Turkish Airlines continues to expand its already substantial Far Eastern network with new flights launched to Hanoi, Vietnam. Roundtrip flights between Istanbul and Hanoi will be operated five times per week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in both directions. Introductory round trip fares are available from Istanbul to Hanoi starting at €603 ($669.2, inclusive of taxes and fees.

Millennium & Copthorne, Middle East and Africa has announced plans to substantially expand its operating portfolio in the Middle East region over the next year with 12 hotels set to open in the next 12 months. The hotel openings for the global hotel operator will be in UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and its first property in Georgia. The new properties will add over 4,000 rooms to the Group’s existing operating portfolio of 26 hotels in the region, reinforcing its position as one of the fastest growing hotel operators and ensuring it stays on track to have 100 hotels by 2020. Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President and CEO, Millennium & Copthorne MEA, said that they are entering a very exciting period in the group’s evolution which will see them extend their presence across the Gulf region as well as in new markets such as Georgia. They are building an enviable market share, with a unique portfolio of brands catering towards different audiences, from mid-scale through to luxury. They believe they are in a strong position to meet the needs of the market by offering global expertise alongside an understanding of the local market. These new openings bring them closer to realising their ambitious vision of having 100 hotels by 2020 and solidifying their position as a leading hotel operator in the region.

IMG Worlds of Adventure, wholly owned by the Ilyas and Mustafa Galadari Group (IMG Group), provides a sneak peek into Dubai’s first international mega-themed leisure and entertainment destination, announcing that it will open its doors to visitors on Monday, 15th August, 2016. Located in the heart of new Dubai and stretching across 1.5 million square feet, IMG Worlds of Adventure will be the first multi-themed destination to open in the region, and will set Dubai on the map as an international family entertainment hot spot. Tickets are available for online purchase on the website, www.IMGworlds.com, with adult ticket prices set at AED 300 and children at AED 250 for an all-day adventure offering access to over 20 signature rides and attractions, including live shows and a 5D cinema experience. Ilyas Galadari and Mustafa Galadari, Executive Co-Chairmen and Owners of the Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, said that they are very excited to announce the opening date and look forward to IMG Worlds of Adventure coming to life in August of this year. As the first international leisure and entertainment destination in Dubai, they have designed an entire world of entertainment for their guests. By offering a fully immersive indoor theme park experience in a temperature controlled environment which  enables IMG Worlds of Adventure to be open all year round. With the capacity to welcome more than 30,000 people a day they anticipate 4.5 million guests in their first full year of operation, contributing to Dubai’s position as a leading tourism hub. As the pioneer in this new sector, IMG Worlds of Adventure will pave the way for other complementary hospitality offers to re-engage with key tourist markets, providing them with …

Nile Air, a private schedule airline in Egypt, has extended its contract with Amadeus to expand the scope of the airline IT services that they use. Nile Air is now the first in the Middle East to use Amadeus’ complete Airline IT portfolio, which provides end-to-end IT solutions for carriers of all sizes, including small to mid-size airlines. Apart from Amadeus’ complete Altéa Suite and the Amadeus Digital Solutions, Nile Air has now gained access to four key new features — revenue management, revenue accounting, mobile web and loyalty management — that will boost operational efficiency and save the airline money. Altéa Segment Revenue Management tool will give Nile Air recommendations on the best price and packaging for flights and allow the airline to apply dynamic pricing, fare families and ancillary services to better package their fare offers. With Amadeus Revenue Accounting solution’s real-time transactional model, Nile Air can track all passenger sales revenues as they happen to increase productivity and data accuracy. The Amadeus Loyalty Management system helps Nile Air personalize offers so that they can retain loyal passengers and boost revenues. Finally, Amadeus Mobile Web solution ensures that Nile Air’s website is mobile friendly so the airline can achieve brand consistency, smooth customer service and accuracy on all digital platforms. The new multi-year agreement gives Nile Air access to a fully integrated IT system with instant communication, so the airline can make revenue decisions in real time. The system is also scalable, which allows Nile Air to quickly respond to the needs of a growing airline.

Emirates will operate its daily non-stop services between Dubai and Auckland with an A380 aircraft, less than a year after operating the flights with a Boeing 777-200LR. The new EK448 route, which Emirates opened on March 1, will depart Dubai at 10.05am and arrive in Auckland the following day at 11.10am (local time). Westbound, flight EK449 will depart Auckland each night at 9.15pm, arriving in Dubai the following morning at 5.35am (local time). Emirates’ flagship double-decker A380s will operate on the route, currently the world’s longest, from October 30. The airline has been flying the route since March 1, in addition to three daily A380s flying from Auckland to Dubai and beyond via Australia, and a daily Boeing 777-300ER from Christchurch. Operating eastbound as flight EK448, the service will depart Dubai at 10:05am and arrive in Auckland the following day at 11:10am (local time). Westbound, flight EK449 will depart Auckland each night at 9:15pm, arriving in Dubai the following morning at 5:35am (local time) connecting with Emirates’ 39 European destinations, as well as other destinations in West Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This flight also connects in both directions with 10 A380 destinations, providing passengers the opportunity to fly all the way from Auckland to Europe on Emirates’ flagship aircraft. The very first flight from Dubai to Auckland and return at the beginning of March was operated by an A380 to especially commemorate the start of the non-stop route, but the flights have since been flown by the Boeing 777-200LR. As the largest A380 operator in the world, Emirates now has 80 Airbus A380s serving its network. Last month, Emirates placed a new order for an additional two new A380 aircraft, …

