Sabre Corporation announced a new collaboration with Philippine Airlines to launch the “Fly with Sabre’s Pal” campaign in Saudi Arabia. The campaign, running from October 20 to December 10, 2024, will reward travel agents using the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS) with exciting prizes for the highest number of bookings on Philippine Airlines. This initiative aims to foster stronger ties between Sabre and its valued travel agency community in Saudi Arabia, while supporting the growth of Philippine Airlines in the region. The campaign reflects Sabre’s commitment to offering dynamic and rewarding opportunities to travel agents in the Kingdom, particularly in supporting popular destinations. “The ‘Fly with Sabre’s Pal’ campaign is designed to recognize and reward the hard work of our travel agency partners in Saudi Arabia,” said Hasan Qannati, Head of Business Development for Saudi Arabia, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “At Sabre, we believe in creating opportunities that benefit both our airline partners and our agents, and this campaign is a testament to that.” Sabre and Philippine Airline teams with agents from Almatar in Riyadh during the campaign launch Throughout the campaign, the top performers will be recognized and awarded with four key prizes, marking the end of the campaign with a celebration of their achievements.

Etihad Airways now flies 42 times a week to North America: twice daily to New York JFK, and daily to Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Washington DC. Etihad starts daily flights to Boston, USA from 01 November, some six months after it opened the Massachusetts route. Guests flying stateside can take advantage of the new US Customs and Border Protection facility at Abu Dhabi, streamlining the immigration process and ensuring a hassle-free journey. Toronto Pearson Airport welcomed the arrival of Etihad Airways’ first Airbus A350 on Sunday, 27 October  2024, marking a further upgrade to the national airline of the UAE’s daily services between Abu Dhabi and Canada. The new aircraft extends the guest experience with its state-of-the-art design and Etihad’s latest cabin interior, representing Etihad’s ongoing commitment to offering a world-class travel experience for passengers flying between Canada and the UAE. Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De said: “We have seen significant demand on our Boston and Toronto routes. This expanding capacity gives our North American corporate and leisure travelers greater choice and flexibility when planning trips to the UAE and beyond to the Gulf region and the Indian subcontinent.” Etihad’s complimentary stopover programme means travellers can turn their layover into a memorable stay with up to two free nights at premium hotels in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the city’s growing appeal as a must-visit destination. “The introduction of our A350 to Toronto and expanding to daily services to Boston reflect our ambitious growth plans in 2024, set to take another major leap at the end of November when we announce an exciting lineup of new destinations,” said De.

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT)  has partnered with Coursera to reach 155 million learners worldwide. Through this collaboration, DCT will introduce 16 new courses focused on essential skills in the tourism and hospitality sectors, including hospitality marketing, budgeting and events, revenue management, inventory management, front office operations, housekeeping, and many more. The global hospitality sector is expected to grow to $4.99 trillion in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.8%. In the GCC, the industry is set to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2023 and 2028, reflecting the region’s continued investment in the sector. With this growth comes a rising demand for skilled professionals, underscoring the need for targeted education. This partnership with Coursera helps address the talent gap in the industry and supports efforts to equip learners across the region and beyond with the skills needed to thrive in one of the world’s fastest-growing industries. Essa Bin Hadher, General Manager of Dubai College of Tourism, said: “Our partnership with Coursera represents a significant advancement in our mission to provide world-class tourism and hospitality education, aligned with Dubai’s vision to become a global hub for business and tourism. By leveraging Coursera’s cutting-edge platform and our expertise in tourism and hospitality training programmes, we are confident that our 16 new courses will make a meaningful impact on the careers of learners worldwide. This collaboration also underscores our commitment to inclusive education and our dedication to shaping the future of the industry. Together with Coursera, we aim to contribute to the talent pipeline, fostering a new generation of tourism professionals equipped with the skills and knowledge to excel in a rapidly evolving landscape.” “This partnership with the Dubai …

Sindalah, the luxury island destination and first physical showcase of NEOM, has been unveiled by the NEOM Board of Directors. It marks a significant step in realising the Kingdom’s tourism ambitions under Saudi Vision 2030 and reaffirms NEOM’s ability to conceive and deliver new and exciting destinations. To celebrate this occasion, Sindalah has welcomed its first wave of invited guests to experience the island’s allure. Transforming Sindalah from idea to reality has been the result of an extensive two-year effort, from a 30,000-strong workforce at its peak across four local contracting partners and up to 60 subcontractors. Located in the glistening azure waters of the Red Sea, five kilometers off the NEOM coastline in northwest Saudi Arabia, Sindalah is a distinctive, luxury resort destination spread over 840,000 square meters. Ideally positioned 17 hours by sea from key Mediterranean destinations, Sindalah will serve as NEOM’s gateway to the Red Sea, providing easy access for European, Saudi and GCC yacht owners. First announced by His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Chairman of the NEOM Board of Directors in December 2022, Sindalah’s opening marks an exciting milestone in NEOM’s progress. Sindalah blends the natural beauty of the island with tech-driven design and architectural excellence. With the island masterfully designed by leading yachting architecture firm, Luca Dini, Sindalah offers world-class restaurants, hotels, venues and experiences. Set to welcome up to 2,400 guests per day by 2028, the island will also generate around 3,500 jobs, helping to drive the ongoing development of the Kingdom’s thriving hospitality and tourism industries, thereby supporting diversification of the economy in line with Saudi Vision 2030. Nadhmi Al-Nasr, Chief Executive Officer, NEOM, said: “NEOM is committed to supporting …

