Latest TIME-hosted teen-focused round table addressed Dubai’s all-round appeal as a family travel destination; panelists flagged lack of tailored activities for 13 to early 20s-year-olds as gap in the market for tourism industry. UAE-headquartered TIME Hotels, in partnership with BNC, has once again brought together a group of Generation Z teens to get their perspective on key travel and tourism issues at the second in its four-part series of round table events. Its latest roundtable event session brought together 10 students, aged 17-18 years old, from, GEMS Wellington International School, The Winchester School – Jebel Ali and Dubai English Speaking College to discuss the appeal of Dubai as a family holiday centre, and to share their insights on what the emirate can do to secure its place as a world-leading destination for family travel. The emirate has a target of 20 million visitors by 2020, and has already witnessed a year-on-year increase of 7.5% from 2014 to 2015 according to DTCM figures, reaching 14.2 million visitors, which makes it the fourth most visited city in the world. Currently, Dubai’s top three source markets are Saudi Arabia, the UK and India, and international overnight spend in the city last year saw tourism receipts totaling US$11.68 billion, according to the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index 2015.

Turkish Airlines now connects Košice, the urban center of Eastern Slovakia, with Istanbul. The flag carrier will operate flights to and from Košice three times per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in both directions. Introductory trip fares are available from Istanbul to Košice starting from $99 and from Košice to Istanbul Euros 99 (including taxes and fees). Additionally, for the first 6 months of operation to the new destinations, there is a special offer for Miles&Smiles members, with a 25 per cent reduction in the miles needed to redeem either award tickets or upgrades. This way, Košice will gain strategic importance in the process of building and strengthening cultural, business and tourist activities. For Turkish Airlines, Košice is the 289th destination that its fleet will connect with the rest of the world.

Air Cairo, an Egypt-based carrier, has signed a new agreement with Amadeus for both IT and distribution services. During June 2016, Air Cairo successfully completed its cutover to Amadeus’ Altéa Reservation and Inventory and Amadeus e-Commerce modules, whilst also signing for a full content distribution agreement.  The migration to Altéa Reservation will enable the airline to maximise booking and revenue growth through wide-reaching distribution channels, whilst Altéa Inventory provides the airline with the latest schedule management technology in the market place. Altéa will also provide the airline with a scalable platform to support its future growth. In terms of distribution, Amadeus-connected travel agencies will now benefit from access to the airline’s complete range of fares and prices, assisting the carrier in achieving its business goals in regional and international markets. Air Cairo has traditionally operated as a low cost /charter airline but is part way through an ambitious evolution aimed at becoming a Full Service Carrier. Part of the rationale for this strategic shift is access to more passengers made possible by partnerships with Egypt Air, which owns a significant stake in Air Cairo, as well as other airline partners.

Aloft Hotels, a Starwood Hotels & Resorts brand, will soon launch its first hotels in Saudi Arabia with the 281-room Aloft Riyadh and 262-room Aloft Dhahran, both located in key city-centre locations. The hotels will also feature the country’s first-ever keyless entry system. Opening in July 2016, Aloft Riyadh will be led by General Manager, Sammy Gani. With over 20 years of hospitality experience, Gani takes on the new role following successful positions at The Westin Boston Waterfront and Sheraton Dubai Mall of the Emirates. Titus Rosier is the General Manager for the upcoming Aloft Dhahran, scheduled to open in August 2016. Rosier has been with Starwood in various Sales roles for over 11 years and was most recently Director of Sales for the two St. Regis properties in Abu Dhabi. The two Aloft hotels will also feature SPG Keyless — Starwood’s industry-first keyless entry system that enables guests to use their smartphone or Apple watch as a room key.

Jet Airways has announced that it will launch a new daily route from Mangaluru (Mangalore) in southern India to Sharjah in the UAE from August 7, 2016. Mangaluru is the main port city of Karnataka, India’s 12th largest state by population. Jet Airways is India’s second largest airline operating flights to 73 destinations, including 22 international flights and 51 domestic flights. Beginning in August, the Indian carrier will fly daily from Mangaluru at 9.30 am, arriving in Sharjah International Airport at 11.45am local time. Return flights will leave Sharjah at 12.45 pm and reach Mangaluru at 5.55pm. Jet already operates daily direct flights from Kochi in the Indian state of Kerala to Sharjah.

Marriott International, Inc. is launching its flagship brand property in Abu Dhabi, Marriott Downtown Abu Dhabi, as well as Marriott Executive Apartments Downtown Abu Dhabi developed by Bloom Properties. Bloom Central is a 25-storey mixed-use project comprising two blocks. The first consists of the 64-suite Marriott Executive Apartments, 49 Bloom Residences as well as 7,000 square metres of premium office space. The second block is home to the 315-room five-star Marriott Hotel Downtown Abu Dhabi, targeting a mix of business and leisure travellers. While Bloom Residences and offices have already opened their doors to tenants, the Marriott properties are set for completion in summer 2016. From contemporary guestrooms, state-of-the-art meeting rooms, outstanding culinary offerings to well-equipped wellness facilities, the hotel showcases the Marriott Hotels brand innovation by offering sophisticated design, modern services and amenities that enable the next generation of travellers to ‘Travel Brilliantly’, through every aspect of their stay. Marriott Executive Apartments Downtown Abu Dhabi is targeted at the extended stay market, providing upscale residential living including one, two and three bedrooms providing the space, ambience and privacy of a home away from home.

