Dubai Parks and Resorts, scheduled to open Oct 31, has announced an annual Pass with exclusive invites to the park.The pass will be available during Eid with validity until December 31, 2017. Annual Passes start at 865AED and are on sale now at www.motiongatedubai.com or www.dubaiparksandresorts.com.

The Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) has announced the launch of two classification programmes for desert camps and tourism villages, the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. Desert camps are divided into two types which are day use and overnight but will fall under one category while tourism villages will have different categories of 5-star, 4-star and 3-stars based on the facilities and services that they will offer to tourists and residents. According to Sara Alsuwaidi, Head of Classification Section at ATDD, the new classification criteria is in line with Ajman Vision 2021 to promote the emirate’s growing tourism industry. She said that the department’s working group visited a number of camps and tourism villages in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah and compared them before they developed the new classification criteria program. The Licensing & Tourism Standard Department previously introduced classification motels, guest houses, and furnished apartments, in addition to the classification of hotels, hotel apartments, restaurants, travel & tourism agencies and tourist transportations.

Emirates will add two additional daily flights to Doha, effective October 30, 2016 making it nine daily flights to the Qatar capital. Emirates currently operates seven daily flights to Doha, and the addition of the two services will grow the airline’s presence in Qatar and take the total number of weekly Emirates flights to 63. So far in 2016, over half a million passengers have travelled on the Dubai-Doha service. In the first three months of 2016, there was a 26 per cent spike in visitor volumes to Dubai from Qatar over the previous year (according to Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing). The timings of the new Doha services have also been scheduled to facilitate shorter connection times to popular destinations in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Cebu and Clark. Furthermore, the new flights introduce convenient connections to popular European destinations such as Lisbon and Larnaca, Capetown in Africa and Los Angeles in the US, increasing access to key business and leisure centres both east and westbound. Through its hub, Emirates will also be seamlessly connecting passengers to its extensive route network of over 150 destinations, served by a fleet of all wide body aircraft offering a superior level of comfort as well as the latest products and services on board for customers. The airline’s network also encompasses more than 40 cities around the globe served by the iconic Emirates A380.

The Middle East awards programme, Amber pioneered by the Al Tayer Group, has launched a new mobile app in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to enable fast travel and hotel deals across GCC. The app introduces many benefits to customers, who can now enroll into the programme from anywhere, at their convenience, and view the latest offers across the Al Tayer Group portfolio of brands. Eliminating the need to carry a plastic card, members can begin to shop, earn and redeem points with the use of their digital card. The application will also feature daily updates on the best in fashion, beauty, lifestyle, hospitality, travel and cars across the Al Tayer Group portfolio. All masterfully curated by expert editors from local and global sources, the aim is to offer exclusive, original and aspirational content that serves as a source of inspiration to its readers. Members can also explore all Amber participating stores for opening times and locations; avail of convenient customer service with a click to call Amber Assist; and be the first to receive invitations to events and notifications of exclusive members’ only promotions and other privileges. The Amber application is available in English and Arabic and can be downloaded via the Play store on android phones and the App Store on iPhone devices.

A brand new holiday experience for international tourists and residents in the UAE will be the floating seahorses developed amidst water with a special underwater level as well.Inspired by Emirati culture and lifestyle and leading European designs, The Signature Edition of The Floating Seahorse has been developed especially for families with guests, groups and children of all ages.Kleindienst, the developer of The Floating Seahorse, has announced the launch of The Signature Edition, a new icon now in the making in the UAE. There will be 40 signature edition floating sea horses designed, engineered and built in the UAE. They are now under production and are currently priced at AED 12 million.  The estimated completion for the first phase is October 2016.

Dubai will be looking at promoting honeymooners to the destination with the latest project of heart shaped islands to be developed within the next four years. The Heart of Europe in Dubai is made up of six islands consisting European ; Germany, Sweden, Main Europe, St Petersburg, Switzerland and Monaco.The islands span six million square feet and will be able to accommodate up to 15,000 people at any one time. All six islands will be connected via bridges and will be accessible by boat, seaplane and helicopter.There will be no cars permitted on the islands to create the perfect island experience.Phase one of The Heart of Europe will be completed by the end of 2016 and the rest of the project in stages during 2017, 2018 and 2019. More details of this project to be available soon.

