Dubai Parks and Resorts, the region’s largest theme park destination announced the introduction of a special summer pass for visitors to enjoy access to the destination and four other attractions across Dubai. The dxbpass offers guests the chance to tour the world class theme parks at Dubai Parks and Resorts — Bollywood Parks™, MOTIONGATE™ Dubai, LEGOLAND® Dubai and LEGOLAND® Water Park, as well as Hub Zero, Mattel Play! Town, Green Planet and Splash Pad, along with a 20% discount on selected restaurants at Riverland™ Dubai and Lapita™ Hotel. The pass was introduced for purchase on June 4 and will be valid from June 15 to August 31. It can be booked online, on its website. In addition to the dxbpass, Dubai Parks and Resorts is also organizing a two-week edutainment Summer Camp, allowing children to play, explore and experience unlimited fun at Dubai’s best attractions. This two-week Summer Camp offers endless opportunities to engage children’s curiosity as well as boost their confidence and creativity at locations across the city. Experiences vary from treasure hunts at LEGOLAND® Dubai and Green Planet to indoor dance classes at Bollywood Parks™ Dubai and MOTIONGATE™ Dubai as well as movie experiences at Roxy Cinemas.

Ethiopian Airlines announced the commencement of direct and non-stop flights to Singapore five days a week at a reception ceremony held recently at Addis Ababa Bole Airport. The event was graced by Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines and members of the Transport Affairs Standing Committee from the House of People’s Representatives; aviation partner organizations; travel agencies; Ethiopian executive management and the likes. During the event, GebreMariam remarked that Singapore is one of the world’s biggest economic giants, a global financial centre, highly developed, innovative, business friendly and a preferred gateway to Asia and Australia. So this new flight service to Singapore will be of paramount importance in enhancing economic, cultural and social ties between Asia and Africa, Ethiopia and Singapore in particular.

Emirates’ inaugural Boeing 777-300ER flight from Dubai to Zagreb touched down in the capital city of Croatia, with more than 350 passengers on board, to a water cannon salute and an exhilarating performance by traditional Croatian folk dancers. Among the dignitaries travelling on flight EK129 were Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer; Thierry Aucoc, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (Europe and Russian Fed); Gari Cappelli, Minister of Tourism, Republic of Croatia; His Excellency Ali Al Ahmed, UAE Ambassador to Croatia and a contingent of partners and business leaders from Dubai, Hong Kong, India and China. This debut flight to Croatia took off from Dubai at 08.15 hours and landed in Zagreb at 12.20 hours. Thereafter, from Zagreb, the departure took place at 15.35 hours and arrival at Dubai happened at 23.05 hours. The flight carried commercial passengers from more than 16 countries in the Emirates’ network, including Taiwan, Australia, India, UAE, Korea, China, Japan, Singapore and South Africa. The new daily flight will open up access to more than 80 worldwide destinations in Emirates’ global network for Croatian travellers and vice versa. Travel from as far as Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, or Sydney and Melbourne, to Croatia, is all extremely convenient now, with just one stop at Emirates’ world-class Dubai hub.

The German airline Hahn Air announced a new Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreement (IET) with La Compagnie, the French boutique airline offering all-business-class flights from Paris to New York. La Compagnie joined Hahn Air’s unique network of more 300 air, rail and shuttle partners to enhance its global distribution. Its flights are now available on Hahn Air’s HR-169 ticket to travel agents, using Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Apollo and Worldspan, under La Compagnie’s IATA code B0 — even in markets where it is not a member of the local Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP). “By welcoming La Compagnie into our partner network, we are happy to complement our portfolio with an exceptional airline that truly caters to business travellers”, says Steve Knackstedt, Vice President of the Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “Through our agreement, La Compagnie will not only generate incremental business but also gain access to our growing network of interline partners.”

The Elaf Group of Companies, a SEDCO Holding Group company and a leading provider of travel, tourism and hospitality services, has announced the opening of its latest five-star hotel in Jeddah. The latest addition to Elaf Group’s growing portfolio of hotels is part of its recent implementation of a strategic expansion initiative, aimed at further reinforcing its leading presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s booming tourism and hospitality segment — in line with the goals and objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to support the national economy and to promote tourism, particularly tourism for religious purposes, as a key contributor in the efforts to achieve a non-oil economy. Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, CEO, Elaf Group, said, “The new hotel is being expected to help address the demand for more hotel rooms in Jeddah, which clearly demonstrates the country’s rapidly thriving tourism industry — ably reflected in its continuous Year-on-Year (YoY) growth. Rest assured, we remain steadfast in our commitment to provide the highest quality of services to offer an unforgettable experience in our hotel and exemplary service to our guests.

