Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

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 …

Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Media Council, the #DubaiDestinations winter campaign returns this year to showcase the attractions and experiences that make the emirate a top pick among global destinations in the cooler months of the year. The collaborative campaign, implemented by Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), highlights an array of activities and experiences that people can enjoy amidst the wonderful winter weather. This season, Dubai offers residents and visitors amazing adventure, entertainment, food, art, culture, sports and fitness experiences and more. Featuring engaging content from diverse stakeholders, the campaign tells the story of Dubai’s emergence as one of the world’s best winter destinations. To mark the launch of the campaign, Brand Dubai hosted an event for the media, influencers and content creators at the Government of Dubai Media Office to showcase the activations and experiences the latest campaign will be highlighting to local and global audiences. Brand Dubai also announced the launch of the #DubaiDestinations website www.dubaidestinations.ae, which will share content, videos and guides related to the campaign.   Vindicating Dubai’s strengths, a global study released late last month named the emirate the “world’s best winter-sun destination”. According to The Winter Sun Index issued by travel package provider ParkSleepFly, Dubai has been tagged on Instagram more than 111 million times and has the most winter-related ‘things to do’ Google searches in the world, reaching 55,000. The iconic city is also blessed with more than eight hours of sunlight daily and a pleasant average temperature of 20.4 degree centigrade in the winter. Another study by Remote, a global talent …

The special webinar titled, Feel Good Germany promoted the destination as an year round sustainable touristic destination and also showcased Berlin’s strength in medical tourism. Yamina Sofo, Director German National Tourist Office, opened the session, sharing the numbers from the Gulf region which stands out especially during the covid era, and the positive recovery of the region which led to Germany reaping good numbers from the region. “Germany as a traveller destination has the ideal ingredients for an exceptional and sustainable holiday experience and it also helps to protect our climate and the environment. A sustainable holiday conserves natural resources strengthens, intercultural understanding and supports regional businesses. The destination and the providers of destination Germany is committed to this goal and are developing an increasing number of resource saving offers that are good for the environment as well as for the hosts and the guests. Many offers and recommendations can be found in our website, Germany.travel. In our 2022, market studies we can see the growing interest and attitudes of the guests towards environmental protection.” She shared some figures from UAE in terms of the interest shown in sustainable travel which was quite spell bounding. Michaela Kehrer Director of Medical tourism VisitBerlin shared the offerings the city in itself has with the many public parks and hidden gems in the city itself which cater to the GCC clientele. She reiterated that Berlin medical tourism is popular due to availability, affordability and accessibility and Germany ranks 5th in world medical tourism destinations, mainly due to infrastructure, specialised hospitals, with multi lingual staff who could cater to the requirements of the GCC clientele. She shared the new marketing initiatives conducted to promote …

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, launched the 3rd edition of the “World’s Coolest Winter” campaign during the UAE Cabinet meeting, which was held in Al Zorah Natural Reserve in Ajman. The meeting was attended by H.H. Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Finance and H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum affirmed that tourism is a major component of the Emirati economy, where all federal and local entities partner to support this vital sector, stressing that the sector development needs cooperation between government and private sectors. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: “Today, I chaired the UAE Cabinet meeting at Al Zorah Natural Reserve in Ajman during which we launched the new season of the domestic national tourism campaign, ‘World’s Coolest Winter.” Highlighting Ajman as the starting point for the new season of the World’s Coolest Winter, His Highness noted “Ajman witnessed a tourism, economic, and urban transformation under the direction of my brother Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid. We are proud of the dedication of Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid and his brothers.” His Highness Sheikh Mohammed added: “The World’s Coolest Winter campaign, sparked an increase in domestic tourism by 36 percent in 2021, reaching 1.3 million domestic tourists. This year’s theme is “Our heritage” will focus on spreading the Emirati values.” The current edition of the campaign aims to support domestic tourism within the UAE and attract tourists from around the world to enjoy the warm winter by …

