Emirates is set to now have 11 daily flight options to and from three London airports with the launch a second daily flight from Dubai to Stansted in July 2019. As with the first, the second daily flight to Stansted will also be operated by Emirates’ ‘game changing’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration with six private suites in First Class, 42 fully-flat beds in Business Class and 306 seats in Economy Class. The aircraft offers customers an enriched travel experience across all cabins with newly designed seats and upgraded inflight entertainment systems. Customers will also enjoy new levels of comfort with fully enclosed private suites in First Class as well as refreshed Business and Economy Class cabins. “We are increasing capacity to London Stansted to meet steady demand from both leisure and business travellers to and from the region, as well as international student traffic to Cambridge. We continuously seek ways to maximise convenience and flexibility for our customers and the second daily flight combined with the optimal travel schedules will do exactly that; provide a seamless travel experience with Emirates,” said Hubert Frach, Divisional Senior Vice President—Commercial Operations West, Emirates. The second daily flight to Stansted also means increased tourism to the region, enabling further trade and economic growth. Popular inbound markets include Australia, UAE, India, South Africa, China, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Emirates customers travelling from London Stansted will also have more access to destinations across the airline’s global network with convenient connection times.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Dubai & Middle East Office in partnership with Royal Thai Embassy in Manama, Bahrain and The Gulf Hotel, Bahrain and Gulf Air will launch the Thai Festival 2019 on March 26 at The Gulf Hotel, Bahrain. The EATHAI VISITHAI 2019 promotion will run from March 26 to April 25, 2019 and will see the city come to life as people celebrate Thai culture and cuisine with incredible discounts on offer at 13 of Bahrain’s finest dining establishments. The participating venues will showcase their appetizing special Thai dishes with tasting and a live cooking show at the exclusive launch event on March 26. These include The BF Food Bahrain, Shada Restaurant, Tom Yum Kung Restaurant, Honey Restaurant, Monsoon Restaurant, Royal Thai-Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Wang Thai Restaurant, Thong Eak Restaurant, Som Tum Thai Restaurant, Thai Seafood Restaurant, Wok This Way Restaurant, Top Thai Restaurant and Ayothaya Restaurant. H E Thanis Na Songkhla, Ambassador, Royal Thai Embassy Manama, Bahrain, said, “We are thrilled to bring The Thai Festival 2019 to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Thai food is incredibly popular in the region and we are excited to showcase it further at this exciting festival.” Pichaya Saisaengchan, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand Dubai & Middle East Office, added, “The Thai Festival has been an ongoing success in the Kingdom of Bahrain and we’re excited to see it return for another edition. It’s an incredible way to showcase our world-renowned cuisine and guests will be able to avail incredible discounts and win fabulous prizes.”

Leading international real estate and construction consultancy, Drees & Sommer, announced the launch of the specialised global hospitality team based in Dubai as an extension to the existing European operation. The new hospitality division will provide a full service offering for investors and owners throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, People’s Republic of China and the rest of the world. The extension is a result of the tourism growth in the Middle East region. Located in Dubai, Drees & Sommer will capitalise on the extensive experience of the team across all facets of the hotel industry. The team in the Middle East, led by the Managing Director of Global Hospitality, Filippo Sona, will provide a full service offering from feasibility studies, hospitality consulting, technical services, project management, construction management and asset performance management. “The dedicated hospitality team of 10 hospitality experts will benefit from the expertise of 3,200 employees based in 41 offices worldwide, combining local market knowledge with world-class international hospitality trend know how to deliver projects globally. The company will initially focus on key segments of the tourism industry which include hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, golf courses, marinas, spa, theme parks and the entertainment industry,” said Sona. Drees & Sommer has vast experience in the hospitality sector having completed over 1,114 projects in 28 countries and 88 cities worldwide. “Our remit is to draw on the vast hospitality experience the team has accumulated, which is underscored by the quality of our project delivery and in-depth understanding of all the markets we operate in, to the benefit of the client and the profitability of the owner,” concluded Sona.

