Hala Abu Dhabi, the destination management company of the Etihad Aviation Group (EAG), has been selected as the exclusive shore excursions and activities provider for Sir Bani Yas Island and Beach Oasis, the latest cruise destination stop in the UAE for the 2016/2017 season. The announcement was made at the Seatrade Cruise Med conference, being held between September 21 and 23 at the International Trade Fair and Congress Centre in Tenerife. Darren Peisley, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Hala Group, said: “We’re delighted to have been selected for this exciting development. Sir Bani Yas Island will be one of the best new locations to enter the cruise market this year. By offering customised add-ons including flights, visa processing, accommodation, in-house operated tours and safaris alongside multi-lingual tour guides, Hala is able to provide a one-stop-shop solution to cruise operators in the Gulf.”

Convention Bureau of Florence presented the destination, its MICE and leisure products to an audience of tour operator, DMCs and PCOs highly specialised in events and luxury travel of UAE in Dubai. This will help FCVB to promote Florence not only as a MICE destination but also to the most important tour operators in the world. By the end of 2016, FCVB will participate in major trade fairs as the ILTM Cannes, WTM London, or the BTO in Florence in addition to many targeted sales mission and workshops. The B2B event was organised in strategic partnership with Emirates. Director of FCVB, Carlotta Ferrari said, “It was un unique opportunity that inaugurates our programme of leisure activities. We organised this event format with Emirates, an exceptional partner for us. The appointments went very well and we registered a great interest from UAE tour operators and DMCs. We expect the first results soon and we are very optimistic about the benefits that these new activities will bring to our destination.”

Emirates has revamped its corporate loyalty programme, Emirates Business Rewards, to provide greater value and added features for customers. The new programme has been simplified and made more competitive to allow upgrades on last minute bookings. One of the biggest features is the ability to use Business Rewards Points to book any commercially available seat at any time giving members cash-like convenience. Emirates is the first and only airline in the region to offer such flexibility as part of its corporate loyalty programme – improving cost-effectiveness for business travel. Emirates Business Rewards has enhanced its user-experience with easy-to-use customer dashboards. These include tools to manage and book services for employees, and monitor the savings accumulated so far on the programme.

Marriott Hotels, the signature brand of Marriott International, and Marriott Executive Apartments, Marriott’s extended stay product, have opened their doors in Abu Dhabi. The Marriott Executive Apartments Downtown Abu Dhabi will appeal to both business and family travellers with 64 fully serviced one, two and three bedroom apartments offering space, ambience and the privacy of residential living, with 5 star hotel service and facilities, enabling a comfortable stay away from home. Located in the heart of the UAE’s capital, the hotel and apartments, developed by Bloom Holding, give guests the amenities they need to achieve a brilliant stay in Abu Dhabi. Presenting a completely new hotel experience for today’s modern traveller, the 5 star Marriott Hotel Downtown Abu Dhabi is an exciting new travel destination that exhilarates the mind through a marriage of sophisticated design and innovative functionality. 315 spacious guest rooms and suites feature modern amenities and smart technologies throughout while the hotel’s extensive meeting space is tailored to today’s meeting requirements. Supplemented by unique dining and wellness options, the hotel is set to become a local hub for business and leisure as well as a global MICE destination.

Etihad Airways will add three weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney to operate a double-daily schedule from February 6, 2017. The morning departure from Abu Dhabi – EY450 – and the afternoon departure from Sydney – EY451 – will increase from four to seven flights per week. This enhancement to the airline’s Sydney schedule comes with the move by strategic partner Virgin Australia to shift its Australia to Abu Dhabi operation from Sydney to Perth from June 9, 2017. Expanding the code-share agreement, Etihad Airways will add its EY code to Virgin Australia’s new three weekly Perth-Abu Dhabi flights. The combined impact of the additional Sydney capacity and new code-share with Virgin Australia is an increase in the UAE flag carrier’s Australian footprint from a total of 42 to 45 weekly flights. To maintain schedule continuity, Etihad Airways will operate its three new weekly Sydney services at the same timings as Virgin Australia’s current Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights, on which Etihad Airways has placed its EY code since they began in February 2011. Among the new two-way connected markets for Perth are Athens, Beirut, Geneva, Istanbul, and a number of African destinations including Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Khartoum and Nairobi. The additional Sydney flights will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER, the aircraft type operating the current EY450/451 pattern. The aircraft is configured with eight seats in First Class, 40 in Business Class and 280 in Economy Class.

