The inaugural Taif Season concluded at the end of August, having attracted more than 2.5 million visitors throughout the month. The season featured more than 70 major events, held in four key areas — Souk Okaz, the Crown Prince’s Camel Festival, the Village of Roses, and the Al-Baid Masters section, which featured mountain hiking. The season also featured numerous other events, including a shopping festival, a ‘marathon of colours’ and many more. The events reflected different elements of the city of Taif, with the Souk Okaz being presented with a completely new look this year – aiming to highlight the historical status and cultural depth of Taif, through a range of innovative and creative events. These included Okaz Avenue, a historical market, Knights of Okaz, traditional camel caravans, and the Okaz Boys’ section. The market witnessed a series of interactive theatrical performances, featuring more than 2,000 actors in a variety of traditional costumes. This year, the market also highlighted Taif’s position as an Arab tourism resort, with the participation of 11 Arab countries for the first time in the ‘Arab Quarter.’ The Village of Roses, located in Taif’s famous Al-Radf Park, focused on the region’s abundant natural produce, especially the Taif rose, which is famous around the world. The park also hosted the Adrenaline Games, circus events, and fireworks displays. The Crown Prince’s Camel Festival held under the Taif Season umbrella for the first time featured more than 10,000 animals, and total prize money exceeded 50 million riyals. The Al-Baid Masters events focused on treks in the nearby Al-Hada and Al-Shafa mountains, with a range of supporting activities and contests.

The eighth annual MeetChina event kicked off in the capital on September 2, with two days of intensive meetings taking place at Yas Conference Centre at Yas Island, Abu Dhabi’s entertainment and leisure hub. The forum this year connects more than 100 top-tier Chinese travel buyers with 75 tourism stakeholders from across the UAE with one main purpose – to grow Chinese visitation to the UAE. Since the event was launched in 2011, tourism from China has grown four-fold across the UAE and the country has become Abu Dhabi’s number one international source market. MeetChina enables suppliers to connect with buyers during the event with 90 per cent of attendees re-booking year-on-year. MeetChina is owned and organised by NPI Media which partners with Mini Spider (Beijing) to pre-qualify attendance and ensure the participation of senior level buyers from companies seeking to grow outbound travel business from China to the UAE. The event is hosted by Yas Island and supported by the Department of Culture & Tourism – Abu Dhabi. Buyer attendance at MeetChina represents a broad spectrum of locations in mainland China, including Chengdu, Chongqing, Ningxia, Shenzhen, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou apart from Shanghai and Beijing. Rob Nicholas, Managing Director of NPI Media, said, “The popularity of MeetChina has meant that we had an overwhelming number of applications from buyers to attend this year and could be even more selective than usual to ensure we had not only record attendance, but also the best quality of buyers to introduce to tourism stakeholders in the UAE.” Marina Cipriano, General Manager of Experience Hub, the trade and promotion arm of Yas Island, said, “As one of the world’s fastest growing leisure and entertainment destinations, …

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) has welcomed over 4.5 million passengers during the summer months, demonstrating the airport’s popularity with travellers heading to and leaving Abu Dhabi, as the airport seeks to offer a wide range of attractive routes, smooth operational efficiency and high customer satisfaction. During the summer period, the top five destinations that saw the highest share of traffic through Abu Dhabi International Airport were London, Delhi, Bombay, Cairo and Cochin, which together processed 900,104 passengers between these cities and Abu Dhabi International Airport. During Eid Al Adha period, falling between July 7-17, Abu Dhabi International Airport processed 713,297 passengers arriving, departing and transiting. Commenting on the summer traffic figures, Bryan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “We are delighted to see the growth in the number of passengers travelling through Abu Dhabi International Airport. Many residents in the UAE seek to travel over the summer period to see their family and friends and explore new destinations. We have been delighted to welcome tourists arriving from countries across the world to experience Abu Dhabi and all that the city has to offer.”

Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of Kuwait, has taken delivery of its first A320neo aircraft. The delivery is a milestone in Kuwait Airways’ 65th anniversary celebrations, marking an important step in the airline’s ambitious fleet renewal and growth plans, which will phase-in 15 A320neo aircraft to its fleet in the coming years, following a purchase agreement signed in 2014. The A320neo will be a pillar of Kuwait Airways’ single aisle fleet, bringing continuity to the success delivered by its current 7 A320ceos, and ensuring a smooth transition for pilots, crews, and technical teams. The A320neo will boost the airline’s profitability with the world’s most advanced and fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft. Kuwait Airways’ new A320neo is powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines and is configured in a spacious two-class layout, including 12 Business Class and 122 Economy Class seats. The aircraft offers the widest single-aisle cabin in the market with unmatched comfort in all classes. It also provides the latest inflight entertainment technology. The A320neo and its derivatives are the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family with over 6,600 orders from more than 100 customers all over the world. It has pioneered and incorporated the latest technologies, including an industry reference cabin and latest generation engines, delivering 20 per cent fuel savings per seat. Further to lower emissions, the A320neo also offers additional environmental benefits with nearly a 50 per cent reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generation aircraft.