Amid an ever-growing number of Russian visitors to Sharjah, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is further boosting its presence in Russia’s tourism sector following the surge in tourist arrivals to the emirate which reached 392,691 in 2018. SCTDA is promoting the emirate’s leading attractions through its 20th year of participation at the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (MITT) 2019, taking place from March 12 to 14, 2019 at Expo Centre Fairground. MITT 2019 marks the 26th anniversary of the event with 1,799 companies taking part in the exhibitions and the number of visitors from around the world expected to exceed 25,000. H E Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “MITT will once again provide SCTDA with a global platform to showcase the emirate’s promotional plans to enhance its position as a leading family tourist destination and attract 10 million tourists by 2021 based on the objective of Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021. We look forward to strengthening our relations with our Russian travel and tourism partners and agencies to enable us to gain wider access to the country and key European markets.” This year, SCTDA is focusing on eco-tourism products, outdoor activities and branded hotels operating in the emirate to promote Sharjah as an ideal regional and global family-friendly destination. Sharjah’s delegation at the exhibition includes Sharjah International Airport; Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA); Sharjah Airport Travel Agency (SATA); Air Arabia; Sharjah Collection; Coral Beach Resort; Ramada Hotel & Suites Sharjah; Radisson Blu Resort; Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort; Copthorne Hotel Sharjah; Red Castle Hotel; Tulip Inn; Al Khalidiah Tourism LLC.

WiT Middle East 2019 returns to Dubai after a gap of four years. WiT 2019, which will adopt the theme of WiT 2018 Singapore conference–‘Through The Looking Glass’– is making its comeback with three Foundation Sponsors as a one-day event on April 9, 2019. “After four years away, we feel it’s time to make a comeback plus we’ve had numerous requests from key players in the region, who have attended both our events in Dubai and Singapore, to return. When we were there in 2014 and 2015, we definitely felt the excitement and dynamism of an emerging market and observed it had very similar characteristics to the South-east Asian markets – fragmented, diverse, young, social and even then, it was mobile first – so we look forward to seeing what else has changed and how the industry has grown. With the way the Middle East travel market has grown, we expect a bigger, more international audience. In particular, we are looking forward to seeing how the startup ecosystem has grown and evolved,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT. “Wego, Cleartrip and Travelstart are three leading travel brands from outside the region that have invested in the Middle East market and are committed to seeing its development and growth,” said Siew Hoon. “We will also be working with Insight Out Consultancy and tap into their regional expertise to ensure our content is locally relevant,” she said.

Avis Budget Group has announced a global partnership with Etihad Aviation Group to become the exclusive car rental provider for Etihad Airways, Etihad Holidays and Etihad Guest. The partnership will see the Avis, Budget and Maggiore brands offered across the various Etihad booking channels worldwide. Etihad Guest members will benefit from the Avis Preferred programme and an improved earning proposition. Julia Kemp, Director of International Sales & Partnerships, Avis Budget Group said, “We are delighted that we have extended our partnership with Etihad to be the exclusive global mobility provider. Whilst offering deals on Avis Budget Group car rentals, we will be looking at tri-party campaigns with hotels, tourist boards and credit cards.” Yasser Al Yousuf , Vice President of Commercial Partnerships, Etihad Airways said, “This partnership gives our guests a seamless travel experience door-to-door. We chose Avis Budget Group as an exclusive partner for their wide-ranging fleet of cars and their global reach which suits the needs of our guests and plays a big part of our ‘Choose Well’ campaign empowering customers to make their own choices.” To celebrate the new partnership, Etihad Guest and Avis Budget are offering Etihad Guest members the chance to win flights for two, with Etihad Airways anywhere across the Etihad network – plus 7 days car rental. To be eligible, members need to book a car rental before April 30, 2019.