Emirates has announced that the service between Dubai and Khartoum will be upgraded with the deployment of a larger Boeing 777-300ER on the route from 1st September 2016.The Boeing 777 will replace the current Airbus A340-300 and offer travellers on the route an enhanced on-board product experience and additional seats in Economy Class. Enhancements include an updated ice entertainment system with larger TV screens across all three cabin classes and over 2500 channels of on demand audio and visual entertainment,featuring the latest movies, music, audio books, podcasts and games.The aircraft also has eight private suites in First Class with automated sliding doors for privacy, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class – nearly 100 seats more than the A340-300. Emirates flies four times a week between Khartoum and Dubai, and enables Sudanese travellers to connect to destinations across its global network, particularly the Middle East, the United States, United Kingdom and Asia Pacific region, with just one comfortable and convenient stop at the airline’s Dubai hub.Emirates flight EK733 departs Dubai every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 14h35 and arrives in Khartoum at 17h40. The return flight EK734 leaves Khartoum at 19h10 and arrives in Dubai at 0020 the following morning.

Dusit Hotels and Resorts has signed a Management Agreement with ACES Property Development to operate DusitPrincess ACES Dubai, a new hotel apartment project within Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. This will be Dusit Hotels and Resorts’ sixth property in the Middle East. DusitPrincess ACES Dubai will comprise of over 250 spacious apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom penthouses. Amenities will include: spa, various dining options, gym, sauna and pool with an open-air café. Strategically located overlooking the Dubai Marina Skyline, and offering easy access to the new Al Maktoum International Airport, the Palm Jumeirah, and other exciting shopping and entertainment venues, DusitPrincess ACES Dubai will cater to both transient and extended stay guests, promising elegant accommodation complemented by Dusit’s legendary Asian hospitality — creating a true ‘home away from home.’

Qatar Airways’ Customer Experience team has announced the rebranding of its cabin crew recognition programme, Kafou — which means “job well done” — and the addition of colleague feedback to help recognise superior service as it happens onboard Qatar Airways flights. Kafou combines feedback from multiple sources and consolidates the data into a single system for easier processing, faster recognition of stellar cabin crew, and integration into the cabin crew performance system. Kafou elevates the former recognition programme for the benefit of Qatar Airways’ 10,000 cabin crew, with faster feedback loops and the ability for the Customer Experience leadership team to provide kudos and share customer – and now colleague – feedback. Customers can provide feedback via the “Tell Us” web form on the Qatar Airways website: http://www.qatarairways.com/qa/en/tell-us.page. Feedback is factored in to the cabin crew member’s review of overall guest experience delivery and is taken into consideration for their annual performance review and career progression path.

Nakheel and Spanish hospitality group RIU Hotels & Resorts (RIU) have commenced the development of their AED900 million, 800-room joint venture resort and waterpark at Dubai’s Deira Islands. The partners have appointed international consultants Dar Al Handasah to oversee design, engineering and construction supervision of resort — the first all-inclusive 4-star concept in Dubai and RIU’s first property in the GCC.  Nakheel and RIU signed their joint venture agreement in Palma, Mallorca, in February this year.  Set on a 3.4 million square foot plot at Deira Islands, the sprawling resort – one of the biggest in Dubai in terms of rooms – will boast four swimming pools, a kids’ club, spa and fitness centre. Dining facilities include an all-day restaurant, a speciality restaurant, four beach eateries and an evening dining area with a stage for live shows and entertainment. A construction tender is expected to be released by the end of 2016, with anticipated completion in Q3 2019. There will also be a waterpark occupying 10 per cent of the overall area. The new resort represents a significant step forward in creating a new range of affordable, family resort-style hotel accommodation in line with the Government of Dubai’s tourism vision for 2021.