Radisson Hotel Group announced the launch of a new brand, Radisson Individuals. Radisson Individuals is a conversion brand that offers independent hotels and local, regional chains the opportunity to be part of the global Radisson Hotel Group platform, benefit from the Group’s international awareness and experience, with the freedom to maintain their own uniqueness and identity. Radisson Individuals hotels are selected for their own characteristics and personalities, offering guests an opportunity to discover new locations around the world, while always delivering Radisson Hotel Group’s high standards of quality and “Yes I Can!” service hospitality, combined with the local flavors and personality of the member hotels. Radisson Individuals represents an exceptional opportunity for hotels to enhance their visibility, nurture customer confidence, and access a wider audience through multiple distribution channels and a global sales structure. These hotels will benefit from the contracting power and economies of scale that come from a brand that is trusted by millions of guests across the globe as well integrated IT and revenue platforms, and comprehensive operational systems to deliver high GOP margins. In addition, Radisson Hotel Group has signed ten new hotels across EMEA in Q3 2020 in the UK, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Egypt, and Nigeria. The new signings build on the 15 hotel signings which were announced in Q2 2020 and re-affirm the Group’s commitment to its owners, employees, guests and partners, and its ambitious five-year development plan. Radisson Hotel Group continues to expand its new brand architecture and further strengthen its presence across EMEA. Elie Milky, Vice President Business Development Middle East, Pakistan, Greece and Cyprus, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “The launch of this exclusive affiliation brand is a bold and innovative conversion …

Dubai is providing UAE residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular lineup of live entertainment, lifestyle and sporting action following the restart of the city’s events sector, further reinforcing the emirate’s position as an international events hub and one of the world’s safest destinations. As one of the first few cities in the world to safely and effectively restart the events sector, Dubai has become a global case study in hosting live events, with the full reopening of its leisure events sector on 15 September paving the way for event organisers to host a packed programme of live entertainment under social distancing rules and other safety guidelines due to the pandemic. In organising the feast of entertainment, event organisers have made the health and safety of attendees and artists their top priority and are committed to ensuring there is full compliance with the wide range of precautionary measures implemented at event venues. Among the safety requirements are thorough sterilisation of venues before, during and after events, provision for contactless payments and digital tickets and mandatory thermal scanners or contactless temperature checks, in addition to wearing of face masks by venue staff, performers and attendees at all times and adherence to 30 per cent audience capacity to allow for sufficient social distancing space during the event.

Emirates has launched an integrated biometric path at Dubai International airport (DXB). The contactless airport experience is now open to Emirates passengers travelling from and through Dubai. The integrated biometric path will give passengers a seamless travel journey from specific check-in to boarding gates, improving customer flow through the airport with less document checks and less queuing. Utilising the latest biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates passengers can now check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport. The various touchpoints in the Biometric path allow for a hygienic contactless travel journey, reducing human interaction and putting emphasis on health and safety. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said, “We have always focused on providing a great customer experience at any touchpoint and now it is more vital than before to make use of technology and implement products, and introduce processes that focuses not only on fast tracking customers, but more importantly on health and safety during their travel journey. The state-of-the-art, contactless biometric path is the latest in a series of initiatives we have introduced to make sure that travelling on Emirates is a seamless journey and gives customers added peace of mind.”

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) partners as the Gold sponsor for the first edition of the show to be held on November 23-24, 2020. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority stated, “The Gulf Travel Show redefines the way we promote travel and tourism, providing a platform to showcase how we are building on what we achieved during the COVID19 planning for a stronger future and post COVID-19. Sharjah is inviting all the visitors to witness our natural attractions set against the latest tourism and hospitality projects, especially in Khorfakkan and with the new road linking the eastern coast town to reach Kalba from Sharjah.” Gulf Travel Show (GTS) with its proprietary software will help you recover, rebuild and innovate relationships and products. This is a virtual event that will introduce you to buyers, help grow your brand and build long-term profitable business connections. At a time when costs are curtailed yet finding the right partner in a specialised event will be the way forward to further promote the travel and tourism business. At TravTalk we have been working more closely with the industry during the pandemic keeping the positive vibes by conducting various trade shows, webinars and online newsletters on a regular basis. Partnering as media in this roadshow will be another addition to keep the industry positive.

