IHG Hotels & Resorts signed a management agreement with Urbnlanes Development to bring two new Crowne Plaza hotels to Egypt. The dual signings will see the introduction of Crowne Plaza Cairo New Administrative Capital and the Crowne Plaza New Cairo Yellow. Set to open in 2028, both new Crowne Plaza hotels promise a unique blend of premium hospitality and convenience for guests. True to the Crowne Plaza brand, the new-build hotels are set to deliver exceptional guest experiences rooted in blended travel that cater to both leisure and business guests, enabling effortless flexibility and balance between work and life. Located in the iconic Levels Towers in the heart of the New Administrative Capital, Crowne Plaza Cairo New Administrative Capital is set to offer excellent accessibility to business guests looking for proximity to the nearby government ministries, administrative institutions, embassies and finance houses. The hotel will offer three dining options, including a sky bar, and will also hosts five well-appointed meeting venues to cater to the needs of corporate guests. Crowne Plaza New Cairo Yellow, will be nestled within New Cairo’s main arteries. Part of the ‘Yellow’ mixed-use development project, the hotel will be located within short distance from business parks and Cairo International Airport. Along an all-day dining restaurant and a Club Lounge, Crowne Plaza New Cairo Yellow will feature five meeting and events venues including a ballroom. Haitham Mattar, Managing Director, India, Middle East & Africa, IHG, commented: “Signing of two new Crowne Plaza hotels in Egypt represent a significant vote of confidence and trust in IHG and the appeal of the brand. We are excited to be an integral part of these major new developments and look forward to …

Speaking on the current trends of the Chinese outbound travellers, Xiong Xing, COO of Trip.com Group speaking on the topic, “Insights into the 2024, civil aviation market.” He introduced the data from Trip.com’s FlightAI market insight platform, which shows that as of 19 May, China’s cross-border flight capacity has recovered to 71% in 2024 compared to the same period in 2019, while the outbound travel search index for 2024 has risen by 63% compared to 2019, with travellers experiencing high demand for travel. “The concentrated release of travellers’ demand for travel has accelerated the pace of the industry’s recovery, and the hotly heated cross-border market is also showing new changes and trends.” Xiong Xing said. Although post-80s and post-90s travellers accounted for 53% of outbound travellers, post-2000s travellers have become the group with the fastest increase in share. From the perspective of travelling groups, parent-child family users are the absolute main force of summer outbound travel. In addition, the continuous growth of silver-haired travellers also injected new vitality into the travel market. It is worth noting that, under the strong recovery of outbound tourism, inbound tourism is also accelerating the recovery trend with the help of visa-free policy. Xiong Xing introduced that among inbound travellers in 2024, the orders of travellers from countries with mutual visa exemption for ordinary passports will grow the fastest compared to 2019.

Accor announced the launch of HERA, Accor Travel Advisor Program – a new worldwide loyalty and rewards program exclusively for travel advisors. Available now at HERA.Accor.com, the new program includes more brands, more features, and more capabilities as well as an enhanced digital experience with easy and efficient online tools for booking, tracking and reviewing activity. Other key features of HERA include informative and educational resources on Accor’s participating luxury and luxury lifestyle brands and hotels – including those sitting within the global lifestyle collective Ennismore. The new program generously rewards travel advisors for bookings while allowing them to increase their productivity, performance, and client satisfaction. “We are beyond excited to introduce HERA, a competitive and differentiated program that delivers the capabilities, personalization and rewards that the travel advisor community both needs and wants,” said Pascal Visintainer, Senior Vice President Global Sales, Luxury & Lifestyle, Accor. “Our aim is to inspire loyalty among leading travel professionals, by equipping them with all the resources they need to seamlessly create bespoke luxury travel experiences for their clients and granting them valuable Reward Points to use freely on their own time. With easy-to-use tools for travel planning, an efficient booking system, and plentiful rewards, we are confident that HERA, and therefore participating hotels sitting within Accor’s Luxury & Lifestyle division, will be a top choice of travel advisors around the globe.” HERA takes Accor’s ability to support and recognize travel agents up a notch and replaces the Group’s former Famous Agents program, with all previous travel advisor data, history, and Reward Points seamlessly migrated to the new platform. Using their personalized HERA member ID, travel advisors will earn Reward Points with each room …

