Tag Archives: Dubai

In partnership with Architectural Heritage Society and IQPC the Cultural Tourism Middle East 2016 was held at Al Murooj Rotana. This brought together high level officials from the Tourism, Cultural Development & Antiquities, Heritage & Arts, Cultural Activities, and Architectural Heritage community to showcase their latest developments and discuss ideas and strategies to boost tourism through culture, heritage, arts and festivals. In the opening remarks by Yousuf Lootah, Executive Director, Dubai Tourism Development and Investments, stated that many initiatives are underway to establish Dubai as a cultural hub with the opening of the Dubai Opera and other culturally important and interesting programmes. In order to build towards making Dubai a cultural hub currently steps are being taken by Dubai Tourism to focus on sustainable tourism. Some of the key areas covered at the event included how the region is setting a foundation to support the expected doubling of tourist arrivals over the next few years in light of the economic downturn, The role cultural tourism play in economic  transformation in a mission to diversify economy, the needs to boost cultural and societal awareness, how the region could make use of their cultural assets to improve their tourism performance, and how  cultural tourism strengthens cultural understanding and perception of the Arab world.

The UAE is one step closer to being the world’s first location for a new form of high speed transport system that can enable people to travel from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in 12 minutes, following an agreement signed between Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) and pioneering mobility company, Hyperloop One. Alongside the signing of the RTA agreement, the Hyperloop One team introduced, for the first time ever, a vision that represents a complete transformation in the way that people travel in the 21st century as the engineers, architects and designers from Hyperloop One and BIG have collaborated intensively for six months to produce a wholly original system design for Hyperloop travel. The idea of a Hyperloop – a low-pressure tube through which levitating pods containing both passengers and goods can travel at up to 1,200 km/h – has recently gained attention around the world. Benefits include higher standards of safety than a passenger jet, lower build and maintenance costs than high-speed rail, and energy usage, per person, that is similar to a bicycle. Today the company showcased the first-ever routes from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, several Hyperports (the equivalent of a station or airport) throughout Dubai, and the conceptual interiors and exteriors of the individual passenger pods. The work is based on a detailed study of how an urban and inter-city transport network should integrate with the existing infrastructure. It’s autonomous, point-to-point and vastly simplifies the experience of getting from your front door to your destination.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) hosted the Hospitality Sustainability Board Game, the inaugural activity of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative. Created specifically for the hotel industry, the game, held recently at Media One Hotel, engaged industry professionals from across the city, as they gained insight into Dubai’s commitment to adopting sustainable practices and their role in achieving the goals. Designed by Dubai Tourism in collaboration with Emirates Wildlife Society-WWF, Royal International and Insignia, the game was created as an educational tool for Dubai’s world-class hospitality industry to contribute towards the city’s goal of sustainability. Participants at the event included staff across all aspects of hotel operations, who worked in teams of 2-3 people to measure consumption baselines and identify opportunities to reduce consumption. Speaking at the event, Solaiman Alrifai, Senior Manager, Tourism Development, Dubai Tourism, said that Dubai’s hospitality industry, which recently crossed the 100,000 room threshold, has been a cornerstone of the city’s economy. As they look forward to capacity expansion and increased visitor volumes in the lead-up to 2020 and beyond, it is paramount to implement measures for this industry to reduce consumption and conserve resources. Raising awareness of conservation practices is a key pillar of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism Initiative, making this game a very significant step towards creating ä clear understanding of how powerful hospitality employees are in bringing about change.

Over 50 travel agents and tour operators from Dubai and Sharjah attended the Educational seminar session conducted by Qatar Airways and Orange County. The event took place at Raffles Dubai in association with AVIAREPS the representative for ME region for Orange County. They shared the importance of the destination and the many facilities, language, social etiquette etc to welcome guests from the ME region. Glenn Johnston, Vice President Corporate Communications & Public Relations, GM, UAE/Middle East, AVIAREPS, reiterated key ways to reach out to the clients with the many value added options with the one year partnership with Qatar Airways. They also launched the special privilege e-card for the travel agents and tour operators.

Dubai’s holiday home sector is going from strength to strength, with the latest figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) revealing a total of 1,805 approved units to date, benefitting both homeowners and visitors to Dubai. In the short time since the introduction of updated regulations in May, a total of 109 homeowners submitted applications for a holiday home permit, of which 39 have now been approved, enabling them to enter the market. These join the 78 approved holiday home operators already doing business in Dubai, moving forward, Dubai Tourism anticipates further growth across the sector. To obtain a licence, homeowners must ensure their property meets the required quality, health and safety standards, while also offering all necessary amenities and guest services, as well as insurance coverage and wider community integration. Owners are also accountable for ensuring the property meets all legislative requirements and complaint management policies, and is accurately listed to visitors and sufficiently maintained. This growth is being driven by effective government regulations designed to increase competitiveness, transparency, safety and standardisation, and comes on the back of Dubai Tourism’s decision earlier this year to allow private homeowners to apply for a holiday home permit and start leasing their properties directly.