FITUR 2021, will be held from May 19 to 23 next year, as agreed by IFEMA and the FITUR Organising Committee. This comes after a meditated decision that, exceptionally, makes this event essential to the recovery of the tourism industry, at a time that will still preserve its high international impact and thus, promote the professional reunion of companies, countries and destinations and provide a much-needed boost to the worldwide tourism activity. The meeting of the FITUR Organising Committee, headed by IBERIA’s President, Javier Sánchez Prieto, also featured speeches by the Secretary of State for Tourism, Fernando Valdés; UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, CEHAT, Jorge Marichal; the President of the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies, CEAV, Carlos Garrido, and the President of Mesa del Turismo, Juan Molas, among others. For its part, IFEMA is focusing all its effort on presenting an edition aimed at contributing to the recovery of tourism at a time when FITUR’s role as a driving engine is critical and decisive. Therefore, it is especially important to focus on optimising its rallying power, in addition to enriching its specialised content and new business niches, as well as promoting knowledge areas that contribute towards relaunching both the national and international tourism activity, as one of the world’s main growth engines and especially for Spain, where tourism is the main sector, both in terms of GDP and employment. FITUR has the unanimous support from Spain’s tourism industry and it is currently the world’s second major trade fair, and first regarding its impact on the Latin American market. Each edition brings together over 11,000 companies from 165 countries, as well …

Marriott International’s commitment to Clean and Global Cleanliness Council, Marriott has introduced digital content about redefined processes and reimagined spaces guided by cleanliness experts and best practices to help hosts, organisers and attendees plan and execute meetings and connect with confidence. Recognised as an industry leader for quality and exacting standards for over 93 years, Marriott is introducing changes which include enhanced sanitation guidelines, new operational training for associates, and increased use of conference technologies to ensure that customers are able to come together when they are ready. Meeting planners may now reference a series of new materials including customer stories and resources that provide additional context and information for designing successful events in the current environment. Available on MarriottBonvoyEvents.com, these tools illustrate Marriott’s approach to delivering high-quality meeting experiences across its full portfolio of hotels and resorts. “Our Commitment to Clean is guiding everything from how we keep our guests and associates safe to how we begin to welcome back event and meetings business across Europe, Middle East & Africa,” said Neal Jones, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Marriott International, EMEA. “Our Global Cleanliness Council is working with us to tackle the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and what that means for an event or meeting at a hotel. Having experts in the area of hygiene, food safety, infectious disease, and infection prevention has been enormously beneficial in helping us think through everything we can do to support organisations as they begin to envision, plan and execute future meetings and events of all sizes.”

Airport Show Hybrid+ to take place from May 24-26, 2021 will introduce a new digital element to the live, face-to-face event, taking place in DWTC, Dubai. Organisers of the world’s largest annual airport exhibition has unveiled plans to keep the aviation community connected under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group. In the meantime, Airport Show Digital+ on 7-9 December 2020 will give the global community an opportunity to network, learn and engage through a new digital platform. The new digital arm has been designed to strengthen the Show experience and give a unique opportunity to seamlessly connect audiences across the world like never before. The all-inclusive opportunity will help in engaging with the attendees before, during and after the event. His Excellency Mohammed Ahli, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and CEO of Dubai Air Navigation Services (dans) commented: “The rescheduling and reformatting of Airport Show has been necessary to provide a platform for aviation industry decision-makers and professionals to come together to discuss the most challenging times in aviation history. Dubai is moving fast to pick-up lost grounds as the situation improves and it is important to push forward together globally to share best practices, new technologies and strategies to support rapid recovery.” Daniyal Qureshi, Group Exhibition Director of Reed Exhibitions Middle East, the organisers of Airport Show said: “Incorporating a new digital platform has enhanced the user experience for both events coming up. The Digital Event in December will offer the opportunity for users to visit Digital Stands, schedule online meetings …