The Maldives’ President Dr Mohammed Muizzu is taking part in the The Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4). SIDS4 is scheduled to be held from 27 to 30 May 2024 in St. John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. This year’s theme for the conference is “Charting the course toward resilient prosperity”, discussing the various development challenges faced by small island developing states. Small Island Developing States (SIDS) were recognised as a distinct group of developing countries facing specific social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Earth Summit, held in June 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In essence, they were formally recognised as a special case both for their environment and development. This was when the SIDS programme was established within the UN. Today, SIDS comprise a distinct group of 37 UN Member States and 20 Associate Members of the UN Regional Commissions spread across three geographical regions. His Excellency President Dr Mohammed Muizzu engages in the interactive dialogue under the theme “Revitalising SIDS Economies for Accelerated and Sustainable Growth” along with Anders Adlercreutz, Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering of Finland. Maldives’ Foreign Minister Zameer will deliver closing remarks at the Private Sector Roundtable on 28 May 2024 while Environment Minister Thoriq and Housing Minister Haidar will be delivering interventions at the interactive dialogues. Both the Environment and Housing Minister will also participate in a number of side events. The majority of SIDS member states depend on the tourism industry as their main economic backbone, employment opportunities, and foreign exchange. At the SIDS4 conference, significant discussions will be held focussing on strategies to alleviate …

The Middle East saw the strongest relative growth, with international arrivals exceeding by 36% pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2024, or 4% above Q1 2023. This follows an extraordinary performance in 2023, when the Middle East became the first world region to recover pre-pandemic numbers (+22%). UN Tourism shared that international tourist arrivals reached 97% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024. According to UN Tourism, more than 285 million tourists travelled internationally in January-March, about 20% more than the first quarter of 2023, underscoring the sector’s near-complete recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. In 2023 international tourist arrivals recovered 89% of 2019 levels and export revenues from tourism 96%, while direct tourism GDP reached the same levels as in 2019. UN Tourism’s projection for 2024 points to a full recovery of international tourism with arrivals growing 2% above 2019 levels. In line with this, the newest data released by the UN specialized agency for tourism show that: Yet it also recalls the need to ensure adequate tourism policies and destination management, aiming to advance sustainability and inclusion, while addressing the externalities and impact of the sector on resources and communities Europe, the world’s largest destination region, exceeded pre-pandemic levels in a quarter for the first time (+1% from Q1 2019). The region recorded 120 million international tourists in the first three months of the year, backed by robust intra-regional demand. Africa welcomed 5% more arrivals in the first quarter of 2024 than in Q1 2019, and 13% more than in Q1 2023. The Americas practically recovered pre-pandemic numbers this first quarter, with arrivals reaching 99% of 2019 levels. International tourism is experiencing a rapid recovery in Asia and the Pacific …

Whilst exhibiting at ITB China Shanghai, Yalago – revealed the latest hotel booking trends and the top destinations with Chinese travellers in 2024. In order of popularity, the choices are Dubai (UAE), Riviera Maya (Mexico), Bali (Indonesia), Singapore (Singapore), and Abu Dhabi (UAE). Yalago is recording the UAE as the most popular country for international hotel bookings from China in 2024 so far, with a 11% growth in booking value this year compared to January – May 2023. With 54% of global bookings from Chinese travellers for five-star hotels, its travel experts attribute this growth to the UAE’s access to luxury properties across a variety of landscapes, close to world-class attractions. Astrid Kastberg, General Manager at Yalago, commented: “China represents one of our fastest-growing source markets for international travel. With the luxury segment prominent, we are finding Chinese travellers booking a more extensive range of five-star hotels, including across the UAE’s cityscapes, islands, and beaches. Through our industry experience and global partnerships, we aim to support worldwide travel companies in offering significant savings to customers, with expertise in destinations including the UAE, and Indian Ocean. We are excited to improve the booking process to the Maldives, as we aim to promote this destination for a standalone stay, or as part of a wider trip.” As luxury beach breaks emerge as on trend, Yalago is launching a new system function to improve the booking process for Chinese travellers seeking to experience the islands of the Maldives in 2024. Yalago’s trade partners can now book a travellers’ hotel stay inclusive of its leading rates, alongside the domestic transfers by seaplane or speedboat required for onward travel, all in one sitting. One of …

