In its first biannual city briefing event of the year, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) highlighted its strategic framework, activities and campaigns in line with the Tourism Vision for 2020. Hosted for hotel establishments, destination management companies, event organisers, tourism attractions and government departments, the event was held at the Conrad Dubai with approximately 1,000 attendees. Keynote speeches at the latest briefing led by His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director-General, Dubai Tourism, provided valuable insights into the growth drivers behind Dubai’s record year-to-date international visitation, providing stakeholders with an in-depth analysis of the city’s visitor demographics and visitor satisfaction results from the annual Dubai Visitor Survey. Key successes and learnings from international marketing and business campaigns were also discussed. In addition, these keynotes covered the significance of Dubai’s robust calendar of retail and festival events spearheaded by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), and Dubai College of Tourism’s first-of-its-kind multi-disciplinary educational platform for the region. Both of these are key elements of the future outlook for tourism in Dubai and set to transform the city’s fast-evolving industry and the overall visitor experience. Another keynote was delivered by Manal Al Bayat, Senior Vice President – Business Development and Integration at Expo 2020 Dubai, who provided crucial insights into what can be expected in the lead up to the event and the legacy it will leave behind.

Introducing 3D seat models on emirates.com, Emirates has becoming the first airline to introduce web virtual reality (VR) technology on its digital platform. The 3D seat model is a visualisation engine that displays an immersive 3D 360 degree view of the interior of the Emirates A380 and the Emirates Boeing 777, giving customers a chance to explore their seats, the spacious cabin and the Emirates onboard product. This new feature available on emirates.com allows users to navigate through the Economy, Business and First Class cabins, as well as the iconic Onboard Lounge and Shower Spa on the Emirates A380 using navigational hotspots. Alex Knigge, Senior Vice President -Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand (Digital), Emirates said, “As we continually invest to provide our customers with an unmatched travel experience onboard and on the ground, we also work very hard to give our customers a world-class digital experience. We are pleased to be the world’s first airline to introduce this cutting-edge web VR technology.” The high-quality 3D generated graphics offer an outstanding render that is close to reality. Customers accessing emirates.com via their mobile devices or the Emirates app for iOS and Android will also be able to explore their seats before checking in online with the 3D seat map.

The number of hotel guests staying in Abu Dhabi increased by 4.9 per cent during the first five months of 2018 compared to the same period last year. According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), 162 hotels, resorts and hotel apartments offering 31,236 rooms across the emirate welcomed 2,073,586 guests during January to May. The occupancy rate has averaged 75 per cent during the same period, with a 1.4 per cent increase, while the average length of stay was 2.7 nights, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, with China topping the number of visitors, recording 192,500 visitors, an increase of 19.9 per cent. India came in second with 166,700 guests and a 22.2 per cent increase, followed by the UK with 119,900 amounting to a 12.7 per cent increase, the United States with 82,300 guests and a 25.7 per cent increase, and Germany with 71,300 guests at a 20 per cent increase. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “These results demonstrate steady growth and prove Abu Dhabi’s ability to realise its strategic goals of positioning the emirate as a leading global destination through forward-looking marketing and promotional campaigns that seek to sustain growth.” While the Abu Dhabi Summer Season will run until August 18, the second half of 2018 will witness prominent events such as the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Art in November, and the Abu Dhabi Food Festival in December.

The UK’s Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) annual conference is set to be held in Ras Al Khaimah from November 22-25, 2018. Derek Moore, Chairman, AITO comments, “We’re thrilled to have been invited by the Ras Al Khaimah Tourist Development Authority (RAKTDA). It is particularly exciting for AITO members to visit such a fascinating destination that is on the cusp of change in terms of tourism. We are also pleased to be flying with Emirates to the conference – its vast network of airports in the UK will make travel to Ras Al Khaimah so convenient for our members who are spread across the country.” Gemma Antrobus, Chair, AITO Specialist Travel Agents, said, “This is a destination with enormous potential for AITO Specialist Travel Agents who are always on the look-out for something different. Ras Al Khaimah offers the perfect balance of beach, activity, history and culture, providing the variety that many of our discerning clients seek and that AITO agents enjoy selling!”

Taking two new Airbus A320 aircraft deliveries, Air Arabia has brought its total operating fleet to 53. The latest Airbus A320 arrived on schedule from the Airbus facility in Toulouse, France, marking the completion of all deliveries this year. The new A320 aircraft have gone straight into service across the airline’s over 150 destination networks served from the main carrier hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. Air Arabia added 12 new routes from its hubs in the first half of 2018. The next delivery will be Air Arabia’s first A321neo LR to join the fleet early next year. Adding the A321 to the fleet will enable the low-cost carrier to extend its fleet reach and therefore, enter new markets as well as better serve existing high-density routes. Adel Al Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia, said, “The delivery of our last two aircraft for 2018 marks a significant step in the development of our fleet expansion strategy, especially as we added 12 new routes this year. We are proud to have created one of the industry’s most modern fleets through exceptional organic growth which helped us offer customers a wider range of destinations at great value.”

