The Jeju Island Tourism Organisation, South Korea has revealed a 20 per cent increase in the number of UAE tourists that have visited South Korea’s Jeju Island during the first half of 2017. The figures were presented in a special promotional event held recently at the JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai. The event was aimed at further promoting the increasing popularity of Jeju Island to a potential UAE and Middle East market. Jeju Island, the largest island off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, has become a top destination for tourists visiting the country, primarily because of its natural World Heritage Site, Jeju Volcanic Island, and Lava Tubes. Other top attractions in the island include Mount Halla, the Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls, Hallim Park, Yakcheonsa Temple, Manjanggul and the Jeju Stone Statue Park. Jeju is also rich in beautiful beaches and posh countryside and seaside hotels & resorts.

Travelport partners with Groundspan to introduce the fully integrated ground transportation solution, Travelport Drive Me. Designed to be the fastest and the most efficient way to book ground transportation services, Drive Me revolutionises car bookings to deliver a seamless experience to travellers. It provides options for travellers who desire a high-quality, personalised and reliable car transfer service experience across their journey. Powered by Groundspan’s global network of over 5,000 car service providers with professional drivers, Travelport Drive Me enables Travelport Smartpoint connected travel agents to seamlessly manage ground transportation, just as they book flights, hotel accommodation or car rental.

After its successful attempt at integrating the Visa Checkout facility with its tajawal.ae domain in January 2017, the Dubai-based travel-booking website has further collaborated with Visa to provide Visa Checkout to its customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. tajawal is now rolling out the service across multiple markets to provide its users in the region with the most convenient booking process possible. Visa Checkout offers cardholders a simple and secure digital payment method that allows for registered users to complete their purchase at the click of a button. By logging into their Visa Checkout account, payment and billing information are automatically populated, eliminating the step to manually enter the information with every purchase. Ahmed Gaber, Visa’s General Manager for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, said, “Innovations like Visa Checkout help to remove friction from the e-commerce payment process, bringing significant benefits to both the customer and the merchant. With Visa Checkout integrated into its systems, tajawal can now offer its customers an online payment experience that is as easy, convenient, and seamless as swiping a Visa card in a traditional retail setting.” To promote Visa Checkout as a payment option on tajawal.sa, a special offer has been introduced on all flight and hotel bookings that can be availed by registered users who choose to pay with Visa Checkout on tajawal.sa until August 18, 2017.

Philippine Airlines recently announced that it will resume its non-stop thrice weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Manila from October 31, 2017 so as to cope with the continuously increasing demand. In May 2017, the airline announced the suspension of its services on the route in order to pave way for route assessment initiatives. The suspended flights, PR656/657, will resume their services exactly like before. Operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, PR656 will leave from Manila at 11.45 am and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 5.45 pm and the return flight, PR657, will depart from Abu Dhabi at 7.30 pm and land in Manila at 8.50 am the next day.

Emirates will increase the frequency of flights between Dubai and Khartoum from five to seven a week starting 8 August 2017. The additional services will be realised by Boeing 777, offering customers a choice of cabins with 8 luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 304 seats with plenty of room to relax in Economy Class. Offering a total of over 700 additional seats each way per week, the two new flights will enhance connectivity between a number of popular cities in the Middle East, Asia and Americas, some of them being Kuwait, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, New York and Washington DC.

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has launched ‘Sharjah Summer’, a two-month campaign aiming to drive entertainment, leisure, retail and tourism sales, underpinned by discounts of up to 50 per cent. It is the emirate’s first summer campaign that integrates offers from airlines, hotels, government institutions, travel agencies, shopping centres and other private sector companies. So far, about 30 public and private sector organisations have joined the campaign, which offers visitors entertainment, special hotel packages, retail promotions, and much more. Although the hot summer months are typically less busy for the Gulf’s inbound travel and tourism sector, SCTDA expects ‘Sharjah Summer’ to appeal strongly to the regional markets as families often consider inbound holiday plans during the shorter breaks in the summer. Last summer, Sharjah International Airport saw a 13 per cent increase in the number of passengers in July, August and September, in comparison to the same quarter the previous year. Both the airport and Sharjah-headquartered budget airline Air Arabia are taking part in this year’s summer campaign.

