Category Archives: Agents

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) successfully concluded the ‘Experience Abu Dhabi GCC Roadshow 2022’ in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Kuwait recently. The roadshow drew the participation of 17 DCT Abu Dhabi partners, including Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE; and Miral Destinations, the one-stop trade and promotional partner for Yas Island and Saadiyat Island. The partners jointly showcased how GCC families, couples and youth can enjoy Abu Dhabi’s diverse range of exciting, inspiring and restoring experiences in the winter season. The roadshow kicked off in Saudi Arabia, a top five source market for Abu Dhabi,  with the final leg concluding in Kuwait. Through one-on-one meetings, presentations and group discussions, DCT Abu Dhabi and its delegation met with nearly 600 travel trade professionals where they presented the new destination campaign, ‘Experience Abu Dhabi. Find Your Pace’ as well as highlighted the action-packed Abu Dhabi Calendar that continue to feature a vibrant line-up of sports, family fun, culture, music and nightlife events. Abdulla Yousuf, Director of Travel Trade and Market Development at DCT Abu Dhabi said: “It was an absolute pleasure to meet our valued travel trade partners in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and to share everything that Abu Dhabi has to offer in the new year and beyond. The GCC region continues to be one of our biggest source markets for leisure travel in Abu Dhabi. Through this roadshow, we were able to reaffirm our support for our valued stakeholders, showcase our destination highlights, and introduce our new destination campaign, which is inspiring more and more travellers to consider Abu Dhabi for an unrivalled holiday experience.” The roadshow also spotlighted the many …

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced the launch of a range of products, packages and experiences for pilgrims from Turkey who are wishing to visit Makkah and Madinah. A special trade roadshow hosted in Istanbul recently by the Saudi Tourism Authority announced that Turkish citizens can now obtain an entry visa into Saudi quickly and easily. Turkish nationals wishing to visit Saudi will now have the option to obtain a tourist visa through the Saudi Embassy or Consulate in Turkey, the visa issued within 48 hours through accredited travel and tourism offices in Turkey which are listed on the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs website. Residents of the United States of America, United Kingdom, and European Union countries, or holders of United States, United Kingdom, and Schengen active visas; can obtain the visa upon arrival at the international airports in the cities of Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh and Dammam. The Ministry of Hajj & Umrah also launched Nusuk (nusuk.sa/tr), an integrated digital government platform designed to enhance and enrich the Umrah experience for Muslims visiting Makkah and Madinah in Turkish. The platform will enable simpler arrival procedures for visitors to perform Umrah and a range of services that will include facilitating visas, permits, booking processes and procedures along with special packages for Makkah, Madina and a host of other historical religious sites in Saudi. Additionally, Saudi citizens can now issue a personal visit visa for their friends, as can citizens and residents wishing to host their relatives.  This can be done through the unified national visa platform visa.mofa.gov.sa. Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Member of the Board at Saudi Tourism Authority and Managing Director of Nusuk, said: “Saudi continues its efforts …

Germany recorded a 180 per cent increase in overnight stays from Gulf nationals in the first three quarters of this year compared to the same period of 2021, according to new data from the German National Tourist Board (GNTB). During the first nine months of 2022, GCC nationals accounted for more than 872,000 overnight stays, making the Gulf region Germany’s top Asian source market. In 2021, the number of GCC nationals visiting the country was 311,000, demonstrating strong growth. Yet when compared to pre-pandemic figures from 2019, it still represents a decrease of 34.5 per cent, showing not only substantial space for future growth, but also the logic behind the tourism board expecting the gap to close further next year. “We continue to see strong traction from the GCC region, with visitors looking to fulfil cultural experiences,” said Yamina Sofo, director of sales and marketing at the German National Tourist Office, the regional office of GNTB. “Our goal at the moment is to continue to attract visitors from the region and aim to reach the numbers we welcomed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. We have seen a striking performance this year when compared to 2021, demonstrating that our diverse campaigns and offerings are attractive, and effectively reaching the audience.” The aggregate of Asian source markets recorded more than 2.9 million overnight stays between Jan-Sep 2022, indicating a 283 per cent increase on the same period in 2021. This upsurge indicates travellers are determined to travel even more than usual. To further drive visitors – particularly those from within the GCC – the GNTB introduced three diverse campaigns this year that offer a wholistic tourism offering throughout the country. Aligning with …

