Majid Al Futtaim and Marriott International have announced the opening of Aloft City Centre Deira, the Aloft brand’s third property in Dubai. Owned and developed by Majid Al Futtaim, Aloft City Centre Deira is situated in the cultural heart of Dubai and is the first hotel in the region to offer movie-themed suites, alongside a VOX Cinemas’ OUTDOOR screen and the Aloft brand’s signature programming. Jalil Mekouar, Chief Executive Officer of Hotels at Majid Al Futtaim – Properties said, “I’m delighted to announce the opening of the Aloft City Centre Deira, which is our 13th hotel in the region. This is a milestone moment for Majid Al Futtaim as we integrate our VOX Cinemas brand into one of our hotels for the first time. This concept will provide a completely new offering within Dubai’s hospitality sector and will see us create even more authentic and personalised experiences that will delight guests in our home market. Aloft City Centre Deira is testament to our unique integrated destination offering, that brings together our award-winning hospitality, shopping, leisure and entertainment lifestyle excellences to create memorable experiences for our guests.” Aloft City Centre Deira delivers a fresh approach from the traditional hotel landscape with its emphasis on a lively, in-hotel social scene, modern design, innovative music programming, and thoughtful technology incorporated to enhance guest experience.

Emirates will start a third daily service between Moscow’s Domodedovo (DME) Airport and Dubai, commencing on October 25, 2018. Emirates has been serving the Russian market since 2003. Demand for travel has grown significantly over recent years, leading to the airline’s launch of third flight to Moscow. The new service will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three class cabin configuration, with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy. This service will cater for leisure and business passengers, providing daily links for international tourism and trade opportunities both inbound and outbound. The flight EK174 will depart Domodedovo at 1040hrs and arrive in Dubai at 1655hrs, while the return flight EK173 will depart Dubai at 0330hrs and arrive in Moscow at 0750hrs. The new flight allows for seamless connectivity to Moscow from several popular destinations in Emirates’ and flydubai’s combined route network, including Bali, Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Kathmandu, Kuala Lumpur, Maldives, Mauritius and Singapore. The new Emirates flight from Domodedovo airport is also timed to connect conveniently with a wide network of domestic flights operated by Emirates codeshare partner in Russia – S7 Airlines. Emirates’ commitment to Moscow Domodedovo airport is backed by airport’s investment in improving the infrastructure for the passengers.

Dubai Airports and Dubai Cares announced a record result from the first year of their three-year partnership raising AED 1,505,329 in support of Dubai Cares’ Education in Emergencies programmes which offer support to children affected by conflict and natural disasters in countries like Lebanon, Iraq and Nepal, thus enabling them catch up with their education. “Last year we vowed to double our annual contribution from 640,000 AED to 1.3 million AED and are thrilled to have surpassed that goal,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. “We’re grateful to our customers for their generous donations and to Dubai Cares for their tireless efforts to direct these funds towards supporting thousands of children and young people who currently don’t have access to quality education.” His Excellency Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares said, “We are honoured to have partnered with Dubai Airports and are happy to witness such tremendous success in the first year. The generous contribution by travellers through the airport and visitors to Dubai Airports’ website will certainly help us expand the scope of our efforts to reach children and young people in developing countries, especially those affected by conflict, epidemics and natural disasters. With the continuous involvement and commitment of farsighted organisations such as Dubai Airports, we will continue to make successful advances in shaping the global education agenda.”

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced details of both the upcoming Eid Fest celebrations and the annual Abu Dhabi Summer Season; two marquee events for the emirate which aim to attract more overseas visitors to the UAE capital and to thrill and delight all-comers. Both events have been geared to provide both visitors and residents, especially families and bargain hunters, with something to get excited about, with sought-after experiences and fantastic promotional deals for all – making Abu Dhabi the place to be this summer. The celebrations get off to a spectacular start with a 24-hour mall mega sale, featuring discounts of up to 90 per cent, as part of Eid Fest celebrations. With more than 500 stores involved, the sale will kick off on Friday, June 15 and run until Saturday, June 16th in a bid to bring families and friends to Abu Dhabi. HE Sultan Al Mutawa Al Dhaheri, Executive Director of the Tourism Sector at DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “The Eid Fest celebrations and Abu Dhabi Summer Season are annual anchor activations that aim to underpin the Emirate’s credentials as a destination of distinction during the summer, especially for families looking for unmissable experiences and offers. It forms part of our long-term strategy to incentivise the private sector and tourism industry and get them involved in event development while building both regional and international awareness of the emirate’s appeal.”

The Hotel Galleria, part of the Elaf Group has become the biggest hotel to be directly connected to a mall in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and one of the few hotels that combine architectural splendor with high-end services. With 364 rooms, the Hotel Galleria, which is inspired by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan, Italy, offers a range of world-class services and modern facilities for its guests. The hotel is directly connected to the mall which hosts a range of world-class luxury brands, providing guests with an exceptional experience according to the highest standards. The hotel offers facilities for business meetings, events, and luxurious banquets, an executive lounge, and other recreational amenities such as fully equipped health club and spa, and fine dining restaurants such as The Kitchen, El-Vaquero, The Birdcage, Milano, and Aqua. Ziyad Bin Mahfouz, CEO, Elaf Group, said, “We are proud to have opened the biggest hotel connected to a mall in Saudi Arabia, which serves as a new addition to our journey of success and excellence. This achievement comes in line with the Group’s strategy to promote the Kingdom’s tourism and hospitality, while providing the needed impetus to our expansion plans aimed at strengthening the Group’s strong market presence. The hotel has a sophisticated design that combines the magnificence and aesthetics of Italian architecture.”