Qatar Airways will introduce additional capacity to its two South American gateways from December 1, 2016, when the airline upgrades its existing aircraft operating on the route, a Boeing 777-200LR, to a Boeing 777-300ER. The upgrade to the Extended Range aircraft will provide an additional 99 seats per day from the airline’s capital in Doha to Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Qatar Airways’ existing aircraft operating on the route is the Boeing 777-200LR with 259 seats, which will increase to 358 seats. Commercial passenger traffic from the two cities to Qatar Airways’ network of more than 150 destinations via Doha provides travellers with some of the  shortest travel times from South America to popular destinations such as Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beirut, Singapore, Delhi and Maldives, and many other places can be conveniently reached via Qatar Airways’ Doha hub. All flights to South America feature three full meal services with three cuisine options in Economy Class, including vegetarian meals and complimentary beverages. In Business Class, Qatar Airways offers a bespoke dine-on-demand service where premium passengers can select a five course meal at their leisure. Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 offers 42 seats in Business Class and 316 in Economy Class. The airline was recently voted World’s Best Business Class and features a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, Oryx One, with up to 3,000 options including the latest movies, TV series, music and games.

The 22nd international trade fair for travel and tourism in Moscow (Otdykh) opened its doors on Sept 21 at the Expo Center Fairgrounds. This year 750 exhibitors from 70 countries including Russian regions will be participating with over 160 business events. This is one of the most looked forward to events aimed at both inbound and outbound travel of the Russian market. It consists of leisure, MICE, business, medical, spa, health and luxury tourism. The first three days will be solely dedicated to trade visitors, partners and buyers whereas the last day will be open to the public. There is much expectation as the Russian market seems to be on a steady road to recovery.

Dubai Business Events, the city’s official convention bureau, is delivering one of its strongest year-to-date, with 86 new international business events secured in 2016. The bureau has secured 15 percent more events in the first eight months of this year than the whole of 2015, and is poised to capitalise on increasing demand from international meetings, conferences, and incentives organisers, according to internal auditing at the city’s official convention bureau. The events secured this year will be held over the course of the next four years and combined, will bring 65,000 delegates to Dubai from around the world, as speakers, panellists, exhibitors and visitors. And with each delegate expected to add almost AED 6,000 to the economy, the impact of these events could be as much as AED344 million. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Dubai’s growing appeal as a premier destination for international business events is a testament to the vision and leadership of the government and the positive response that we have seen as we have shared the emirate’s remarkable story with a global audience.”

Emirates Skywards, the frequent flyer programme of Emirates Airline, marks its 16th year milestone with over 16 million members and the successful launch of new initiatives to enhance reward options for members. Since the programme’s inception in 2000, Emirates Skywards members have redeemed 220 billion Miles on reward flights, hotels stays and exclusive access to the biggest events worldwide. The diversity of the programme’s partners and rewards are reflected in the airline’s global customer base and network spanning six continents and over 150 destinations. With a focus on customer satisfaction, Emirates Skywards continuously forms exclusive partnerships and introduces new initiatives to offer greater value, choice and flexibility to its members. Most recently, Emirates Skywards has introduced Cash+Miles — allowing flight redemption using a combination of cash and Skywards Miles. Members in all four tiers — Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum — can start redeeming flights with as little as 2,000 Miles. This popular new initiative instantly reduces the cost of the tickets and can be used on any Emirates flight across all classes, making any seat available to Emirates Skywards members. To date, Emirates Skywards has 14 airline partners including strategic partnerships with Easyjet and Qantas, offering members access to one of the world’s largest networks of global travel destinations. The programme also has 24 hotel partner brands covering nearly 20,000 properties worldwide. This includes a collaboration with the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programme which gives members double rewards through the ability to earn both Skywards Miles and Starpoints when they fly with Emirates or stay with Starwood. Emirates Skywards members also enjoy access to a global network of 39 Emirates lounges in major airports including six lounges at Dubai …

Sunway Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Sunway Berhad, one of Malaysia’s leading property developer, has chosen Dubai to set up its first regional sales office in the Middle East, as part of Sunway’s international market expansion strategy, in partnership with Dubai-based BizGate Marketing & Consultancies. The Dubai office will focus on promoting Sunway Hotels & Resorts’ 11 properties to the Middle East market and explore new opportunities within the region. The office is spearheaded by Ahmad Faizal Iskandar, recently promoted to Director of Sales for the Middle East and Africa. Faizal was formerly from the brand’s flagship hotel, Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Middle East is one of the fastest growing source markets for Sunway Hotels & Resorts, specifically for the hotels in Sunway City Kuala Lumpur – the iconic 5-star Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, the newly renovated Sunway Pyramid Hotel and Sunway Clio Hotel which integrates seamlessly with the award-winning Sunway Lagoon theme park and the popular Sunway Pyramid shopping mall. “Our strategic partnership with BizGate through their local market expertise facilitated the regional sales office set-up. This will further strengthen Sunway’s presence in the Middle East and Africa, and to develop new opportunities from previously untapped markets in the region,” said Albert Cheong, CEO, Sunway Hotels & Resorts. “Sunway Hotels & Resorts has successfully created a reputable brand name that attracts high-end leisure guests from the families, couples, honeymooners and weddings segments as well as specialized meetings and incentive segments from the region,” said Mohamad Masri, Managing Director, BizGate Marketing & Consultancies.