Expo 2020 Dubai is participating in the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF 2019) with the ‘50 Years of Expo’ exhibition, which encapsulates UAE’s engagement with world Expos since the 1970s up until now.  A historical journey through images, many of which are on public display for the first time, is offering an insight into Late Sheikh Zayed’s vision at the very outset, with an audio clip reflecting the merits of the fundamentals of human connection that are based on good morals and reputation in the UAE. The exhibition also houses quotes from the Father of the Nation, highlighting the role of women’s participation in international events like World Expos, with a strong focus on ‘youth employment’, which is a key message of World Expo 2020 Dubai. Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Fatma Rashid, Project Manager, Special Projects Expo 2020 Bureau said, “We are excited to be at this prestigious event and represent Expo 2020 Dubai. Our pavilion here tells the story of the UAE’s extensive history of participation in World Expos, in the lead up to the Expo 2020 Dubai.” The exhibition showcases miniature UAE pavilion replicas from their 1970 participation in Japan and 1992 in Spain, inspired by the Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain to show the world the nation’s strong history displaying its fortitude. The stand also sheds light on the subsequent Expo participations, in Expo Hanover 2000, Expo Shanghai 2010 and Expo 2015 in Milan. The journey ends with the milestone moment in 2013, when the UAE won the bid to host Expo 2020. Throughout the forum, interactive sessions will also be hosted at this stand, along with two workshops. Organised by the International Government …

HTMi Switzerland Dubai, the training hub inspiring the best hospitality and tourism ambassadors, announced the formal agreement with the Hotel and Tourism Management Institute (HTMi) Switzerland to bring the highest quality of Swiss educational programs and experiences to UAE’s hospitality and tourism sector. Set to open this month (April 2019), HTMi Switzerland Dubai campus boasts contemporary new facilities and cutting-edge programmes for both Emirati and international students. Offering year-long courses with Swiss accreditation as well as a variety of short courses, graduates, industry veterans and those switching careers are invited to apply to HTMi Switzerland Dubai, where training will centre around the UAE’s bid to become the world’s number one tourist destination by 2025. With a wide range of the HTMi Switzerland Dubai certified courses in the hospitality and tourism sector, multiple opportunities for fresh graduates and skilled individuals to enlist on professional and vocational education programs with practical internships in the UAE are on offer. Courses begin in April 2019, led by teaching staff with both international and UAE-based experience to empower students with applied, hands-on learning, thus advancing student career opportunities. H.E. Ahmad Bin Byat, Managing Partner of HTMi Switzerland Dubai, said, “Our training focuses on the future of hospitality in the region, teaching specific guest-experience techniques required for the evolution of the industry.” Managing Director of HTMi International Development Group, Ian Larmour, commented, “Dubai already has a reputation and focus for great customer service. With increasingly more hotels opening for Expo 2020 and tourist attractions too, it is the prime city to bring our established expertise in the hospitality and tourism industry to help train Emiratis and international students fulfil their own and the nation’s dreams.”  

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Raging Tiger Events, the exclusive representative of Wedding Design Company (WDC), India’s leading destination wedding planning company. This partnership, enabled through DXB Live, the experiential arm of DWTC, is set to promote Dubai as the preferred wedding destination for Indian weddings, and give UAE residents easier access to their dream wedding at international destinations of their choice. Launched over 15 years ago, Wedding Design Company is one of India’s most renowned wedding planners, and is known to organise high-profile marriage ceremonies for the who’s who of Bollywood and the business industry, featuring exclusive guest lists. This includes the recently orchestrated nuptials of India’s most illustrated business moguls, the Ambani family, as well as Bollywood celebrities Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh at Lake Como, Italy. Vandana Mohan, Founder and Owner of Wedding Design Company, said, “WDC was conceived out of a desire to inspire people to live out their fantasy by creating dream weddings. We have decades of experience of organising customised weddings in exotic locations ranging from Florence, St. Moritz and Ibiza to ancient palaces and forts in India. Dubai is already a popular wedding destination and we want to raise its profile by making it the most preferred wedding destination for Indians, whether they live in India, the UAE or elsewhere.” Khalid Al Hammadi, Senior Vice President – DXB Live, DWTC, said, “DWTC has a strong heritage of hosting bespoke weddings of all scales and sizes. In addition to offering flexible event space that can host large scale celebrations or intimate gatherings, we also have the in-house capability to handle every aspect of the event from …