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Tourism Ministers Committee held its sixth joint meeting chaired by His Excellency the Minister of Tourism, Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, Chairman of the current session of the Committee, and in the presence of Their Excellencies the ministers in charge of tourism affairs in the GCC countries, alongside GCC Secretary General, Dr. Nayef bin Falah Al-Hajraf. HE Al-Khateeb welcomed HE Dr. Al-Hajraf, and their Highnesses, Excellencies, and delegation heads partaking in the meeting. His Excellency also expressed his gratitude to the Council General Secretariat for its efforts and distinguished work to achieve member countries’ aspirations. Moreover, His Excellency stressed that the tourism sector was essential in bringing together the peoples of the Gulf countries as emphasized through the expressed joint interest of their leaders in their unity and common destiny. Their Highnesses and Excellencies reviewed cooperation and partnership prospects for a purposeful and sustainable tourism sector among the countries of the region, thus contributing to the advancement of Gulf tourism and sustaining unprecedented growth and prosperity in this vital sector. Meanwhile, many issues were discussed, including the development of joint work between the tourism and culture sectors in the GCC countries, and the final version of the Gulf Tourism Strategy 2023-2030, initiated by the Kingdom to work on preparing its general framework in cooperation with the member countries and the GCC Secretariat. The meeting also recommended adopting the tourism guide in GCC countries, and thanked the Ministry of Tourism in the Kingdom of Bahrain for taking the initiative to prepare the guide. HE Al-Khateeb stated that the Gulf region was teeming with natural resources, including more than 17 sites registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. …

Leading growth and transformation consultancy Prophet announced the launch of the destination brand and launch campaign for Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT). Armed with the desire to position Abu Dhabi as more diverse, open and progressive, and to better promote the emirate’s heritage and culture, DCT engaged Prophet to design a destination brand and campaign that could work to inspire, excite, restore and welcome the world to enjoy its unique offering. “Abu Dhabi has been developing rapidly and it was our job to tap into the essence of this fascinating place and design a brand and campaign to share with the world,” said Jessica Holdcroft, partner at Prophet who led the strategy on the project. “We took a customer-centric, data-led, approach to developing the brand, starting with a deep immersion in all that Abu Dhabi has to offer – both the tangible and the intangible – and to see first-hand the diversity of experiences on offer.” The new campaign: Experience Abu Dhabi. Find Your Pace has now been unveiled in Abu Dhabi, the GCC, France, the U.K. and the U.S. Celebrating its Emirati heritage and seamlessly connecting it to the living culture offered by the Saadiyat Cultural District – home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi – and Yas Island’s exciting theme park and waterfront attractions, the destination campaign welcomes the world to enjoy Abu Dhabi’s enriching experiences, at their own pace. From the positioning and messaging, to the verbal and visual expression, the campaign was designed to support Abu Dhabi’s growth ambition to be among world-class destinations of choice,” said Clive Rohald, partner and executive creative director at Prophet. “In order to bring the new tourism destination …

German National Tourist Office GCC will be hosting a webinar focusing on medical tourism in Berlin on Wednesday 7th December 2022 at 12 noon, UAE time. This webinar will bring to light the many new offerings for the visitors who need expert medical care and attention. Speaking to TTME Yamina Sofo, Director, German National Tourist Office GCC shared that she will start off the webinar with the importance of the GCC market and its impact especially the last summer, then move on to share insights on the current campaigns that focus on sustainable tourism. Sofo stated, “the webinar is two fold, first our focus is on the Feel Good campaign which is to demonstrate our commitment to promote sustainable tourism ensuring that all players and stakeholders are involved and benefitted long term. Sustainable tourism is not a mere PR exercise, but a campaign that will add value to the traveller whilst granting them an opportunity to explore a truly authentic experience. Travellers can explore wide open spaces, natural forests, springs, lakes and rivers across Germany. Secondly, we will be promoting medical tourism with our capital Berlin, Michaela Kehrer, Medical Tourism Manager visitBerlin, will be sharing her expertise on what can be expected when on medical travel.”

