Tag Archives: UAE

Amsaan Accessible Tours (AAT) has launched “Travel with Bova,” a project dedicated to providing guided tours conducted entirely in sign language. This transformative initiative marks a milestone in inclusive tourism and is launched from the UAE, a key destination for AAT. Benefiting both the tourism ecosystem and Deaf travellers while syncing with the UAE government, “Travel with Bova” offers unique guided tours around the world, led by Volodymyr Bozhko, also known as Bova, a senior Deaf tour guide with over 15 years of experience. Bova has guided tourists from various countries using International Sign Language, including the USA, China, and former CIS countries among others, and boasts extensive knowledge of European destinations, exotic islands, and Southeast Asian countries. He has organised long combined tours where travellers can visit multiple countries in one trip. Bova will be joined by another expert guide, Dmytro, who has visited over 50 countries and understands the needs of discerning Deaf tourists. The primary vision behind “Travel with Bova” is to provide accessible travel experiences for the Deaf community, breaking down barriers and allowing travellers to immerse themselves in different cultures through sign language. While the UAE is a favourite destination, the initiative will also introduce tourists to various other destinations. This project meets the rising demand for inclusive tours by leveraging specialists, cutting-edge technology, and a commitment to crafting unforgettable experiences for Deaf tourists, addressing the global loss of US$150 billion due to overlooked accessible tourism. Alex Koltsov, CEO, of Amsaan Accessible Tours, commented: “Catering to over 430 million people who have hearing loss, the launch of ‘Travel with Bova’ will set new standards in accessible tourism and not only meet but exceed the expectations …

The United Arab Emirates and China signed MoU to increase air connectivity between the two countries. The negotiations resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to increase air connectivity between the airports of the UAE and the airports of China. Additionally, both parties agreed to enhance cooperation and collaboration in the civil aviation sector and to explore new initiatives that would strengthen bilateral relations in the aviation sector. The United Arab Emirates, represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), held a round of Air Services Consultation’s with the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) in Beijing. The aim was to enhance bilateral air transport relations between the two countries and to increase air connectivity. The UAE delegation was led by His Excellency Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA. In this context, H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA, highlighted the authority’s dedication to enhancing air transport services, bolstering its international presence, and improving air connectivity to benefit the UAE’s national carriers. He expressed commendation for the agreements reached during the discussions, foreseeing a substantial positive impact on the economic sectors of mutual interest. He emphasized the significance of collaboration and the exchange of expertise between the two countries in areas of aviation security, safety, air transport, aviation industry and investments in the aviation sector. He added that the first Air Connectivity Forum between the two countries, held on July 15, was instrumental in achieving positive outcomes in the negotiations. He also highlighted the necessity of holding such forums on a consistent basis to support and strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries.

It was announced that Dar Global has teamed up with Trump International to launch Trump Tower in Dubai by 2025. This will be the second Trump branded project in the United Arab Emirates. The development will entail a Trump Hotel and branded residences. Dar Global, the global arm of Saudi Arabia’s biggest developer Dar Al Arkan. It did not reveal the cost of the project or completion timeline, but said it plans to unveil the location and design of Trump Tower Dubai towards the end of 2024. The project will also feature The Trump Private, an exclusive members-only club, among other amenities. It is Dar Global’s third collaboration with the Trump Organisation following the announcement of new projects in Oman and Jeddah.

Expedia released its 24th Vacation Deprivation report, which takes a deep dive into the UAE market, for the first time following the brand expansion launch. UAE Millennial residents have a higher percentage of vacation deprivation than Gen Zers, 50% compared to 35% to the latter group. It also shows that over half of Millennials surveyed are full-time employees. However, Gen Zers globally are more vacation deprived than any other generation. “Despite receiving more than six weeks of annual leave from their employers and using all of it UAE residents still feel vacation deprived” says Melanie Fish, head of Expedia Group brands public relations. “Millennial workers have difficulties planning a vacation -57% feel overwhelmed by the process and find booking travel stressful because they never know if they’re getting a good deal. There’s so much choice that contemplating travel options can become a major mental burden. Our minds want shortcuts, that’s why the Expedia app helps travelers with every step of their travel journey.” While UAE Millennials overall take time off less frequently, more than half of Gen X workers (33%) go six months or more between holidays. Only 5% of Millennials allow themselves a break from work every month. For today’s youngest workforce, Gen Z, the biggest thing holding them back is saving for a big trip this year. While being money-conscious is not exclusive to any particular generation, it’s most prevalent in Gen X with (34%) saying they much prefer saving their money for a more fulfilling trip, versus just 29% of Millennials and 27% of Gen Zers. UAE Millennial residents are not as vacation deprived as other Europeans and leave the fewest amount of days behind International vacation …