Oman Air Holidays has announced a strategic partnership with the Jordan Tourism Board to undertake joint promotional activities in Oman and Jordan. The partnership will include a series of co-branded tactical campaigns that aim to position Oman Air Holidays as a preferred provider of international travel packages and encourage those in Oman to visit Jordan during peak season. Oman Air currently operates seven flights a week from Muscat to the Jordanian capital, Amman, which is popular amongst travelers for its spectacular landscape and ancient treasures. Mundher Al Shaikhani, Senior Manager Holidays and Loyalty Programme at Oman Air, said, “Oman and Jordan already enjoy a warm relationship and this partnership seeks to increase value creation for both countries and contribute to our respective tourism agendas. We look forward to working with the Jordan Tourism Board as we continue strengthening our presence across the region, while creating amazing itineraries that offer something completely different to our guests.” Dr. Abed Al-Razzaq Arabiyat Managing Director of Jordan Tourism Board, added, “As we strive to increase Jordan’s competitiveness as a global tourism destination, we are expanding our reach to new and more targeted markets. Our growing touristic relationship with Oman offers many mutual opportunities, and our partnership with Oman Air Holidays is sure to add considerable momentum to our goals.” Oman Air Holidays excels in creating extraordinary travel experiences to some of the world’s most exciting destinations. With a string of recent partnerships, it is strengthening its growing portfolio of packages, which provide excellent value and choice, complemented with the award-winning service and hospitality of Oman Air. Whether a family break, a romantic getaway, or an adventure-packed escape, guests will find a package to suit …

For more than 50 years, Zahara Travel has become renowned for demonstrating an entrepreneurial and pioneering approach to corporate travel. This strategy has helped the company gain prominence as a premium service-oriented organization, resulting in winning the “Oman Award for Excellence” in Tourism six times. Thanks to its collaboration with Amadeus, the corporate travel specialist plans to boost its level of automation to deliver an enhanced and more personalized customer service. Zahara Travel has chosen to implement the latest cloud-based Amadeus Selling Platform, which delivers fast access to a comprehensive range of travel services using real-time connectivity for the most up-to-date inventory and pricing. To benefit customers further, Zahara Travel will deploy Amadeus Productivity Suite, which is a behind-the-scenes set of tools that enable travel consultants to focus on delivering the best customer service rather than the administrative processes that need to be managed. Amadeus Web Services is another key component of the agreement between the two companies. Gautam Broota, CEO of Zahara Travel and Service Bureau LLC said, “As a pioneer in the Travel and Tourism business in Oman, we strive to offer our customers the most efficient and seamless award-winning service. Our partnership with Amadeus ensures we are using highly advanced products and services that enhance our ability to deliver customer service in a comprehensive and personalized manner. We are excited about the expanded range of solutions included in this agreement as it elevates our offering to the next level for all our stakeholders.” Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director, Amadeus Gulf, adds: “Amadeus’ travel solutions will help enhance the services offered by Zahara Travel and is backed by our commitment to support our customers every step of the …

Closing the year on a high note of achievements Cozmo Travel recently opened its 20th branch in the UAE at City Center Ajman. This will serve the customers as the travel agency and a city check in service for Air Arabia customers. The Cozmo Travel and Air Arabia City-Check in Outlet in Safeer Mall Ajman was inaugurated by Cozmo Travel CEO Jamal Abdulnazar and Chief Guest Salah Zainal – Head of Ground operations at Air Arabia. Cozmo Travel winner of many awards and accolades including the Arabian travel award for the most trusted travel partner in the Middle East. Speaking on the occasion, Jamal Abdulnazar CEO Cozmo Travel reiterated, “Cozmo Travel has had a great year, even with the risks and adversity towards travel which was pandemic induced, we managed to persevere and come out stronger than ever with the inauguration of our newest branch in Safeer Mall Ajman, UAE. Additionally, ending the year with a bang, Cozmo Travel has started operations in Armenia & Pakistan, with plans to open up more branches in the two countries while also being a GSA for Fly Jinnah & FlyArna the latest joint ventures of Air Arabia. These expansions bring up the Cozmo Travel global network to cover thirteen countries with multiple branches including the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, KSA, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, India, China & Egypt. This brings about the Bounce Back of tourism and Cozmo Travel’s role in facilitating travel in the region.”  

Visionize Technology, is helping pave the way for hotels and resorts around the region to reach new heights with the implementation of a state-of-the-art automation technology which facilitates internal staff operations, enhances the guest experience using in-room apps, lower overall business costs and generate more revenue within the F&B sector. The properties have estimated a staggering increase in the average spent per guest after the implementation of Visionize, mainly due to built-in smart marketing and upselling features, along with fantastic visual experience and a seamless multilingual interface. Visionize Technology Founder & CEO Mazen Chedid stated, “With the future of hospitality gearing towards a more seamless and data-driven experience, the implementation of our systems across numerous hotels around the region seems to be opening new doors to achieving higher revenue, faster operations and an improved guest experience.” Moreover, as the system’s artificial intelligence entirely tracks and analyzes F&B operations including the staff, kitchen and clearances, hotels have witnessed a significant decrease in human error and delivery time.