In an effort to launch a scheduled A380 service to Pakistan, Emirates will deploy a one-off A380 to Islamabad on July 8. The airline’s iconic double-decker will make its inaugural arrival in Islamabad on a special flight EK2524/EK2525. The A380 flight will depart Dubai on July 8 at 08:00 hrs and arrive in Islamabad at 12:10 hrs. The flight will depart Islamabad at 15:40 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 17:45 hrs on the same day. “We are proud to bring our flagship A380 aircraft to Islamabad, and we look forward to showcasing our innovative products on-board this iconic aircraft with the signature Emirates service. While this is a special flight, we are very keen to launch a scheduled A380 service to Pakistan and will continue to work with authorities to realise these plans,” said Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President – Commercial Operations Centre, Emirates. The Emirates A380 aircraft on this special one-off service will be in a two-class configuration offering spacious seats in Economy Class and fully flat-bed seats in Business Class as well as Emirates’ popular Onboard Lounge. Passengers in all classes enjoy free Wi-Fi to stay in touch with family and friends and Emirates’ multi-award winning ‘ice’ inflight entertainment with up to 3,500 channels of movies, TV programmes, music and podcasts on the industry’s biggest personal screens in each class of travel.

flydubai has announced that Emirates Skywards will now become the loyalty programme for both the airlines. The partnership, announced in July last year, goes beyond code-sharing to a number of initiatives spanning commercial, network planning, airport operations, customer journey. From August 1, 2018, OPEN members will be enrolled into Emirates Skywards to continue to be rewarded when travelling with flydubai. Members will be able to earn both Skywards Miles and Tier Miles every time they fly with Emirates or flydubai, enhancing collection and spending opportunities. During July, OPEN Gold members and Emirates Skywards Silver members and above, who are also OPEN members, can convert their OPEN reward points to Skywards Miles (2 OPEN reward points = 1 Skywards Mile). OPEN reward points held in existing accounts can be redeemed until July 31, 2018 for future flights with flydubai. Since the launch, more than 650,000 passengers have benefitted from the Emirates and flydubai partnership. The seamless approach to travel committed to by both airlines is further cemented with this collaboration, passing on the benefits to passengers who now have the choice to travel to over 200 unique destinations on the combined network of both airlines.

The Merchant House in Manama, Bahrain, is set to open doors in September this year. Located next to the vibrant Bab el-Bahrain Souk, the hotel development comes at an exciting time as the surrounding area is currently being regenerated, re-establishing the prominence of the old Souk and original heart of Manama. The Merchant House will be an all-suite boutique hotel with 47 suites in total, each featuring an open plan kitchen and dining area, as well as open plan sitting rooms which have been designed to be ideal for both business and leisure. As with all Campbell Gray Hotels, artwork will be a prominent feature of the interior design and Gordon Campbell Gray has, over the past year, been putting together an exciting art collection comprising of well-established Bahraini artists as well as new and upcoming young talent from both Bahrain and the region. The design is, as with all Campbell Gray Hotels, completely original and has been created specifically for The Merchant House. The rooftop – another Campbell Gray speciality – is where you will find the main restaurant and the bar with options to eat indoors or outdoors. Commenting on the project, Gordon Campbell Gray, Founder, Campbell Gray Hotels said, “We are so looking forward to bringing our special brand of hospitality to Bahrain this year with the opening of The Merchant House in Manama. We are confident that with its central location, beautiful facilities and comfortable all-suite accommodation, it will be rather special, and we are eager to welcome our first guests through the door.”

The Embassy of Ireland in Abu Dhabi has opened UAE’s first external visa application centre in partnership with VFS Global. All non-UAE Nationals who are based in the UAE and require a visa to enter Ireland will no longer need to visit the Embassy. They should instead route their visa applications through VFS Global’s centre located in downtown Abu Dhabi. H E Paul Kavanagh, Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE, said, “The new external visa application centre will provide an excellent streamlined service for non-UAE Nationals who are based in the UAE and who require a visa in order to enter Ireland.” UAE Nationals wishing to visit Ireland are exempt from all visa requirements. The Ireland visa application centre in the UAE is the third outsourced processing centre of Ireland in the GCC region in partnership with VFS Global, which now operates such centres for Ireland in 15 countries across the world. The VFS Global visa application centre for Ireland in Abu Dhabi is located at Level 25, Shining Tower on Mubarak bin Mohammed Street next to Khalidiyah Mall. Visa applicants based in the UAE can direct their queries to the call centre number +971 4 2055910 or communicate with the centre via email at info.irelandUAE@vfshelpline.com.

Abu Dhabi has been ranked top in a list of cities in Africa and the Middle East in the McKinsey Global Institute’s study ‘Smart Cities: Digital Solutions for a More Livable Future.’ With a rating of 18.4, Abu Dhabi ranked first in the region ahead of Dubai, which was placed second with a rating of 17.3. Covering 50 international cities, the study looked at how cities all over the world use technology to increase the quality of life across a wide range of criteria, including healthcare, security, mobility, economic development and housing. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) said, “In today’s digital age, metropolitan cities in the world over are delivering creative ways in which data is used to reinvent the way their city is perceived, explored, interacted with and how services are delivered. Abu Dhabi ranking number one in the study is testimony to our ongoing efforts to establish the emirate as both a destination of distinction and a highly modern location in which international communities want to work, live and do business.”