In keeping their commitment to the digital transformation UN Tourism partnered with UAE to integrate an e-platform for the governing body meetings. Under an agreement announced during the 121st session of the UN Tourism Executive Council, the United Arab Emirates will sponsor the implementation and maintenance of a Mobile Application integrated platform. The platform includes an electronic voting system for the Organization that would be available at the meetings of its Governing Bodies (the General Assembly and the Executive Council) and its subsidiary organs. It also offers other features such as documentation management, online registration process and interactive communication between participants, among other features. The adoption of the new electronic platform sponsored by UAE further underscores UN Tourism’s commitment to the digital transformation of every part of the tourism ecosystem, as well as its ongoing focus on promoting innovation and modernizing its processes. UN Tourism will make use of a new electronic voting system for the meetings of its key statutory meetings and other meetings of its Governing Bodies.  

Emirates will resume services to Nigeria from 1 October 2024, operating a daily service between Lagos and Dubai, and offering customers more choice and connectivity from Nigeria’s largest city to, and through, Dubai. The service will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER. EK783 will depart Dubai at 0945hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1520hrs; the return flight EK784 will leave Lagos at 1730hrs and arrives in Dubai at 0510hrs the next day. Tickets can be booked now on emirates.com or via travel agents. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer said, “We are excited to resume our services to Nigeria. The Lagos-Dubai service has traditionally been popular with customers in Nigeria and we hope to reconnect leisure and business travellers to Dubai and onwards to our network of over 140 destinations. We thank the Nigerian government for their partnership and support in re-establishing this route and we look forward to welcoming passengers back onboard.” With the resumption of operations to Nigeria, Emirates operates to 19 gateways in Africa with 157 flights per week from Dubai, with further reach to an additional 130 regional points in Africa through its codeshare and interline partnerships with South African Airways, Airlink, Royal Air Maroc, Tunis Air, among others. As a major economic hub in Africa, Nigeria and the UAE have built strong bilateral trade relations over the years, headlined by Lagos as the nation’s commercial centre. With the resumption of daily passenger flights, the airline’s cargo arm, Emirates SkyCargo, will further bolster the trade relationship by offering more than 300 tonnes of bellyhold cargo capacity, in and out of Lagos every week. Emirates SkyCargo will support Nigerian businesses by exporting their goods via its …

Resorts World Cruises announced that it will be expanding its footprint to the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman with the Resorts World One for a 6-month homeport deployment in Dubai, UAE. Starting from 18 October 2024, the Resorts World One will homeport and depart from Dubai to offer a 2 Night Sir Bani Yas Weekend Cruise with departures on Fridays; a 3 Night Oman Cruise to Khasab and Muscat departing on Sundays; and a 2 Night Doha Cruise departing on Wednesdays. Guests will have the flexible option to combine two or all three of the itineraries to increase the cruise length to a 4, 5 or 7 Night Cruise. Resorts World One will also add Doha as a homeport during the Qatar school holidays from 24 October to 2 November 2024. During this period, vacationers will have the additional convenience to embark from Doha to enjoy two 2 Night Dubai Cruises (24 and 31 October departures) and two 5 Night Dubai–Khasab-Muscat Cruises (26 October & 2 November departures). “We are excited to introduce the Resorts World Cruises brand to the Arabian Gulf with the Resorts World One cruise ship. As an international cruise line that is homegrown in Asia, we have decades of valuable experience in the cruise and hospitality sector, especially in catering to the needs of different ethnic and religious markets,” said Mr. Michael Goh, President of Resorts World Cruises. “Both cities Dubai and Doha are key international gateways to the Middle East and with the support of the respective local governments, authorities and travel partners, we look forward to further developing cruises to the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” he added. Resorts World Cruises operates …

