Tag Archives: UAE

The first edition of the Travel Tech ME Congress concluded at Marriot Al Jaddaf in Dubai, UAE. The event gathered 100 technology experts, travel agents, airline operators and airport officials to provide a forum of exchange on the current technologies in tourism. Organised by Verve Management, the two-day congress started with Diego Lofeudo, Director of Business Unit, Corporate, Yas Marina Circuit, UAE who made the official welcome address. Conference Chairman, Albert Fernando, COO, Travelwings opened day two of Travel Tech ME Congress, where he said, “A great initiative for Verve Management, that has helped tourism stakeholders better understand and share future trends in travel technology. The industry looks forward to the congress next year, bringing in even more experts in travel technology.”Several presentations over two days shed light on the latest innovations happening across the world in terms of travel and tourism. Albert Dias, Co-founder & CTO, Musafir discussed the importance of sub-second search speed and its effect on a travelers’ decision-making process.Juan Iván Martín, Head of Innovation, FDS, from IATA discussed travel blockchain, the introduction of the IATA coin as payment methods and how hackathons such as the IATA-NDC Hackathon-2016 in Dubai have helped the airline industry as well as the hotel and travel industries by introducing innovative ideas, and applications that have been implemented and increased revenue in the travel and tourism industry in the region. From blockchain, IATA coins being implemented, disruption, the importance of sub-second search speed, web technologies challenging today’s relevance and the future existence of mobile apps. The two-day conference was concluded with a panel discussion of the lessons learned and the way forward, on the evolution in the hotel distribution system.

Uber, in partnership with Dubai Taxi Corporation launched UberONE. Around 50 brand new premium electric cars will be added to the Uber app, giving riders across Dubai the chance to request the fully-electric, smart and sustainable transport option at the touch of a button. Starting from October 10, riders will be able to choose from a dedicated fleet of electric vehicles exclusively via the ‘UberONE’ option on the Uber app. The joint initiative comes as part of Dubai Taxi Corporation and Uber’s commitment to helping Dubai become the smartest city in the world in support of the Green Economy for Sustainable Development Initiative. Chris Free, General Manager for Uber, UAE said, “At Uber we are constantly innovating our offering and looking for ways to provide new and progressive experiences at the push of a button. We are tremendously excited to be the exclusive ride-hailing partner for the clean vehicle technology to deliver our driver-partners and riders with more efficient, less-polluting mobility. We will continue to work hand in hand with Dubai Taxi Corporation to bring innovative infrastructural solutions to Dubai and grow the city’s smart mobility ecosystem.”

According to the latest Middle East and Africa Hotel Construction report by Top Hotels Projects, commissioned by The Hotel Show Dubai 2017, the UAE has been identified as the busiest country for hotel construction in the Middle East and Africa and 83 hotel projects are set to open next year. The region currently has more than 200 hotel projects in the pipeline, with Dubai (164 projects), Abu Dhabi (25 projects) and Ras Al Khaimah (12 projects) seen as the busiest areas for hotel construction in the UAE. Some of the most anticipated hotel openings include Dubai’s Rosemont Hotel and Residences, Curio Collection by Hilton (730 rooms) and Fairmont Abu Dhabi Marina Hotel & Residences (812 rooms).

This summer, to adjust the growing number of holiday makers on their flights, Etihad has increased the frequency of their flights as well as the capacity of their vessels flying between Abu Dhabi and their key markets, such as Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca and Rabat. There will be a fourth new daily flight to Damman, second new daily flight to Amman, four new flights a week to Beirut with the introduction of Boeing 787, a fifth flight to Cairo, one extra flight to Rabat and an aircraft upgrade to Airbus A340 for Casablanca.

Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai sent a team on a special sales mission to China for the 2017 Dubai China Roadshow organised by The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). They visited Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou to explore the various colours of China and locate opportunities to extend their hotel business. Dubai is witnessing unprecedented demand from Chinese visitors. China is among the Top 5 source markets for Dubai. Elaborating on the success of the mission, Binu Varghese, Director of Sale and Marketing, Millennium Airport Hotel Dubai, said, “China is a growing market for us and holds strong potential. This year’s roadshow was hugely successful and gave us the opportunity to meet over 300 buyers from four key cities. FIT market development was a key focus for us along with continuous promotion of group business. In addition to highlighting our various offerings to buyers through one-on-one table talk, we got fantastic networking opportunities with local travel industry opinion leaders.”

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.”

Cleartrip has officially launched a website in Arabic to support its GCC market expansion efforts and provide users in the region with localized browsing and booking capability. The new website includes content and promotions relevant for Arabic-speaking audiences and comes with a host of useful features, tools and functionalities designed to allow travellers to more easily make and manage reservations. There are also exciting offers and benefits displayed on the website which the users can make use of when booking online through Cleartrip. Cleartrip’s website experienced a 30% increase in traffic from mobile devices during the first week of Ramadan, and the launch of a dedicated website in Arabic is expected to further accelerate bookings. Innovations in payment security, along with the launch of new government initiatives in the UAE and the proliferation of e-commerce startups, have increased consumer trust in online payments. This, in turn, is expanding the market opportunity for Cleartrip.

Etihad Airways has introduced its flagship Airbus A380 on its second daily service between Abu Dhabi and New York JFK. All 14 weekly flights between the two cities are now operated by the double-decker aircraft. The superjumbo has replaced a three-class Boeing 777-300ER previously operating one of the airline’s twice-daily flights. The new deployment means New York will join London and Sydney as an all-A380 operation. Etihad Airways launched daily non-stop flights to New York JFK on October 26, 2006 and introduced a second daily service in March 2014. It subsequently upgraded one of the daily flights to an A-380 aircraft in November 2015. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said, “The response we have received from our guests travelling between Abu Dhabi and New York since we first launched the A380 service two years ago has been phenomenal. We are delighted to further expand our world-leading product to all guests flying to and from the Big Apple.

City Sightseeing Sharjah (CSS) has announced a brand new series of discounted packages for this summer season to enable UAE residents to see a lot more of the emirate they love and learn more about its unique history, culture and attractions. Under these packages, the CSS buses will provide a new opportunity to enjoy 24- and 48-hour tours. The 24-hour option from CSS, which was launched by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) in collaboration with City Sightseeing Worldwide, is dedicated exclusively to sightseeing in Sharjah, providing a chance to tourists and locals alike to appreciate the reasons behind the city’s titles of ‘Islamic Culture Capital’ and ‘Cultural Capital of the Arab World’. The ticket entitles passengers to enjoy cultural, leisure and night tours and informs about the discounts available on the numerous restaurants, shopping malls and attractions. The 48-hour (Explorer) ticket offers a similar package, but it also includes a free ride on the Eye of Emirates and free entrances to Sharjah Aquarium, Maritime Museum, seven museums, Al Noor Island and Butterfly House.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Emirates Group and Chairman of the Higher Committee of Expo 2020 Dubai, inaugurated the UAE pavilion at Expo 2017 Astana. Covering more than 980 sq. m., the UAE Pavilion is the largest at the Expo and has been designed to receive up to 7000 visitors per day. A virtual host will guide visitors through the experience, with the overall tour of the pavilion taking nearly 20 minutes to complete. H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum was accompanied by Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Directors of National Media Council, the government entity that built, managed and supervised the country’s pavilion. Mohammed Ahmed bin Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Mansour Al Mansouri, Director-General of NMC and Kairat Lama Sharif, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UAE, were also in attendance.