Passenger traffic grew by 3 per cent year on year at Sharjah International Airport during the last quarter, as the airport handled 2.75 million passengers during April, May and June, compared with 2.66 million during the same period of 2016. April saw the maximum increase, which was of 6 per cent. Aircraft movements at the airport also increased by 3 percent this quarter, with the total of scheduled and non-scheduled movements in Q2 2017 rising to 18,801, compared with 18,183 in Q2 2016. Of the different airlines playing a role in this rise, Air Arabia, the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has had a prominent role. It launched a number of new services from its Sharjah hub this year, including permanent services to Batumi in Georgia, Baku in Azarbajian, Somaliland’s capital Hargeisa and Sohar in Oman. The airline also launched a summer-special non-stop service to the Turkish port city of Trabzon.

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA), which develops the emirate’s tourism infrastructure and initiates its domestic and overseas promotions, has revealed Ras Al Khaimah’s hotels have reported a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in international guest arrivals during the first six months of the year. Also, the average hotel occupancy in H1 saw a 4.7 per cent year-on-year increase in comparison to the corresponding six-month period in 2016, jumping to 72.7 per cent. With RAK targeting 900,000 visitor arrivals during 2017, it has already recorded 390,499 guest arrivals between January and June, which is a year-on-year increase of 6.5 per cent in comparison to H1 arrivals last year. Haitham Mattar, CEO of RAKTDA, says, “While our excellent H1 results highlight continued year-on-year growth in Ras Al Khaimah’s visitor numbers, it is the Ramadan and June results that are particularly promising,” said Mattar. “Our best-ever figures during these typically lower periods of occupancy are a direct result of strategic initiatives and promotional activities undertaken in domestic and international source markets.” The successful Ramadan and June figures follow RAKTDA launching a dedicated summer campaign called ‘Feel Free this Summer’ in April to leverage the emirate as an ideal summer holiday destination on the global platform.

Investment conglomerate Dubai Holding and Saudi Arabia based Jabal Omar Development signed an agreement to develop a five-star hotel in the holy city of Mecca, named Jabal Omar Jumeirah Makkah Hotel, which is scheduled to be operational by early 2019. Managed by Dubai Holding’s subsidiary, Jumeirah Group, a brand in the luxury hospitality sector, the hotel will be walking distance from the Holy Mosque and comprise four towers with stunning views of Masjid-al-Haram. It will include 1033 guest rooms, along with 93 villas, and offer a variety of foods and beverages, meeting facilities, executive lounge, gymnasium, and over 90 retail units throughout the complex. Edris Al Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Holding, said, “Dubai Holding takes great honour in announcing the addition of this unique property to the Jumeirah Group portfolio. As the company embarks on its next phase of growth, adding such a strategic and large hotel to the portfolio is a key milestone in our ambitious international expansion strategy. Jabal Omar Jumeirah Makkah Hotel will significantly boost its growth in the coming years. It will also mark the Group’s first presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Makkah, one of the holiest sites in the world and the highest in real estate value.”

Dubai-based airlines, Emirates and flydubai, unveiled an extensive partnership recently that says the two airlines have joined hands to offer customers unmatched travel options and facilities. Both airlines will continue to be managed independently but will leverage each other’s network to scale up their operations and accelerate growth. Emirates today has a wide-body fleet of 259 aircraft, flying to 157 destinations (including 16 cargo-only points). flydubai operates 58 new-generation Boeing 737 aircraft to 95 destinations. The current combined network comprises 216 unique destination points. This latest partnership includes not only code-sharing, but also integrated network collaboration with coordinated scheduling. The new model will give flydubai customers seamless connectivity to Emirates’ worldwide destinations spanning six continents. For Emirates’ customers, it opens up flydubai’s robust regional network. The two airlines will also further develop their hub at Dubai International, aligning their systems and operations to ensure a seamless travel experience through the ultra-modern airport.