Two Seasons Hotel Apartments was among the top 10,000 companies and organisations from over 180 countries to have participated at ITB Berlin. With several new hotels lined up for opening in 2020, the year ahead looks promising for the new brand Two Seasons Hotel. Two Seasons Hotel Management Company has an ambitious expansion plan for the next five years with a strong commitment to new destinations in the Middle East and North Africa as well as global cities where it plans to open Two Seasons Resorts. Freddy Farid, Managing Director, Two Seasons Hotel Management Company, said, “European and especially German markets are very important for the UAE as those markets are stable in terms of tourist numbers and business. We are showcasing our new brand as Two Seasons out of the idea of Dubai having just two seasons – winter and summer.” “ITB Berlin represents a fantastic opportunity to exhibit and promote our new brand and upcoming portfolio of hotels to a vast global network. In addition, it allows us to raise awareness about our superb products while targeting strategic business opportunities as we continue to reinforce our capacity to open and reach new markets. ITB is also a great forum to see the new trends in technology that are transforming our industry faster than ever. This is a perfect platform to meet the best of the industry minds and to forge partnership with them,” he concluded.

Cebu Pacific has expanded its domestic footprint with the commencement of regular flights between Manila and Marinduque from April 1, 2019. With operations every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, the new route will be operated by subsidiary Cebgo using its fleet of brand-new ATR aircraft. “We are excited to begin operations in one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines–Marinduque. It takes only about an hour to fly between Manila and Marinduque—in contrast to the eight hour trip by ferry and land today. Regular flights will allow business to prosper and the island’s tourism sector to boom,” said Alexander Lao, President and CEO, Cebgo. “It was a long and tedious process to bring about this route. We are thankful for the collaboration and cooperation of various government agencies for the completion of the runway and terminal facilities at the Marinduque Airport. We are optimistic that with larger aircraft and regular flights, tourists will have greater access to Marinduque and harness its potential as a world-class ecotourism destination. We look forward to partnering with Cebu Pacific and other stakeholders as we strive for progress in Marinduque through sustainable tourism,” said Lord Allan Jay Velasco, Representative, Marinduque. Marinduque is the 37th domestic destination of Cebu Pacific and often mentioned as an idyllic destination for a tropical getaway by travel writers.

Emirates Holidays, part of travel services provider dnata, is set to establish a local presence in Denmark and Sweden in Spring 2019. The new branch in Scandinavia will cater to Danish and Swedish travellers, offering them unique travel experiences. The operations will be based in Copenhagen and supported by a team of local travel experts. “We are pleased to be expanding the Emirates Holidays footprint to Denmark and Sweden. Both markets are very valuable to us and we look forward to giving travellers more options for a bespoke premium travel experience to Dubai,” said Kenneth Andersen, General Manager, Emirates Holidays Scandinavia. Emirates Holidays, which has been in operation for over 20 years and operates in 38 source markets globally, exclusively supports the Emirates Airline and offers fully inclusive premium leisure packages to Dubai and beyond. The core Emirates Holidays proposition is based around providing exceptional value premium holidays, through close relationships with key supplier partners, as well as delivering a clearly differentiated quality of service and expertise. Emirates Holidays Scandinavia are already established members of the Danish Travel Guarantee Fund and will apply to be part of the Swedish Travel Association and Danish Travel Association. The expansion of its network into Scandinavia will help to support further growth for its flagship destination, Dubai, which expects to receive over 20 million international visitors by 2020 when it hosting Expo 2020.  

Millennium Hotels and Resorts, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Dubai-based Deyaar Development opened Millennium Atria Business Bay that will serve the growing hospitality and tourism sector. Saeed Al Qatami, CEO, Deyaar Development and Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, President, Millennium Hotels and Resorts MEA, attended the ceremony that marked the opening of Deyaar’s first hotel and the 40th hotel operated by Millennium Hotels and Resorts in the Middle East. The 30-storey Millennium Atria Business Bay features 347 studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and duplex apartments. Facilities within the hotel include an all-day dining restaurant, podium terrace with cinema projection, infinity pool on the 25th floor, gymnasium and kids’ club. Every unit in Millennium Atria Business Bay has a characteristic personality and flair, with a key focus on urban elegance paired with the latest smart technology. Saeed Al Qatami, CEO, Deyaar Development said, “With close to two decades of experience in creating unique, culturally-appropriate residential and commercial properties, Deyaar has developed a deep understanding of what residents, visitors, and investors look for in property. Deyaar’s vision to expand into exceptional hospitality offerings align with the vision of the UAE’s leadership, as detailed in the UAE National Agenda 2021 – and the time is right, with an estimated 20 million visitors expected to arrive in Dubai for Expo 2020.”