Ferrari World Abu Dhabi has launched an exciting virtual adventure for its fans, as they will now be able to experience the thrills of the Ferrari feeling from the comfort of their own homes. Through its social media channels, they are providing its followers with a step-by-step tutorial on how to create their own Virtual Reality (VR) goggles to enjoy an immersive experience of the Park’s most iconic roller coasters. By combining the home-made VR goggles and a smartphone, Ferrari fans will be whisked away to enjoy a fun-filled virtual park adventure.

Etihad Airways continues to increase the number of special flights it is operating worldwide to and from Abu Dhabi. Throughout May and June, the airline will increase frequencies on previously announced special flights and will add new services to Belgrade, Dublin, Geneva, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Toronto. In addition to the recently launched link between Melbourne and London, Etihad will also add services to Sydney, allowing a direct transit connection to and from the UK capital via Abu Dhabi. Etihad continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of COVID-19. The airline has implemented an extensive sanitisation and customer safety programme and is practicing the highest standards of hygiene at every part of the customer journey. This includes catering, aircraft and cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, inflight, crew interaction, meal service, disembarkation and ground transportation, among others.

dnata Travel Group has signed a partnership agreement with Etihad Airways to provide sales and service, ground product and brand marketing functions for Etihad Holidays in the UK. The collaboration will significantly increase Etihad Holidays’ distribution power in this market providing opportunities for greater engagement with UK travellers. The partnership formally commences in May 2020, with holidays for later in 2020 available, and 2021 already on sale. The initial priority of the partnership will be to promote Abu Dhabi, showcasing its wide variety of cultural, historic, sport and leisure and entertainment attractions to a wide range of age groups and traveller types. Hareb Al Muhairy, Senior Vice President Destination and Leisure Management, Etihad Airways, commented, “Our new partner dnata Travel Group will act as the essential link between Etihad Holidays and the consumer, while providing full support of our marketing and distribution activities in the UK. Abu Dhabi is just around seven hours of flight time from London Heathrow and Manchester airports and we look forward to working together to showcase the world-class cultural highlights and incredible leisure and entertainment facilities that the city has to offer.” Commenting on behalf of dnata Travel Group, CEO-John Bevan said, “Our focus is to grow from that strong foundation and use our tour operating and brand-building expertise, to further increase arrival numbers into the UAE capital and broaden the range and choice of destinations and products available. Initially, we will position Abu Dhabi as a fantastic holiday destination for UK travellers. There is a huge amount to offer – we know British holidaymakers love the beaches, high quality hotels and excellent weather, and there is plenty of investment on the horizon for new …

The Tourism Office of Spain invites the travel trade to learn more about the destination through its webinar titled ‘Spain will wait’ on Wednesday May 20, 2020 at 1100 hours (UAE). To participate please contact Crisna de Guzman at crisna.deguzman@ddppl.com or call +971505074618, +971554704200. This session will be covering two main destinations: Madrid and Barcelona. This will be an ideal opportunity to learn about the destination, its most known and unknown areas, what to do when in Spain, discover new itineraries, its weather, its culture; the series includes a whole new awareness of one of the most sought after European destinations in the world. The main goal of these sessions will be to create an inspiring, emphatic and informative content in an interactive environment to communicate with tomorrow’s travellers.

Sharjah Holding PJSC, a strategic partnership between Majid Al Futtaim Properties and Sharjah Asset Management, has announced collaboration between the Al Zahia community and the Ministry of Health and Prevention to deploy autonomous vehicles in the community to support residents amid the coronavirus pandemic. Since its recent launch, the vehicles, known as AI Mobility Service Cars, have been traversing the community offering free sanitising products including face masks, gloves, and hand sanitiser to help preserve the health and safety of residents across Al Zahia. The initiative marks the first time autonomous vehicles have been deployed across a residential community in the UAE in support of resident wellbeing. Homeowners will hear the vehicle’s catchy song and slogan as the car navigates the community on a pre-programmed route. To access products, community members can stop the car simply by waving their hand as though hailing a taxi. The products will then be dispensed free of charge before the car continues on its route. Powered by technology companies Huawei and Neolix, the car incorporates an advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) ‘brain’ to travel the neighbourhood safely. In addition to being familiar with the Al Zahia community through HD mapping, the vehicle also intelligently analyses its surroundings using a combination of cameras and sensors to detect people, animals, and other cars within range. A digital screen also features on the vehicle’s front to share messages with the community. Shadi Al Azzeh, Projects Head at Majid Al Futtaim – Al Zahia, said, “From the very beginning we’ve served our residents by being human-centric in everything we do, and the arrival of this autonomous, contact-less vehicle to the streets of Al Zahia is the perfect example of …

Local tourism and domestic travel are expected to lead the UAE and wider GCC’s recovery from COVID-19 as the lockdown restrictions eases, according to the latest research released ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) Virtual that will take place from 1-3 June 2020. The research from Colliers International, in partnership with ATM, revealed the percentage of bookings to Abu Dhabi within a 48km radius increased from just 20 per cent in January 2020 to 43 per cent in March. While, in Dubai, the percentage rose from 19 per cent to 36 per cent. Adding to this, research by Sojern, suggests staycations are expected to become the most popular choice of travel in the short to medium-term, with data revealing hotel bookings to Abu Dhabi within a 48km radius accounted for 77 per cent of all bookings in April and domestic travel from Dubai accounting for 91 per cent of searches and bookings within the same radius. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said, “We are now beginning to see a sense of pent up demand due to an eagerness among the larger populace to make up for lost time and cancelled plans. Travellers still want to go on holiday, but safety has become a top priority. As a result, the staycation trend is expected to grow in the coming months, with residents keen to take a break away from their home for a few days in a location that is familiar to them, whilst flights are grounded, and international travel restrictions still in place.” “As travel and tourism begins to return, it is crucial that hotels add value to their existing offerings with incentives such as F&B discounts …

Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) has revealed hotel establishments’ precautionary guidelines as part of its continuous efforts to combat COVID-19 and ensure highest safety measures to protect guests, visitors and hospitality workers in Ajman. Renowned for its heritage sites, captivating natural reserves and rich culture, Ajman is preparing to reopen key tourist destinations in the upcoming months. Comprising of 13 pages, the guidelines restrict occupancy with no more than 30 per cent of the capacity of other facilities in the hotel including restaurants, bars and cafes. Starting with mandatory temperature checkups for every person enters the hotel, hotels are to allocate different doors for entry and exit, place visible floor marks for social distancing with a minimum of 2 metres between visitors on queue areas such as reception & concierge, and station hand sanitisers & disinfectants at the entrance and other open facilities. In addition to that, protection equipment such as masks and gloves need to be available in enough quantity for guests and employees. All hotels must allocate isolation rooms at all times that need to be disinfected after every use and have to disinfect and sanitise the premises on a weekly schedule to be shared with ATDD supervisors. Upon announcing ATDD precautionary measures for hotel establishments, HE Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, Director General, ATDD said, “We are keen to maintain the highest health and safety measures to protect guests and visitors of Ajman. We are working closely with our partners in the hospitality and health sectors to overcome any difficulties during these challenging times, and will continue to promote Ajman as a leading tourist destination in the United Arab Emirates.”

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling for aviation-specific financial relief measures from the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to address the severe impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the air transport sector. IATA estimates that revenues generated by airlines in the Saudi market will fall by $7.2 billion in 2020, 35 per cent below 2019 levels. That puts at risk nearly 287,500 Saudi jobs and $17.9 billion of Saudi’s GDP, which is generated by aviation directly and aviation-related tourism. In response to the impact of COVID-19, the Saudi government has introduced broad economic relief measures in excess of $32 billion in financial support for the private sector. It has also provided support for air transport by suspending the airport slot use rules for the summer season and extending licenses and certifications for crew, trainers and examiners. We urge the government to build on this and implement specific financial relief measures for aviation to ensure that the sector will be capable of driving the recovery. “Saudi Arabia has announced financial relief measures for sectors affected by COVID-19, but not specifically for aviation. Given the industry’s role in social and economic development as well as achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, it is important the government prioritises aviation and provide urgent financial relief,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. “Without a viable air transport sector, we can expect a slow and painful economic recovery. Before the crisis, Saudi Arabia was moving at full speed and achieving tangible results in modernisation, infrastructure development and economic growth,” said Albakri.

Arabian Travel Market (ATM) has confirmed aviation industry veteran Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airlines, and Jozsef Varadi, CEO of Wizz Air will speak at the inaugural ATM Virtual, which takes place from June 1-3, 2020. According to the latest analysis from the International Air Travel Association (IATA), the COVID-19 crisis will see global airline passenger revenues drop by US$314 billion in 2020, a 55 per cent decrease compared to 2019. In a series of seminars and interviews led by respected aviation expert John Strickland, Director of JLS Consulting, ATM Virtual will look at the measures airlines are undertaking to counteract the direct impact the pandemic is having on their business. A major discussion point during the event will be the opening of Wizz Air’s forthcoming subsidiary in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, which will further underscore its market position in the budget airline sector. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The airline industry continues to face deteriorating conditions with global airline passenger revenues predicted to fall by over 55 per cent in 2020. To address these issues, we have brought together two of the most influential figures in the airline industry to discuss their procedures and strategies for the future.”

Lufthansa will be offering a resumed flight service from Dubai to Frankfurt, starting from the beginning of June. The flight offer from the United Arab Emirates will thus resume with three weekly departures. These new connections are part of the overall restart of schedules containing at the end of June 180 destinations. The Lufthansa Group connections for the United Arab Emirates will commence (Subject to government approval) on June 7, when the Lufthansa flight LH 630 from FRA to DXB will take off from Frankfurt at 2:10 pm and arrive in Dubai at 10:35 pm (local time). Flights will continue between the destinations every second day, with the LH 631 from DXB to FRA commencing on June 9. LH 631 leaves Dubai at 1:00 am, and arrives in Frankfurt at 5:55am (local time). The airlines in the Lufthansa Group (Lufthansa, SWISS, Eurowings) expand substantially their schedule in June, offering numerous leisure destinations, as well as more intercontinental connections. With more than 106 destinations in Germany and Europe and over 20 intercontinental destinations, the range of flights on offer by the end of June will expand noticeably for all travellers. By the end of June, the Lufthansa Group airlines plan to offer around 1,800 weekly roundtrips to more than 130 destinations worldwide. “With the June flight schedule, we are making an important contribution to the revitalisation of the aviation infrastructure. It is an essential part of the German and European economic power. People want to and can travel again, whether on holiday or for business reasons. That is why we will continue to expand our offer step by step in the coming months and connect Europe with each other and Europe …