Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has concluded the regional #ThisisDubai social media campaign, hosted in collaboration with the world’s leading short-form mobile video application, TikTok. As part of the partnership, TikTok, which is available across 150 markets, created bespoke AR stickers with exclusive Dubai themed music inviting participants to capture striking aspects of the city. Calling on the platform’s expansive base of storytellers from across the GCC, the campaign received an overwhelming response of over 30 million video views on the campaign page and 9.8 thousand videos created, with posts showing users enjoying ‘only in Dubai’ experiences across the city, or destination videos with the campaign’s themed music, helping them to tell the story of Dubai. With the competition wrapped up, the two winning entries will be awarded an exclusive holiday package, with first prize winning a two-night stay at Kempinski Mall of the Emirates, and both first and second prize winning shopping vouchers from Mall of the Emirates and tickets to experience the incredible La Perle by Dragone show. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “In an age where shareable bite-sized content is the new social currency, Dubai Tourism makes it a priority to ensure we diversify our channels beyond traditional mediums to reach our target segment, using programming that is most appealing to them. Our partnership with TikTok is testament to the success of this approach, and through #ThisisDubai, we encouraged tourists from the region to share what makes the city unique to them by highlighting their favourite Dubai experiences.”  

As the leading visa outsourcing and technology partner for several governments and diplomatic missions worldwide, VFS Global has achieved a milestone by processing a record 200 million visa applications. Set up in 2001, the company touched its first 100 million applications milestone in May 2015. Since then, the next 100 million applications were processed over a record four-year period. In 2018 alone, VFS Global processed 26.7 million applications globally – the most number of visa applications processed in any single year, registering a 16 per cent increase year-on-year. Commenting on this achievement, Zubin Karkaria, CEO, VFS Global Group, said, “We take pride in this achievement of processing our 200 millionth visa application, with 100 million of these processed in a timespan of the last four years. We are grateful for the co-operation of the 62 client governments we serve – 18 of which were added in last four years, pointing to the trust and credibility we have built since we started this journey in 2001.” Even through its rapid expansion, the company has introduced game-changing visa solutions offering greater convenience, reliability and flexibility in service. Some of these are: Visa at Your Doorstep, Mobile Visa Application Centres, the first visa services chatbot ViVA among others, introduced in the recent years. In terms of the total visa market (both outsourced and non-outsourced), VFS Global’s share is 15 per cent. Across the world, there are as many as 50 players catering to the visa outsourcing business, and together they hold a market share that is identical to VFS Global. VFS Global today has an unparalleled network of over 3,000 application centres with operations in 147 countries.

Emirates has launched its new four times weekly service to Porto, its second destination in Portugal. The new service provides travellers from across Emirates’ global network with a direct flight to the popular city in the north of the country. The inaugural flight, EK197, touched down at the city’s international airport on July 2,  marking the start of the airline’s first service to northern Portugal. The Emirates Boeing 777-200LR, in a two-class cabin configuration featuring Emirates’ newest Business Class and Economy Class seats and interiors, was welcomed by Porto Airport with a water cannon salute. Speaking at an event at the airport to celebrate the new service, Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, Russian Federation and Latin America, Emirates, said, “Travellers in northern Portugal will now have a convenient and direct flight option to our Dubai hub, from where they can seamlessly access Emirates’ global network, particularly to destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.” Also speaking at the event, José Luís Arnaut, Chairman of the Board, ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, said, “Emirates’ investment in this route is the result of joint efforts between the airline, ANA as well as tourism and Northern Region stakeholder teams. We are therefore excited by this new service, as it shows the region’s development and attractiveness as both a business and leisure destination.” The flight will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and depart Dubai as EK197 at 09:15 hrs and arrive in Porto at 14:30 hrs. The return flight, EK198, will depart Porto at 17:35 hrs and land in Dubai at 04:15 hrs the next morning.

