Etihad Airways has upgraded its innovative Verified to Fly service to offer a more streamlined and personalised service through its website, etihad.com. This upgrade makes the process quicker and easier for Etihad’s guests to ensure they have all the required COVID-related documents before leaving for the airport. Seven days ahead of travel, all guests will receive a personalised email informing them of the documents required for their destination. These travel documents can now be uploaded directly to the ‘Manage my Booking’ page of etihad.com, up to 72 hours before departure. The new website functionality replaces the email upload system which was launched by the airline in May 2021. The new upload process guides travellers through the process of uploading and shows the specific documents needed to get verified for their chosen destination. Once uploaded, the documents will be checked and guests will receive an email confirming they have met all requirements for their flight. Additionally, travellers can check the status of their submission at any time by logging onto Manage my Booking at etihad.com. As a result, they can begin their journey with complete peace of mind and will also benefit from a significantly faster check-in at the airport. John Wright, Vice President Airports and Network Operations, Etihad Airways, said: “Etihad’s hugely popular Verified to Fly service has been used by more than 110k guests already and has now been further improved and streamlined. The service has significantly reduced airport check-in times, and provided much-needed reassurance to our guests that they have already met all Covid-19 travel requirements before they reach the airport.” Etihad requires 100% of its passengers to show a negative PCR test to protect the inflight environment, which …

Bahrain ranked first in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) for attracting the highest tourism capital investment in 2020, according to the fDi Intelligence Tourism Investment Report 2021. Last year, major investments from UAE-based property developers helped Bahrain’s tourism sector remain buoyant and created jobs during the worst ever period for the global tourism industry. Bahrain secured $492 million of tourism capital investment in 2020, mainly made up of investments from global property developer Emaar Properties and real estate developer Eagle Hills, despite the overall regional decline in capital investment in 2020. Capital investment into MEA last year decreased 82% from 2019, dropping to $1.6 billion. The number of tourism jobs created in the region also experienced a similar decline, decreasing from approximately 17,400 in 2019 to 2,800 in 2020. Despite the pandemic, Bahrain ranked first in MENA for the number of tourism jobs created in 2020 and second for the number of tourism FDI projects. Prior to Covid, Bahrain was attracting around a million visitors a month on average and the tourism sector contributed around 7% to GDP. As the first economy in the GCC to diversify away from oil, the Kingdom has positioned its tourism offering to cater for a broader set of visitors through new attractions, hotels, F&B, and retail. During the pandemic, the country continued developing its strategy to transform its tourism sector, allocating more than $10 billion to tourism infrastructure projects, including the $1.1 billion modernisation of its international airport. More recently, Edamah, the real estate arm of Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat, also announced several new upscale property projects in the country. Accor, a hospitality group with over 400 hotels, Minor Hotels, which has …

Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and Web Summit announced that RISE, “one of the world’s most influential tech events”, will return to Hong Kong in March 2022, as an in-person event. This highlights Hong Kong’s thriving startup economy, leading position in innovation and technology, as well as its status as The World’s Meeting Place for business events to tap tremendous opportunities in the region. RISE was launched in Hong Kong in 2015 and has already hosted five successful events, becoming Asia’s largest tech event, according to CNBC. Over the years, the event has attracted thousands of global tech founders, startups and investors to the city, such as Joseph Tsai, Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman of Alibaba, John Collison, Co-founder & President of Stripe, Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap, and Neil Shen, Founding Managing Partner of Sequoia Capital China. The event has become an important window for companies from both East and West to make connections in new markets. With the HKTB teaming up with InvestHK and AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong has once again won as the host city of RISE for the coming 5 years. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Edward Yau, said: “I’m very excited to see RISE, a world-renowned tech event, returning to Hong Kong. This is a testimony of Hong Kong’s success to containing the pandemic and keeping infection rate among the lowest in the world, thereby giving international event organisers confidence that they can stage their events here safely. I am sure the staging of RISE will showcase Hong Kong’s capacity to deliver amid the challenges posed by the epidemic, and connect our tech start-up ecosystem with that …