Vienna Tourist Board showcased how its coffeehouse culture contributes to the city’s quality of life at the ‘Sip of Vienna’ barista masterclass hosted in collaboration with Julius Meinl in Dubai. The Masterclass experience included a tasting session and a discussion about the process of selecting and roasting green coffee beans as part of the learning experience. The highly trained baristas at Julius Meinl demonstrated how to prepare the “Wiener Melange”, a typical Viennese coffee speciality and showcased how to grind the beans, measure, and brew coffee using a variety of different methods. With around 2,200 coffeehouses in Vienna, ranging from elegant traditional cafés to simple bistros with standing room, from spacious café-restaurants to cosy café-patisseries, the Viennese coffeehouse culture inspires artists and guests. As a result of Vienna’s coffeehouse culture fulfilling an invaluable social function, UNESCO added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2011. Throughout Vienna, people meet in coffeehouses to philosophize, relax, meditate, read the newspaper, gossip, flirt, play billiards and chess, and talk with friends and strangers. Matthias Schwindl, Media Relations Manager Middle East at Vienna Tourist Board, said: “The Viennese coffee house is known around the globe for its informal pleasantness, as an oasis of gemütlichkeit. Gugelhupf, Sachertorte, and many other tarts and cakes seduce with the promise of sweet pleasure. Vienna embraces international coffee trends like different flavour profiles and new and old preparation methods, from cold brew to drip filter, while incorporating sustainability, natural purity, fair trade, and direct trade.” During the event, Vienna Tourist Board also showcased the reasons why Vienna has the highest quality of life in the world. Schwindl added: “Viennese coffeehouse culture plays a significant role in enhancing the …

SAUDIA Group and the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Culture signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on promoting the nation’s distinctive culture throughout the world while enriching the cultural experience of the Kingdom’s guests. This agreement is in line with the Group’s commitment to achieving the goals of Vision 2030 to promote the Kingdom’s cultural sector by creating exceptional cultural experiences that touch the senses of guests on board being the first gateway for the traveler to Saudi. This partnership reflects SAUDIA Group’s efforts to create exceptional cultural experiences to more than 60,000 passengers daily. The role of the group is not limited to only creating these cultural experiences, but it also extends through its sponsorship and support for cultural events and festivals such as the first edition of The Red Sea International Film Festival, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, and the support it has extended to the Ministry of Culture in celebrating the ‘Year of Arabic Calligraphy’ by adorning two of its aircraft with a special livery marking the initiative. And its support to the ‘Year of Saudi Coffee’ initiative. For 77 years, SAUDIA has strived to bring elements of Saudi culture to the destinations it serves. With the establishment of the Kingdom’s Ministry of Culture in 2018, coupled with SAUDIA’s significant network expansion, Saudi Arabia is primed to impart its fascinating customs to a wider audience. This is in line with Vision 2030 which looks to celebrate the nation’s rich and unique dialect, culture, tradition, heritage, and culinary identity as shaped by the diversity of its people.   His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of SAUDIA, said on the occasion of the MoU signing: “We firmly believe …

At the recently concluded Switzerland tourism roadshow where they hosted over 100 trade partners recently as the final of their GCC roadshow with 18 key partners that showcased their offerings from tourism boards, hotels, Railways, cablecars, airline and DMCs, it was shared that they had achieved 20% more in terms of visitors than pre pandemic or 2019. Matthias Albrecht, Director Switzerland tourism stated, “This is the last roadshow for the year. Roadshows are very important as we meet people directly in their own home ground. As we all know there are many possibilities to book online and its important to speak to people on digital channels but we all know the big families, VIPs don’t want to stay online for many hours and compare they want the travel agents to organise, add additional rooms or connecting doors, especially in this region this will stay, these contacts are able to arrange everything for them, we are here to meet these contacts.” Speaking on the year that was, “it was a fantastic year, we had a great start, there was a survey conducted early 2022, it was asking many UAE residents and nationals about their favourite travel destination and Switzerland became third after Dubai and Abu Dhabi which are both within UAE which means Switzerland the most prominent and most popular destination outside the UAE which is a fantastic result and of course helped us a lot to advertise Switzerland throughout the year.” This summer proved to be good for most destinations, Albrecht shared, “there is one figure which we received from September comparing now to 2019, pre pandemic and we are 20 percent plus from the whole of GCC which is …