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StayWell Holdings announced the expansion of its Park Regis brand into Bahrain with the opening of the country’s first Park Regis hotel in the city of Manama (Juffair). Centrally located in Bahrain’s capital of Manama, Park Regis Lotus Hotel has easy access to the diplomatic area and Bahrain Bay in Manama. The 19-storey hotel offers 164 luxuriously appointed guest rooms, an onsite fitness centre with 24-hour gymnasium and lap pool, and state-of-the-art business facilities. With entertainment front of mind, Park Regis Lotus Hotel boasts an array of premium onsite restaurant and bar options including buffet breakfast and casual dining, a patisserie and tearoom, and a roof top café. Simon Wan, President & Director, StayWell Holdings, said, “Alongside our parent company, Prince Hotels & Resorts, StayWell Holdings is in the midst of an exciting rapid development programme with plans to expand both brands internationally, with a current focus on the Middle East. Opening the Park Regis Lotus Hotel in Bahrain is an exciting achievement for StayWell to further cement its Park Regis brand in the region, with two Park Regis hotels already operating in Dubai and a further two under development for the Middle East”

Rehlat, an online travel agency, has renewed a long-term agreement with Sabre Corporation to continue using its technology to power its online platform, Rehlat.com. For the past two years, Rehlat has been using Sabre’s technology and travel management services to help increase its online conversion performance, grow revenue, improve customer satisfaction levels and personalise its services offered to customers. “We have witnessed strong double-digit growth since we launched in 2015,” said Bader Al Bader, President and Founder, Rehlat. “Sabre’s global expertise in online travel, impressive dedication and cutting-edge technology have enabled us to succeed in a highly competitive marketplace and tap into the growth of the online travel industry. We have also used Sabre’s APIs to roll out new capabilities in mobile to meet the growing expectations of our tech-savvy travellers.” “Consumer behaviour is rapidly changing in the region, and this is fuelled by personal technology that is faster and more accessible,” said Raymond Vrijenhoek, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network Middle East. “Online travel agencies have been quick to respond to this, using the latest web service and API technology to give travellers what they want – the right product at the right time and in the right context. Rehlat shares our passion and trust that technology can simplify the complexity of today’s travel.”  

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has signed up with Dur Hospitality for a franchise agreement of Crowne Plaza Riyadh Palace, under the master franchise agreement signed earlier for four hotels. Currently operating as Riyadh Palace Hotel, the property is expected to be rebranded to Crowne Plaza by June 2018. The hotel totals to 304 rooms, over 1400 sqm of meeting space, a business centre along with an outdoor pool, lounge and a spa. It offers a range of authentic and contemporary cuisine at the hotel’s restaurant and at the Lobby Café. Ahdab, President, Hotel Operations—Dur Hospitality said, “We are delighted to partner with IHG yet again, for their world-class brand Crowne Plaza, making this our second hotel with them, following the opening of Holiday Inn, Tabuk. Riyadh has solidified itself as a commercial hub, attracting business travellers from domestic and international markets.” “Incorporating an element of French design, the hotel is strategically located in the Ministries Area, a popular business district, making it an ideal and convenient location for the business community”, he further added.

SaudiGulf Airlines will launch its maiden international operations to Dubai as a double daily flight catering to the corporate and leisure travellers between the two nations from March 1, 2018. The flight will departure Riyadh at 07:50 and arrive Dubai at 10:55, and commence departure from Dubai at 12:10 with arrival at 13:05 in Riyadh. The other flight timings will be 16:00 departing Riyadh and reaching Dubai by 18:55, and departing Dubai at 20:55 and reaching Riyadh by 21:50 with a starting all inclusive fare of AED 999. It will be a two configuration A320 with 16 Business First class seats and 120 seats in economy, an in-flight entertainment system, Wi-Fi service onboard along with a dedicated chauffeur service in Riyadh. Samer Majali, President and Chief Executive Officer, SaudiGulf Airlines stated that after just one year and two months of domestic operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, they found the niche in Dubai in the international market to serve a destination with the most amount of traffic. This strategic decision was taken by SaudiGulf Airlines considering the strong affairs between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, supported by Dubai Tourism to provide greater varieties to travellers from both countries.

Emirates has launched its new service to Auckland via Bali from June 14, 2018. The new operations will offer global travellers a total of three daily services to New Zealand, complementing Emirates’ existing non-stop daily service between Dubai and Auckland. Emirates’ new Dubai-Bali-Auckland flight will provide the only year-round non-stop daily service between Auckland and Bali, giving passengers an opportunity to visit or stop over in one of the most popular islands in Indonesia. The airline will operate a 777-300ER on the route, offering eight seats in First, 42 seats in Business and 304 seats in Economy class, as well as 20 tonnes of belly-hold cargo capacity. Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, said, “We are confident that our year-round service between Auckland and Bali will be well received by our customers, not only in New Zealand and Indonesia, but also from our global network particularly from markets like the UK, Europe and the Middle East.” The southbound flight, EK 450, will depart Dubai at 06:55, arriving at Denpasar (Bali) at 20:20 local time, before flying on to Auckland at 22:00, arriving in New Zealand’s biggest city at 10:00, the following day. Northbound, the new service will depart Auckland as flight EK 451 at the convenient time of 12:40, arriving in Denpasar at 17:55 local time. It will depart Denpasar at 19:50, arriving in Dubai just after midnight at 00:45.