Central Hotels and UNICEF renewed their partnership to help some of the thousands of children fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East. “We are committed to support UNICEF’s campaign to make a difference in a child’s life,” said Abdulla AlAbdulla, Chief Operating Officer of Central Hotels and a member of UNICEF Gulf Area Office Leadership Circle of Champions for Children and Young People. “Every initiative in this journey is a major advance in creating a better future for children by helping them achieve their full potential. We look forward to our collaboration with UNICEF as every life changed is a testament to the difference we can make by working together,” he said. ElTayeb Adam, UNICEF’s GAO Representative, said, “We are very grateful to Central Hotels for joining us in our mission. Every child deserves a fair chance to life. By supporting UNICEF, you are not only making a difference to a child’s life today, you are making a difference to children everywhere. Every dollar you donate helps children around the world to grow up healthy, stay protected from harm and to go to school.” The partnership between Central Hotels and UNICEF began in 2017 and demonstrates how private organisations can contribute to the welfare of the community.  Central Hotels has been working closely with UNICEF to support the organisation’s causes. The money is raised through an optional 10 dirham surcharge on guests’ bills. UNICEF has been present in the UAE for more than 40 years. The Leadership Circle of Champions for Children and Young People is a network of UNICEF supporters and advocates committed to advancing the rights of children.

Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s second largest bank and the world’s largest Islamic bank, reported a growth rate of 8 per cent during 2015- 2018, with 8.9 per cent increase in operating income and a 27 per cent expansion in the number of mortgages in 2018. Additionally, its current accounts grew 6.6 per cent in 2018 amid the rising Singapore Interbank Offered Rate (SIBOR) environment, the international benchmark interest rate. The bank has been playing a visible and active role in enticing foreign investors to Saudi Arabia. The bank made the announcement ahead of the upcoming Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) 2019, the latest edition of the world’s leading platform for FDIs, which will take place in Dubai from April 8 to 10 under the theme ‘Mapping the Future of FDI: Enriching World Economies through Digital Globalisation’.  Al Rajhi Bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Steve Bertamini, is one of AIM’s conference and workshop speakers this year. Bertamini pointed to the bank’s robust financial performance, industry standing, and proactive and sustained engagement with regional and global investors as the main catalyst to create investor interest in the Kingdom, which will then generate more foreign direct investments (FDIs). In addition to Al Rajhi Bank, Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) 2019, will also witness the participation of Mario Cimoli, Deputy Executive Secretary, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile. At the upcoming Annual Investment Meeting, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Switzerland, will also underscore the need to make critical investments in digital development strategies and other technological advances. This year’s AIM will witness the presence of over 80 speakers from countries as Brazil, UK, Republic …

Etihad will be the first airline to trial Panasonic’s new wellness solution, the Jet Lag Adviser, which was developed in collaboration with Detalytics. The solution will be integrated into the airline’s passenger app. One of the biggest challenges air passengers face when travelling across multiple time zones is jet lag. To help passengers combat this, the Jet Lag Adviser takes a range of passenger inputs including chronotype, circadian rhythms, height, weight, the nature of travel, and travel information such as flight times, routes and zones and uses its artificial intelligence engine to produce personalised jet lag plans for passengers with tailored advisories to help them reduce jet lag. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “With the Jet Lag Advisor, we can now leverage artificial intelligence to improve the travel experience.” Passengers will receive a combination of generic route-based and personalised ‘jet lag impact scores’ which gives them a summary of how severe jet lag may be on that route in general and their own travel specifically, while the personalised jet lag plan incorporates the pre-flight, flight and post-flight phases, and provides a schedule of different recommendations and tips for specific times in each phase on what to do to reduce jet lag, such as sleeping, exposure to light, exercise, hydration, and the type of food to consume. Throughout each phase of the travel experience, the Jet Lag Adviser will send reminders with recommended actions to passengers via the app. Hideo Nakano, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics, said, “We are delighted to be working with Etihad Airways to introduce technology that can help their passengers reduce jet lag, and so enhance their travel experience.”  

Dubai Tourism continued to expand its reach across Japan targeting segmented demographics through strategic activations, marketing campaigns and ongoing trade and business partnerships with key industry players. In order to drive awareness and consideration around Dubai as a holiday destination among Japan’s target market, the department identified women and senior citizens as key drivers in the travel and tourism space. Furthermore, building on the city’s commitment to ensure ease of accessibility, Japanese visitors benefit from daily flights from Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai’s Corporation of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) said, “2018 saw sustained growth from the Japanese market as we welcomed more than 100,000 overnight visitors a year for the very first time.”  Working to deliver an enhanced travel experience for Japanese visitors to the emirate, Dubai Tourism has partnered with H.I.S., a market leading travel agency in Japan to provide easy access to Dubai’s travel products and information though sales and retail promotions across major Japanese cities. Furthermore the department conducted a number of highly targeted marketing activations to highlight the city’s varied offerings to diverse audiences across Japan, including key broadcast projects that explored the city’s innovation in culture, sustainability and technology, as well as ongoing familiarisation trips and media events to highlight the city’s distinctive elements.  

