Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

The Ascott Limited (Ascott) will manage another Citadines-branded property located in central Al Khobar in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).  Citadines Al Khobar will comprise 54 one-bedroom apartments with various layouts. Managed and operated by Ascott, facilities will include a breakfast area, residents’ lounge and fully equipped gym, making it an excellent choice for accommodation amongst business and leisure travellers. “We are delighted to have signed an agreement to manage Citadines Al Khobar,” commented Vincent Miccolis, Ascott’s Country General Manager of Middle East & Turkey. “KSA remains a highly significant growth market and this latest signing will not only expand our presence in KSA but also reinforces our leadership position in the Middle East.” “Citadines Al Khobar is the third property, together with Citadines Abha and Somerset Al Khobar, that we will be working with developer AREIC (the real estate arm of Al Mutlaq Group) and we are pleased to strengthen our partnership with them.” Citadines Al Khobar is situated in central Al Khobar, in a highly sought after location between King Salman and Prince Fawaz streets on the 4th main street in Al Khobar Al Shamaliah, which offers numerous dining, shopping and leisure options.

The Rezidor Hotel Group has marked a new milestone in its history by appointing its first Saudi female General Manager in the company and the hospitality industry. Maram Kokandi will be the General Manager of a new Park Inn by Radisson hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, scheduled to open later this year. The appointment complements the Saudi Vision 2030 launched last year, which emphasizes the significance of Saudi women and their role in leading the development of both social and professional growth of the Kingdom. Wolfgang M. Neumann, President & CEO, The Rezidor Hotel Group, said, “We are very proud to be part of this historic appointment. We are committed to empowering our women in leadership at Rezidor, and this announcement is a momentous achievement, not only for our group but for the hospitality industry worldwide. We are confident that this milestone, the appointment of the first Saudi female General Manager, will inspire other women across the region to pursue their career aspirations in hospitality.” Kokandi studied hospitality management in the United Kingdom before moving back to the Middle East region, taking up various hospitality roles in Saudi Arabia. She takes on the responsibility of launching the new Park Inn by Radisson Jeddah Madinah Road as its General Manager.

The Ascott Limited (Ascott), the world’s largest serviced residence owner-operator, is strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia with the opening of its latest luxury executive residence, Ascott Rafal Olaya Riyadh. The 234-apartment luxury executive residence opened on March 12, 2017 in the financial heart of KSA’s capital. The exclusive serviced residence will provide guests with luxurious lifestyle facilities, within an elegant environment and complete with efficient business support services. With a soft opening scheduled for March, Ascott Rafal Olaya Riyadh is an ideal choice for short, medium and long-term visitors who want the luxury of an internationally-branded hotel, with the flexibility and privacy of an apartment. The property is located close to King Abdullah Financial District – the city’s prime financial centre – and 15 minutes’ drive from Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, making it highly convenient for business travellers. The onsite business centre ensures executives have everything they require, from meeting rooms and AV equipment to secretarial and courier services. Additional facilities include a residents’ lounge, prayer rooms, boutiques and a selection of restaurants and cafes. There is also an outdoor terrace, swimming pool, gymnasium, steam and sauna room, separate day spas for men and women and a children’s playroom. “We are delighted to welcome guests to Ascott Rafal Olaya Riyadh, our first serviced residence to open in the Saudi capital,” says Vincent Miccolis, Ascott’s Country General Manager, Middle East & Turkey. “The Ascott brand is renowned for providing attentive and highly personalised service which is exactly what travellers need to enjoy a hassle-free stay in this busy and dynamic city.”

Travelport and Flynas, a low-cost carrier from Saudi Arabia, have announced the signing of a multi-year, full content agreement. Launched in 2007, Flynas operates nearly 1,000 weekly flights to 30 destinations within and outside Saudi Arabia. The new agreement will see Flynas’ full content and inventory, including its branded fares and ancillaries become available to over 68,000 travel agencies, across 180 countries through Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform. Furthermore, the airline now joins over 180 airlines which are currently live on Travelport’s merchandising technology solution for airlines, Travelport Rich Content and Branding. Through Travelport, the airline will be able to effectively promote Flynas’ products and services, including its dedicated Business Class Cabin, which has seen a significant investment from Flynas since 2013. Agents will also be able to access naSmiles, the frequent flyer program of Flynas, through which travellers can earn SMILE Points when booking flights and ancillaries. Also, Rich Content and Branding will enable the airline’s content to appear on travel agents’ screens, with rich, graphical product descriptions, boosting upselling opportunities for the travel agent community at the time of booking. Paul Byrne, Chief Executive Officer at Flynas, commented: “This new agreement with Travelport will provide the platform for our business to further improve our customer service, expand our presence across the globe and grow our revenues. Travelport’s industry leading Travel Commerce Platform has impressive capabilities and we are pleased to have signed this partnership. “ Matthew Powell, Managing Director, Middle East and South Asia, Travelport said: “We are delighted that Flynas has seen the value in our innovative Travel Commerce Platform. Our platform enables travel providers and their evolving technologies to deliver the widest choice of relevant content for …

Flynas, Saudi Arabia’s leading low-cost carrier, has signed an agreement with Airbus for 60 A320neo family aircraft. In addition to the 60 aircraft, Flynas has converted 20 A320ceo from a previous order to A320neo bringing the airline’s total firm order to 80 A320neo. The deliveries are scheduled to take place during 2018-2026. The agreement was announced in Riyadh in the presence of Ayed Al Jeaid, Chairman, NAS Holding, Bander Al Mohanna, Chief Executive Officer, NAS Holding Group and Fouad Attar, Managing Director, Airbus Middle East. Flynas, an all Airbus operator, currently has 26 A320ceo in service. Ayed Al Jeaid, Chairman, NAS Holding Group said, “Flynas has come a long way to establish itself as a highly reputed airline in Saudi Arabia. With the introduction of the new aircraft technology, we are confident of our ability to provide best services to our customers. We also look forward to being the first airline in the Kingdom to be successfully listed on the Saudi Stock exchange, which will offer equity ownership to the public and be a part of a great journey.”

