Category Archives: Agents

With new flight services operating from Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, the destination strengthens direct connectivity with a major source market. Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announces a new strategic airline partnership connecting the Emirate with major cities in Germany, including Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Munich. Starting from 1 November 2022, Corendon Airlines will operate seven direct weekly flights to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, effectively meeting strong demand from Germany. Marking the latest in a series of strategic airline partnerships forged by the Tourism Authority, the new flights cement an important tourism market, delivering a significant weekly increase in visitors to an Emirate popular for its outstanding natural and cultural attributes, global hotel brands, as well as its unrivalled adventure tourism offering and year-round sunshine. The announcement strengthens the Tourism Authority’s ongoing strategy to enhance accessibility and accelerate connectivity by working closely with leading tour operators. Within a five-hour flying time, Germany is already a top five tourism source market for Ras Al Khaimah; the launch of new direct flights to the Emirate is expected to have a significant impact on tourism in the destination. “We’ve seen first-hand the impact of direct connectivity as one of the main drivers of tourism, especially in a post-pandemic period.  We also know that tourists who arrive directly to the destination, stay longer and really take the time to discover our nature emirate,” commented Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. “He added: “As Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism vision gains momentum, working with valued trade partners and securing new airline alliances builds on this progress, and delivering additional tourism from three major German …

Ajman tourism is set to launch a number of innovative initiatives and projects to enhance the tourism sector as a part of the department’s efforts to showcase Ajman’s natural touristic destinations, and rich heritage, aiming to increase its visibility and attractiveness for visitors from all over the world, and achieve the emirate’s tourism vision. Ajman Museum Smart App – in conjunction with the renovation of the museum to provide a unique interactive experience enhanced with the latest technologies to stimulate all senses, through exhibits explained in Arabic and English, to promote it by providing a detailed audio-guided tour of all sections of the museum and a map of the site, opening times and how to reach the museum. The Visual Identity of Ajman Museum, Masfout Museum, & Al Manama Museum – Ajman Tourism also launched the new visual identity for Ajman Museum, Masfout Museum, & Al Manama Museum, one of its initiatives aimed at preserving the unique heritage of Ajman and present it in a renovated updated look. Moreover, the department unveiled the “Media Hub” which is a digital media library project, and an integrated platform for displaying promotional images and videos for Ajman that is constantly updated, and displayed on a dedicated page within the ADTD’s official website to serve all stakeholders and community, where images and videos can be downloaded, and to eventually become the largest digital archive documenting the main tourist attractions of Ajman. Ajman’s Heritage Path – Ajman Municipality and Planning Department revealed the latest activities of the Heritage Path project, which is located in the Al-Nakhil neighborhood and stretches over 1,025 km, linking heritage buildings starting from the Ajman Museum and the heritage district to …

dnata announced that it would invest US$ 100 million in green operations in the next two years to further enhance environmental efficiency across its global network. The company’s ongoing investment in infrastructure, equipment and process improvement will support it to achieve its strategic objectives and reduce its carbon footprint by 20% by 2024, and by 50% by 2030. dnata has embedded its environmental framework across its broad-spanning Travel businesses, aiming to empower customers to make better travel choices. Its corporate services include hybrid event solutions, sustainable travel policy guidance as well as carbon emission monitoring and reporting, aligned to global standards. dnata Travel Group in the UK has invested in green technologies and introduced new business practices to improve environmental efficiency. It switched to renewable energy to take all electricity from green sources at all of its offices, cut out single-use plastic (SUP) from its operations, reduced paper consumption by 4 million pages annually through its ‘paperless office’ initiative, and implemented a zero to landfill policy to ensure that all non-recyclable waste is sent to energy recovery facilities for processing. Furthermore, it replaced 80% of its fleet with electric or hybrid cars with a target to operate a fully green fleet by 2024. Steve Allen, CEO of dnata Group, said: “We’ve been making great progress on reducing our carbon footprint, minimising waste and reducing energy and water consumption across our operations. We will further increase our investments and efforts in strong cooperation with our partners to achieve our targets and preserve the environment for current and future generations.” In recent years dnata has significantly invested in advanced technologies to optimise resources and improve operational efficiency across its facilities. It installed …