Speaking with TravTalkME at ITB China, Amr Elkady CEO Egypt Tourism Authority shared that 2023 was a good year for Egypt as they received 230,000 visitors and they are looking at closing 2024 with 300,000 visitors from China. He reiterated that the Chinese leisure market has grown exponentially over the past few years and increase of air connectivity between the two destinations is one of the main reasons for the increase of travellers from China. Elkady shared that there are many programmes rolled out at present to ensure that there are more visitors inbound to Egypt and among them is a special incentive programme for the aviation sector, where if you fly from any destination to any of the airports in Egypt (apart from Cairo) the airline receives a cash incentive. Both B2B and B2C are kept updated with the latest facilities, programmes and interests to ensure that they make the most of the opportunities which lie ahead. Apart from the leisure travellers Egypt tourism is working on MICE and corporate travel especially from China, Elkady shared,”it is important that both parties meet the right contacts for MICE and corporate travel, as a tourism board we are looking at educating and providing the rightful platforms for the sectors. However, this will take longer but it will be a sustainable process when it comes to the market.”

At the Riyadh Travel Fair in Saudi Arabia it was announced that Amsa Hospitality and Luxury Hotelschool Paris signed a strategic partnership for joint operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This collaboration marks a significant step in elevating education within the hospitality sector. Under the new agreement, Luxury Hotelschool Paris will partner with Amsa Hospitality to review and certify training materials and conduct a “train the trainer” program across the Kingdom. This initiative is open to the entire hospitality sector and all interested hoteliers, extending beyond those employed at Amsa Hospitality.Earlier on at the Saudi Travel Market in February this year Amsa Hospitality announced the upcoming new academy for those in the hospitality industry. Globally recognized for its excellence in teaching and pedagogy, Luxury Hotelschool Paris is endorsed by over 300 leading corporate partners and international chains. Vocational training programs meticulously validated by Luxury Hotelschool Paris will enable Saudi hotel employees to master the subtleties of customer relations and enhance the customer experience, encompassing both values and techniques. Amsa Hospitality is a pioneering Saudi hospitality company aligned with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 and dedicated to integrating the rich, ancestral Arabian traditions of generosity and welcoming into the contemporary world. The organization’s new subsidiary, Amsa Hospitality Academy, aims to equip Saudi hoteliers with the skills needed to excel in the hospitality sector. Mohammad Alathel, Chief Executive Officer of Amsa Hospitality, said, “We are truly delighted to partner with such a world-renowned institution. The rigorous training programs of Luxury Hotelschool Paris will allow us at Amsa Hospitality to be proud of the service quality provided by our hotel employees. By forming a partnership with a high-end training entity, we …

The UAE has been ranked first in the region and 18th globally in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024, climbing seven places from its 25th global ranking in 2019. H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council, emphasized that the UAE tourism, thanks to the forward-looking vision and directives of the country’s wise leadership, continues to excel at the regional and international levels, achieving outstanding results that reflect the country’s leading position in the global tourism and travel landscape. These accomplishments contribute significantly to achieving the targets of the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031, which aims to further the country’s position as the best tourist destination in the world by the next decade. H.E. said: “We expect our national tourism sector to continue its growth in 2024 in light of the pioneering tourism projects and initiatives that are being implemented by the country. This will be further supported by the UAE’s sophisticated infrastructure built in accordance with global best practices and outstanding tourism products and services that provide a unique experience for visitors and tourists from around the world.” H.E. added that the national efforts to formulate resilient tourism policies and enhance the sector’s contribution to the national GDP are continuing in line with ‘We the UAE 2031’ vision. H.E. Hanan Ahli, Managing Director of the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC), commended the success of the UAE in strengthening its position on the global tourism map as one of the most attractive and safe travel destinations. This is the result of the implementation of an effective and comprehensive strategy by the UAE under the directives of its …

Speaking with Tourismbreakingnews.ae at ITB China, Amr Adawy-Vice President Commercial – EgyptAir shared that they will be increasing flights from Cairo to China and beyond as it is a very important market for them. Generating business from China helps the growth of tourism in Egypt as one of the most visited destinations, mainly due to their rich culture and heritage. “China is a very important market to all airlines, as it is one of the biggest outbound markets. Currently, we fly four times a week to Shanghai and we are hoping to increase it to daily flights and go a step beyond and add destinations such as Hong Kong as well. We currently operate to 4 cities in China and soon we will be adding two more cities to make it six.” He reiterated that the importance of the market is not only the main land China but beyond as there are many travellers from China and beyond who explore Egypt and they are looking at increasing the number of flights to make it one of the most lucrative, touristic destinations,