Emirates’ customers can explore more of Dubai this summer by enjoying exclusive offers and discounts across the city with My Emirates Pass, which turns the Emirates boarding pass into an exclusive membership card. Those flying to or through Dubai between June 1 and August 31, 2017 can take advantage of a range of offers at some of Dubai’s best known hotspots by simply showing their Emirates boarding pass and a valid form of identification. My Emirates Pass gives customers special discounts at over 120 world class restaurants and hotel dining outlets in Dubai. Exclusive offers are also available on a range of leisure activities, including visits to championship golf courses, thrilling theme parks or luxury spas across the city. Furthermore, My Emirates Pass can be used to enjoy some of the city’s must-see new attractions, such as Dubai Parks and Resorts, which features three theme parks: Bollywood Parks™, MOTIONGATE™ and the region’s first LEGOLAND® Park and LEGOLAND® Water Park.

Qatar Airways and Monacair have entered a new partnership, commencing July 4, that would allow passengers arriving at Nice International Airport to seamlessly connect to Monte Carlo on a Monacair helicopter flight. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said, “This strategic partnership with Monacair combines perfectly with the launch of our new direct service to Nice, allowing passengers to travel to and from Monaco in just six minutes from Nice International Airport. The agreement with Monacair reflects our commitment to provide our passengers the very best premium travel opportunities, and I am confident that this new partnership will delight our passengers.” “We are tremendously excited about this new collaboration between Monacair and Qatar Airways,” said Gilbert Schweitzer, Managing Director, Monacair. “As in all other services proposed by Monacair, we want to offer our passengers the very best. The H130 provides a unique travelling experience that we want to share with Qatar Airways’ clients.” Launching on July 4, Qatar Airways’ new direct, five times a week service to and from Nice will operate with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, providing passengers from around the world access to the ever-popular tourist destination of the French Riviera.

Hamad International Airport (HIA) is all set to become a smart airport. Every step of the on-boarding process at HIA, from check-in to boarding, will be self-service-enabled to significantly improve efficiency and reduce wastage of time, facilitating fast and seamless experience for the travellers. It will soon be introducing its next-generation self-service check-in and bag drop services, which will enable passengers to check in themselves, print their boarding passes and baggage tags, tag their bags and simply drop them off at the custom-designed bag-drop system. COO of Hamad International Airport, Badr Al–Meer, stated, “We want to be different and ensure that our passengers can self-check-in, drop the baggage and go right up to the aircraft without any human interaction. This would be phase 1 in reaching the Smart Airport standard. Phase 2 of our expansion plans includes a new terminal, the same size as that of the current airport.”

Passengers flying through Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB) now have more options to get some rest with the launch of the sleep ‘n fly lounge, which offers a total of 27 pods and cabins. Scandinavian-designed for comfort and style, DXB’s new sleep lounge features 20 state-of-the-art “igloo” sleep pods, plus 7 premium double cabins with pullout children beds. Inspired by nature, sleep ’n fly provides ultimate relaxation for a one-hour power nap or an entire night, or any duration in between. Located close to Gate A1 in Concourse A, the sleep ’n fly lounge provides more choices for the passengers travelling through DXB, which also boasts of five-star hotels. Pods and cabins can be reserved in advance on its website and the lounge specially welcomes the members of Priority Pass and LoungeKey. Eugene Barry, Executive Vice President, Dubai Airports Commercial Group, said, “The opening of sleep ‘n fly expands Dubai International’s existing range of rest and relaxation options and is the latest in a line of personalised and engaging products we are rolling out to cater to the evolving needs of global travellers.”

The State Government of Victoria is celebrating 20 years of trade and tourism ties with the Middle East region. The Australian state set up its Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in 1997 to forge and strengthen trade and investment ties with the region, which two decades later has seen Victoria’s annual exports to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grow to AUD$ 2.49 billion (US$ 1.85 billion). Tourism and aviation links between Victoria and the region have also multiplied over the years, with Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways all flying daily to Melbourne. Emirates Airline has had a long-term relationship with Melbourne, having sponsored the famous Collingwood Football Club and the Emirates Melbourne Cup, the flagships among a portfolio of key partnerships in the state. Etihad Airways also has a strong connection with Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s Etihad Stadium, and has seen the UAE’s national carrier become the lead sponsor of Melbourne City Football Club.