Policybazaar.ae announced that there has been a significant rise in demand for travel insurance in FY21-22 in the UAE. The fintech company saw a 150% increase in sale of travel insurance policies where travelers bought more policies in Quarter 2 in comparison to the Quarter 1 of 2022. The company saw a rise in demand from top tourist destinations such as the USA, Schengen countries, Indonesia, UK amongst others – as majority of these countries have made travel insurance mandatory along with other valid travel documents. Apart from the countries where travel insurance is mandatory, the other reason behind more travelers buying travel insurance policy is due to lingering dread of the pandemic. The other major reason resulting in an increase in the sale of travel insurance policy was due to a knock-on effect on the luggage mishandling situation such as either lost or delayed baggage, due to acute shortage of baggage handlers at the airports. The global travel insurance market size was valued at $12.38 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $119.31 billion by 2030. This translates to a growth at a CAGR of 26.1% from 2021 to 2030. While travel has picked up its pace globally, airports around the world are facing extremely high levels of flight cancellations and delays in the past few months. Having a travel insurance policy may not be mandatory for tourists in all the countries, but it is always recommended to have one when traveling abroad. Travel insurance policy compensates travelers from undue expenses in situations of a medical emergency, personal liability, or other emergencies like loss of baggage. Delaying or losing check-in baggage is one of the most common adversities …

Almosafer has experienced its best month ever for consumer travel bookings in Saudi Arabia in June 2022, with volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels in June 2019 by 28%. The growth in bookings reveals a strong appetite for consumer travel as pent-up demand is unleashed with the removal of pandemic restrictions across the world. Data collated from across Almosafer’s omnichannel booking platforms has revealed the booking behaviours of Saudi travellers for this summer period. Saudi travellers continue to enjoy luxury experiences, opting to book stays at luxury accommodations with five-star hotels accounting for almost 50% of hotel bookings this summer. As people return to travel, they are spending more money for meaningful experiences as average order values for bookings has increased by 66% for hotels and 19% for flights, compared to the summer travel season in 2019. Travellers are also displaying resilient confidence in the travel industry as they continue to book their holidays in advance, with an average booking window of 36 days in summer 2022. With travel restrictions being eased, or removed entirely, across the world, there are now much less sudden changes to international travel rules which could jeopardise travel plans leading to growing consumer confidence. Spending on domestic travel in Saudi Arabia has also increased by 7% as Saudis continue to explore the many attractions in the Kingdom. Abha, the culturally rich capital of the Aseer region, is becoming an increasingly popular destination this summer with bookings up by 125% compared to summer 2019. For international travel, Dubai, London, Cairo, Paris and Sharm El Sheikh ranked as the most popular destinations for Saudi travellers. Bookings for London this summer have increased by 133% compared to summer 2019, driven …

With FIFA 2022 a few months away, Dubai and Abu Dhabi seems the perfect hub to connect the fans to Doha. As airlines work on their special charter flights, hotels and agents from across the GCC are sorting out the bookings as they start rolling in. Nuran Kilani, Director of Sales and Marketing, The Tower Plaza Hotel, “Dubai being a cosmopolitan city, and we are blessed by being in a prime location with proximity to city touristic attractions and shopping spree so we are getting bookings from pretty much all countries like Brazil, Argentine, uk, Germany, france, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Israel, Egypt and many more. According to Qatar Tourism, there are just under 30,000 hotel rooms in Qatar. They has revealed that 80% of these rooms are already booked for FIFA players, referees, media and other official guests. A flight from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Doha takes a litter over one hour. About 1.5 million visitors are expected for the month-long tournament.” Jeannette Smit, Complex Director of Sales & Marketing, W Dubai – Mina Seyahi, Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Waterpark and The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina, shared “We’re seeing the most uptake from European countries such as UK, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands being the most popular, while Serbia, South America, Brasil and Argentina are showing interest and we only expect this to increase over the coming months. We have three properties within our complex so we’re only taking reservations for W Dubai – Mina Seyahi, The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina and Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Waterpark. However with these three unique products we can …

Summer cruises are often popular in the Middle Eastern region, this year especially after almost two and half years, travellers have once again picked up their confidence and started to not just travel, but to add cruises in their bucket lists.  According to Nasir Jamal Khan – CEO – Al Naboodah Travel there is an increase in terms of cruise bookings this summer and Europe has become the top most or popular destination for GCC travelers. Khan shared, “there is an increase in Cruise bookings, travelers are eager to visit Europe during summer. Predicted rise in travel is recorded despite a 57 per cent rise in the average cost of flights in the region due to rising fuel costs and an increased demand for travel. Tourist from UAE are expected to spend more time than usual at the destination. As experts say there is pent-up demand among travelers keen to make up for lost time due to two years of Covid-19 travel restrictions.” As traveller appetite has increased, they are also looking at visa free or easy visa destinations. Khan reiterates, “destinations with visa free entry and short haul, with economical flight cost along with COVID free regulations seem to be some of the preferences. Travellers are looking for flexibility to change and packages with value for money. Switzerland, Ireland, Georgia, Egypt, Turkey, Germany, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Spain, U.S.A., Thailand and Indonesia are few names of the destinations which are more in demand and corporates as well as individual leisure travellers are inquiring at present.” He further mentioned, “Travelers are eager to resume large bucket trips with their friends and family after a two-year pause caused by the …

