A DDP PUBLICATION
Pages: 16
ddppl.com
travtalkmiddleeast.com
Vol. VIII No. 9; September 2012
UAE’s 1st domestic flight ......................................................................................06 Europeans top in limit stay in Dubai ....................................................................10 ‘Hotel classification’ in Sharjah ............................................................................12
India’s wellness in Dubai India is known for its rich heritage of healing and wellness. Lately, the Ministry of Tourism of India has identified Wellness Tourism, among the niche tourism sectors that offer great potential in the Middle East. VIVEK SETHI
Echoing similar views, Sultan Ahmed, Minister of State for Tourism, India who had earlier led a business delegation for similar roadshows in Middle East, also spoke on the merits of promoting Wellness Tourism in Middle East at the sidelines of the recently held SAARC Tour Operators conference in New Delhi.
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s per Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, India, the country has enormous possibilities to offer to the wellness seekers from the Middle East. Sharing the feedback received during the roadshow conducted by the Ministry of Tourism, India in Dubai on June 28 he said, “The Indian system of healing is world renowned and can easily attract tourists from Middle East, who are the connoisseurs of wellness products and have a good purchasing power. Hence, the wellness potential of India should be fully nurtured in these source markets to harness the true potential of India as a wellness destination,” said Sahai.
India’s USP to ME The wellness potential of India should be fully nurtured in the ME markets to harness the true potential of the destination
Subodh Kant Sahai Union Minister for Tourism India
The Indian system of healing can easily attract tourists from ME as they are the connoisseurs of wellness products and have a good purchasing power
Sultan Ahmed Minister of State for Tourism India
India is known for its rich heritage of wellness traditions and has enormous possibilities to offer to the wellness seekers in this region
“Middle East countries offer great potential to promote Wellness Tourism. India has always been known for its rich heritage of wellness traditions and has enormous possibilities to offer to wellness seekers in this region,” said Ahmed. Lately, the Ministry of Tourism has identified Wellness Tourism among the niche tourism sectors that offer great potential; once the standards of service are laid down to ensure uniformity of experience. Also, in line with the objective of realising the true potential of Wellness Tourism in India, the MOT has decided to support Global Spa & Wellness Summit 2013.
Travel trade hopes high Throughout UAE, the travel companies and airlines offer special discounts and packages for those who step out during Ramadan. S USMITA G HOSH
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ery rarely, the Holy Month of Ramadan comes in between the extended summer holidays, which has happened this year and most of the UAE Nationals preferred to stay with families, even
though expatriate communities travelled around. “Such travels starts from June-end till the day before Ramadan starts and then again they start their planned travel after EID till the Summer Holidays end. Such a disconnected
holiday (even though at a stretch) discourages most of the regular travellers to travel. And, hence, plays against the travel trade as we make money and enhance our business on longer holidays, even though, we saw an increase of 20 per cent in 2012 compared to last year,” expressed
Jamal Abdulnazar, General Manager, Cozmo Travels. “The coming month looks brighter and is likely to pick up, as the exhibition season starts everywhere and the temperature goes down,” he further added. Contd. on page 8
India takes Medical Tourism to Muscat India Tourism is all geared up to establish India as a Medical Tourism hub in the Middle East. S USMITA G HOSH
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ighlighting various unique aspects of India’s Tourism overall and its medical prospective, a Medical Tourism-based exhibition ‘Med Health and Wellness Exhibition’ – will be held in Muscat, from September 25 to 27. Various hospitals and medical facilities from India will also be present in the Sultanate.
from India will be flying to the country,” informed Vikas Rustagi, Regional Director - India Tourism, Dubai. The first ‘Incredible India Tourism’ roadshow in this fiscal year was held in Amman on June 27. It was the first ever India Tourism roadshow in Jordan.
