Category Archives: Exhibitions

Golden Sands Hotel Apartments was declared the Best Family Hotel Apartments at the 2nd annual Arabian Travel Awards. Mirna Tenidis, Director of Marketing of Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, received the award. Last year, the Golden Sands Hotel Apartments was recognised as the Best Brand Hotel Apartment. Mohammed Khoori, General Manager, Golden Sands Hotel Apartments, said, “The Arabian Travel Awards is one of the much-awaited awards in the industry. We are grateful to be recognised as this year’s recipient of the Best Family Hotel Apartments. This is a meaningful award because it reflects who we truly are. Our facilities cater to big and small families and our location is convenient for both young and adult guests. I want to share this award with the team who are relentlessly providing the best service to our valued guests.” Organised by Durga Das Publications, the 2nd Arabian Travel Awards recognised and honoured the best in the travel, tourism and hospitality industries in the Middle East. This year, more than 50,000 votes were submitted from over 25 countries, with nearly 60 awards to recognise at the exclusive event attended by VIPs, dignitaries, travel, tourism and hospitality professionals. During the awards ceremony, a beautifully designed Collector’s Edition Book was also unveiled that showcases the beauty and culture of the Middle East.

Travelport has been recognised as the Best Technology Partner to the travel and hospitality industry in the Middle East for the second consecutive year at Arabian Travel Awards 2018. The company also scooped the Best Travel Technology Provider award, a category formerly called Best Global Distribution System, which Travelport also won in 2017. The ceremony took place recently at JW Marriott Hotel in Deira, Dubai. Arabian Travel Awards is an annual event designed to support, promote and develop the Middle East travel and hospitality industry by identifying and rewarding excellence, and inspiring its practitioners to continuously raise the standards of their product and service offering. Winners are selected based on a unique system of jury, judgement and online voting by industry professionals. In other categories, Cozmo Travel won Fastest Growing Travel Management Company and Al Naboodah Travel won the Best General Sales Agent (GSA) award. Matthew Powell, Managing Director, Travelport, Africa, Middle East and South Asia, said, “We are proud of the work we have done over the last 12 months. Our travel commerce platform is faster, our merchandising and analytics solutions are more powerful, and our mobile applications like Trip Assist, are even more dynamic and in tune with the needs of today’s hyper-connected travellers. We are delighted this work has been recognised by the industry. We will continue to work tirelessly to lead the change we want to see for the benefit of our customers and travellers.”

In order to explore new horizons and reach out to new markets, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has begun its roadshow on September 24 to Far East Asian markets in collaboration with Emirates airline. These events, which will run till September 28, mark the Authority’s entry into the Indonesian, Malaysian and Singaporean markets for the first time. Underscoring its commitment to enhancing the efficiencies in the tourism sector through partnerships and collaborative efforts, the Authority has started holding meetings which will take place during these five days with various public and private entities, officials and agencies aimed at building long-lasting relationships with them. The Authority is keen to win new markets in the Far East region in line with its strategic efforts to attract more visitors by showcasing exceptional tourism offers during the roadshow, including key benefits and a wide array of tourism products in Sharjah. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said, “We are working on a clear plan and strategy in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah, to promote the tourism sector and make Sharjah a leading family destination in the world. Considering all the stakeholders in the public and private sectors and following the framework set forth in Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021, the tourism sector in the emirate has been able to hold a distinguished position on the global tourism map and has become a major engine of comprehensive development today, paving the way to new touristic key markets.”

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) hosted its inaugural Dubai China Conference on September 19-20 at Atlantis The Palm, Dubai. The two-day event, which welcomed over 900 attendees, featured integrated workshops and informative guest speakers offering valuable insights from both Chinese and local industry experts. With panel discussions strongly attended throughout the event, guests were invited to deep dive into Dubai’s China-readiness strategy, along with  engaging into presentations led by industry partners. Breakout periods were also built into the two-day schedule to allow industry players to share knowledge during networking opportunities alongside partners such as Huawei, Ctrip and Tencent. There was also a series of engaging workshops hosted by Mafwengo, Fliggy and Alipay enabling attendees to meet the teams for discussing further potential collaborations, as well as Meituan and DaZhongDianPing which delved into the digital cooperation trends in Dubai. With exponential growth in overnight visitors from China, the event offered a clear indication of the market’s rising prominence as one of Dubai’s fastest growing source markets, after closing the first eight months of 2018 with a record 578,000 visitors – a growth of nine per cent over the same period in 2017. While demand from Chinese travellers is increasing at a quicker rate than capacity, visitation growth is supported by a 9.5 per cent increase in air capacity over the last five years, and increasingly competitive ticket pricing. Furthermore, the percentage of those on China-Dubai flights who stay in Dubai has increased by 29.2 per cent highlighting the increase in demand for elongated stopovers for Chinese tourists.

Turkish Airlines hosted the Turkish Airlines Corporate Club Conference on September 17-18 in Istanbul, in partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). The conference was an annual international event where industry leaders came together and discussed the future of business travel. The event saw 900 participants from 71 countries and the programme featured leading names in the industry, including Mike Walsh as a keynote speaker, CEO, Tomorrow, and best-selling author of the book “Futuretainment”. The theme of the conference was “Building for the Future”, featuring M İlker Aycı, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, along with Aaron Heslehurst, Television Presenter, BBC as moderator. Turkey has undergone a huge transition over recent years in developing its economy and infrastructure. To set one example in this regard, the Istanbul New Airport – a state-of-the-art facility, to be opened on October 29, will be the largest airport in the world by 2023. The much-anticipated opening of the new airport will position Istanbul as the ‘Hub of the World’, and will see 200 million passengers per year on final completion. Turkish Airlines’ expansion has increased demand for this world-class facility, which will help the national flag carrier’s goals of 120 million passengers and a fleet of 500 aircraft by 2023. Talking about the event, Aycı said, “Building on the recent economic success of our airline, 2018 is a highly significant year for the future of Turkish Airlines with the opening of Istanbul new airport in October. As the new home of Turkish Airlines, this will allow us for greater capacity and increased network, allowing corporate travellers streamlined and innovative services and state-of-the-art lounge facilities.”