As the countdown starts for the greatest football event of the year in the region, FIFA 2022 to be held from November to December this year, the accommodation in Qatar has already been reserved. The last quarter of the year will definitely see an increase of bookings in the GCC region alone. It was stated by professionals in the travel fraternity that Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi will be looking at some increased bookings and revenue in terms of accommodation. Shantanu S. Mehta, General Manager, Orient Tours CWT M&E, UAE, Sultanate of Oman and State of Qatar reiterated, “Our partners in Doha have informed us that 80% of the accommodation inventory has been blocked by the FIFA supreme committee and the remaining 20% can be released to the general public only after every individual booking receives their approval. In order to get this approval, local travel entities need to submit the complete itinerary for every applicant including a copy of the match ticket and arrival/departure flight information. After receiving approval from the FIFA supreme committee, visitors need to apply online for a special permit called the Hayya Card which will be granted to visitors who have a confirmed match ticket and accommodation. Apparently, during the FIFA World Cup tournament only visitors with a Hayya card can enter Qatar. Both Fly Dubai/Emirates and Etihad have announced multiple daily flights between their respective hubs and Doha. Whereas Fly Dubai launched a ‘AED 975 onwards’ promotion recently, Etihad is believed to be selling at AED 3,500 plus. Etihad senior members have verbally advised that a 45-minute quick departure process from check-in to boarding is being planned for passengers without check-in luggage. Many luxury hotels in …

Cathay Pacific will resume non-stop flights between Dubai and Hong Kong from 2 October, enabling passengers to rediscover the people, places, and experiences that matter the most. The airline will operate three flights per week on Monday, Friday and Saturday, providing travellers with direct access to Hong Kong in addition to seamless connections to onward destinations including the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and South Korea. All flights will depart from Terminal 1 at Dubai International Airport and can be booked on the Cathay Pacific website. Cathay Pacific Area Manager Middle East Vishnu Rajendran said: “Reactivating our link from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to Hong Kong is extremely important to us as the market remains a priority. We’re confident our offerings like the ease of connections, warm Asian hospitality, diverse in-flight entertainment options and customer-centric initiatives such as our health document verification tool, Fly Ready, make us one of the world’s greatest service brands. “Aside from the stream of those visiting friends and relatives and business travellers who we welcome on board from around the region, travellers from the GCC are also searching for cultural experiences abroad. Hong Kong and the various destinations that are easily accessible from our home hub, such as Japan and South Korea, offer these in abundance. Moreover, our much-anticipated thrice-weekly passenger flights will also support our cargo freighters, of which we have eight per week flying from the Emirate.” Cathay Pacific will deploy its Boeing 777-300 on its Dubai–Hong Kong route, catering to the increased cargo demand as well as passenger traffic. Moreover, the aircraft comes equipped with a three-class cabin configuration, featuring the airline’s forward-facing lie-flat seats in Business, spacious seats in Premium Economy as …

RezLive.com hosted two networking events, firstly in Muscat, followed by Bahrain which was attended by leading local travel agents and tour operators. The purpose of the event was to thank the local travel industry for its consistent support and to inform travel partners about the additional benefits of working with RezLive.com. Real business discussions, a flow of knowledge and information, and a few feedbacks and suggestions took place throughout the session. Jaal Shah (Group Managing Director – Travel Designer Group), firstly expressed his gratitude to the local travel partners for the resounding support they have received from the respective local markets. He also stressed the significance of maintaining and bolstering the strong foundation they share with RezLive.com. Last but not least, he added, we at RezLive.com (A Product of Travel Designer Group) recognise the value of our travel partners and work tirelessly to provide them with cutting-edge services that will simplify their tasks. Zaheer Jeddy, Deputy Regional Manager, updated the travel partners with innovative offerings from RezLive.com and at the same time oriented them about An Exclusive Loyalty program i.e “rezREWARDS”, which was appraised by the local travel partners and they look forward to continuing their support and business cooperation to RezLive.com (Preferred B2B Global Travel Wholesaler).