Etihad Airways celebrated the deployment of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner on its daily scheduled services to Shanghai by hosting a spectacular ‘Abu Dhabi Night’ reception. The occasion was attended by leading figures from the UAE and local government officials, diplomats, corporate partners, members of the travel industry and social influencers from the two countries. Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Since the launch of our flights between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi in 2012, we have witnessed huge growth in China’s outbound tourism market and experienced strong demand from both business and leisure travellers. We are delighted to now deploy the larger 787-10 Dreamliner on this popular route, a decision which reflects the importance of Shanghai and China to Etihad Airways.” H.E. Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to China, said, “The aviation sector makes an invaluable contribution of 13 per cent of the UAE’s GDP and as such is one of the most valuable aspects of the UAE-China relationship. Our country has become an important strategic trading partner for China’s overseas investment, positioned as it is at the crossroads of continents. The UAE sits at a crucial pivot point of the international arc of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we are working with the Chinese government to capitalise on this geostrategic benefit, as the natural gateway to Africa and the wider Middle East.”

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) welcomed three weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Salalah, the popular holiday destination on the south coast of Oman. The inaugural flight operated by the Omani airline, Salam Air, commenced on July 2 and will continue running until September 7, 2019 allowing travellers from the UAE to visit Salalah conveniently and at affordable rates. Speaking of the seasonal arrangement, Chief Commercial Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, Maarten De Groof, commented, “Salalah is an ever popular destination for those in the UAE seeking a cooler and nature-driven destination during the summer months. With Salam Air, travellers looking to visit the Omani destination will be able to take advantage of three weekly cost-effective flights. We also look forward to welcoming travellers from the south of Oman to the city of Abu Dhabi, and sharing with them the wide range of cultural, entertainment and retail destinations the city has to offer.” Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of Salam Air said, “Salalah is proving to be an extremely popular destination, with GCC residents in particular keen to escape the summer heat. Our new Abu Dhabi to Salalah flight operating three times a week will be a boon to UAE residents looking for the perfect staycation this summer, especially as Khareef season is now upon us.” Outbound flights will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the flights will depart Abu Dhabi International Airport at 21:35 Local Time (LT), landing in Salalah International Airport (SLL) at 23:25 LT. Return flights will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, leaving Salalah International Airport at 19:00 LT and landing in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 20:50 LT.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing launched the third edition of the Futurism Programme, an entrepreneurial platform for technology start-ups worldwide. Aimed at bringing about a paradigm shift within the industry ecosystem to help create innovative tourism experiences, the third edition is in collaboration with leading professional services company, Accenture, further contributing to the success of the annual start-up programme, which has the ongoing support of industry partners and investors including Tajawal-Seera Group, Atlantis The Palm, Emaar Hospitality Group and the Emirates Group. The 2019 Futurism Programme invites entrepreneurs to submit their applications by  July 31, 2019.  With the goal of contributing towards transforming tourism experiences, the start-ups will showcase technological innovation with solutions to help drive the following Futurism themes; Hyper personalisation, Connected travel,    Digitising operations, First choice destination, Conscious travel, and ‘Phygital’ experience. A judging panel comprising leading technology experts, Dubai Tourism’s senior leadership and its partners across the industry, will select the top 10 start-ups from all entries submitted in the process. Dubai Tourism will announce the winning start-up and a runner-up, who stand to win a prize totalling AED 100,000 as the initial start-up capital. In addition to licensing, the winner will receive relevant visas in Dubai, office space and the opportunity to secure potential future funding. Commenting on the launch of the 2019 Futurism Programme, Yousuf Lootah, Executive Director – Tourism Development & Investments, Dubai Tourism, said, “In line with the Dubai 10X initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to develop path-breaking strategies and projects that will put Dubai 10 years ahead of other world cities, the Futurism Programme …

The award-winning Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is celebrating 10 years as a leader in wellness at its luxury spas worldwide. Over the past decade, the Group has launched a range of signature concepts, products, and treatments that have helped to establish the Group’s spas as some of the best in the world. Examples of innovation include a collaboration with global health and fitness platform Grokker to bring wellness into the guestroom with a range of complimentary in-room health and fitness videos; the launch of Mindful Meetings by Mandarin Oriental, designed to enhance and energise meetings and conferences with creative solutions that are based on five key elements of wellness: nourishment, movement, stillness, connections and wellbeing; and relaxing Digital Wellness treatments and practical tips that encourage guests to take a break from today’s ever-present technology. In addition, the Group has invested in a number of expertly trained Mandarin Oriental Specialists to provide guests with bespoke, specific treatments and experiences that can be hard to find elsewhere. These include podiatry specialists, TCM specialists, a Turkish Hammam Master, Shaolin Kung Fu Master and Thai massage therapists. The Group started their celebration of innovations achieved over 10 Years of Wellness on Global Wellness Day, June 8, 2019, with complimentary wellness activities at all hotels and resorts worldwide. For the rest of the year, guests are encouraged to rediscover some of the Group’s most popular, ground-breaking signature treatments and products. Those who book the Group’s signature Oriental Qi massage between Global Wellness Day and September 8, 2019 will receive tip sheets for exercise, balance and breathing together with a signature oil that relates to their own personalised element to use at home.