With an existing encouraging potential from Oman for India, India Tourism will also organise a special trade show, ‘INDEXPO’ in Muscat from September 4 to 6. India is poised to become a hub for Medical Tourism with excellent hospitals, latest medical technology, highly skilled Indian physicians, lower cost of treatment and less waiting time for patients. In every month of the calendar year, starting from June 2012 till June 2013, there are roadshows planned worldwide. “We will be organising a roadshow in Muscat on October 7 where we have planned to bring some medical hospitals, facilities and spa to create overall awareness besides working with various airlines. The next roadshow, led by Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, India will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on October 9 and thereafter on October 11 in Ankara, Turkey, focussing a lot on Medical Tourism, as number of tour operators
Vikas Rustagi Regional Director - India Tourism Dubai
We will organise a roadshow in Muscat on October 7 where we plan to bring medical hospitals, facilities and spa to create overall awareness “Nowadays, many Indians are travelling to Jordan and hence Jordan has huge potential for leisure and luxury, wildlife, spa and Ayurveda of India and the probability is increasing gradually due to better awareness,” added Rustagi. Contd. on page 8
NEWS FOREIGN EXCHANGE
‘LAMA flight to Dubai’
DIRHAM VALUE
(Subject to variation) Country
Currency
(As on 18-08-2012)
CN Buy
CN Sell
USA ..........................USD ................3.653..............3.685 UK ............................GBP ..............5.6591............5.8783 Egypt ........................EGP ................0.605..............0.711 Euro ..........................EUR ..............4.4255............4.6085 Canada......................CAD ..............3.6601............3.7896
‘Definitely Dubai’ during Ramadan This innovative maiden flight brought in over 100 travel agents and tour operators from North India to Dubai to showcase various possibilities during the Holy Month of Ramadan on August 11 – 13, 2012.
Bahrain ....................BHD ..............9.5739............9.9137 Oman ........................OMR................9.405............9.6512 Kuwait ......................KWD............12.7821..........13.2399 Saudi Arabia ............SAR ..............0.9625............0.9972 Qatar ........................QAR ..............0.9944............1.0209 Australia ..................AUD ..............3.7855............3.8911 Japan ........................JPY................0.0453............0.0476 Philippines ................PHP ..............0.0851............0.0882 Singapore..................SGD ..............2.8805............3.0066 India ........................INR................0.0639............0.0669 Pakistan ....................PKR ..............0.0382............0.0399 Bangladesh ..............BDT ..............0.0439............0.0457 Sri Lanka ..................LKR ..............0.0273............0.0283 Nepal ........................NPR ..................0.05..............0.056 Morocco ....................MAD................0.405..............0.525 Switzerland ..............CHF ..............3.6847............3.8400 South Africa ..............ZAR ................0.485..............0.553
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Kulwant Singh, Managing Director, Lama.
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ama Group in association with IndiGo Airlines, Hyatt Hotels in Dubai and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) launched ‘LAMA flight to Dubai’. Further to this initiative, more such flights are being planned during Diwali, post Diwali and during Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). “It’s nothing more than a misconception that Dubai shuts down during the holy month of Ramadan, which backfires and limits the tourist arrivals. Practically speaking, it’s the best time to visit Dubai, as enviable incentives and discounts are available on shopping, hotels, travel attractions to relish the Dubai experience,” said
Kulwant Singh Managing Director Lama Tours
The agents will get a first-hand experience of various possibilities in Dubai during Ramadan
John Beveridge Area Manager and General Manager Hyatt Hotels – Dubai
The Govt is taking a big initiative in promoting Dubai during the Holy Month
“With the objective of spurring tourist inflow from India, which is a very strategic market for us, we are taking the first pilot ‘Lama flight to Dubai’. It’s a FAM flight being worked out for 100 of our strategic B2B partners based out of North India in association with IndiGo Airlines and Hyatt in Dubai. The agents will get a first-hand experience of various spectacular possibilities in Dubai during Ramadan and help us to come out with the best possible itineraries,” he added. When asked about his company’s growth rate, Singh said that Lama Tours has consistently grown at 25 per cent over the years. “Our business from the Indian Contd. on page 9
GUEST COLUMN EDITORIAL ‘Environment’ on the agenda