As travel picks up, travellers seek new destinations, understanding this need Al Rais Travel will be introducing a very special destination to agents, known as the Land of 1001 Delights, Tatarstan. A special B2B event will be conducted on Wednesday 14th December 2022 at 7pm at Sofitel Dubai the Obelisk. The agents who will attend would have the opportunity to engage with the key partners who will be present to share the many offerings of the destination followed by a presentation to understand more of the beautiful land of 1001 delights. Speaking with Tourismbreakingnews.ae, Mohamed Jassim Al Rais Deputy Managing Director Al Rais travel reiterated, “We have seen post covid, not just the increase of travel, but travellers opting for new destinations which they can explore, we at Al Rais travel ensure that our clients are given more bucket list opportunities, to tick off their boxes to new experiences, unique locations etc. Tatarstan has a lot to offer our travellers from the UAE, from historical wonders, to traditional locations, natural beauty of the destination with its many rivers, lakes, hills and not forgetting the culinary journey to be explored. We want our agents from the UAE to familiarise themselves with the destination and personally speak with the team from Tatarstan about every aspect necessary for their travellers.” Please RSVP using the following link, and do let me know in case you are facing challenges to access the page: Please click here to confirm your participation   Event Program Item​ Details Start​ End​ Arrival & Registration ​ Guests arrive to the venue 19:00​ 19:30​ Al Rais Welcome address, explanation of the format of the event ​ Guests and participants make their way to the ballroom …

dnata facilitated the transportation of over 150,000 football fans between Dubai and Doha in the opening two weeks of the world’s largest football tournament. As football fever grips the globe, dnata’s highly trained teams of ground handlers, passenger and ramp agents have ensured that fans make a smooth passage through Dubai World Central airport (DWC). With airlines introducing ‘shuttle flights’ operating between Qatar and nearby Gulf states, Dubai has become a popular transiting destination for fans attending tournament games. dnata’s services between DWC and Doha have enabled more than 600 safe aircraft movements in the first fortnight of the competition. To execute this, over 270 customer oriented and ramp agents have been re-positioned from existing positions at Dubai International airport (DXB). A total of 90 pieces of ground support equipment (GSE) are used to service aircraft, including zero-emission electric baggage tractors, conveyor belts and a push-back tug. For those fans wishing to take their experience to another level, a warm greeting will be received in DWC’s marhaba lounge. Supporters can keep up to date with the tournament with super-fast Wi-Fi and enjoy complimentary international cuisine before they make their trip. marhaba’s Meet and Greet services are also available for fans who wish to further improve their experience. Jaffar Dawood, Senior Vice President for UAE Airport Operations, dnata, said: “We are dedicated to ensuring an excellent journey for all football supporters by providing a swift and efficient service at DWC, so that they can enjoy their fan experience for as long as possible. We thank our airline partners for their trust in our services, and will continue to support their initiatives.” dnata offers ground handling, cargo, travel, catering and retail services …

Dubai Airports is introducing a comprehensive new programme to ensure the delivery of a sector leading, inclusive, and seamless travel experience for all People of Determination (POD) with hidden disabilities that travel through Dubai International (DXB). As part of Dubai Airport’s shared values ‘We all meet the world differently’, this new initiative will contribute to the UAE Vision 2021 and Dubai Plan 2021 vision for Dubai to be the world’s leading disability-friendly city and barrier-free community that empowers and welcomes all POD travellers. This new programme will roll out in two phases over two years and unite service partners across the DXB community to elevate the travel experience for passengers with hidden disabilities such as autism, chronic fatigue, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). In an effort to integrate recognisable and accessible options for POD travellers, Dubai Airports will be introducing a travel planner for pre- travel preparation and an Autism Friendly Route, with a prioritised route through check-in, passport control, security check point and boarding, which can be availed when wearing the sunflower lanyard. Specially trained staff equipped to support POD travellers will be easily identifiable wearing sunflower pins, allowing for increased visibility, communication and support throughout the airport journey. A comprehensive educational campaign to drive awareness around autism, specifically relating to socially acceptable language and empathy will be undertaken as part of the programme, complemented by the distribution of key training materials across all airport entities, ensuring that POD travellers are met with consistent support and a positive customer experience.  Dubai Airports has been accredited by the Dubai Autism Centre as an Autism friendly environment. The second phase of the roll-out will see additional, innovative solutions, including connected airports, …