The House Hotel Jeddah CityYard, part of Jeddah’s first lifestyle destination City Yard – a vibrant and connected community home to upscale gourmet venues, community events and entrepreneurial networking – is opening next week in the city’s trendy commercial hub – Al-Rawdah. The House Hotel is a Kerten Hospitality luxury boutique hotel brand known for its distinctive properties that tell a story. Marrying art and culture with a blend of classic and contemporary styles, this collection of hotels offers guests boutique luxury experiences tailored for each property. Maria Bou Eid, GM of The House Hotel Jeddah CityYard, said, “We are thrilled to be opening our doors for our first guests very soon. Our team is ready to share a taste of the real authentic hospitality and personalised experiences in our lifestyle hotel, which is also part of such a dynamic mixed-use destination curated by our visionary owners – that now offers experiences to stay, connect, dine and have a place to be inspired. This will be the space where interaction between local and international guests will come naturally creating memories.” The 114-roomkey hotel will be the focal point of the trendy City Yard complex – Saudi Arabia’s first mixed-use lifestyle hub in the city’s upmarket district making its mark as a luxury design-led hotel connecting guests and residents, offering luxury and soft touch hospitality. The hotel venue is part of the vision of Pure Houses, City Yard owners, to bring transformative brands together that build a destination and create an opportunity for entrepreneurial networking, local community and pop-up events. The purposefully-built lobby staircase will not only be a place to socialise, but to also meet others over coffee and Arabic …

Sojern have partnered to provide hoteliers with powerful multichannel media solutions aimed to drive direct bookings. The partnership empowers hoteliers to reach their customers across multichannel media solutions, increasing direct sales and profitability. With Sojern, Roiback enhances its own digital marketing agency specialised in hospitality, providing its clients a smart advertising platform built specifically for travel marketers. Sojern and Roiback will focus efforts on the Middle East and Asia Pacific, Iberia and Latin America regions. “As travel emerges from global lockdowns and cross-border restrictions, we couldn’t be happier to launch another impactful partnership with a market leader in the direct booking space. We look forward to delivering best-in-class strategies and products for our shared customers,” said Josh Beckwith, senior director of strategic accounts and partnerships, Sojern. Roiback is a global powerhouse in travel technology. For five consecutive years has won the World Travel Awards as ‘Europe’s Best Hotel Reservation Solution Provider’ and is nominated for the “World’s Best Hotel Booking Solutions Provider” at the upcoming 2021 World Travel Tech Awards. “Hospitality marketing is a challenging space, with ever-increasing channels and solutions. At Roiback we have a Digital Marketing agency specialised in hospitality, and with this partnership we look to further enhance it. Our hotel clients will benefit from access to simple and effective solutions to empower their digital marketing strategies, as well as to improve their direct channel performance,” said Felipe Bravo, Head of Roiback Digital.

Indonesia Wellness Master Association (IWMA), Wellness &  Healthcare Entrepreneur Association (WHEA) & Indonesia Wellness Spa Professional  Association (IWSPA y/f INDSPA) with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative  Economy and BNI will inaugurate the biggest wellness festival in Indonesia, Indonesia Wellness  Tourism International Festival (IWTIF) which will be held on 1-30 September 2021 virtually. The opening of IWTIF 2021, carried out online and broadcast directly via IWTIF’s YouTube was  inaugurated by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, whereby the Deputy of Tourism  Product and Event Organiser; Indonesian Embassy Representatives in Bangkok (Thailand), Den  Haag (Netherlands), London (UK), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Indonesian Consulate  Representatives in Cape Town (South Africa); regional government representatives from Central  Java, Maluku, and Papua; Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs; Ministry of Industry; as well as  wellness SMEs; Wellness Enthusiasts; and Indonesian diaspora were in attendance. The launching of this event is in line with the fact that Indonesia is in the 17th place in the world in terms of wellness tourism market, whereas wellness tourism is a pilot project to encourage and promote inclusive business in Indonesia. The Covid-19 pandemic has majorly affected tourism businesses and others, especially in relation to health and nature-based activities. Local wisdom from approximately 1340 ethnic groups, herbs and spices as product ingredients, various cultural art as well as hospitality and act of services from Indonesian therapists can contribute towards developing the world’s wellness tourism. Local wisdom-based wellness or ethnowellness is the key for Indonesia to take part in the world stage and as a chance to recover the national economy from the tourism aspect. Conversely, Indonesian SMEs are one of the most important supporters of the strength …

Emirates announced that it will be restarting services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 11 September and St Petersburg from 8 October 2021. The resumption of these services build on Emirates’ growing global footprint, the continued lifting of entry restrictions as well as demand recovery across the airline’s network. Dubai continues to top the must-see destination list for Russian holidaymakers, providing a great combination of warm weather, world-class hotels for every budget, shopping and an unparalleled set of new attractions that encourage repeat visits. From 8 October, flights between Dubai and St Petersburg will operate four times a week, and the airline will increase its services to daily flights from 21 October. All flights will operate on the Boeing 777-300ER in a three class configuration. Emirates flight EK 173 and 174 will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while EK 175 and 176 will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturday and Sundays. EK 173 departs Dubai at 0910hrs, arriving at St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport at 1415hrs. EK 174 leaves St Petersburg at 1645hrs, arriving back in Dubai at 2345hrs local time. EK 175 takes off from Dubai at 1545hrs, arriving in St Petersburg at 2050hrs and EK176 leaves Pulkovo Airport at 2315hrs, landing in Dubai at 0615hrs the next day. From Saturday, 11 September, Emirates will begin operating 24 weekly flights to Saudi Arabia, including daily flights to the capital Riyadh, daily A380 flights to Jeddah, daily flights to Dammam and three weekly flights to Medina. Flights to Riyadh will increase to double daily from 16 September, and plans are underway to boost frequencies across the other gateways by the end of September. To Riyadh, Emirates will operate EK 2817 daily, …