Key players in Dubai’s tourism industry came together to mark the city’s milestone achievement of reaching 100,000 rooms across its expanding hotel and hotel apartment inventory following the soft opening of The Westin Dubai, Al Habtoor City. In attendance were His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), and Mohammed Khalaf Al Habtoor, Vice Chairman and CEO of Al Habtoor Group, together with Marriott International’s Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director Middle East and Africa, and Guido de Wilde, Chief Operating Officer Middle East. Commenting on the occasion, His Excellency Almarri said that for the hotel sector, high demand from international travellers, and the consequent growth in tourism volumes, has been the cornerstone of fostering continued investment in supply enhancement, which has seen us cross this historic 100,000 rooms threshold. This has been a journey undertaken collaboratively and achieved through the enduring strength of our public and private partnerships that underscore Dubai’s maturing prominence on the world stage.

Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces held a multi-city Sales Mission in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, signifying the company’s interest in expansion in the region. The events were hosted in Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Abu Dhabi. The first leg of the Sales Mission kick started with an evening of networking at the Opera Ballroom at Taj Dubai on September 25th 2016. Hosted by Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, the elegant dinner event had Senior Management from various Taj properties around the globe, key media and select travel partners in attendance. Speaking at the event, Chinmai expressed the group’s interest in growing their footprint in the region with two hotels already in the pipeline. This includes a 207 – key hotel located at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai and a 325 – key Resort and Spa located on The Palm, Dubai. Taj Dubai is the iconic group’s first luxury property in the Middle East. Taj Dubai’s 296 rooms are a mix of rich Indian artistry and traditional influences, suffused with a cool, vibrant twist. An intoxicating fusion of extravagance, heritage and contemporary style, Taj Dubai occupies a prime location, a mere five minutes from the famed Downtown area with Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall and just 15 km away from Dubai International Airport, making this one of the most coveted locations for business travellers and tourists alike.

Qatar Airways has announced the addition of special weekend getaway flights, to make quick weekend trips easier for people of Doha and Dubai. These new flights are effective from October 3, 2016. The flights are timed to make the most of the weekend, with a Thursday afternoon departure from Doha at 15:50, arriving Dubai International Airport at 18:00 local time, and the Dubai flight leaving at 19:00, arriving in Doha at 19:10 local time. For the Saturday return, weekend revelers can depart Doha at 14:50 and arrive in Dubai at 17:00, or leave Dubai at 18:00 and arrive in Doha at 18:10. These special weekend flights are in addition to Qatar Airways’ 19 other daily flights serving Dubai International Airport and Dubai World Central. Qatar Airways currently offers 15 daily flights to Dubai International Airport, and four daily flights to Dubai World Central.

Dubai Business Events, the city’s official convention bureau, is delivering one of its strongest year-to-date, with 86 new international business events secured in 2016. The bureau has secured 15 percent more events in the first eight months of this year than the whole of 2015, and is poised to capitalise on increasing demand from international meetings, conferences, and incentives organisers, according to internal auditing at the city’s official convention bureau. The events secured this year will be held over the course of the next four years and combined, will bring 65,000 delegates to Dubai from around the world, as speakers, panellists, exhibitors and visitors. And with each delegate expected to add almost AED 6,000 to the economy, the impact of these events could be as much as AED344 million. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Dubai’s growing appeal as a premier destination for international business events is a testament to the vision and leadership of the government and the positive response that we have seen as we have shared the emirate’s remarkable story with a global audience.”

There are 541 new hotels in the pipeline across the Middle East – bringing an additional 158,950 hotel rooms to the region, an industry report has revealed. The Middle East Hotel Construction Overview report prepared by TOPHOTELPROJECTS exclusively for The Hotel Show Dubai 2016 forecasts that the majority of new hotel rooms will open before 2020. The UAE (180 projects) and Saudi Arabia (134 projects) remain the most active hotel construction hotspots in the region. The busiest year for hotel openings leading up to 2020 is forecast to be 2017 with 189 projects and 58,527 rooms. Notable hotel openings scheduled for 2017 include: the world’s largest hotel in Makkah, Saudi Arabia with 10,000 rooms, and the world’s first Paramount Hotels & Resorts property; the Paramount Hotel in Dubai.