Etihad Airways received a special reception at Jeddah’s new Terminal 1. The inaugural flight was operated on Etihad’s Dreamliner with the distinctive Kingdom of Saudi Arabia livery. Etihad Airways flights to Jeddah have relocated from the old terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) to the new terminal (Terminal 1) with effect from November 18. The reception was attended by H.E. Nasir Al Ketbi General Consular of UAE; Essam Fouad, Director General of King Abdulaziz Airport; Captain Fahd Cynndy, CEO of Saudi Ground Services; Yousef Attiah, Director General of Terminal 1, and management from Etihad Airways. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “The introduction of the new terminal in Jeddah and the warm welcome we’ve received is a demonstration of our commitment to the Saudi market and it’s a reflection towards the deep relationship between the UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As Etihad Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines continue to strengthen their partnership, the new terminal will also provide convenient travel options to our customers, boosting the codeshare connectivity on joint services.”

Dubai welcomed 12.08 million international overnight visitors in the first nine months of 2019, according to the latest visitation figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). The strong 4.3 per cent increase in volume growth compared to the same period last year was supported by highly participatory contributions from both traditional and emerging markets, that has continued to capture strong shares of the tourist wallet, further stimulating Dubai’s GDP impact, and the city’s remarkable consistency in transforming itself to respond to global competition. The positive performance, which drew over 1.23 million visitors to the city in September, an above-market average increase of 7.3 per cent over the same month in 2018, coincided with Dubai being ranked the fourth most visited city in the world for the fifth year in a row in Mastercard’s Global Destination Cities Index 2019, a clear indication that Dubai is continuously renewing its attractiveness to remain a leading global destination. Dubai Tourism’s multi-dimensional market-specific strategies and customised campaigns continued to yield tangible results particularly showcasing the city’s ability to reinvent itself and remain ‘top-of mind’ to both new and repeat audiences across regular strongholds – India, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Oman. Together with China that remained the world’s largest tourism volume driver, these five leading feeder countries surpassed the five million threshold for the first nine months of 2019. His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General, Dubai Tourism, said, “With Dubai cementing its ranking as the fourth most visited city in the world, the positive growth achieved in the first three quarters this year is exemplary of the unfailing support and confidence of our leadership – His Highness …

Al Qana developed by Al Barakah International Investment (BII) in Abu Dhabi, revealed ‘The Bridge Wellness Hub’, one of its seven destinations. ‘The Bridge’ is an integrated lifestyle wellness hub that has been carefully designed to be a disruptive space within its industry. The construction of the concept has commenced already and will open its doors for the first time in Q4 2020 to coincide with the grand opening of Al Qana. The uniqueness of ‘The Bridge’ concept comes from a combination of two ideas. One space that bridges all aspects of one’s life, work, play, and personal & physical development. The second idea is the combination of science and art to deliver a superior design-driven intuitive experience, yet grounded in academic research and delivery of real results. With a total space area of over 8000 square meters, ‘The Bridge’ will feature seven unique and seamless service tracks (Move – Pause – Taste – Seek – Choose – Expand – Learn). Fouad Mashal, CEO of Al Barakah International Investment said, “The Bridge is set to become the largest wellness offering in the Middle East. We joined forces to disrupt the market and introduce to Abu Dhabi an innovative concept that aims to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of residents by offering a new lifestyle journey. We are confident that The Bridge and the overall Al Qana project will play a key role in cementing Abu Dhabi’s position as one of the most liveable cities in the world and the ultimate destination for entertainment and wellbeing.” Khalid Nahhas, Founder of The Bridge said, “Our partnership with Al Qana aims to bring to the capital, a lifestyle destination that will …

The Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub drew high interest from fellow participants and visitors from all over the world at Dubai Airshow 2019. The Aerospace Hub joined the exhibition to highlight its unique edge and features that are vital to the steadily rising aviation industries in Dubai and the UAE. It also showcased its top-notch services and facilities, including a wide range of world-class soft and hard infrastructure to meet the needs of the business aviation and aerospace industry. The capacity of business aviation facilities within MBR Aerospace Hub, which currently handles more than 70 per cent of private jet movements in Dubai, is expected to increase the completion of the new aircraft hangers in 2021. Through MBR Aerospace Hub, industry players and operators will have access to key regional and global markets. Tahnoon Saif, CEO, MBR Aerospace Hub, said, “MBR Aerospace Hub is a global aerospace facility with a fully dedicated commercial strip. At Dubai Airshow, interest in the aerospace hub and its offerings is high. Many visitors are coming to our stand daily to engage with our team and learn more about our value proposition.” The MBR Aerospace Supply Chain Zone with dedicated Supply Chain Building and Suppliers Complex is being built to provide a range of aviation-related services. As one of the leading exhibitors from the UAE this year, MBR Aerospace Hub also highlights how it is creating an ideal and integrated environment with free zone status for the industry.

Saudi Arabia’s first low-cost airline, flynas has signed a firm order for 10 A321XLRs at Dubai Airshow 2019. The agreement was signed by Bandar Almohanna, Chief Executive Officer, flynas and Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer, Airbus. In 2016, flynas signed an agreement for 80 A320neo Family and currently operates a fleet of 27 A320ceos and 4 A320neos. In 2018, the airline transported more than 6.6 million passengers on 60,000 domestic and international flights. The airline is currently operating over 1,200 flights weekly to 17 domestic destinations and 53 international destinations. The A321XLR is the next evolutionary step from the A321LR which responds to market needs for even more range and payload, creating more value for the airlines. The aircraft will deliver an unprecedented Xtra Long Range of up to 4,700 nm with 30 per cent lower fuel consumption per seat, compared with previous-generation competitor jets. At the end of October 2019, the A320neo Family had accumulated more than 7,000 firm orders from over 110 customers worldwide.

Dubai showcased its diverse business events offerings and capabilities at IBTM World in Barcelona held on November 19-21, 2019. Dubai Business Events (DBE) is once again leading Dubai’s strong presence at the trade show, joined by key partners and stakeholders as they collectively continue to grow the city’s business events sector, a key contributor to tourism and the wider economy. IBTM World has welcomed over 13,000 industry professionals, providing a business platform to promote Dubai’s qualities as a host city for meetings, conferences, and corporate incentive travel programmes during one of the largest trade events globally. Among the co-exhibitors joining DBE at IBTM World are Expo 2020 Dubai, showcasing the opportunities for meeting planners to host their events at the site or include visits into their itineraries, as well as 20 other key partners and co-exhibitors including Jumeirah Group, Dubai World Trade Centre and Nakheel, presenting the city’s world-class infrastructure and event capabilities across a variety of industries including hospitality, attractions and venues. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said, “Our robust presence at IBTM World, along with valued stakeholders and partners from across the city, is testament to the level of importance we place on promoting the city’s business events offering, and the crucial role this segment plays in our wider tourism strategy. DBE will continue to engage with business events professionals from around the globe to highlight the city’s capabilities in hosting business events of all sizes, and to put the spotlight on opportunities for knowledge sharing.”

The Republic of Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs and VFS Global have signed a contract to ease the passport renewal process for Philippine nationals living in the UAE. Brigido Dulay, Undersecretary Consular & Civilian Security Concerns and Chris Dix, Head of Business Development, VFS Global signed the contract witnessed by Hon. Teodoro L. Locsin, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines and Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO, South Asia, Americas, Middle East & North Africa, VFS Global and inaugurated the first such passport renewal centre in Dubai, UAE, in a formal ceremony today. Prior to this, Philippine residents in the UAE had to visit the Philippines Consulate in Dubai or the Embassy in Abu Dhabi for passport renewal. However, with the opening of the new ePassport Renewal Centre, customers will have an additional avenue to complete the process. This is the first time The Republic of Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs has outsourced its passport renewal process. Under the contract signed, the rollout of the Dubai centre will be followed by similar centres in Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2020. Outsourcing the process to VFS Global gives the government a trusted partner, with established infrastructure and expertise in the field. VFS Global already operates 87 centres providing passport and consular Services to 5 Governments in 27 countries worldwide. Vinay Malhotra, Regional Group COO, South Asia, Americas, Middle East & North Africa, VFS Global said, “We would like to thank The Republic of Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs for their faith in us. Our passport and consular services have been growing to strength and we look forward to bringing those best in class services to the Philippines …