Royal Jordanian has launched direct, scheduled Amman-Copenhagen flights which will give the airline a strong presence in the Scandinavian market and enhance tourism from the Nordic countries to Jordan. The new route, launched after having conducted a feasibility study, is expected to attract more tourists to Jordan, facilitate travel for businessmen, and enhance trade between Jordan and the Scandinavian market.  A delegation of representatives from Royal Jordanian, Jordan Tourism Board and Jordanian travel agents were on the inaugural flight to Copenhagen. RJ organised meetings with Danish and Scandinavian travel agents to agree on joint collaboration and enhance tourism between Jordan and Denmark, and other Northern European countries by taking advantage of the flights RJ is now offering. RJ carried out several sales promotions over the past months, and will continue to do so, in a bid to attract travelers and tourists from Denmark to Jordan. The promotional activities in Denmark focus on highlighting Jordan’s tourist, archaeological and natural sites, in addition to the security and stability the country enjoys. RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler said, “RJ will continue to review its network and look for new markets to better enhance traffic and connect Jordan to the world, in line with our vision and strategy to be the airline of choice from/to the Levant.” Royal Jordanian will operate the three weekly flights with Airbus 320 family planes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Etihad Airways will operate the Airbus A380 on its second daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Paris Charles de Gaulle from October 1, 2018. This will transform the airline’s operation between the UAE and French capitals into a year-round all-A380 service, joining London Heathrow as the second European destination. The introduction of the aircraft on the second daily service will provide business and leisure travellers between both cities with more options to experience Etihad’s latest award-winning cabins and products. The airline has operated the A380 between Abu Dhabi and Paris on one of its two daily flights since July 1, 2017. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer said, “Paris has always been a very special destination on the Etihad network and the number of visitors from France to Abu Dhabi, and vice versa has continued to show significant growth. The route has never been more in demand. We have seized the opportunity to place our flagship Airbus A380 on our second daily flight, following the great reception the aircraft has received from our guests, and to ensure we offer product consistency on the route. This will also allow us to significantly increase the number of leisure and premium seats available, providing more options for those wanting to travel point-to-point between Abu Dhabi and Paris, two capitals now also united by Louvre museums, or to connect via our Abu Dhabi hub to points all over the Middle East, Asia and Australia.”

Sri Lankan Airlines have launched a new ‘Corporate Policy on the Carriage of Fauna & Flora on board Sri Lankan Aircraft’ to strengthen its numerous initiatives on species smuggling. The policy reaffirms Sri Lankan’s resolve to follow established international conservation practices, including a total ban on transporting of wild game hunting trophies and any part of a species listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES); ban on transporting non-human primates destined for laboratories or laboratory suppliers; and the strict adherence to national regulations and applicable best practices in relation to proper documentation and approvals of regulatory authorities. Captain Suren Ratwatte, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, said, “We believe that the launch of this policy will send a strong message to species smugglers, that we will not tolerate any activities that are unethical or endanger the survival of any species. It is important that we as a National Airline, reaffirm our commitment to conservation and strengthen our policies and procedures.” Pradeepa Kekulawala, Convener of SriLankan Airlines’ Green Initiatives and Head of Human Resources, said, “Our new Corporate Policy was formulated after much research on global trends in conservation, and a resolve to stay in the forefront of the anti-smuggling campaign for which we have gained a sound reputation over the last decade.”

Abu Dhabi Airports has announced that it will be taking part in the 142nd IATA Slots Conference in Vancouver, Canada to open and enhance links within the aviation industry. The company will be joining Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT) and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Set to run from the June 19-21 , IATA Slots Conference is a semi-annual forum that attracts over 1,200 delegates across 75 exhibitors and sponsors, representing 230 airlines, and 75 schedules-facilitated and fully-coordinated airports. The conference provides a comprehensive platform for the allocation of slots among IATA and non-IATA airlines worldwide at fully-coordinated airports and to reach a concord on the schedule adjustments based on the airport capacity limitations. Abu Dhabi Airports’ participation comes as part of its initiative to engage with potential airline partners with comprehensive plans to operate from the Abu Dhabi International Airport or the Al Ain International Airport, and to further discuss expansion opportunities among current airline partners operating in the two airports respectively. Commenting on the announcement, Saoud Al Shamsi, the Acting CCO of Abu Dhabi Airports said, “The IATA Slots Conference serves the key purpose of gathering the world’s aviation community to form strategic partnerships and explore new market opportunities which will in turn promote the country’s travel and tourism industry extensively. We are constantly developing experiential and technological advancements for Abu Dhabi International Airport and Al Ain International Airport to reinforce both airports’ position as key aviation and travel hubs in the region”.

Address Downtown, the flagship hotel under Emaar Hospitality Group’s premium lifestyle Address Hotels and Resorts brand, has opened its doors to hotel guests in Dubai with several innovative features including new restaurant concepts, additional rooms and suites, The Spa and a brand-new interior design. The hotel has 220 guest rooms and suites. Olivier Harnisch, Chief Executive Officer of Emaar Hospitality Group, said, “Address Downtown holds a very special place in the hearts of all discerning travellers and guests. Defined by its central location overlooking Burj Khalifa, the hotel has consistently secured the world’s leading tourism and hospitality awards. With the opening of Address Downtown, Emaar is bringing to life a crowning glory in its hotel assets. Working with world-leading designers and consultants, the all-new Address Downtown ushers in an exceptional lifestyle choice and set new standards in luxury hospitality. The hotel will continue to uphold its distinctive positioning of ‘where life happens’.” Towering high at 302 metres in 63 levels, Address Downtown is one of the world’s foremost references for luxury hospitality, only 15 minutes from the Dubai International Airport. Set in the heart of Downtown Dubai, the hotel is in walking distance of The Dubai Mall and directly overlooks Burj Khalifa. Guests have uninterrupted views of The Dubai Fountain, the world’s tallest water-music spectacle.