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) received close to 1.9 million passengers in November, representing a 4.4% increase in airport traffic compared with November 2015. Abu Dhabi Airports’ traffic figures also show consistent growth throughout the year, with total AUH passenger numbers having increased by 5.3% on the previous year. More than 22 million travellers have used AUH so far during 2016. Total passenger traffic in November reached 1,860,207 which was a 38.6 per cent increase in passenger traffic through Terminal 3 compared to the same month last year, reaching 1,317,591. Traffic to and from Saudi Arabia saw a large surge compared to the previous year, with a significant increase of 43.5 per cent and the cargo services experienced growth of 1.3 per cent this year (2016) compared to November 2015.

Residents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can now apply for visas to Belgium and Luxembourg at a Visa Application Centre launched for the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium for the first-time in the Middle East. Services at the centre commenced on December 12, 2016. Visa applicants can visit the centrally located VFS Global centre located on the First Floor at Dove Plaza, Umm Al Hamam Street, Umm Al Hamam, Riyadh, to submit their visa applications and enrol for biometrics. The well-appointed centre caters to the growing needs of outbound travellers from the country. With Belgium and Luxembourg emerging as popular travel destinations, the new centre will offer applicants greater convenience and enhanced quality of services when applying for their visas. Since commencing visa processing operations for the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium in 2006, VFS Global serves the client government in 10 countries from 51 visa application centres across the globe. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the company currently serves 21 client governments, from 67 visa application centres located across the country. Some of the key features of the centre include convenient and centrally-accessed location, professional staff with local language capability to handle queries and applications, well-appointed centre for enhanced comfort of applicants, automated queue governance for smooth flow of applicants, dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories, requirements, check-list and applicable fees, 100 per cent secure handling of passports, documents and personal information, door-step delivery of passports and Premium Lounge for personalised and comfortable service.

Hotels.com has recently refurbished and improved the functionality of its Middle Eastern websites, in both English and Arabic, to improve both usability and performance. Hotels.com already serves millions of customers globally through 89 localised websites in 39 languages, and is continuously building its portfolio of properties with the latest hotel deals for popular destinations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. Hotels.com offers an unsurpassed hotel booking experience and unbeatable Secret Prices to Hotels.com™ Rewards members, making it ideally positioned to cater to the hotel booking needs of the regional market. “We know that speed is important to our customers and we want to provide fastest booking experience possible in all languages on desktop and mobile. In fact, one in every three bookings on Hotels.com globally is now made on mobile. Speed and convenience are crucial to delivering unsurpassed experiences for our customers,” commented Michael Korkia, Senior Marketing Manager EMEA for the Hotels.com brand.

Saudi Arabia aims to become the main destination for conferences and exhibitions in the Middle East by 2020. The Kingdom has announced ambitious plans to invest USD1.6 billion in its MICE tourism industry for the coming years to 2019, and several centres and venues will benefit from this financial boost. Backed by a growing number of modern facilities and government support, Makkah is set to become a new destination for the MICE tourism industry in Saudi Arabia, according to industry experts.  Traditionally seen as a site for religious travel, Makkah today is attracting a growing number of local companies and government authorities looking to combine their meeting and training requirements with Umrah pilgrimage. Conrad Makkah Jabal Omar, the first Conrad property opened by Hilton in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, has seen its MICE business grow steadily, driven by demand from pharmaceutical companies and government entities that tend to conduct their board and annual meetings, as well as training and development programs, over weekends in the Holy City. “There are several factors that contribute to the development of MICE tourism in Makkah, one of which is the growing supply of modern venues from new hotels that are opening in the market, equipped with the latest technology,” said Ismail Sirry, general manager of Conrad Makkah Jabal Omar. “Other factors include the improving infrastructure, companies’ desire to hold their meetings and trainings in nearby locations, and continuous government support.”  

Marriott International has signed an agreement with Al Maryia Real Estate Establishment to open a Four Points by Sheraton in Riyadh. Scheduled to open in 2019, Four Points by Sheraton King Abdul Aziz Road will offer 130 rooms in the Sulaimaniyah district. The Four Points brand is on track to open six properties in Saudi Arabia in the next five years. The new Four Points will offer 130 guest rooms, including 30 suites. Located in the Sulaimaniyah district in central Riyadh, the hotel is 15 minutes from King Fahd Road and Olaya Road, and within close proximity from the King Khalid International Airport, King Abdul-Aziz Metro Station and the King Abdullah Financial Center. Marriott International currently operates 19 properties and over 5,000 rooms in Saudi Arabia. The company is on track to reach its milestone of 50 operating hotels in the country in the next five years.