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has endorsed a three-phase 10-year plan to improve marine transport services on Dubai Water Canal 2020-2030. “The initial phase covers a Short-Term Plan 2019-2020, which already started in April. It includes modifying the current marine transport line on the canal to link Jaddaf, Dubai Design District and Sheikh Zayed road stations. The revised line excludes Marasi station and endorses the deployment of the water bus instead of Dubai ferry to run the service. The water taxi service at these stations remains unchanged,” explained Mohammed Abu Bakr Al Hashimi, Director of Marine Transport at RTA’s Public Transport Agency. “In concurrence with these changes, abra service will be running on two new lines to commute riders between the Al Wajeha Al Maeyah, Marasi and Sheikh Zayed road stations. By 2020, marine transit modes will be beefed up to include two water buses on the revised line, and three abras on the new line.” “The second phase is a Medium-Term Plan 2025. It covers the operation of nine stations in the central sector of the canal over and above the existing stations, which will be served by five new lines. It involves modifying the current line of the water bus to serve two stations, namely Dubai Creek Marina station and Business Bay Promenade station. One water bus and five abras will be added in 2025 and 2026,” shared Al Hashimi. “The Long-Term Plan 2030 covers the addition of four stations on Dubai coastal line namely Jumeirah 2, Al Safa 2, Sheikh Zayed road 2, and Godolphin. The proposed modes here are one waterbus and two ferries that will bring the total number of water transport modes in …

Emirates is giving travellers to and from Oman more choice, comfort and luxury with the first arrivals of its double daily A380 services to Muscat.  Flights EK 862 and EK 864 were each welcomed with water cannon salutes upon arrival, ushering in the new services to Oman’s capital, Muscat. Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Centre, said, “The incredibly popular Emirates A380 has arrived in Oman and we are pleased to give our customers travelling between Muscat and Dubai the opportunity to experience the iconic products and services on this aircraft.” Sheikh Ayman Bin Ahmed Al Hosni, CEO of Oman Airports, said, “We at Oman Airports are proud of Muscat International Airport which has become the embodiment of the hospitality and warmth of the Sultanate of Oman.” The Muscat A380 flights will fly approximately 340 kms each way, making them the shortest A380 flights in the world. That is also shorter than the internal wiring of the A380, which when stretched from end-to-end reaches a distance of over 500 kms. The double daily A380 operations underscore Muscat International Airport’s modern infrastructure and readiness to handle aircraft operations. The twice daily A380 services operate on EK 862/863 and EK 864/865. EK862 departs Dubai at 08: 25 hrs, arriving in Muscat at 09:40 hrs. The return flight, EK 863, departs Muscat at 11:15 hrs, arriving in Dubai in the afternoon at 12:25 hrs. Emirates’ late afternoon flight EK 864 departs Dubai at 16:10 hrs and arrives in Muscat at 17:25 hrs. EK 865 departs Muscat at 19:05 hrs, arriving in Dubai at 20:15 hrs. Along with the A380 services, EK 866/867, the early morning flight, is operated with …

The occasion was marked in style with a spectacular ‘Abu Dhabi Night’ evening reception at The Shilla, Seoul’s most iconic landmark hotel. Effective July 1, 2019, Etihad Airways will operate the Airbus A380 on its daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Seoul. With the introduction of the A380, the South Korean capital’s Incheon airport now joins London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, New York JFK and Sydney as the top destinations served by the airline’s award-winning aircraft. Robin Kamark, Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad, said, “We are delighted to include Seoul as one of our most important destinations on the Etihad network with the increased capacity and flagship flying experience only the A380 can provide. The move will guarantee product consistency and more convenient travel options for more customers travelling to and from Korea, ensuring they experience the ultimate flying experience.” Etihad Airways launched its Abu Dhabi to Seoul service in December 2010 and upgraded the daily flights to its state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on August 1, 2018 in order to further meet the demands for a more comfortable and personalised travel experience. Etihad Airways operates extensive codeshare partnerships with both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, providing enhanced connections between Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.