Riyadh Airports Company, the company responsible for managing and operating King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) in the Saudi capital,  and Uber have recently signed an agreement, putting the onus of transporting passengers to and from terminals 1, 2 and 5 of KKIA on Uber. CEO of Riyadh Airports, Saleh Al Rasheed, said,  “This agreement is in line with Riyadh Airports’ policy of developing strategic partnerships that can help them enhance the experience of the passengers travelling through King Khalid International Airport and ensure that their satisfaction is aided by the continued availability of reliable and efficient services”. Commenting on the announcement, Zeid Hreish, General Manager of Uber KSA said “This is a significant announcement for us, as the partnership reinforces Uber’s commitment to providing safe and reliable transportation everywhere and for everyone, and is in line with the Kingdom’s move towards working with progressive companies like Uber.” Riyadh Airports is also currently moving forward with plans to upgrade KKIA infrastructure and expand with new services and facilities.

Etihad Airways has introduced one of its 16 Boeing 787 carriers on its scheduled daily service from Abu Dhabi to Seoul. The aircraft touched down on August 2, 2017 at the South Korean capital’s space-age Incheon International Airport. The new two-class 787 Dreamliner replaces the Airbus A340-600 aircraft previously operated on this route and features Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins, with a total of 299 seats—28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. On the Seoul route, these will be complemented by Food and Beverage Managers in the Business Class and a Norland-approved Flying Nanny in the Economy Class to provide specialised care for families with young children. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways Executive Vice President Commercial, said, “This change has been brought about considering the fact that there has been a steady increase in the number of business and leisure travellers flying between South Korea and Abu Dhabi and the GCC region. Many Koreans now operate successfully and lead a flourishing life in UAE, contributing to the success of Etihad Airways’ Seoul Incheon service. Furthermore, many of our customers on the route transit onwards through Abu Dhabi to major destinations on the Etihad network across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

The CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), Haitham Mattar, has been appointed as the Middle East representative for the United Nations World Tourism Organisation affiliate members board. Mattar has also been named a full-time advisory board member of the Global Thinkers Forum (GTF), an international platform that brings together a diverse network of thought leaders to share their vision for the future, create meaningful conversations around them and effect positive change in the world. “While I am personally humbled by these dual board member appointments, my strategic objective now is to leverage them to raise the profile of Ras Al Khaimah and highlight our sustainable tourism work and progress initiatives that we are championing to influence global audiences. These board appointments will increase our collective capacity to underline our tremendous destination performance across all tourism and hospitality products, as well as highlight the abundant investment and partnership opportunities available in the emirate,” he added.

The airline with the largest network in the world, Turkish Airlines, has recently collaborated with Dr Mehmet Oz, the producer and host of ‘The Dr. Oz Show’, on its ‘Fly Good Feel Good’ project, to provide not only a comfortable but also a healthy travel experience to its passengers. Dr Oz would give advice to the passengers on healthy eating habits and exercises, through short videos that would be available on the Turkish Airlines official website, social media and in-flight entertainment systems. His advice will also be printed in newspapers to extend its reach to maximum number of people. “Making our passengers’ flight experience more comfortable and enjoyable by continuously improving our brand experience is one of our top priorities,” said M. Ilker Ayci, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines. How a person feels is just as important for us as our award-winning service quality.”

A record total of 8.06 million international overnight tourists arrived in Dubai during the first six months of 2017, reflecting a stellar 10.6 per cent increase over the same period last year. Figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) affirm the foundational strength and sustained acceleration of the emirate’s tourism sector, as it stayed the course of its impressive growth trajectory from January this year, underscoring the expanding appeal of Dubai as a global tourism destination of choice. Most of Dubai’s top 20 inbound visitor source markets saw positive or near-stable year-on-year performances in H1 2017, with five of the top 10 delivering double-digit growth. India continued to top the list of traffic generators and for the first time crossed the 1 million mark in a six-month period, with 1,051,000 Indians visiting the city between January and June. Saudi Arabia and the UK retained their spots as the second and third largest feeder markets respectively, with the latter delivering reliable volumes, backed by a solid 4 per cent year-on-year growth.

Passenger numbers at Dubai World Central (DWC), Dubai’s second airport, grew by more than 35 per cent in the first half of this year over the corresponding period of the last year, according to the traffic report issued by operator Dubai Airports. DWC welcomed 554,993 passengers in the first half of 2017 compared to 410,278 passengers during the first six months of the last year—a growth of 35.3 per cent. The regions that topped the list in terms of passenger volumes in this new growth were Eastern Europe (207,798 passengers), the GCC (170,424), Western Europe (61,459) and the Indian subcontinent (55,785 passengers). “Overall, DWC performed well in the first half of the year with both scheduled and chartered carriers contributing to traffic volumes at the airport. DWC’s continuing growth as an important travel and logistics hub is driven by advantages the facility offers to both airlines and passengers—from easy availability of slots to quick turnaround times, access to new catchment area, and quick transit times for passengers,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

In an aim to encourage more and more international tourists to visit the country, the Sultanate of Oman has made the visa application process easier by launching eVisa service. Tourists planning to visit Oman can now apply online for visas at https://evisa.rop.gov.om/. They would only need to fill up a form online, attach the necessary documents and then pay the application fee by a credit card, through a Global Payment Gateway that is officially certified by Oman. The applicants would then be notified about the developments on their application through emails. The first stage comprises non-sponsored tourist visas for people from 67 countries and GCC residents employed in 116 professions. The eVisa system will allow Oman to receive more tourists from key markets such as China, Russia and the US, and drive the demand for experiential travel to the Sultanate. “The Sultanate’s announcement of the eVisa system will ensure continuous growth of Oman’s tourism sector in the coming years as this provides not only tourists but also investors, businessmen, researchers and students easier access to visa processing,” said Salim Adi Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion, Ministry of Tourism, Oman.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced the opening of its new Holiday Inn in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The franchised property, owned by African Sun Limited and located in the heart of the city, features 96 rooms, an outdoor pool and a meeting room capable of seating 250 people. Commenting on the opening of the new hotel, Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer, India, Middle East and Africa, IHG, said, “We’re thrilled to announce the opening of a new property in Mutare as we believe that it will further support business travel between the Middle East and Africa. We are especially proud to continue working with established partners such as African Sun Limited that also owns several other properties with us. We are excited to begin welcoming guests to Holiday Inn Mutare.”

Gama Support Services, a division of global business aviation services company Gama Aviation, has signed commercial agreements with Sharjah Airport Authority for the development and operation of a private aviation terminal at Sharjah International Airport. Estimated to cost AED 110 million ($30 million) to get built, this purpose-built, integrated business aviation complex would provide ground handling services to business jet owners, business jets, and crew members. The terminal would be spread over an area of 40,000 square metres and will include two aircraft hangars that would be able to accommodate business aircraft up to the size of Airbus ACJ & Boeing BBJ (ACJ aircraft are based on the Airbus A320 family, while BBJ are based on Boeing 737 commercial aircraft frames). Further, it will also be complemented with rest areas, lounges, duty-free shops, passport control and customs. The development will also include an aircraft fueling unit, an aircraft parking apron for business jets and ample car parking adjacent to the terminal.

Answering the consumer demand for stronger privacy protection, Careem, the leading ride-hailing service in the Middle East and North Africa, has launched a new call masking feature, which is already live in the UAE and will be introduced in other regional markets, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, within the coming 30 days. The feature gives Careem’s customers the option to keep their phone numbers undisclosed to the Captain (driver), thus adding another layer to customer privacy and security. Call masking is the latest in a series of safety features introduced by Careem in the recent past such as the facial recognition technology.