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s inaugural flight to Manama, Bahrain commenced departing from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and arriving in Bahrain International Airport (BAH). The new route will strengthen connectivity within the GCC by providing an alternative and ultra-low fare travel option for passengers between the two Gulf countries. The first flight to Bahrain closely follows the recent announcement made by the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee removing the need to quarantine for all vaccinated travellers arriving into Abu Dhabi from all international destinations, effective on Sunday, 5 September 2021. This welcome announcement indicates a positive outlook for the travel and tourism industry in Abu Dhabi. Since launching at the start of the year, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced a wide range of exciting routes to and from the UAE capital. These include Athens, Alexandria, Bahrain, Belgrade, Odesa, Sarajevo, Tirana and a number of others (see full list of routes here), with demand expected to increase following the change in travel guidelines. Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: “Today is an important milestone for us at Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, and we are pleased to mark the occasion alongside our partners – Abu Dhabi Airport Company (ADAC) and Bahrain Airport Company (BAC). The addition of the Abu Dhabi-Manama route provides a low-fare travel option for those wishing to fly the popular Gulf travel route. This new destination is the first route to be added to our flying roster since this week’s update to the travel guidelines regarding vaccinated passengers – it is an exciting moment for us all!” Shareef Al Hashmi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, commented: “Today is another …

Wego records exponential growth in the flight searches from Saudi Arabia to the UAE following Saudi’s announcement on welcoming travelers from the Emirate again. Saudi Arabia has been handling the pandemic very well and is rolling out its vaccination drive across the country. Travelers are feeling more reassured where airports are reinstating the confidence in travel. With stringent precautionary measures followed and safety measures that meet the high standards, we will see a quicker recovery for the tourism sector. Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego, said: “The region was eagerly awaiting this announcement. Saudi Arabia is one of the most preferred destinations for MENA travelers. Through our platform, we saw a 1,700% increase in flight searches from Saudi Arabia to the UAE in the last two days. We expect to see more growth in flight searches and bookings in the coming days.” Around 50% of travelers are looking to travel within a week from the announcement and 60% of the people are searching for a short stay around 3 days. Solos are dominating the type of travelers searching for flights with 80%, followed by families and couples. Dean Wicks, Chief Flights Officer, Wego, said: “Flight searches from the UAE to Saudi Arabia have jumped by 1000% just days after the announcement. Saudi Arabia continues to be one of the favorite destinations for UAE travellers. The massive spike in searches between the two countries shows how much pent up demand there is for travel within the region.” Wego brings the best offerings to its users to help them get the best rates and deals from over hundreds of hotels and flights.

In a recognition ceremony held at the Training Centre Auditorium at Oman’s Civil Aviation Authority, 71 Oman Air volunteers were recognized for their commitment to community wellbeing as part of the Ministry of Health’s National Vaccination Campaign at the Oman Conference and Exhibition Centre. On hand to personally thank volunteers and hand out certificates of appreciation was Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi, Oman Air Chief Executive Officer, accompanied by Hilal Al Siyabi, Oman Air Senior Vice President – People, who led the initiative, as well as other senior executives. “Oman Air has a social responsibility to the communities in which we operate,” said Eng. Abdulaziz Al Raisi. “I’m delighted and immensely proud of the overwhelming response of Oman Air staff in the National Vaccination Campaign at OCEC. They have shown, through their dedication in the last three months, compassion and consideration toward fellow citizens in an overarching objective to protect public health. That Oman has been able to diminish the spread of COVID-19 is due to the many volunteers who continue to make an impact, every day.” In addition, the Kingdom’s vaccination campaign continues to gather pace. A total of 38,455,901 people in the country have so far been inoculated against COVID-19, including 1,609,631 who are classified as elderly. More than 63 percent of the population have received a first dose, and just over 45 percent have received both doses. At the current rate of vaccination, 70 percent of the population is expected to have completed both doses by the beginning of November.