Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) hosted a group of 100 top travel agents and a TV crew from Ukraine, who were flown in by Air Arabia to spend four days in the Emirate of Sharjah. The local tourism stakeholders were given an opportunity to meet the group and present their products and services at a workshop in the Radisson Blu Sharjah. The workshop aimed to highlight the diverse tourism experience offered by the emirate for Ukrainian visitors. “Sharjah has successfully positioned itself as a family destination, which is supported by the safe welcoming environment, beautiful beaches and realistically priced attractions. As the cultural capital of the Arab region, Sharjah offers an authentic Arabian atmosphere through a diverse tourism product that ranges from culture and heritage to beautiful nature, entertainment and shopping. The emirate offers a safe and secure family friendly atmosphere. Recent strategic research shows that the outbound Ukrainian tourism is continuing to grow steadily suggesting a market opportunity. With Air Arabia flying direct from there and bulk airline seat sales with TPG, one of the largest outbound operators, we felt that there was substantial opportunity to leverage,” said His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of SCTDA. During the workshop, Ahmed Obaid Al Qaseer, COO of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), offered an overview of major tourist locations developed by Shurooq such as Al Noor Island, Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism project, Kalba Eco-tourism project, Al Majaz Waterfront, Heart of Sharjah, and Al Qasba. Khulood Al Hooli, Manager of Al Hisn Museum, spoke about the facilities provided by museums in Sharjah. Maitha Al Balooshi from Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) gave a briefing on six learning …

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, celebrated the airline’s inaugural 5 weekly service to and from Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 2. Gulf Air flight GF248 was welcomed into Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the biggest airport in Bangladesh, with a water cannon salute and, upon arrival, a celebratory event was held in the airport that saw the attendance of various dignitaries, Gulf Air flight’s captain and crew, Gulf Air’s Country Manager to Bangladesh, Hussain Ghuloom, and a number of local media and travel industry representatives, alongside official Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport officials. Serving 7 destinations in Pakistan and 6 in India, Gulf Air’s Dhaka service enhances the airline’s existing Indian Subcontinent operations providing strong connectivity to destinations across Gulf Air’s Middle East network and beyond via the airline’s hub, Bahrain International Airport. Gulf Air 5 weekly flights to Dhaka are operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft with a total of 16 Falcon Gold Business Class seats and 120 Economy Class seats.

Wyndham Dubai Marina, the first Wyndham Hotels and Resorts hotel in the UAE has launched its premium casual grill restaurant and bar, Range. The new southern style grill restaurant is set to make a significant addition to the Dubai Marina social scene with its extensive Louisiana and TexMex menu, lively atmosphere and a number of themed nights to choose from. Range offers a selection of the finest beef cuts all the way from Green Bay in the State of Wisconsin in America and Margaret River in Australia. Sourced from the highest quality breed and grade of beef, cuts range from Texas T-bone steak, New York sirloin steak, Tomahawk steak to Australian tenderloin fillet. Those with a sweet tooth can indulge in a number of treats from the Sweet Temptations menu. Desserts include the key lime pie with passion fruit sorbet, mouth-watering marbled pineapple cheesecake served with cinnamon wafers and clotted cream and a delicious warm sticky toffee pudding filled with chocolate croquants accompanied with sweet butter-scotch sauce. Range showcases an innovative menu for meat lovers as well as those who prefer seafood or lighter dishes. Not only is this restaurant an ideal spot for in-house guests, it also takes prime position in the Dubai Marina for the local community looking for a new eatery.

Arab luxury world, a conference on the business of luxury in the MENA region is being held on June 1 and 2, 2016 in Dubai. The conference provides a platform for meaningful discussions, sharing ideas and networking with industry experts. The two-day conference by Mediaquest Corp, welcomed the who’s who of the regional luxury sector, from Watches and Jewelry, Fashion and Accessories, Perfumes and Cosmetics, Premium Cars, Tourism, and Art and Culture. The conference kicked off with the key note address by Patrick Chalhoub, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chalhoub Group. He gave a clear insight to the luxury market in terms of tourism, hospitality, retail and other sectors. He stated that the region was transforming from abundance to an age of maturity, knowledge, seriousness and more rigorous governance. He reiterated that these are the times to better understand the underlying forces that are reshaping the luxury industry in the Middle East. There were several key macro-economic events in 2015 which had a strong impact on the luxury market. It entails the depreciation of the Russian rouble, break down of the Chinese stock market, Saudi stock market slows down by 50%and the oil price drop.

Air Arabia introduces SITA’s next-generation passenger management system to extract even greater efficiency across its operations. Air Arabia carried close to 8-million passengers in 2015, serving 101 destinations spread across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and Europe from five hubs in the UAE, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan. SITA’s latest passenger service system will help the airline better manage the boarding of passengers across all destinations while streamlining the turnaround of the airline’s aircraft. Through the Horizon Passenger Management and Distribution portfolio, SITA will provide the airline with its latest departure control and weight and balance systems. Horizon Weight & Balance will increase fuel savings for the airline by providing full load planning capabilities, including a graphical user interface framework, for all the functionalities required to load and dispatch an aircraft. This includes all legally required documentation for both airlines and ground handlers. SITA’s Horizon  Departure Control Services (DCS) is a fully integrated multi-host system for automated check-in, boarding and load planning and has been used to check in more than 167 million passengers worldwide.