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n an effort to highlight the sustainable initiatives and dedication to the environment, cluster of hotels are committed to several activities to ensure their work and operations are ‘clean’ and ‘environmental-friendly’. In lieu of this trend, the importance of ‘green status’, prevails far and wide. For the same, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in Jordan is carrying out activities and procedures to reduce the consumption of electricity and water. They are also planning to replace the normal lights with light-emitting diode (LED) light bulbs in InterContinental Aqaba Resort. At Crowne Plaza Amman, besides energy-saving LED light bulbs, water saving fitting has been installed to save more than 10% of water consumption. The old diesel boiler burners have been replaced with new ones that increases 5% efficiency and reduce the fuel consumption and gas emissions. Holiday Inn Resort, Dead Sea takes care of recycling all waste and used material while energy consumption monitoring is done on a regular basis. The Green Economy for Sustainable Development Initiative, the Dubai government’s first green building is fast taking shape on Shaikh Zayed Road. With a total space of around 3,40,000 sq ft, it is Dubai’s first green building that is built by the Government. To cut down energy consumption significantly and generate 600kW of electricity using solar power is its impetus. In Abu Dhabi, environmentalconscious residents can soon identify green products in the market, with a new label; ‘Trustmark for Environmental Performance’ issued by the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC). The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) prestigious ‘Tourism For Tomorrow Awards’ which recognises best practice in Sustainable Tourism within the Travel & Tourism industry worldwide, will be presented in Abu Dhabi in 2013.
Publisher Director Editorial Director Editor Assistant Editor (ME) Desk Editor Sub Editor Design Manager Advertising Asst. Manager - Sales Circulation Manager Manager Production
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SanJeet Sumeera Bahl Rupali Narasimhan Deepa Sethi Susmita Ghosh Archana Sharma Raina Mandal Nityanand Misra Geetika Pathak Akassh Kapoor Ashok Rana Anil Kharbanda
Wellness on TAT’s radar for ME The Middle East market has been an increasingly important source market of visitors to Thailand over the last couple of years. Hence, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) expects travel from the GCC to increase by another 10 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011 visitor figures.
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he Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is the official sponsor of the 13th Annual World Gourmet Festival. The festival is organised by the Four Seasons Hotel, Bangkok and is going to take place from September 3 to 9, 2012. Since its inception, the Festival has grown in prominence to feature an extraordinary line-up of some of the best chefs and food experts from across the globe. The event is a week-long celebration of various and unique regional cuisines. And, it is a view worth cherishing, world-class culinary delights all under one roof. The Middle East market has been an increasingly important source market of visitors to Thailand over the last couple of years and we see positive signs to suggest that this trend will continue.
You’, with a core focus on authenticity, value for money and hospitality. According to the seventh annual ‘FutureBrand Country Brand Index 20112012’, Thailand ranked number 7 in terms of tourism brand image, while maintaining its Number 1 position in terms of ‘Value for Money’. The destination also ranked among the top 10 for key attributes like food, beaches, nightlife, shopping and accommodation.
For the ME market, TAT is focussing on Niche Tourism products such as Health and Wellness, Wedding and Honeymoon Tourism with a focus on the excellent and comparative value-for-money. Wisoot Buachoom Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand The reasons for the positive outlook regarding increased visitor numbers to Thailand includes, the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s strategy of engagement with the regional travel trade, airlines and agents. Thailand’s continuous success in offering value-for-money as leisure and business destination, variety of tourism products on offer and the Thai hospitality is well received by all from the Middle East. In the coming year, the TAT Middle East Office will continue to reinforce the Thailand brand ‘Amazing Thailand Always Amazes
Highlighting a significant strategic shift away from its traditional mass marketing, TAT announced it will now focus its marketing efforts on niche markets targetted at specific customer segments in specific countries. For the Middle East market, TAT is focussing on Niche Tourism products such as Health and Wellness, Wedding and Honeymoon, Green Tourism and Golf, all highlighted with a focus on the excellent and comparative value-for-money. Improvements on the existing infrastructure are also presently being undertaken
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TRAVTALK is a publication of Durga Das Publications Private Limited. All information in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publication, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific
with the expansion of the Phuket International Airport. Green building, environmentfriendly materials and energysaving technologies are being upgraded and will be completed by 2014. All this will help the airport to handle 12.5 passengers every year. The year 2012 is expected to be an auspicious time to visit Thailand due to some royal occasions planned for the coming year including the celebration of the King’s 84th birthday on December 5 and the Queen’s 80th birthday on August 12. Thailand Travel Mart Plus 2012 (TTM+ 2012) had focussed on Golf, Ecotourism, Weddings & Honeymoons and Health & Wellness. Thai Tourism products and services in these categories have experienced tremendous growth over the past few years and this trend is expected to continue, especially among repeat visitors who account for about 60 per cent of all international arrivals to Thailand. A broad-based destination image research study conducted across 14 countries by TAT has provided clear pointers to sharpen the imagery and message of the country’s upcoming ‘Thainess’ tourism campaigns. All the categories of the new upcoming campaign lend themselves to powerful imagery, due to which, the research study was designed to identify the trigger points that will convince the potential visitors to move from ‘Looking’ to ‘Booking’. The countries included are Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, US, UAE,
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Australia, China, South Korea, India, Russia, Germany, Sweden and Italy. A total of 3,000 travellers were surveyed including both first time and repeat visitors. The study used both secondary and primary data and quantitative and qualitative surveys. The interviews that were conducted included a broad cross-section of stakeholders, including Thais and foreigners, working both in and out of the industry. Altogether, it has been an interesting and challenging exercise. It helped us in becoming more aware of how the world is changing and the constant need to keep up with the changes in order to maintain the visitor flow. The growth in total number of visitors is being matched by the increased average length of stay and average daily expenditure. This further underscores the role of tourism as one of the most important economic sector and contributor to job creation and nationwide income distribution. According to the Ministry, Thailand recorded 19.23 million international visitors in 2011, up by 20.67 per cent over 2010. With an average length of stay of 9.64 days and an average daily spend of 4,187.12 baht (US$ 137) per person, the Thai Tourism industry generated 776 billion baht in earnings.
Wisoot Buachoom Director Tourism Authority of Thailand
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AVIATION Doubling Delhi frequency Air Arabia starts twice-daily flights to the capital of India; Delhi. The airline currently offers seven weekly flights to Delhi and starting September 1, the carrier will offer 14 flights per week, departing Sharjah International Airport daily at 07:45 AM and 23:20 PM. The return flights will depart Delhi International Airport daily at 13:05 PM and 04:40 AM (local time).
Adel Ali Group Chief Executive Officer Air Arabia
“India has always been a market of focus for Air Arabia and we currently serve 13 cities across India from Sharjah and this number reflects the ever growing appeal for Air Arabia flights between the two countries and we are looking forward to offer more customers our value for money air travel. The rapidly expanding Aviation sector in India is also one of the country’s major economic drivers,” said Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia. A big number of students and families fly regularly between Delhi and Sharjah benefitting from Air Arabia’s wide network across the GCC, Europe and Asia. The airline flew a total of 4,77,839 passengers in the month of July 2012. Nearly 10 per cent growth was witnessed compared to the same month last year. Air Arabia’s second quarter turnover of this year, reaches 729 million, up by 23 per cent compared to the same period in 2011. While 1.3 million passengers flew onboard the airline in Q2 2012, up by 15 per cent from previous year. It’s average seat load factor stood at 85 per cent, up by 3 per cent from last year.
Jet links Mumbai-Sharjah Effective October 18, 2012, Jet Airways, is set to enhance connectivity to the Gulf with the launch of its new Mumbai-Sharjah service. This new route will be the airline’s sixth daily flight to the UAE from Mumbai. T T B U R E AU
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n addition, Jet Airways will also be resuming its services to Kuwait and Bahrain from Kochi. The introduction of these flights will further strengthen Jet Airways’ presence in the Gulf where it has emerged as one of the leading carriers to and from India in a relatively short period of time. Guests from the above Gulf destinations will now enjoy seamless connectivity with the airlines’ pan-India domestic network, as also the Far East and SAARC countries, through the airline's international hub in Mumbai. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said “With the growing demand from our guests for seamless connections between the Gulf and India, as well as onwards via our international hub in Mumbai, Jet Airways is delighted to enhance its
services on the India-Gulf sector in the winter schedule.