Dubai’s travel and hospitality sectors accelerate efforts to revitalise the tourism industry, several top attractions have opened their doors again to provide diverse experiences to UAE residents and tourists, further enhancing the city’s position as a year-round must-visit destination.Iconic family entertainment destinations and attractions have reopened under stringent health and safety protocols designed to ensure the health and safety of visitors amid the pandemic, as the revival of Dubai’s tourism industry gathers momentum and everyday life returns to normal across all sectors and communities. The successful citywide management of the pandemic has helped instill confidence within the society, generating an increase in demand for domestic tourism, as well as encouraging global travellers to make Dubai their first choice destination. Here’s a snapshot of Dubai’s diverse family entertainment destinations and attractions that have reopened or will reopen this month: Dubai Parks and Resorts – reopened on September 23; HattaWadi Hub – reopened on October 1; Dubai Safari Park – reopened on October 5; The Palm Fountain – will open on October 22; and Global Village – will open on October 25.

Seera Group announced the launch of elaa 3.0, a digital travel management solution that has been designed to optimise corporate and government travel bookings across Saudi Arabia. A new dedicated portal has been launched for elaa, Seera’s travel management company, that enables employees of partner organisations to make all their bookings and travel planning seamlessly without having to go through a tedious and costly manual process. This means reduced cost through higher levels of transparency, pre-defined policy setting and travel management efficiency. Elaa made the most of the downtime caused by travel restrictions during the pandemic by digitising and simplifying the processes and enabling continuous improvement and innovation for its partner companies across private and public sectors. Making travel management self-sufficient, the new improved platform can digitally connect everything for customers whilst supporting them in the new normal, as travel management policies, structures and strategies have changed following the COVID-19 pandemic. Government ministries, departments and corporates with large-scale travel management requirements, can now manage all their requirements through elaa’s new portal, which is designed as a flexible and scalable booking platform that is easy to navigate and time, as well as cost-efficient. Abdulrahman Mutrib, Executive Vice President & Group Chief Technology Officer of Seera Group, said, “The new reality has brought a significant change in the travel requirements of corporate and government entities. Travel policies are constantly being updated or reviewed, and only a Travel Management System that can factor in these changes in real-time can add true value to organisations. Over the past years, we have been investing significantly in digitising our processes, and we are now ready to offer the next-generation TMS system for our customers.”

Sabre hosted a dedicated webinar for travel players in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the region to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on travel, its challenges and opportunities and how the industry is recovering from the crisis. Sabre Corporation (NASDAQ: SABR), is the leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry.The virtual event, which brought together executives and decision makers from travel companies and travel associations, highlighted market performance over the past few months and the role of technology to power its recovery. “As we enter a period of recovery from COVID-19, travel players need to look into new ways to operate in this new environment of uncertainty and continuous change,” said Abdul-Razzaq Iyer, vice president, Sabre Travel Network Middle East (STNME). “Equipping travel companies with the right solutions – such as artificial intelligence-based applications, that can automate processes, intelligent data analytics and virtual payments solutions – is essential in powering travel companies to navigate through the current challenges.” “Travel agencies play a vital role in rebuilding travellers’ trust and confidence,” Iyer added. “Travellers have a new definition of personalisation that involves new requirements and expectations for health and safety standards. They expect accurate and reliable information on travel restrictions and regulations during their planning phase. We are working closely with our customers to identify the best intelligent solutions and travel safety-related products to help them respond to travellers’ new demands and expectations.” “Saudi travel has proved to be a resilient industry,” said Faisal Kayal, Country Manager KSA, STNME. “We have seen strong market recovery compared to many countries regionally and globally, due to effective planning for the return of domestic travel and …