Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has ramped up its travel trade activities and consumer awareness campaigns in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in an effort to draw more visitors from the GCC market. Positioning itself as one of the fastest growing tourism destinations in the region, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority hosted a travel trade roadshow in Saudi Arabia this week in partnership with Emirates Airline. More than 85 key stakeholders from the Saudi travel trade attended the roadshow which comprised awareness workshops for the travel trade in Jeddah and Riyadh on 9th and 10th October. During the first nine months of this year, RAKTDA reported an upturn of 18 per cent in the number of Saudi visitors staying in Ras Al Khaimah’s hotels, compared to the same period in 2015. Moreover, for the month of September, Saudi visitors to Ras Al Khaimah have increased by 39 per cent compared to September 2015. RAKTDA has launched its Vision 2019 tourism strategy with a target for 1 million visitors by the end of 2018. The strategy focuses on the emirate’s inimitable assets which include some of the finest beaches and nature in the region, the highest mountain in the UAE, a unique terracotta desert, 7,000 years of history and heritage, as well as authentic Arabian cultural experiences. The tourism body is planning an additional 20,000 hotel rooms by 2025, along with new tourist attractions, products and events to be developed across Ras Al Khaimah. Emirates Airline serves the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 70 flights a week offering seamless travel to Dubai from its four gateways: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medinah Al Munawarah.

Turkish Airlines has unveiled its new mobile application. Users can now buy tickets, make reservations and check in, manage Miles&Smiles account and follow departure-arrival status via the recent application. All processes can be done quickly under favor of the simple and easy to use design. It is now possible to add passengers, display the latest airport searches, and gain time by choosing favorite airports. Also the flights can be reserved easier due to the interactive map. The promotions which provide new discoveries via Turkish Airlines can be reached at any place and any time. The new functionalities of the mobile application allow passengers to change tickets, make cancellations, add infants, and add flights directly. The application includes the terminal maps in order to make mobile users find their desired location. Also the mobile application users will have ability to buy emergency row seats to have a more comfortable journey. Also it is now possible to upgrade Economy tickets to Business via new update. Turkish Airlines’ updated mobile application can be downloaded on AppStore and also Google Play to all mobile devices.

The UAE successfully took part in a special meeting for GCC tourism undersecretaries held in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of the preparations for the 3rd GCC Tourism Ministers Meeting. The UAE delegation was headed by H.E. Mohammed Khamis Al Muhairi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Economy, and was joined by Saeed Al Samahi, Director General, FTAA; and Abdullah Al Hammadi, director at the Ministry of Economy. The delegates discussed key points from the minutes of its previous meeting — strongly focused on the development of the GCC region’s tourism industry, the further promotion of joint tourism work among GCC countries and the continuation of efforts to achieve common strategic goals and objectives in support of enhancing and improving national tourist attractions of respective member countries. H.E. Al Muhairi shared that tourism in the GCC region has witnessed a positive upward shift in the last few years and has resulted in the region’s tourism segment’s ability to contribute significantly to the economies of countries in the GCC, supplementing contributions that has helped in promoting economic diversity. The Undersecretary revealed that the recommendations produced in the recent meeting complements the move to further enhance joint cooperation among GCC countries.

Qatar Airways has opened a new route from Doha to Helsinki, the Finnish capital. His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways, hosted a press conference at Hotel Kämp in the centre of Helsinki following the arrival of the airline’s first flight to the Finnish capital. Qatar Airways is the first Middle Eastern carrier to serve all four Nordic capitals. The new route will also give the people of Finland the opportunity to connect to more than 150 destinations on the airline’s global network via its hub, Hamad International Airport, in Doha. Qatar Airways, already one of the fastest growing airlines in the history of aviation, flies daily to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and now Helsinki. This will give Finnish passengers the opportunity to travel seamlessly to destinations such as Krabi and the Seychelles, which will launch in December, and Auckland, which will launch on February 5, 2017, with many more new destinations to come.

To tout the country’s image as a preferred healthcare & wellness destination, India participated in a big way at this year’s International Medical Travel Exhibition and Conference (IMTEC) at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC). According to some recent Medical industry reports India’s medical tourism market is expected to grow to USD 8 billion in the next four years. Industry analysts have pointed out that drivers for this growth includes India’s position as being the second largest country with the most number of accredited facilities (after Thailand) offering high quality healthcare with immediate service. Another driver seen is cost as India is known for offering quality medical treatments at affordable costs. The number of international visitors travelling to India for medical treatment has increased in recent years with the rise of private hospitals that offer world-class medical infrastructure and the capabilities for complex operations & procedures. Globally, the medical value travel is projected to increase to USD 32.5 billion over the next five years. Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC), set up by the Department of Commerce under India’s Ministry of Commerce, participated on behalf of the Government of India at the event showcasing the theme, ‘India Heals’ and promoting India as an ideal healthcare and wellness destination.  They further explained the features of the new India Healthcare Tourism Portal (www.indianhealthcaretourism.com) which was launched jointly by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India and the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC). The portal is a comprehensive one-point information site and covers hospital-related and travel-related information on India. The medical facilities listed on the portal can be searched by location, medical specialty, key procedures, language options available in hospitals …

Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces held a multi-city Sales Mission in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, signifying the company’s interest in expansion in the region. The events were hosted in Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. The first leg of the Sales Mission kick started with an evening of networking at the Opera Ballroom at Taj Dubai on September 25th 2016. Hosted by Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, the elegant dinner event had Senior Management from various Taj properties around the globe, key media and select travel partners in attendance. Speaking at the event, Chinmai expressed the group’s interest in growing their footprint in the region with two hotels already in the pipeline. This includes a 207 – key hotel located at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai and a 325 – key Resort and Spa located on The Palm, Dubai. Taj Dubai is the iconic group’s first luxury property in the Middle East. Taj Dubai’s 296 rooms are a mix of rich Indian artistry and traditional influences, suffused with a cool, vibrant twist. An intoxicating fusion of extravagance, heritage and contemporary style, Taj Dubai occupies a prime location, a mere five minutes from the famed Downtown area with Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall and just 15 km away from Dubai International Airport, making this one of the most coveted locations for business travellers and tourists alike.

The International Medical Tourism Exhibition and Conference (IMTEC), held from October 9-10, 2016 at the Dubai Exhibition and Convention Center, saw over 70 exhibitors with around 2000 visitors in total. Tourism Authority of Thailand Dubai and Middle East office “Thai pavilion” was the busiest during IMTEC 2016. The pavilion was set up with an aim to further grow the number of medical tourist arrival in Thailand from the Gulf region. Nationals of GCC countries; Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, can enjoy their medical treatment in Thailand for 90 days without a visa. The regulation also allows a patient to have not more than 3 individuals who are GCC nationals (i.e. parents, children, spouse or maid), accompanying him or her to stay in Thailand for 90-days without visa as well. Further details are available on the website of the Royal Thai Embassy and Royal Thai Consulate in all GCC countries. This year’s IMTEC focused on both inbound and outbound medical travel experts from around the globe. Among the highlights of the event’s opening day included a presentation of a global study conducted by Medigo, a globally recognized platform for patients seeking access to hospitals around the world, that showed how healthcare providers – from small clinics to large, multi-center hospital chains, in 19 countries are turning to online marketing as a way to increase brand awareness and attract patients. His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qatami, Director General of the Dubai Health Authority; and His Excellency Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing led the opening ceremonies and a walk through, welcoming the delegates and the exhibiting companies at this …

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), which develops the emirate’s tourism infrastructure and plans, initiates and drives its domestic and overseas promotions, welcomed two new charter flights from Poland to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport. Operated by Enter Air, the two new charter flights have been added by the pan-European tour operator TUI, following the new co-marketing agreement with Ras Al Khaimah TDA which was signed in August. According to CEO RAK Tourism Development Authority Haitham Mattar, the visitor numbers from Poland have increased by 157% to date.

Travelport and MasterCard have announced a new product to help airlines better understand their end travelers’ spend behavior. The product, Travelport Passenger Insight powered by Mastercard, allows airlines to improve their partnership strategies and create better offers to encourage travel on their respective routes.  Travelport Passenger Insight, the latest innovation from Travelport’s airline Business Intelligence team, analyses how, where, and when travellers spend in key spend categories — such as hotels, car rental, restaurants and retail — while traveling in a particular destination or country. Travelport Passenger Insight uses aggregated transaction data to give airlines up-to-date traveler insights and information. Airlines can choose two levels of travel related spend detail. The result is customized analytics specific to the airline customers’ profile and benchmarked against industry competitors.    This unique analysis of anonymised and aggregated spending data provides airlines with tailored insights into brand preferences and trends that can help attract and keep customers in key routes and markets.

Air Europa and Turkish Airlines have jointly announced the start of a code-sharing partnership effective as of October 1, 2016 that enables both carriers to tap into new markets and offer their passengers more travel options. At the initial stage of their cooperation Air Europa will place its marketing code on Istanbul-Madrid v.v. route operated by Turkish Airlines while Turkish Airlines will place its marketing code on Madrid – Las Palmas/Ibiza/Palma de Mallorca v.v. and Madrid – Havana/Santo Domingo/Lima v.v. flights operated by Air Europa. Such an expansion of the codeshare agreement will allow passengers to benefit from better connectivity and increased travel flexibility between Spain and Turkey and beyond the carriers’ respective networks. Turkish Airlines connects 242 international destinations with Istanbul, which is the only city in the world having settled on two continents, and serving as the main hub of the global carrier. It offers transcontinental advantages of its location in Eurasia and makes connecting flights to destinations all around the globe easier than ever.