British Airways is set to fly from Dammam to London Heathrow from December 1, 2019. The route is the first ever direct flight from Dammam to London Heathrow, with flights departing daily. The service will launch as a daily ‘tag’ service via Bahrain. Flights will be operated by a four-class Boeing 777-200 departing year-round from Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport and landing in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow. Dammam will be the third city in Saudi Arabia that British Airways flies to, with the airline already serving Riyadh and Jeddah with non-stop daily flights. This daily direct flight between Dammam and London Heathrow will cut journey times by three hours or more because passengers will no longer need to either drive to Bahrain or transit through Riyadh for a connecting flight. Moran Birger, Head of Sales for The Middle East and Asia Pacific, said, “This new link between Dammam and London underlines the importance of the Eastern province and the need for smooth onward connections to Europe and the United States. Direct flights will hugely benefit executives travelling between the Eastern Province and Europe’s premier financial capital and business hub, while also bringing London within an even easier reach for an extended weekend getaway.” Return fares start from SR2,480 for World Traveller, SR3,000 for World Traveller Plus, SR11,310 for Club World and SR18,900 in First. Dammam is one of five long-haul routes being launched by British Airways in 2019, its centenary year. The airline is also launching non-stop flights to Pittsburgh and Charleston in the US, Osaka in Japan and Islamabad in Pakistan, alongside several short-haul routes.  

Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, and the Saudi-headquartered Arab National Bank (ANB) have partnered to launch an ANB Etihad Guest Signature Visa card in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ANB Etihad Guest Signature Visa card holders will receive an annual fee waiver for the first year and additional benefits including a welcome bonus of 17,000 Etihad Guest Miles. Members will earn two Etihad Guest Miles for every SAR 15 spent on domestic purchases and four Guest Miles for every SAR 20 spent on international purchases. Successful applicants will receive fast track entry to Etihad Guest Silver Membership and receive free Wi-Fi vouchers to take advantage of the Wi-Fi service available on-board Etihad Airways flights. With a strong commitment to creating a personalised travel experience for Arab-speaking Etihad Guest members, Etihad Guest launched an Arabic website. This new platform will deliver an improved experience for ANB customers, further cementing the partnership and the airline’s commitment to guests in the Saudi market. Yasser Al Yousuf, Vice President Commercial Partnerships, Etihad Airways, said, “At Etihad Guest, we make every effort to cooperate with prestigious companies to offer a pioneering travel experience.‎ Our clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are now able to get rewards, privileges and exclusive offers using the ANB Etihad Guest Signature card.” Asad Alsada, Head of Consumer Banking services at ANB, said, “The new card is the result of joint efforts and close cooperation with our partners with the aim of offering an innovative credit card that has various advantages.” Ali Bayloun, Visa’s General Manager in Saudi Arabia, said, “The card has a design that aims to enrich the travel experiences of clients through special rewards …

Dubai’s annual entertainment calendar ushers in world-class international musical events and festivals – from unmissable concerts to stunning stage shows and legendary live performances, all weaving together a cultural tapestry that is unique to the city. The city’s buzzing music scene will once again come to life with non-stop entertainment and thrilling live acts this April. With Dubai Calendar’s top picks of musical entertainment, one can discover new sounds from across the Middle East, South Africa, and more this month. Dubai is set to host Wasla, the largest platform dedicated to Middle Eastern and North African musicians during its third edition this April. The music festival, derived from an Arab word used to describe a link or connection, is bringing its eclectic line-up to the city on April 5 with a specially curated set list of Arab artists including Massar Egbari, El Morabba3, Cairokee, 47Soul and Mashrou’ Leila. With an aim to bring together emerging talent from around the region to share a soulful stage, celebrating diversity, culture and alternative Arabism, Wasla is set to feature diverse cultural and artistic elements, with an array of great live entertainment and an immersive outdoor experience. Dubai is also warming up to host the Irish boy band, Boyzone, for the last time during a historical performance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium on April 12. The band is set to rock the audience with tunes from their final album ‘Thank You & Goodnight’ as they celebrate 25 years of the band’s journey to fame. Additionally, singer-songwriter Ard Matthews of ‘Just Jinjer’ will share the stage with rock band Watershed at Dubai Opera on April 18, bringing the contemporary rock landscape to life …