Jet Airways has launched a fourth daily service from Dubai to Delhi, and has also rescheduled the flight to Mangalore from Dubai. The new schedule provides a more convenient night flight, arriving early in the morning in Mangalore. Shakir Kantawala, Vice President, Gulf, Middle East and Africa, Jet Airways, said, “The new service will further enhance the strong economic ties between the UAE and India and support the increase in demand for tourism for both the cities. The new flight timings are also of interest for business travellers, who now have the convenience of day return flights. We look forward to providing greater convenience and choice to our guests travelling to Delhi.”

One of the most important MiCE events in the emirate of Sharjah, this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) opened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah. Now in its 37th year, the fair has attracted visitors from across the globe and is considered as the second-largest book fair in the world. This edition will be hosting more than 20 million books from 1.6 million titles, 80,000 of which are new titles, and 1,874 publishing houses from 77 countries. The event will be curating 1800 events and featuring 472 guests from around the world with 200 book signing ceremonies for authors from 19 countries. Japan is the Guest of Honour at this year’s edition in celebration of its cultural and creative achievements. SIBF will be organising more than 100 activities comprising 13 Japanese authors and creative artists. The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) announced the launch of its interactive blog during its participation at the SIBF, with an aim to encourage visitors and residents of Sharjah to share their positive experiences in the emirate. The blog provides an ideal platform to share memorable experiences of visits to the emirate’s tourism and entertainment sites. In a move to better engage audiences, SCTDA’s blog will run a contest encouraging participants to write articles on their views and personal experiences about Sharjah in 300 to 400 words. Participants must focus on one of the three main categories – Culture and Heritage; Food and Street Food and Adventures and submissions, and it can include photos and a video. The participants should submit their entries through the official website www.visitsharjah.com for …

Sharjah international book fair has opened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah. Guests were quite intrigued with an emotional message of heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to recognise the towering contributions of his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson, Supreme Council of Family Affairs (SCFA), and presented her the ‘Sharjah Coronet’ for dedicated services to society. Now in its 37th year, the fair has attracted visitors from across the globe and is considered as the second largest book fair in the world. This edition will be hosting more than 20 million books from 1.6 million titles, 80,000 of which are new titles, along with 1,874 publishing houses from 77 countries. The event will be curating 1800 events and featuring 472 guests from around the world with 200 book-signing ceremonies for authors from 19 countries. Japan is the Guest of Honour at this year’s edition in celebration of its cultural and creative achievements. On the occasion, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah, said, “I extend a special welcome to Japan, our guest of honour. In 1979, I launched an appeal to stop building concrete structures and build knowledge and culture. In 2019, it’ll be 40 years since the appeal. When we look back, we can see that we have built a 40-year legacy of giving and exceptional cultural achievements. I can never take the sole credit for this; I say ‘we’ have achieved everything together, and I would like to once again thank you all for your contribution to the fair’s 40-year journey and success in …

Global Village has opened its 23rd season in Dubai on October 30, 2018 under the theme ‘Explore, Experience, Enjoy. This Way!’ and runs until April 6, 2019. It has also unveiled an expansive programme of entertainment, events and cultural activities. Global Village provides world-class shopping, unlimited entertainment, tantalising international cuisine, and features a newly-expanded Carnaval funfair area during the 159-day long season that runs from October 30, 2018 to April 6, 2019. Commenting on the occasion, Bader Anwahi, CEO, Global Village, said, “Global Village brings on its 23rd season with a wide range of exciting shows and special features to impress guests. This time, we have enhanced the entire park for greater thrills and a refreshed experience. We enter a world of exploration filled with adventures and fun for families as we host even more exciting events and huge international shows to entertain our guests.” Anwahi added that Global Village has become the most important tourist destination for visitors to the UAE and is a popular destination with residents from all walks of life. Global Village returns this season with 27 new pavilions representing 78 countries with stunning exteriors reflecting the world’s most beautiful landmarks whilst bringing global cultures to guests. The lively atmosphere is enhanced by music, markets, street food and local handicrafts as well as vendors dressed in authentic costumes. Each pavilion showcases its country’s or region’s most beautiful monuments and landmarks with popular markets, authentic products, heritage corners and cultural performances.

Ghaya Grand has announced its participation at WTM in London with a host of new activities to entice the UK market. Speaking about the event, Olwin De Souza, General Manager, Ghaya Grand, stated that a record-breaking number of travellers, totaling 15.79 million flew to Dubai last year, with the UK being the third-largest source of tourists. At Ghaya Grand Hotel, UK guests attract the largest number for our luxury serviced apartments, with numbers steadily increasing for short stay guests, checking into our hotel rooms. The UK market, along with other strong European markets, such as the German and Dutch market, contributed to an increase of 15 per cent growth over last year at Ghaya Grand Hotel. While there have been higher visitors from other top source markets such as China and the Middle East, the UK remains one of the most important feeder markets to the hotels in Dubai. De Souza reiterated that at this year’s WTM participation, they hope to meet with their existing and new travel partners to showcase their five-star model at Ghaya Grand Hotel and share their success story. We would like to reach out to partners on our journey of creating memorable experiences for guests; which they like to share with family, friends and other global travellers to Dubai. Our aim is to consolidate relations built with existing agents and interact with new agents and suppliers, to improve the number of visitors coming to Dubai and especially to Ghaya Grand Hotel.”