The standard of digital experiences offered by airlines, hotels and travel agents now carries significant influence over the booking decisions of young travellers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the findings of Travelport’s Global Digital Traveler Research 2019, which surveyed 23000 people from 20 countries. Three-quarters of millennial travellers in the UAE now actively consider whether an airline (77%) or hotel (76%) offers a good digital experience when making a booking. Half (51%) also get frustrated when booking information isn’t available round-the-clock on mobile devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches. Kathryn Wallington, Head of Account Management, United Arab Emirates, at Travelport, said, “Demand for high-quality digital experiences is now exceptionally high among millennial travellers in the UAE. Today, a good digital experience should really be delivered as standard and differentiation should be sought through excellence.” According to the Travelport’s study, when researching a trip, nearly all millennial travellers in the UAE (93%) have now reviewed videos and photos posted by travel brands on social media and one third (34%) ‘nearly always’ do this. When booking a flight online, two fifths (42%) of millennial travels in the UAE today want to personalise their experience. It also revealed that three fifths (60%) of UAE millennials want virtual reality experiences to help them plan their trips in a better way. Other findings include how two thirds (69%) of millennial travellers in the UAE have used voice search to help them manage travel, with one quarter (22%) ‘nearly always’ using the technology for this.  

Emirates announced the signing of a full purchase agreement for 30 Boeing 787-9 aircraft, worth US$ 8.8 billion at list prices, at Dubai Airshow 2019. Under its agreement with Boeing, Emirates has exercised its right to substitute the B777x with B787s. This deal includes Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with deliveries commencing in May 2023 and continuing for the next five years. For the B777x, Emirates will enter into discussions with Boeing over the next few weeks on the status of deliveries, taking Emirates’ total order with Boeing to 126 aircraft. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman & Chief Executive signed the agreement with Stanley Deal, President and Chief Executive Officer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The latest US$ 16 billion Airbus A350 order takes the total value of Emirates’ firm aircraft commitments at the 2019 Dubai Airshow to US$ 24.8 billion. HH Sheikh Ahmed said, “This is an important investment and addition to our future fleet and network requirements, providing us with the agility, flexibility, and spread of seat segments when it comes to the overall capacity to serve a range of destinations as we develop and grow our global route network. Our Boeing fleet is the key to our business model to serve international demand for travel to and through our Dubai hub, as we continue to contribute to the UAE’s strategy to become a global destination for business and tourism by providing high-quality air connectivity.”

Hala China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shaanxi Tourism Group which will allow both parties to explore future collaborations on a range of tourism initiatives to drive two-way travel between Dubai and Shaanxi. The agreement marks another notch in the ever-deepening and productive bilateral relationship between China and the UAE, owing to Hala China’s efforts. It was signed at China (Shaanxi)-UAE Economic and Trade Conference, held on November 11, 2019, in Dubai. According to the terms of the MoU, both parties aim to “vigorously support and promote tourism and culture interexchange activities” in Dubai and Shaanxi while intensifying “cooperation between local travel agencies and travel organisations” to launch various tourism popularisation activities. China (Shaanxi)-UAE Economic and Trade Conference drew the participation of a host of high-level delegates and executives from the UAE and Shaanxi, including Jin Lei, Counsellor of the Economic and Commercial Department of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Dubai; Zhao Xiaoming, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shaanxi Provincial Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee and Director of the General Office of the Shaanxi Provincial CPC Committee; Yao Hongjuan,  Director  of  the  Foreign  Affairs Office of the Shaanxi Provincial  People’s Government; and Xue Hua, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Shaanxi Sub-council. Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hala China, said, “We are excited to work together with our partners from Shaanxi as we look to strengthen the exchange and cooperation in the fields of logistics, tourism, aviation and investment between Shaanxi and the UAE. Long considered one of the cradles of Chinese civilisation and one of the important locations on …