Shaza Hotels has signed its third Mysk project in the Middle East, Mysk by Shaza, in Palm Jumeirah. The hotel marks a new milestone for Shaza with the entry of the group into the ever-growing Dubai market that has one of the best performing hospitality sectors in the world. The hotel aims to add a new flavour to the Dubai hotel scene, bringing an intimate and personalised experience for both the corporate market and leisure market. Commenting on the project, Simon Coombs, President and CEO, Shaza Hotels said, “Since the recent launch of Mysk by Shaza, we have been actively looking at signing a project here since the need for upscale hotels in Dubai was one of the reasons that encouraged us to create the Mysk brand. I am very happy that the first Mysk in Dubai will be located in such a prestigious location, and I am grateful for Aqua Properties for having entrusted us with their asset.”

Wyndham Hotel Group has become the official partner hotel of the second edition of ITB China 2018, set to take place from May 16-18 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Conference Centre. A corresponding agreement was signed by Leo Liu, President, Greater China Wyndham Group and David Axiotis, General Manager, ITB China. The hotel group will connect brand new products and innovative services of tourism with the best industry experts in one place. With becoming the official hotel partner of China’s new marketplace for the travel industry, the Wyndham Hotel Group Greater China further solidifies its position as a leading international hospitality company. Liu said, “As one of the international leading hotel groups, Wyndham Hotel Group is pleased to partner with ITB China, a leading international travel expo, in a premier event that offers a professional take on the travel industry in a joint effort to promote its development and therefore deliver better travel experience for Chinese travellers.“ Axiotis said, “We are proud to collaborate with the Wyndham Hotel Group as partners who understands their business and markets so well. I am confident this will be a win-win partnership for both ITB China and Wyndham.”

Emirates has launched a new, five times a week, service from Dubai to Santiago International Airport (SCL), via the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, starting July 5, 2018. The new service will see Emirates fly an additional five times a week to Sao Paulo, complementing the airline’s existing daily A380 flight between Dubai and Sao Paulo. In total, Emirates will now fly 12 times a week to Sao Paulo. Emirates’ Santiago flight will be a linked service with Sao Paulo, meaning that customers in South America can now travel between the two cities in unprecedented style and comfort. Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates, said “The start of our operations to Chile underlines our commitment to South America with our fourth destination on the continent and another five flights to Sao Paulo. We are pleased to add a destination that has been in strong demand from our customers and look forward to working with stakeholders in Chile to provide our unique product and service to passengers there.” The new route will be operated with a two-class configured Boeing 777-200LR which offers 38 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 seats in Economy Class.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) have signed an MoU to unite their efforts in positioning Dubai as the destination of choice for tourists from Middle East, Africa, and China. The MoU was signed by Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing and Gene Jiao, President, Huawei CBG, Middle East & Africa to support the strategic tie-up between DTCM and Huawei CBG. Under the terms of the MoU, Huawei will work with Dubai Tourism to create awareness of Dubai’s local culture and heritage across Middle East, Africa and China. Huawei will share information, images, videos, events information, online booking/ order services of Dubai Tourism with travellers (tourists, businessmen, residents) to provide a seamless online experience in Dubai. Kazim said, “We are fully committed to raising consideration of Dubai as the destination of choice for global travellers and constantly seek exciting opportunities to reach new audiences. This MoU with Huawei will help us achieve that goal by increasing awareness of Dubai’s key selling points including local culture and heritage, gastronomy, retail, entertainment and adventure across Middle East, Africa, and China travellers.”

Marriott International announced the opening of Aloft Palm Jumeirah, the first Aloft to open in Dubai. Located on the Eastern crescent of the Palm Jumeirah, the hotel offers 206 loft-inspired guestrooms with airy 9-foot-high ceilings and excellent views over the Arabian Gulf. All rooms feature the brand’s signature offerings, such as an ultra-comfortable plush bed, walk-in shower, Wi-Fi, 49-inch LCD TVs linked to a Plug & Play connectivity panel. Rooms are also equipped with SPG Keyless, the industry’s first truly mobile check-in system where guests can utilise their mobile phones as room keys. “We are thrilled to celebrate the opening of our first Aloft in Dubai, situated on one of the world’s most sought-after destinations – the Palm Jumeirah,” said Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “We see a strong demand for Aloft properties in the region as the brand continues to redefine the traditional hotel experience with its vision and innovation.  In the UAE alone, the brand will double its portfolio in the next three years with five new openings,” he added.