Minor Hotels, a hotel owner, operator and investor, currently with a portfolio of 146 hotels and resorts in 22 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, South America, Africa and the Indian Ocean, has announced that effective 1st July 2016 it will be taking over the operation of the 216-room Mövenpick Hotel Deira in Dubai. The property will operate under the group’s dynamic AVANI Hotels & Resorts brand as the AVANI Deira Dubai Hotel. This represents a milestone for Minor Hotels as the first AVANI hotel in the Middle East. The change comes after the hotel’s parent company, Bin Sulayem Investments, signed a management agreement with Minor Hotels. Located in one of the most diverse and culturally rich parts of the city, the property is ideally situated just four kilometres from Dubai International Airport and the world-famous Gold and Spice Souks. Close to several shopping malls and the Dubai Metro offering ease of access to Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Beach and Dubai Marina, the hotel is well-placed for guests to explore the city. This upscale hotel offers 216 guest rooms and two unique dining concepts, meeting rooms, an outdoor pool and a fully equipped gym. Robert Kunkler, Chief Operating Officer, Minor Hotels, said, “This key acquisition to our portfolio allows Minor Hotels to take a strategic foothold in the Middle East for our fast expanding AVANI Hotels & Resorts brand in what is a vitally important market. We are thrilled to continue our excellent relationship with Bin Sulayem Investments. AVANI Deira Dubai Hotel will have the freedom to establish and maintain its individuality and distinct character while benefitting from being part of the Minor Hotels portfolio.” Abdulla bin Sulayem, General …

Lemon Tree Hotels is all set to cash in on growing Indian tourist and corporate travel to the UAE, as it plans to operate eight properties in the next three years in the region. The company will be opening a mix of hotels and serviced apartments in Abu Dhabi, Fujairah and Dubai, where it expects to operate its first property. According to Rattan Keswani, Deputy Managing Director, Lemon Tree Hotels, they are trying to harness the spending power of Indians through this development. Lemon Tree has tied up with the Sydney-based real estate agent Raine and Horne to open Lemon Tree properties in the region, including in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The company, which operates properties under the Lemon Tree and Red Fox brands, said the planned hotels would have between 60 and 100 rooms on average, and could include pool, spa and up to three restaurants. Lemon Tree Hotels is also looking at Sri Lanka and the Thai capital Bangkok. Sanjay Chimnani, MD, Raine and Horne, said it would be looking at neighbourhoods in Dubai such as Jaddaf, Business Bay, City Walk, Al Barsha, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Jebel Ali and Jumeirah Village Circle to open more properties.    

Ras Al Khaimah has recorded a growth of 37 per cent in visitor arrivals from India during the period of January to April 2016, a remarkable surge over the same period last year, according to Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA).  The positive figures indicate that 2016 is witnessing a strong start from India, the fourth largest international inbound market for Ras Al Khaimah. In line with the current tourism development strategy, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority recently conducted roadshows and one-on-one interactions with Indian travel trade partners to educate them about the tourist offerings of the emirate. Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah TDA, said, “As part of our tourism strategy to attract 1 million visitors to Ras Al Khaimah by the end of 2018, we place great importance on diversifying our source markets and creating sustainable tourism growth. Our recent trade missions and industry partnerships in India are a key part of our strategy, and have resulted in a positive increase in visitor arrivals from India. We recently launched our new brand positioning which emphasises Ras Al Khaimah’s natural assets, luxurious indulgence, range of activities for different types of travellers, and authentic Arabian heritage and culture. We are very hopeful that visitors from India will continue to grow as more leisure and business travellers discover the emirate’s unique offerings.” Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2016, Ras Al Khaimah’s hotels reported an occupancy rate of 71 per cent, up by 18 per cent over Q1 2015. Coupled with a 9.2 per cent year-on-year increase in Rev PAR, this demonstrates the highest growth across the GCC region.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Emirates Airline, UAE’s leading airline, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which aims to utilise the airline’s global network to further boost inbound tourist arrivals to Thailand, by focusing on the growth of key niche markets and luxury destinations within the kingdom. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Emirates together with Tourism Authority of Thailand will put into effect a range of joint promotions to mutually increase tourism and visibility for Thailand through the Emirates Airline Global Network. The promotions will focus on niche tourism markets such as: Green Tourism, Sport Tourism, Luxury Tourism, Weddings & Honeymoons as well as Medical Health & Wellness. The agreement also involves the possibility of launching a new route from Dubai to other key tourism destinations in Thailand such as Chiang Mai and U-Tapao in Pattaya. The agreement was signed by Emirates Airline, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operation – Far East, Badr Abbas, and Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Deputy Governor for International Marketing, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Americas, Juthaporn Rerngronasa at a commemorative event at State Room, The Dome – Lebua State Tower, Bangkok. They were joined by Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Chalermsak Suranant, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Dubai and Middle East office and other officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.