Speaking with TravTalk Middle East, Suhaib Albakheet – Marketing Specialist – Jordan Tourism Board shared that GCC and Asia are some of the key markets they focus on currently. He further reiterated that Africa is another source market which they are looking at present and they have a diverse portfolio of visitors from these markets. Presenting their unique experiences at ITB Asia, some of the areas they focus on is faith tourism, which brings in a lot of devotees to the destination. Jordan has been in the forefront of promoting itself with all its rich culture and heritage. They have been able to keep their tourist numbers high mainly due to the many efforts to promote the destination to new markets.

Speaking with TravTalkME Middle East,  Joyce Wang – Executive Director of Messe Berlin Asia Pacific, Organiser of ITB Asia, MICE Show Asia and Travel Tech Asia shared that this year ITB Asia concluded with immense growth from the Middle East and Europe. Wang shared, “So we not only had exhibitors from the Middle East, but we also had buyers from the Middle East coming down to Asia. It’s a big market for us. For the Middle East, we are looking at two important sectors, wellness travel as well as luxury travel. They are coming in quite well and a big trend this year. Lots of regional and local NTOs are actually looking into tapping into these two themes to attract the Middle East buyers.” She further reiterated that this year’s 3 day show concluded on a positive note with 45,000 business appointments, 18,500 visitors from 85 countries featuring 1950 exhibitors and over 1400 buyers across the globe.

Visit Oman, the countries native B2B booking engine for Oman, exhibiting at ITB Asia 2024 showcased Oman’s unique travel experiences to the Asian market. As Asia’s curiosity and appetite for new destinations is growing, Visit Oman has found this the perfect time to showcase the ease of booking Oman, with the destination known for its warm hospitality, offering a safe, comfortable and easy to navigate environment, making it ideal for travellers seeking both relaxation and adventure. Mohammed Al Asmi, Visit Oman Senior Executive shared “Solidifying Oman as a must-visit destination while showcasing at ITB Asia highlights a significant step forward to attract travellers from Asia and the importance of travel technology solutions like Visit Oman in a fast paced tourism ecosystem.” Visit Oman aims to forge stronger partnerships with travel agents and resellers across Asia, educating travel trade on the nation’s blend of rich heritage and vast array of experiences to explore. To attract more visitors in Q4 2024, Visit Oman is launching exclusive travel packages, and immersive itineraries with live booking capability.

Sustainable development needs to be the cornerstone of the Travel and Tourism sector, now and into the future, according to H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism, who took part in the fourth annual World Economic Forum Urban Transformation Summit, being held in San Francisco, California. The Minister, who is one of the chairs of the Summit, gave Keynote Remarks during the Opening Plenary session. He commented that while tourism growth brings challenges like overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and environmental pressures, keeping sustainability at the heart of the approach to tackling those challenges will set up the sector for the future: “We are seeing exponential growth in the tourism sector, and in parallel, we are seeing a rising demand for sustainable, enriching experiences. This provides us with the chance to reshape tourism while safeguarding the planet and driving positive change that benefits communities as well as economies, for future generations.” Al-Khateeb, who also is also the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program, went on to say that building a strong global community of industry leaders and experts who can convene at forums such as the WEF Urban Transformation Summit, is essential for creating a positive and lasting future for tourism and developing collaborative solutions to seize on those growth opportunities responsibly. “Tourism and sustainability are key pillars of Saudi Arabia’s Future Saudi Cities Programme and remain a focus for our leaders,” said Al-Khateeb, “But we need city leaders, urban planners, and tourism experts from around the world to share best practices at forums like these, to think about the tourism sector and work out how they can support it by creating smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. Stronger public-private …

Speaking with TravTalk Middle East, Maher Azizia, Managing Director STM Tours shared that their main focus was the expat market in the UAE. STM Tours is a leading travel company specialising in fixed departure tours for groups and individuals travelling from the GCC and the USA to Central Europe and now branching out to the Southeast Asian market too. Azizia explained that the main idea to attend ITB Asia was to find out destinations which will offer different and unique experiences for his clients based out of the UAE especially. “We can cater to a minimum of two persons as we ensure that we provide high-quality, hassle-free journeys that combine the best of culture, history, and leisure. We focus on the expats of the UAE as they prefer to spend on their holidays which will bring them personalised and unique experiences and we provide this every step of the way.”

At ITB Asia, one of the most interesting sessions was the Fireside Chat titled, “curating exceptional incentive travel experiences – insights from a planner’s perspective. Alexis Lhoyer – Co-Founder and CEO Asia for Chab Agency shared that there are four key trends which will be seen next year. Hyperpersonalisation, the need to look for authentic experiences, sustainability and technology will be some of the main trends shared by Lhoyer on stage. He further reiterated that this trend is not just in Asia but even in the Middle East. Diana Sani – Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Chab Agency shared that technology today is not going to reduce the jobs but increase our time and make it more efficient to use as the human touch is of utmost importance when it comes to incentive travel planning.