Expedia launched a web experience to the United Arab Emirates market, with a Gen-AI enabled app coming later this month. Expedia Group made the announcement from the Arabian Travel Market while celebrating a booming $25B+* travel and tourism industry in the region. The UAE is leading in travel and tourism sector growth, with Dubai becoming one of the top global destinations for travelers in recent years**. The global travel brand Expedia, which currently operates in over 30 markets, will offer worldwide flights and access to hundreds and thousands of lodging options globally so citizens and residents of the United Arab Emirates can book the best staycations in the country and most memorable vacations globally. “Visionary leadership, a strategic long-term plan, a business-friendly environment and a vibrant multicultural society are driving the remarkable growth in the UAE, across multiple industries including travel and tourism. Expedia Group is an innovative technology company as much as it is a travel company, and we want to grow with the UAE and with the region. We want to grow together,” explains Rehan A. Asad, vice president of global markets at Expedia Group. “We’re excited and committed to serving UAE citizens and residents and offer them the comfort, convenience and confidence that they have a trusted partner for their family and friends to travel together. We want to provide the best product, all in one place.” Expedia is at the forefront of technology innovation in the global travel industry, and its UAE app-offering, coming later this month, will host features that help travelers overcome barriers to travel. Expedia was the first travel company to integrate ChatGPT into its app, offering a convenient source of travel inspiration. …

Victor announced the relocation of its headquarters to the iconic Erth Abu Dhabi: a beacon of Emirati hospitality in the heart of the capital. The move follows the recent acquisition of Victor by an investment group in Abu Dhabi and marks a significant milestone for business aviation in Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE. Founded in 2011 in the UK, Victor has a legacy of innovation within the aircraft charter marketplace by providing a unique global platform with unprecedented transparency. Its HQ move to Abu Dhabi will provide the Emirate with its first on-demand jet charter platform, opening up the market to a greater selection of choices when chartering and offering Victor’s sophisticated, high-touch service to Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals, government and corporate private aviation flyers. Aligned with the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic target, Victor will contribute to the nation’s sustainability objectives through its climate action initiatives – namely its pioneering partnership with Neste, the world’s leading producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). With its backing by Abu Dhabi, Victor is perfectly positioned to achieve its ambition of becoming the number one choice for private jet flyers – not only in the MENA region, but worldwide. “We are thrilled to establish our headquarters in Abu Dhabi and embark on this exciting new chapter in Victor’s journey,” said James Farley, co-CEO of Victor. “Abu Dhabi’s strategic location, world-class infrastructure and supportive business environment make it the ideal base for expanding our operations and serving our customer base across MENA. The business aviation market is growing faster in the region than the rest of the world and Victor can uniquely service this market by offering more choice, transparency and best-in-class customer service.” …

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has revealed a record-breaking year for Travel & Tourism in the UAE, with new peaks achieved across key metrics including the sector’s GDP contribution, jobs and visitor spend. Last year, the sector grew by more than a quarter (26%) to contribute a record-breaking AED 220BN to the UAE’s GDP representing 11.7% of the entire economy. This exceeded the previous record set in 2019 by almost 15% and underscores the sector’s pivotal role in the nation’s economic framework. Jobs supported by Travel & Tourism grew by 41,000 to reach more than 809,000, representing one in nine jobs in the country. Although the jobs lost during the pandemic were fully recovered in 2022, today’s announcement shows sector jobs have now increased 11% since the 2019 highpoint. The UAE’s Travel & Tourism sector is now soaring past all previous records, testament to the country’s commitment to attracting tourists from around the world to destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Ras Al Khaimah. While domestic visitor spending fully recovered in 2022, it continued to grow last year to reach more than AED 55.5BN which is almost 40% higher than 2019. International visitor spending surged by almost 40% in 2023 to reach over AED 175BN, 12% above 2019 levels, reflecting the UAE’s enduring appeal as a top global tourism destination. Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO said; “The UAE’s Travel & Tourism sector has not only recovered; it soared to new heights, establishing itself as a cornerstone of the nation’s economic landscape. “The remarkable growth in both employment and visitor spending is a testament to the UAE’s strategic vision and commitment to enhancing its Travel …