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has boosted awareness of the UAE capital as a travel destination in Oman after a successful trip to the neighbouring country with a promotional roadshow. The roadshow, which focused on the products and offerings specifically in Al Ain, took place at the Grand Millennium hotel in Muscat on September 5. The event welcomed a group of travel trade members from Oman who enjoyed several presentations from DCT Abu Dhabi and its stakeholders, networking sessions and one-to-one meeting opportunities. Nabeel M. Al Zarouni, Regional Promotion Manager Middle East & Africa, Promotion & Overseas Offices Department for DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “We are keen to boost hotel guest numbers from the Oman market into Abu Dhabi and we hope this roadshow has reinforced our penetration into the hearts and minds of the Omani travel trade. The roadshow at the Grand Millennium hotel follows up a previous roadshow to Oman earlier in the year, with this particular event focusing mainly on Al Ain. The oasis city’s close proximity adds to the destination’s appeal to Omani travellers, who we hope are also inspired by Al Ain’s diverse offerings, which include Al Ain Oasis, Al Ain Zoo and also the Wadi Adventure park. We are keen to re-emphasise the huge range of diverse attractions and experiences – both touristic and cultural and we hope that this roadshow forges closer ties with our friends in the Oman travel trade.”

The second edition of Arabian Travel Awards concluded on September 20, 2018 at JW Marriott Hotel Dubai, Deira. H E Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) graced the occasion as Chief Guest while dignitaries from consulates, travel, tourism and hospitality professionals attended to be recognised for their untiring efforts to place United Arab Emirates as the fourth most visited destination in the world. Welcoming guests at the event, SanJeet, Mentor, Arabian Travel Awards said, “Our aim through the Arabian Travel Awards is to recognise and encourage the talent in some of the most important sectors such as travel, tourism and hospitality which contributes to the sustainable growth in the economy of the country. This year, we had over 25 countries who did submit their votes; hence we have nearly 60 awards to recognise the giants who have contributed to the country’s economy. We thank each one of you for taking the time to vote for your favourite category and hope to see you at the awards next year!”

The second edition of India-UAE Partnership Summit will take place at the Atlantis the Palm from October 30-31, 2018. The objective of the summit is to facilitate the private sector partnership in diverse areas. Speaking at a press conference, HE Navdeep Suri, High Commissioner of India in UAE, stated, “Attracting investments into tourism-related infrastructure is a real priority for the government of India and it is also a designated priority to many of the state governments who are keen about foreign investments in these sectors. We see that the business leaders forum has taken the first step forward by attracting tourism infrastructure on an island in Andhra Pradesh. We have also seen Yusuff Ali of the Lulu Group establish India’s biggest convention center and hotels and are now planning to establish additional convention centers in Visakhapatnam and Lucknow. We see that there is a strong interest in different sectors of Indian tourism, particularly the mountains and the resorts and spas.”

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) joins the tourism delegation from the UAE led by the Ministry of Economy to visit three Scandinavian cities as part of the ‘Visit UAE’ roadshow. The delegation comprising eight government officials, Emirates airlines and 29 representatives from the hotels and travel agencies across the UAE, is visiting Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen from September 17 to 21, 2018. SCTDA will showcase the enriching tourism experiences in Sharjah with its diverse culture and heritage to encourage more people from these cities to visit the emirate. Participating in the roadshow is one among the number of activities the authority intends to implement in the next couple of months to help drive tourism growth. The workshops to be held during the roadshow will provide a platform for SCTDA and the UAE delegation to strengthen partnerships with their counterparts in the Scandinavian cities. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said: “The tourism sector is a major pillar in the UAE’s efforts in economic broadening, a key strategy for the country’s transition to the post-oil economy and the ‘Visit UAE’ roadshow will contribute in achieving this vision. Our country has continued to gain popularity across the world as a leading destination in the Middle East. We look forward to capitalising the opportunity to present our market offerings in these European cities and strategically position Sharjah as a destination of choice.”

Over 750 local and international companies have participated in this year’s Hotel Show held from September 16 to 18 at Dubai World Trade Centre. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and CEO and Chairman of the Emirates Group inaugurated the event and the leisure show, which sees participation from various technology and sports equipment companies that have revolutionised the hospitality trade. The hospitality leadership forum opened with Olivier Harisch, CEO, Emaar Hospitality Group sharing the road to 2020 and how Emaar copes with the number of rooms, strategies to recognise women in leadership roles at Emaar, how they use technology as an enabler, etc. He reiterated that people have an emotional investment in hotels and thus, hotels need to be constructed in a smart manner alongside a smart procurement. Philip Wooller, Director for Middle East and Africa at STR Global reiterated the evolving scale and structure of Dubai’s room supply. He said that Dubai is on its way to a steady growth plan as it is an emerging destination, which still leads the way with US $180 as average room rate. Apart from the forum, the inaugural Chef’s table and the second Middle East housekeeper’s league of champions events enthralled the visitors further. Various companies supplying décor had created masterful resort areas, which received enough attention from the participants.