline is 2 September 2021. Shortlisted start-ups will be invited for a face-to-face meeting at the Aleph Hospitality offices in Dubai in September, with the …

Ailsa Pollard has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, dnata Travel Group (UK & Europe). She will start in her new role on 1st November 2021, and report in to the previous holder of the role, John Bevan, who now oversees all aspects of dnata’s global travel business as Divisional Senior Vice President for Travel. Ailsa will assume responsibility for all of dnata Travel Group’s UK-based brands (Gold Medal, Travel Republic, Travelbag, Netflights and Sunmaster) as the head of a leadership team and workforce numbering nearly 800 people. As a key member of the leadership team for dnata Travel Group, part of the Emirates Group, during the last 12 years, she’s held a variety of senior roles. These include, Vice President – Business Development and Strategy, heading the team that oversaw the acquisition of and holding board positions on many of the businesses that now form the Group’s UK portfolio; and four years as Senior Vice President – Emirates Holidays, in which she oversaw the brand’s global operations across 36 markets. Most recently, as Senior Vice President – Transformation (Global) & Consumer Businesses (ME&I), she had responsibility for the dnata Travel consumer travel brand in the UAE, and overseeing a complete strategic review and transformation of dnata Travel Group’s global portfolio of brands through COVID, driving operational efficiencies and strategic clarity to support the delivery of its post-pandemic vision of ‘reconnecting a better world’.   Commenting on her appointment, John Bevan, dnata’s Divisional Senior Vice President for Travel, said: “We’re delighted that another part of the dnata Travel family will now be able to benefit from Ailsa’s expertise and leadership. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her for a …

Emirates Aviation University (EAU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE’s Ministry of Presidential Affairs, supporting the national agenda to promote higher education for UAE nationals.   Under the MoU, two scholarships will be awarded to UAE National students at the Emirates Aviation University every academic year (one post-graduate and one undergraduate), in addition to scholarships for other students sponsored by The Ministry of Presidential Affairs, covering 20% of their fees.   Dr Ahmad Al Ali, EAU Vice-Chancellor, said: “It’s an honour to partner with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. EAU is committed to supporting the UAE in growing the knowledge economy and fostering high achievement amongst the UAE national community. By increasing the scholarships available to UAE students, we hope to encourage more nationals to pursue higher education and further academic qualifications. We look forward to welcoming our first scholarship students through this new MoU in the upcoming academic year.”   Mr Juma Al Rumaithi, Director of the Scholarships Office, Ministry of Presidential Affairs said: “Scholarships are part of our strategy to promote higher education and help local talent develop their skills and knowledge to achieve the UAE’s varied ambitions. We’ve had great success in collaborating with various higher education institutions across the nation, including with the Emirates Aviation University, and today we are pleased to formalize that collaboration under this new MoU.”  

Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has approved six new tourism projects in Hatta as part of the Hatta development plan. The projects announced by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum include the establishment of 504km-long chairlifts, Dubai mountain peak at an altitude of 1,300 metres, Hatta sustainable waterfalls, a world-class hotel, in addition to Hiking trails to the highest peak in Dubai (Jebel Umm Al Nisour, at 1,300 metres). Hatta residents will also be allowed to build 200 holiday homes to support domestic tourism in district. “In 2016, we started our development project in Hatta. Tourists doubled from 60,000 to one million in 2020, and the new projects by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority will provide 500 jobs for young people of Hatta. The new holiday homes will provide an annual income of more than Dh100 million for the people of the region. A decent life for our citizens will remain our goal in all our projects,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “Hatta is a model for small cities in the region. It has turned within a short period of time into one of the most important tourist destinations in the emirate, thanks to its different lifestyle. The development and tourism projects in Hatta will have a significant impact on promoting national tourism and providing a distinctive tourism and cultural experience for visitors and the community,” Sheikh Mohammed added. The ‘Dubai Mountain Peak’ and ‘Hatta Sustainable Waterfalls’ project, which will be implemented by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, aim to support development plans in Hatta and enhance its position as one of the most prominent …

On 20 August 2021, the national Ark of Taste menu was introduced to the general public in Azerbaijan. The menu has been prepared within the EU-funded project, Community-based Value Chain Enhancement in the Greater Caucasus Mountains Area (COVCHEG), based on the Slow Food philosophy of good, clean and fair food.   The Ark of Taste menu was put together using local ingredients, such as grapes, rice, nuts and other food varieties that are part of the Ark of Taste – an international Slow Food catalogue listing products that might disappear soon. Moreover, these products are made by local communities of farmers and food producers, who are brought together by the Slow Food Presidia. These producers are encouraged to sustain quality production, recover traditional processing methods and safeguard native breeds, local plant varieties as well as unique regions and ecosystems. “The launch of the Ark of Taste menu is another milestone in raising awareness about the local products of Azerbaijan that need to be put back on the table and developing more sustainable practices in the country”, said Florian Sengstschmid, Chief Executive Officer of the Azerbaijan Tourism Board. In addition to the Ark of Taste and Presidia, the Slow Food Travel (SFT) concept has also been prepared within the COVCHEG project. The aim of developing the SFT concept is to combine travel with first-hand culinary experiences based on meetings with local farmers, shepherds, winemakers, butchers or bakers and learning more about local gastronomic traditions. Considering the importance of local gastronomy and cultural heritage, the EU-funded COVCHEG project is being implemented by Slow Food in partnership with the Azerbaijan Tourism Board. This project aims to foster economic regeneration and the well-being of …

ITB China, the marketplace for China’s travel industry, has announced that Trip.com Group will be the Official Travel Service Partner for this year’s show, held from 24 – 26 November 2021 in Shanghai with a virtual extension from 8 November to 31 December. Trip.com Group is one of the world’s leading online travel service providers with global travel brands under its umbrella providing hundreds of millions of travellers worldwide with accommodation reservation, transportation and attraction ticketing, vacation and tour packages, and corporate travel management services. Trip.com Group’s engagement at ITB China 2021 will include numerous on-site activities, sharing its latest market knowledge and forecasts at the ITB China Conference sessions, and added networking opportunities by co-hosting the ITB China Cruise Night for the fourth consecutive time, this year set to take place on the evening of 24 November. Jane Sun, CEO of Trip.com Group, said: “I am very excited to attend ITB China in person this year. It has been a while, but it is wonderful to be able to meet up with industry partners again. While the pandemic has brought global travel to a standstill, we are working together at full speed toward travel recovery. ITB China 2021 will provide the travel industry with a trusted platform for personal encounters and successful business again. I can’t wait to seeing you all in Shanghai again soon!” As one of Trip.com Group’s flagship events, the 2021 ASIA-PACIFIC CORPORATE TRAVEL SUMMIT will be held concurrently to ITB China on 24 November in Shanghai to discuss the future development of the business travel eco-chain together with high-value corporate customers, airlines, hotels, MICE companies, travel payment and expense management companies. The event is also …