Oman Tourism Ministry has established a new Oman Convention Bureau, which is set to make the country a major regional centre for MICE. Talking of the new initiative, Salim Al Mamari, Director General of Tourism Promotion, Ministry of Tourism, Oman says, “The Ministry of Tourism is fully committed towards enhancing the MICE sector in Oman to help the Sultanate achieve its potential to be a first class destination for this sector. Our Tourism Strategy for 2040 has MICE as a major pillar for the future to help us grow and enhance the industry. “The objective of the Bureau is to support the international and local organizations in hosting their events and cater to their requirements. The main aim is to promote Oman as an ideal destination for the MICE tourism sector” The Ministry has appointed its esteemed Director, Khalid Al Zadjali, to become the Managing Director of the new Oman Convention Bureau. He says, “The Ministry’s initiative in establishing the Bureau under its supervision is an important milestone in building the solid foundations that will help us achieve our objectives in the MICE tourism sector in the future. “We will enhance this sector and regulate the processes to ensure the smoothest experience for organisations wishing to host events in Oman and actively promote what Oman has to offer to the MICE market internationally.” It is believed that the MICE area will receive a significant boost in 2016 with the scheduled opening of the Oman Convention Centre in Muscat in the last quarter of this year. The convention centre will include state of the art theatres, conference rooms and four hotels with almost 1000 rooms along with major exhibition halls that …

The latest report published by Amadeus reveals an insight into the expectations for the future of the world by 2030. Their reports predict that by 2020 there will be a global air traffic volume growth of 5.5 per cent in the airline industry with a projected growth of luxury travel to 6.2 per cent with an overall global growth of 4.8 per cent. Their predictions for the region include Kuwait, Qatar and UAE will grow by 4.4% almost similar to the flat growth of Luxury market of 4.5 per cent (oil dependent economies). Emerging Middle East: Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iran economic sanction lifted CAGR for overall travel is 7.5 per cent and 8.9 per cent for luxury travel. At the same time the projected growth in BRIC highly influenced by the economic climate show Brazil’s lack of established middle class and the weakness of the real means a slow growth of 4.2 per cent growth. Russia will recover from its dip in 2013-15 to rise up to 9 per cent growth despite Western sanctions and unreliable oil prices. India with the highest CAGR of the 25 countries explored with 12.8 per cent growth due to its booming middle class represents the biggest luxury travel investment potential. China with 12.2 per cent growth but at a slower pace than previously as its middle class is maturing and increasing in sophistication, and unlike India the ‘boom’ has already happened. Contributing against luxury is the current fight against corruption.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Chairman of the Executive Council, issued a decree announcing the launch of an Events Licensing System (ELS) to be implemented by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), a standardised and unified online platform that streamlines the official registration of all events administered, organised and managed across Abu Dhabi emirate. The new online licensing system will support Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector, providing the necessary resources to achieve sustainability and growth services include an expanded database on performance, enhanced quality of touristic events and measured success indicators. HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of TCA Abu Dhabi, will form a committee to oversee the implementation of strategies and policies surrounding the coordination of events in Abu Dhabi between the relevant authorities, by providing support for necessary services and facilities, while enhancing the contribution of government, private sector, and relevant stakeholders when organising events in the emirate. The introduction of the ELS will drive tourism industry growth within the emirate through improving event planning, and by developing industry best practice in line with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.

The inaugural visit to Dubai of Ovation of the Seas, Royal Caribbean International’s third Quantum-class ship, was met with much enthusiasm, as onlookers marvelled at the magnificent vessel on its maiden voyage. The third ship of its kind, Ovation of the Seas stopped at Dubai Cruise Terminal 3 on its way from Barcelona to Singapore. The occasion was marked by Jamal Humaid Al Falasi, Director of Dubai Cruise Tourism, Dubai Tourism, along with a selection of dignitaries from Dubai Immigration, Dubai Customs, DP World, PCFC Security and representatives from the ship’s agency M/S Wilhelmsen Ship Services and ground handlers M/S. Arabian Adventures who presented the ship’s captain, Flemming Nielsen, with an honorary plaque at a special ceremony held on board the ship. Also in attendance at the event were Dr. Abdulaziz Aloshban, Managing Director of Royal Caribbean Arabia, and Abby Penlington, Marketing & Communications Manager, International Representatives – EMEA.

Abu Dhabi Airports has reported a 4.8 per cent increase in passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) for April 2016, compared to the same month last year. A total of 1,960,946 people travelled through AUH last month, exceeding April 2015’s figure of 1,871,337. The top-five routes were London Heathrow, Doha, Bangkok, Bombay and Jeddah. The total cargo tonnage at AUH reached 63,500. Several destinations saw significant growth in passenger traffic with the UK beating its April 2015 figures by 25.6 per cent last month, and Australia recording a 20.6 per cent increase in the same period. “Abu Dhabi is growing, both as a global tourism destination and strategic transit hub and this is clear from the fact that we are still seeing a year on year increase in traveler numbers at AUH. Several destinations in particular have seen a rise in passenger traffic including India, Germany, Thailand, the UK and Italy,” said Mohammed Al Katheeri, Acting Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports. “We are continuing to invest in the infrastructure and technology necessary to keep pace with this growth, ensuring that we provide our passengers with world class services and facilities when they travel through Abu Dhabi International Airport.”