Zayed International Airport (AUH) has achieved Level 3 accreditation in the Airports Council International (ACI) Customer Experience Accreditation programme, a significant milestone that marks the airport’s commitment to delivering world-class guest experiences. The Level 3 accreditation represents a major upgrade from the previous Levels 1 and 2, both of which have also been successfully renewed. It reflects the airport’s commitment to placing guests at the heart of its operations and recognises the progress made in embedding customer experience into every layer of the organisation. The accreditation follows a period of sustained traffic growth, with AUH welcoming 15.5 million passengers in the first half of 2025 – a 13.2% year-on-year growth, building on 28.1% growth in 2024 and 44.5% in 2023. As passenger volumes continue their upward trajectory, the airport is scaling its customer experience strategy to meet and exceed the expectations of an expanding global traveller base. Elena Sorlini, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “This recognition from ACI comes as we celebrate 17 consecutive quarters of growth, including a strong performance in the first half of 2025. As we expand connectivity to meet rising demand, we remain sharply focused on enhancing the guest experience. Achieving Level 3 accreditation reflects our ability to deliver both growth and quality, ensuring that our customer experience evolves in step with our success.” The ACI Customer Experience Accreditation is the only global initiative of its kind that provides a comprehensive evaluation of how customer experience is integrated across airport operations. It assesses how effectively airports understand, manage, and embed guest experience into their overarching strategy. To attain Level 3, Zayed International Airport introduced a series of targeted initiatives that were met …

As media partner for ITB Asia, TravTalk Middle East conducted a special interview with Darren Seah – Executive Director – ITB Asia where he spoke of the importance of the Middle East market. The Middle East continues to play a pivotal role in shaping Asia-Pacific’s travel dynamics. With a reputation for luxury, experiential travel, and high-value outbound tourism, the region’s significance is only increasing. “Oman is joining us this year, and we’re in active discussions with other Middle Eastern destinations including the UAE,” said Darren Seah – Executive Director – ITB Asia. He further added, “We were recently in the UAE, engaging with key stakeholders to strengthen regional collaboration.” As global tourism rebuilds with resilience and innovation, ITB Asia 2025 is poised to deliver its biggest edition yet. Expanding across five halls and occupying over 25,000 square meters of exhibition space, this year’s show set to take place in Singapore will bring together more than 1000 exhibitors and 18,000 attendees from around the world. Beyond its size, ITB Asia 2025 reflects deeper shifts in the industry—particularly the growing influence of the Middle East market and the rising power of Generation Z travellers. This growing engagement aligns with the broader tourism strategies of countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar—each investing heavily in hospitality infrastructure, cultural offerings, and mega-events, as part of long-term national visions such as Saudi Vision 2030. For ITB Asia, this means not just showcasing the region as a destination, but also as a vital source of outbound travellers seeking immersive, high-quality travel experiences across Asia-Pacific.  

As part of its preparations for the 2025/2026 cruise season, which is scheduled to kick off this November in Doha, Qatar Tourism, in cooperation with the Civil Service and Government Development Bureau, organized a strategic workshop aimed at highlighting the cruise ship passengers and discussing the most prominent projects and initiatives related to the development of the cruise tourism sector in Qatar. The workshop sought to discuss the existing challenges and exchange views, as well as develop the skills and knowledge of all employees and partners involved in the cruise sector in the country, both public and private. This initiative aims to ensure that the sector is ready to provide a distinguished tourism experience to visitors to Qatar as well as unifying efforts among all relevant authorities. Over the course of two days, the workshop brought together representatives from various relevant government and private entities, where the sessions included presentations on the most prominent trends and experiences of global tourist destinations in the field of cruises, identifying points that need to be developed, and proposing innovative initiatives and solutions to enhance the experience. Commenting on the workshop, Mr. Omar Abdulrahman Al Jaber, Head of Tourism Development at Qatar Tourism, said: “The marine tourism sector is one of the vital pillars of Qatar Tourism’s strategy, due to its growing role in supporting the national economy and enhancing the country’s position as a global tourism destination in this industry and provide them with the skills and knowledge necessary to achieve excellence in service, ensuring an exceptional experience for visitors to QT.” Commenting on the workshop, Mr. Yousef Jaber Al Jaber, Director of Government Development Affairs at the Civil Service and Government Development …

