Tag Archives: UAE

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.

Musafir.com, UAE’s first home-grown, premium-experience travel website, has signed a new regional GCC agreement with Amadeus, a leading technology partner in the global travel industry, to further enhance its e-commerce offering. The agreement will see Amadeus provide the company with its industry-leading business intelligence technologies and access to global travel content through the Amadeus system, for the benefit of Musafir.com’s customers across the GCC region. The company’s website will be powered with Amadeus’ latest advanced solutions such as Master Pricer, Business Intelligence, Fare Optimiser and Productivity Tracker to make the booking experience more efficient and convenient. “Forming strategic agreement with global industry leaders such as Amadeus allows us to access premium travel products and further boost our technological progressions, which is something that matters most to our customers and partners. We are therefore delighted to be partnering with Amadeus who will lend us their extensive expertise and consultancy and fuel our future growth,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani, Chairman of the Department of Statistics and Community Development and co-founder of Musafir.com.

Abu Dhabi based developer Eagle Hills has announced plans to complete building its second five-star hotel in Fujairah named the Palace Fujairah Beach hotel by 2019. Currently, they are building The Address Fujairah Resort and Spa. The Palace Fujairah Beach hotel will have 162 rooms, a health club, cafes and restaurants and meeting room facilities. Alongside it, Eagle Hills is building a gated residential community featuring 84 villas and town houses, which will be the first residential development in Fujairah city with direct access to the beach. The developer said that the site is an 8-minute drive from the local airport and 25 minutes from the border with Oman.

Majid Al Futtaim recently announced that it’s going to start building its third ‘My City Centre’ mall, named My City Centre Al Dhait, in Ras Al Khaimah this month. The retail pioneer’s expansion into the Northern Emirate comes as part of the company’s strategy to increase its total investment in the United Arab Emirates by AED 30 billion by 2026. The new shopping mall will start serving Ras Al Khaimah’s communities early next year. Located in a strategic location, between two growing residential communities in the north and south-west of Al Dhait in Ras Al Khaimah, the new community mall represents an investment of AED 68.5 million. My City Centre Al Dhait will bring a diverse and tailored mix of shopping and dining outlets, offering nearby residents a convenient and accessible destination for everyday shopping needs.  It will be home to 30 stores across 5494 sq. m. of gross leasable area, including a Carrefour Market spread over an area of 1178 sq. m. Further, it will offer 117 parking spaces to visitors.

The fourth annual Bali & Beyond Travel Fair (BBTF) concluded recently with 174 sellers from around Indonesia representing the tourism and hospitality industry, from tour operators to chain hotels and resorts as well as provincial tourism offices, along with 264 buyers from 54 countries. Co-hosted by South Sumatra Province, the fourth annual travel fair also organised several pre-tour programmes, sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, to several destinations, including Mount Bromo and Labuan Bajo. MichiDe International, the Dubai-based luxury travel expert, gave an opportunity to the media from the Middle East to be a part of this event. For the fourth Bali & Beyond Travel Fair, the committee collaborated with MichiDe International. By collaborating with MichiDe, the committee aimed to bring in key international buyers and high-profile media from the Middle East region to Bali and expand the success of the travel fair beyond the boundaries of Indonesia. MichiDe’s Chief Executive Officer Gessy Gitapuri remains dedicated to position Bali as the leading destination in South East Asia for the elite travellers from the Middle East.

In keeping with the recent instructions from the governments of UAE, Saudi and Bahrain, seven carriers from the various Middle East countries have suspended their services to Doha with effect from June 6, 2017 until further notice. Among these airlines are Royal Jets, Etihad, Emirates, flydubai and Air Arabia from UAE; Saudia from Saudi and Gulf Air from Bahrain. While Etihad, Emirates and flydubai suspended all flights between Dubai and Doha, Royal Jets suspended their services between Abu Dhabi and Doha and Air Arabia suspended their flights between Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah and Doha. Saudia has suspended its flights between Saudi and Doha and Gulf Air between Bahrain and Doha. So all customers who have booked tickets on any of these airlines for flying to Doha will have to contact the airlines for alternative options, which will include full refunds on unused tickets or free re-booking to the nearest alternate destinations. For detailed information, the relevant airlines can be called or their websites can be looked up.

The State Government of Victoria is celebrating 20 years of trade and tourism ties with the Middle East region. The Australian state set up its Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in 1997 to forge and strengthen trade and investment ties with the region, which two decades later has seen Victoria’s annual exports to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grow to AUD$ 2.49 billion (US$ 1.85 billion). Tourism and aviation links between Victoria and the region have also multiplied over the years, with Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways all flying daily to Melbourne. Emirates Airline has had a long-term relationship with Melbourne, having sponsored the famous Collingwood Football Club and the Emirates Melbourne Cup, the flagships among a portfolio of key partnerships in the state. Etihad Airways also has a strong connection with Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s Etihad Stadium, and has seen the UAE’s national carrier become the lead sponsor of Melbourne City Football Club.

Expo Centre Sharjah has recorded a 7 per cent increase in the number of visitors coming to its exhibitions and events during the first quarter of 2017, in comparison to the number of visitors that came during the same period in 2016. According to the Expo Centre management, 302,474 people visited the Centre’s events, including 12 specialised exhibitions, in January, February and March. The meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry in the United Arab Emirates currently generates a total of $653 million (AED 2.4b) per year and is expected to continue growing at about 7 per cent per annum until 2020. Overall, the GCC’s MICE market is estimated to be worth some $1.3 billion (AED 4.8b) annually. Located on Al Taawun Street in the centre of Sharjah city, the Expo Centre now has 6 exhibition halls surrounding a central boulevard, with a combined gross exhibition area of 26,000 square metres (279,862 sq. ft.) indoors, plus a further 6,000 square metres (64,583 sq. ft.) of outdoor space. A 200-room Novotel Sharjah Expo is currently under construction adjacent to the expo site. Sharjah is also building a new 370,000 square metre (4 million sq. ft.) exhibition and conference centre in Al Tai district, near the intersection of Emirates Road and Mleiha Road. Expected to open in November, the new centre’s first major event is going to be this year’s edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (1-11 November).

A staycation, a vacation or a desert trip in UAE has become much more fun and easier to plan with Adventure Emirates launching its website, www.adventureemirates.com. This is an online reservation website that provides instant booking confirmation, and features a “book now, pay later” facility that makes the reservation process less daunting. The website also serves as an informative portal for tourists seeking better understanding of the UAE without any digital clutter. Further, there is a 24-hour online customer support service for providing instant assistance to every customer. Through this website, Adventure Emirates offers over 300 tried and tested excursions, including half-day and full-day sightseeing, safaris, boat tours as well as water activities like kayaking and jet ski in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah. Trips across Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Ajman and Sharjah will soon be online, thus encouraging tourists to discover all the seven emirates. A specialized team of local experts allows Adventure Emirates to cater to different group sizes plus corporates and MICE.