Tag Archives: Beijing

A tourism delegation led by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) visited three major cities in China this month, to help raise awareness about the emirate as a holiday destination for Chinese travellers. The delegation, which included Etihad Airways, hotels, tour operators and attractions, first visited capital city Beijing, followed by Nanjing and finally Guangzhou, for its annual roadshow. China is now the leading overseas source market for Abu Dhabi hotel guests, with the latest figures revealing a 40.9 per cent increase, year-to-date, from visitors from China compared to 2017. In the first two months of 2018, 86,400 Chinese visited the emirate, with February alone accounting for an impressive 83.6 per cent increase. The Department is targeting 600,000 Chinese hotel guests a year by 2021. DCT Abu Dhabi has been spearheading a number of delegations visiting the Chinese market on roadshows and promotional exhibitions. Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions and Overseas Offices, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “With a diverse range of leisure, entertainment options, high-quality hotels and shopping malls, Abu Dhabi will continue to position itself as an attractive destination for Chinese travellers. Moving forward, we will continue to promote Abu Dhabi’s unique offerings focused on presenting the best culturally-enriching experiences to our Chinese visitors who are seeking to experience new cultures.”

Etihad Airways and China Southern Airlines have announced a new codeshare partnership, taking the number of codeshare agreements signed by the Abu Dhabi based airline to 53. Under the new agreement, China Southern Airlines will put its ‘CZ’ code on Etihad Airways’ daily services between Beijing (PEK)/Shanghai (PVG)/Chengdu (CTU) and Abu Dhabi. The codeshare partnership will give China Southern guests the opportunity to book codeshare flights to and from Abu Dhabi, and connect on to Etihad’s network of over 100 destinations worldwide. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways’ Executive Vice President Commercial, said, “With this partnership, either airline can use its strengths to benefit the other and offer more choices, with enhanced connectivity, to all the guests, alongside world-class services and products offered by both the airlines.”

Effective from July 1 2017, Emirates will provide an all-A380 service on its Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) services when it upgrades the second daily flights, EK308/EK309 on its PEK route and EK304/305 on its PVG route, replacing the current Boeing 777-300ER operations. The move will increase capacity to both Beijing and Shanghai, offering Emirates passengers even more seamless A380-to-A380 connections between the two Chinese cities and over 30 international points, including 18 points in the UK and Europe, via its hub in Dubai. This upgrade strengthens Emirates’ overall mainland China offering, which also includes services to Guangzhou, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou. The additional seats on the routes will support more business and leisure travel departing from and arriving in China, while offering passengers an exceptional global travel experience. The popular Emirates A380, which offers up to 519 seats in a three class configuration on Chinese routes, now flies to seven North Asian cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul in South Korea and Narita, Japan.

For the second year in a row, the Ministry of Economy is organizing a promotional roadshow under the slogan ‘Visit UAE’ in the People’s Republic of China from March 27 to 28, 2017 in Shanghai and Beijing to showcase the UAE’s world-class tourism destinations. The delegation will be headed by H.E. Mohammed Khamis Al Mheiri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy and Advisor to the Minister for Tourism Affairs. Accompanying him are H.E. Abdullah Saleh Al Hammadi, Director of the Ministry of Tourism’s Tourism Department, representatives of tourism agencies in the UAE, hotel and tourism and travel companies. H.E. Al Mheiri said that the latest edition of the roadshow aims to attract more Chinese tourists to the UAE and represents collective nationwide efforts organized by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with relevant bodies and departments to highlight the country’s diverse tourist destinations, attractions, and distinctive and innovative services awaiting tourists. The Undersecretary pointed out that the UAE’s tourism sector is growing rapidly thanks to the full support of the wise leadership. He also noted the continuous development of industry-enhancing infrastructure and sustained investments in innovative tourism facilities and services as well as the diversity of tourism options offered by the different emirates to foreign tourists. H.E. emphasized that the participation in and organization of events abroad are of great importance in enriching the image of UAE tourism among foreign visitors as well as introducing special advantages and incentives offered by the sector to different countries. He added they help secure a greater share of the global tourism and travel markets. H.E. Al Muhairi pointed out that China is a priority tourism market for the UAE due to its great …

A code-share agreement between Ethiopian and Air Namibia covers thrice weekly services to Windhoek and the services of both airlines beyond their respective hubs. Under the agreement, ET will place its code on SW flights from Windhoek to Gaborone, Luanda, Victoria Falls, and Cape Town, while SW will place its code on ET flights between Addis Ababa and Windhoek, Beijing, Lagos, Los Angeles, and São Paulo. Ethiopian Airlines operates the youngest fleet in the continent with an average age of less than five years.  The airline currently serves more than 90 global destinations across five continents with over 240 daily departures. Girma Shiferaw, Acting Vice President, Strategic Planning and Alliances said, “We are glad to partner with Air Namibia. It is my sincere belief that such strategic collaboration among African airlines is one of the necessities to see African aviation thrive and grow faster in line with the economic development of the continent. Now, customers of Air Namibia will enjoy seamless connection on Ethiopian ever expanding global network across five continents with a minimum layover in Addis Ababa; conversely, our passengers will be able to access destinations beyond Windhoek on Air Namibia flights.” Acting Managing Director, Advocate Ellaine Priscilla Samson said, “We are very pleased with the signing of the codeshare agreement with Ethiopia Airlines, an airline which achieved amazing accomplishments in the global arena. This will be an opportunity for the liberalization of intra-Africa air transport in furtherance of the Yamoussoukro Decision as two African carriers. In addition, this will assist Air Namibia to expand its network via the global reach and stature of Ethiopia Airlines. Hence the teaming of our two airlines is the consummate endeavor of our …