flydubai has announced that it will begin daily operations to Prague from July 1, an increase from four weekly flights. With this additional frequency, flydubai will operate a total of 49 flights a week to 11 points in Central and Eastern Europe.Economy Class return fares from Dubai to Prague start at AED 1,399, including 20kg checked baggage, while Business  Class fares start at AED 5,500, including 40kg checked baggage. flydubai has been operating flights to Prague since 2014. Alongside Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Skopje, Sarajevo, Sofia and Zagreb, it is part of the airline’s network in Central and Eastern Europe. Renowned for its cathedrals, courtyards and culture, Prague is one of Central Europe’s most popular destinations. Travellers can enjoy the Baroque architecture in the Old Town, take in the stunning views from Charles Bridge, discover the largest ancient castle complex in the world at Prague Castle and watch time go by at the Prague Astronomical Clock. “We are delighted to offer more flights to Prague,” commented Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer of flydubai. “Prague remains a popular destination for our passengers in the GCC. We also look forward to providing those in Europe with more choice and more opportunities to visit Dubai and beyond on our network. Our strategic base in Dubai allows passengers to benefit from flydubai’s interline agreements with other carriers, providing opportunities for onward travel to more than 200 destinations.” “With the start of daily flights to Prague we are offering greater convenience and the value for money that our passengers expect. With WiFi connectivity and Live TV as our latest product offerings, flydubai is an airline that continues to innovate,” said Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial …

The Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority has launched its 2016-2017 action plan focusing on positioning the Kingdom as a ‘prime wedding destination’. The plan is a part of the long-term tourism strategy highlighting Bahrain’s overall tourism offering. The plan was unveiled during a press conference held in the presence of various stakeholders representing the vibrant industry including wedding planners, fashion designers and florists. The two-year plan focuses on promoting the Kingdom as an attractive wedding destination and other related events by developing the sector and promoting the local talents in various fields such as fashion, music and make-up. During the press conference, the Advisor to the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, Dr Ali Hassan Follad, stressed that the wedding sector in the Bahrain impacts a number of businesses from the hotel and hospitality industry, fashion, beauty, rental cars, aviation and much more. BETA will also be taking part in the annual Jewelry Arabia exhibition through a large stand in order to promote Bahrain as a wedding destination. The stand will include top fashion designers from Bahrain and the region. Also, the authority will host a fashion wedding focusing on wedding clothes from all across the globe during the event. The authority will also take part in the Wedding Fair, the largest event of its kind, held next year in Thailand in order to further promote Bahrain as a wedding destination. The plan will focus on promoting wedding venues such as the dessert, on an island, beach and at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC).

FRHI’s annual Global Meeting Exchange commenced with B2B meetings at the Fairmont Ajman. The FRHI Hotels and Resorts’ annual proprietary networking forum from June 22-26, 2016, is organised for Global Key account buyers and FRHI hoteliers from Australia, UK, USA, Poland, CIS, Russia, South America, Turkey, France, Germany, Kenya and India. More than 220 buyers are attending this annual meet from FRHI’s Global Key Accounts and prospects – Professional Conference Organizers / senior executives with decision making responsibilities from agencies and corporations, based in USA, UK, Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia Pacific. The main objective of the event is to educate clients and create business opportunities via pre-arranged meeting schedules with buyers. Last year the event was held in Abu Dhabi. Over a period of four days the partners will be able to gain the correct elements, incentives and knowledge to sell the destinations making it a more efficient programme for FRHI Hotels and Resorts.

The Abu Dhabi cruise terminal recently announced that it witnessed an increase of 16% in passenger numbers and 20% jump in vessel calls. The cruise terminal welcomed 231,660 tourists during 2015-16 cruise season compared to 35,366 passengers 10 years ago at Zayed Port, Abu Dhabi Ports which manages the terminal said in a statement, as reported by Gulf News. “This impressive double-digit growth in the face of economic headwinds is a remarkable achievement and further strengthens Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal’s role in boosting the country’s tourism industry,” said captain Mohammad Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports. “We are working closely with our strategic partners to reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a major global destination and attract international cruise liners to not only call at Abu Dhabi as part of their itinerary but also to choose the emirate as their starting point for regional cruises by making it their homeport,” he added. According to Abu Dhabi Ports, 113 cruise ships called at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal during the 2015-16 season, marking a 20% growth over the 94 ships that docked at Zayed Port during the 2014-15 season. Tourists from Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom made up 80 per cent of cruise visitors to Abu Dhabi during the cruise season.

Etihad Airways has entered into a code-share with Avianca Brasil.Under the agreement, Etihad Airways will put its ‘EY’ code on domestic flights operated by Avianca Brasil, while Avianca Brasil will put its ‘O6’ code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo. Travellers on Etihad Airways flights between Sao Paulo and Abu Dhabi and beyond will benefit from connections to and from eight other Brazilian destinations on Avianca Brasil, including Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, and Maceió. Later this year, Etihad Guest members and Avianca Brasil’s Amigo members will be able to earn and redeem miles on code-share flights. “Avianca is an important strategic partner for Etihad Airways in South America. In addition to the code-share agreement recently signed with Avianca Colombia, we are further strengthening our presence in Brazil with a single combined ticket,” said Martin Drew, senior vice president – Americas at Etihad Airways. By end of 2015, Etihad Airways had carried over 340,000 passengers on the route while Avianca Brasil in 2015 transported 8.5 million customers.