Dubai International (DXB) saw 7.2 million passengers in September as traffic rose to 67.5 million for the year. Traffic was down slightly (-0.2%) in September due to the Eid Al Adha holidays that fell in September 2017. It was the sixth time this year that DXB’s monthly traffic surpassed the 7 million mark, helping finish off the third quarter with 23.8 million customers, up 1%. A total of 7,197,866 customers were served in September (- 0.2%) and 6 million bags (+1.12%) were passed through the airport’s sophisticated 175 km long baggage system during the month. Smart Gate technology at DXB helps speed customers through immigration while state-of-the-art operations centre leverages real-time information to improve service and efficiency, leading to a reduction of 28% in wait times during September. India remained DXB’s top destination country by customer volume, with total traffic reaching 957,748 during the month. The United Kingdom was the was second with 538,199 customers, followed by Saudi Arabia with 454,929 customers. Other markets of note include Australia (256,848), the US (252,264) and China (208,822). The top three cities were London (329,778), Mumbai (199,829) and New Delhi (170,122). The fastest-growing regions were North America,(up by 15.2%,) Africa (up 10.9%) and CIS growing at 6.8%.

The United Arab Emirates witnesses UAE Flag Day  celebrations on November 1. Bryan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Abu Dhabi Airport’, said, “The celebrations taking place across the nation this Flag Day on November 1 are a manifestation of the unity and cohesion among citizens and residents alike. The flag is a part of the national identity of the UAE; it represents tolerance, belonging, sacrifices made and sovereignty. “Coinciding with the anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President, UAE, Flag Day marks an important date for the country. It is an opportunity to reflect on the achievements and successes of the nation and express our gratitude to the UAE’s visionary leaders.” He added, “By raising the national flag at all of Abu Dhabi Airports’ premises, we are renewing our commitment to national initiatives and implementing the nation’s values on a daily basis. Abu Dhabi Airports has taken our commitment one step further as last month we adopted the values of the nation’s founding father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as our corporate values. The values of wisdom, respect, sustainability and human development have become our compass in everything we do.” Commenting on the occasion, HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), said, “We extend our warmest congratulations and appreciation to HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President, UAE; HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, UAE and Ruler, Dubai; HH Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah, and their highnesses the Supreme Council members and rulers of the emirates. The UAE Flag Day embodies the sovereignty …

Seatrade Maritime Middle East (SMME) 2018 is being organised from October 29-31, 2018 at Dubai World Trade Centre. The event brings together ship owners and managers, port operators and cargo owners, C-Suite stakeholders, financiers, and other maritime professionals for a three-day international exhibition and conference programme. Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, the event is the official maritime exhibition to take place during the UAE Maritime Week 2018. Nearly 300 exhibitors from leading international maritime companies and over 8,000 attendees, including renowned local, regional and global maritime experts and specialists, are expected to join the trade show and its associated events. During the three days, participants are going to network, do business, strengthen and nurture new relationships, while hearing about industry topics within relevant and comprehensive conference sessions, seminars and panel discussions, among others. The topics to be discussed in the scheduled forums will revolve around autonomous shipping and automation, fuels of the future, digital and cyber technologies and environmental challenges within the shipping industry. Participants will also have an opportunity to meet the world’s leading suppliers covering supply, construction, and maintenance of vessels.

The International Government Communication Centre (IGCC) has announced March 20–21, 2019 as the dates for the 8th edition of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) to be held under the theme ‘Behavioural Change Towards Human Development’. Organised by Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), IGCF 2019 will host prominent figures and top officials from around the world, including heads of state and governments, thought leaders, directors of regional and international organisations, representatives of civil society and study and research centres, media personnel and students of mass communication and media. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman, Sharjah Media Council (SMC), highlighted the unique focus of IGCF 2019, saying, “IGCF’s previous editions have successfully strengthened communication structures and tools by shedding light on several issues of importance in the field across nations and governments. The 2019 edition is set to be one of the IGCF’s most specialised. It will be tailor-made to assess the role of government communication in promoting positive behaviour around issues of national interest. Government communication’s mission is to enhance people’s awareness and seeing the larger public interest as part of their own. This can only be achieved when governments use communication to influence personal and social practices in a way that will enable individuals to fully understand their role in the success of national plans.” Local and international communication experts, together with behavioural specialists will come together at IGCF 2019 to deliberate on how to realistically incorporate sociology and human sciences into the development and implementation of successful government communication campaigns.

In its 12th edition, an event is being organised by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in partnership with Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), providing a platform for global tourism practitioners and policy makers to share best practices, analyse and explore opportunities and challenges that will affect the future of sustainable development goals. As part of the event, Haitham Mattar, CEO, RAKTDA, delivered his address on “Sustainable Tourism Development – an overview and vista towards 2030”, where he delved into the key areas of focus and implementations that Ras Al Khaimah is undergoing. Ras Al Khaimah’s journey towards being a sustainable tourism destination was formally communicated in January 2016 – when RAKTDA launched Destination 2019, a detailed tourism strategy for the Emirate which was produced after extensive research and analysis. In partnership with the Waste Management Authority, RAKTDA has put recycling guidelines in place for the Emirate’s hotels, as part of the Emirate-wide initiative to reduce landfill waste by 75 per cent by 2021.