Rocco Forte Hotels and Emerald Pine Capital are pleased to announce a strategic partnership aimed at enhancing the expansion of the Rocco Forte brand across Europe and the Middle East. This would enhance their presence beyond Saudi Arabia. By combining Rocco Forte’s renowned operational excellence with Emerald Pine Capital’s investment and asset management expertise, the collaboration creates a highly aligned team with deep capabilities across sourcing, underwriting, structuring and execution. Together, the partners will pursue repositioning, value-add, and development opportunities in gateway cities and high-demand leisure destinations. The aim is to offer a differentiated and compelling proposition for investors and a streamlined and effective process for asset owners. Charles Forte, Director of Development at Rocco Forte Hotels: “I am pleased to be able to announce our partnership with Emerald Pine Capital and I am confident that their years of experience and strong reputation within the financial world will further fortify our existing team and our expansionary efforts in Europe and beyond.” Fabrizio Grena, founding partner and CEO of Emerald Pine Capital: “As the luxury hospitality sector continues to evolve, we are delighted to partner with Rocco Forte to offer a distinctive combination of expertise and skill sets to our clients and partners. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to quality and long-term value creation in the hospitality space. We look forward to working with aligned partners on this exciting journey.”

Kuwait Airways Chairman, Captain Abdulmohsen Salem Al-Fagaan, announced a strategic drive to elevate the national carrier’s customer experience through innovative partnerships. Over the past year, the airline signed a landmark agreement with Saudi Railways Company (SAR), enabling passengers to book Haramain High-Speed Railway tickets directly with the airline. It also launched a diploma program in aviation sciences with the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training to build future talent. Strengthened alliances with Saudia, Amadeus, and FlexFlight further expand travel options, digital solutions, and seamless connectivity for passengers.

As part of the UAE’s celebrations of Emirati Women’s Day 2025, held under the theme ‘Hand in Hand, We Celebrate 50 Years,’ the Ministry of Economy and Tourism took part in the ‘Women’s Economy Dialogue’ in Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China. The event was aimed at strengthening the global presence of Emirati women, highlighting their remarkable achievements, and fostering international partnerships between successful women leaders in the economic sector in both the UAE and China. These efforts align with the UAE wise leadership’s vision to support and empower women and to reinforce their role in shaping the future. The UAE delegation participating in the event – organized by the Consulate General of the UAE in Guangzhou was led by H.E. Badreya Al Maidoor, Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the Ministry of Economy and Tourism, and included H.E. Mariam Alshamsi, Consul General of the UAE in Guangzhou; Emirati entrepreneur Maryam Al Mansoori, General Manager of Rebound; as well as representatives from Sky River and Esaal. H.E. Badreya Al Maidoor affirmed that the empowerment of women remains one of the UAE’s strategic priorities, in line with the wise leadership’s vision to support Emirati women and enhance their role in shaping the nation’s economic future. She emphasized that since its founding, the UAE has adopted a pioneering approach to positioning women as active partners in the country’s development journey, through supportive policies, legislation, and initiatives across both the public and private sectors – making women’s participation in national development a key driver of the UAE’s regional and global competitiveness. Her Excellency said: “We take pride in the remarkable achievements of Emirati women across all sectors. Through this dialogue, we aim …

