Category Archives: NTO (National Tourist Offices)

A Green Key Workshop was organised by Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority to promote sustainable practices in hospitality sector. Green Key certification will be a priority area for Sharjah in developing the emirate’s hospitality sector and enhancing its position as a leading tourism destination in the region, said His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Addressing a Green Key Workshop organised by the Authority in Sharjah, HE Al Midfa said: “The UN World Tourism Organisation forecasts 1.6 billion tourists by the year 2020. In order to minimise the negative impacts of this growth and harness its power to help make positive change, sustainable tourism must become a reality for all tourism stakeholders.” HE Al Midfa called upon the hospitality industry to enhance awareness among hotel staff for the successful implementation of sustainable practices across the industry. “We must work together to create tools and training to boost sustainable practices and meet the demand for sustainable tourism products and services,” he added.The Green Key Workshop was organised to spread awareness about the most efficient methods of sustainable hospitality and waste and energy management practices in Sharjah. The workshop demonstrated the emirate’s commitment to promoting sustainable tourism and green economic growth. The workshop highlighted the economic and socio-cultural benefits of sustainable practices to the over 50 staff and clients from the tourism and leisure industry. Calling on the industry for efforts to prevent climate change by facilitating sustainable economic growth, the workshop pointed out that responsible energy usage, and waste and resource management will enable the industry to reduce operational costs. The participants were given a step by step approach to engage hoteliers and staff for a …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and Airbnb, the community-driven hospitality company, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help promote responsible hosting and help grow and diversify tourism in the emirate. It follows the introduction of enhanced regulations last month that make obtaining a ‘holiday home’ license more streamlined for individual tenants and homeowners who want to rent their homes to guests.The MoU will bolster collaboration between the two parties and help enhance and diversify the emirate’s holiday home sector, boosting competition through a safe and transparent holiday home segment. Under the agreement, Airbnb will cooperate with Dubai Tourism on preventing breaches of the regulation by informing all host members of the Dubai Tourism regulations via its website and through email reminders of the rules. The two parties will also explore joint marketing and promotional activations for Dubai as a tourism destination. The MoU agreement states Dubai Tourism and Airbnb will work together to help grow and diversify tourism in Dubai, and promote innovative forms of tourism; Airbnb will raise awareness on the positive impacts of the Airbnb community by sharing aggregated, anonymised data about short term rental hosts; Airbnb will help promote responsible sharing of holiday homes by creating a “Hosting Page” on its platform, informing hosts of the rules and linking to official information and Airbnb will send regular reminders to its hosts in Dubai to remind them of the rules around responsible home sharing Airbnb is an increasingly popular way for guests from around the world to experience Dubai by staying with local hosts. There are almost 3,500 Airbnb listings in Dubai. This number and the number of guests choosing Airbnb when …

The Kingdom of Bahrain has launched its new tourism identity under the slogan of ‘Ours. Yours’, a step to further develop the tourism sector as a main contributor to the national economy. The new identity was unveiled by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority to the regional market at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) held in Dubai, United Arab of Emirates. The Kingdom plans to revamp its access points for foreign visitors including the modernisation program for the Bahrain International Airport which will result in increasing the capacity to 14 million visitors annually and port facilities for yachts that arrive in Bahrain from other countries. The tourism sector’s direct contribution to the GDP in the Kingdom of Bahrain is around $700 million – around 3.6 per cent – according to the statistics published for the year 2015, an increase of up to 9 per cent when compared to 2014. It is also expected that the tourism sector revenues will increase to $1 billion by 2020. The industry currently provides more than 31.5 thousand jobs, accounting for 4 per cent of the total workforce in Bahrain. The total investment in the travel and tourism sector in the Kingdom last year amounted to 280 million.

In a bid to boost tourism, during the second half of the year The Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) will embark on a one week roadshow to three European countries starting 16th May 2016. Officials of ATDD headed by HE Faisal Al Nuaimi, General Manager, and Yamina Aoucher, Director of Tourism Development & Marketing Department, will be joined by representatives from Kempinski Ajman, Ajman Saray, and the Ramada Ajman in visiting Prague in the Czech Republic on 16th May, followed by Warsaw in Poland on 18th May and Budapest in Hungary on 20th May. The delegation will meet with potential partners and network with industry stakeholders to present the emirate of Ajman as a safe family, business and leisure destination. The group will highlight the many activities, events, attractions and accommodations that are available in Ajman to both business and leisure travellers from the continent.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (D TCM) unveiled new Desert Tour & Camp Regulations aimed at further elevating the popular Dubai desert experience to best-in-class standards.  As part of the initiative, Dubai Tourism has established quality benchmarks for all desert tour operators, including those managing outdoor, cultural and hospitality activities. Operators will be evaluated on a number of categories including, visitor experience, health and safety, insurance coverage, marketing and advertising as well as transport and logistics. The new Regulations will also focus on the implementation of environmentally sustainable practices. By empowering operators to improve their services and provide detailed information on the activities included in their packages, Dubai Tourism aims to position the Dubai desert tour industry as a safe, authentic and dynamic extension of the destination experience. The new Regulations will come into effect in three months’ time giving the industry a sufficient window to adopt the standards.

The Ministry of Tourism, Oman, has revealed that up to $US 35 billion will be invested in the tourism industry of the Sultanate over the 25 years as officials conclude a hugely successful presence at this year’s Arabian Travel Market. Up to 80 per cent of that investment will come from the private sector as the country plans to double the number of international visitors Oman attracts to five million as part of its new national 2040 Tourism Strategy. Tourism officials, led by Director General of Tourism Promotion Salim Al Mamari, conducted a record number of business and trade meetings during the ATM in Dubai as interest in the country as one of the world’s fastest growing and unique destinations rapidly grows. Al Mamari said: “We have enjoyed a hugely successful Arabian Travel Market and have found unprecedented levels of interest from the tourism industry in seeking new partnerships and initiatives with the Ministry.”