SalamAir announced a strategic expansion of its global distribution reach through a new dual partnership with Hahnair. This collaboration will make SalamAir flights even more accessible to travel agents and passengers across 190 markets. Through Hahnair’s interline products, SalamAir’s flights are now available for ticketing under the airline’s own OV code in the Sabre Global Distribution System (GDS), as well as under Hahnair Technologies’ X1 code in major GDSs. This dual access enables travel agents to conveniently book and issue tickets on SalamAir through standard reservation and ticketing procedures in Sabre GDS. “Partnering with Hahnair significantly strengthens our commercial distribution strategy, enabling us to tap into new sales channels and reach travel agents in 190 markets”, said Steven Allen, Chief Commercial Officer of SalamAir. “By expanding our booking and ticketing accessibility, we are creating more opportunities to drive sales, grow our international footprint, and position SalamAir competitively in key markets.” With this partnership, SalamAir continues to advance its mission of making air travel more accessible, affordable, and reliable for passengers worldwide. By combining an expanding network, a modern fuel-efficient fleet, and strong global distribution capabilities, the airline is well-positioned to capture new market opportunities, support Oman’s connectivity, and deliver greater value to its customers and trade partners.

UAE based property developer The First Group has confirmed that Ciel, the world’s tallest hotel and the firm’s largest and most ambitious project to date, will officially open in the final quarter of 2025. Located in Dubai Marina, the striking 82-storey tower will redefine upscale hospitality in one of the city’s most iconic waterfront precincts. Designed by leading architectural firm NORR, Ciel will feature Dubai’s highest infinity pool, world-class dining options, a rooftop lounge and club, a luxury spa, and an observation deck with panoramic views of Palm Jumeirah and the Arabian Gulf. Featuring more than 1,000 guestrooms and suites, the mega hotel will also house a fully equipped fitness centre and Nest executive lounge. Operated by The First Group Hospitality, Ciel will be part of IHG’s Vignette Collection, a prestigious global portfolio of one-of-a-kind hotels that deliver memorable, design-led guest experiences. As a member of the Collection, Ciel will tap into IHG’s extensive global network, including its renowned loyalty programme, IHG One Rewards, which has millions of members worldwide.

Safir Sohag Egypt is slated to open by Q2 2026 with 385 rooms and suites in the historic city of Akhmim, Egypt. Safir Blom Sohag overlooks the Eastern Nile Corniche with meeting rooms, wedding hall and restaurants. Among its other facilities are health club, gym, spa and swimming pool. The hotel is an ideal bleisure getaway with its location and views. Safir Hotels & Resorts remains dedicated to strengthening its regional and international footprint while remaining true to its heritage of warmth, quality, and exceptional service.    

Qatar Tourism, through the Service Excellence Academy, has concluded the first edition of the ‘Junior Tourism Guidance Program – Summer Camp’, which aims to inspire Qatari youth through interactive tourism activities at Qatar Museums. Two groups of different ages participated in the camp, reflecting Qatar Tourism’s ongoing commitment to skills development and tourism awareness among the local community, and the first batch of young tour guides were honored on the final day at the National Museum of Qatar in the presence of parents and partners. Commenting on the programme, Omar Abdulrahman Al Jaber, Head of Tourism Development at Qatar Tourism, said: “Qatar Tourism is committed to providing more programs and initiatives that serve our local community through the Service Excellence Academy. Through this camp, children have learned valuable skills such as storytelling, teamwork, and discovering Qatar’s rich heritage. These skills are not only tools for tourism guidance, but they are also keys to self-confidence and successful communication for our children from the next generation of future tourism ambassadors to encourage our children, as you may be a tour guide or an expert in the tourism industry who carries Qatar’s message to the world.” The program has seen close cooperation with Qatar Museums, with the National Museum of Qatar hosting the closing ceremony, providing a learning space and organizing educational guided tours for children. The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum provided the activity area during the first two days of the program, while the MIA education team worked with Qatar Tourism to deliver an innovative learning experience through an “escape room.” Other teams from Qatar Museums also coordinated logistical aspects, such as securing galleries, booking sites, and ensuring that the …