Having emerged as among the leading airlines on the highly competitive IndoGulf sector in a relatively short period of time, we are confident that the new services will prove popular with our guests.” The new daily return service (9W558 / 557) will be the sixth daily service between Mumbai and the
Aircraft on New Route The airline will deploy its state-of-the-art NextGeneration Boeing 737800 aircraft, offering Premiere and Economy configurations to its travellers
Sudheer Raghavan Chief Commercial Officer Jet Airways
UAE, in addition to the existing four daily services to Dubai and one daily service to Abu Dhabi. The airline’s return services on the Kochi-Kuwait sector (9W576 / 575) will operate four times a week; Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays respectively. The Kochi-Bahrain return services (9W594 / 593) will operate three days a week; on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays respectively.
Now, Dubai closer to India IndiGo launched new flights on Dubai-Hyderabad route from August 7, 2012 while doubling frequency on the Delhi-Dubai sector. It also launched its new daily flights from Kochi and Chennai to Dubai on August 25. best travel experience to all those who wish to fly to Dubai from these destinations.
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s an introductory offer, the airline will be offering a return fare of AED 734 on all new flights in both the sectors.
“Kochi holds a lot of promise for us at IndiGo and indeed is a key market for us. Expanding operations in Kochi is in line with our growth strategy outlined for South India. There are millions of Indians from Kerala and other south Indian cities who work in Middle East and have requirements of low fares by an Indian airline and we are absolutely delighted to announce new daily and non-stop flights between Kochi-Dubai, HyderabadDubai and Chennai-Dubai. The launch of these new
Aditya Ghosh President IndiGo
flights further strengthens our position in the IndiaMiddle East market. We feel with IndiGo’s service on the route, more and more people will be able to take the advantage of its affordable fares and great service. The new service will also help nearby markets to offer low fare flights on the route,” said Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo. With business rising and tourism stemming from the southern hubs, the airline is determined to provide the
Ghosh further added, “It is our constant endeavour to provide the best travel experience with more flexibility of choice for our customers and affordable flying experience. We hope to provide the much needed avenue for countless Indians to explore wider horizons and at the same time open up the doors to more and more overseas travellers to experience India.”
New Routes & Offers IndiGo to fly from Delhi to Muscat and Kathmandu, Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok to Mumbai and Dubai The airline is offering tickets on the two new flights at a very competitive rate for one-way travel which excludes airport and regulatory charges and taxes
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TRAVTALK
AVIATION
SEPTEMBER, 2012
RAK up by 78.3% in Q2
New terminal on its course
RAK International Airport continues its growth in passenger footfall by 78.3 per cent in Q2 2012 while the overall growth in the first six months of the year stood at 67.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2011
Due to the rapid growth of Airlines, Dubai Airports witnesses a towering international traffic over the last few years. And, hence, is all geared up for the new terminal to provide additional support to the airport.
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Counting Numbers
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he growth in passenger volume is in total consonance with similar growth in terms of aircraft movements, cargo tonnage and retail.
Growth in passenger footfall by 78.3% in Q2 2012
“This growth is the result of a combination of carefully thought collaborative teamwork, consistent supply chain, attractive prices, product innovation and continuous energy and focus on our customer’s needs and requirements.
CEO RAK International Airport
RAK International Airport is expecting a repetition of the last winter as a large number of tourists, particularly from the Western Europe.
We complement the other well-established airports in the UAE by offering our unique blend of services and values. We work with our clients in true partnership, providing individual attention, but ensuring we are approachable and easy to do business with,” said Andrew Gower, CEO, RAK International Airport.
“New flights will be operating from the Russian Federation in the winter 2012 and onwards. Certainly the emerging markets of CIS and Eastern Europe will continue to grow and we will readily welcome them as they use the airport gateway to get to the resorts in the wider Emirate,” he further added.
From Abu Dhabi to Rome Etihad Airways and Alitalia have announced direct Rome-Abu Dhabi flights to start from December 1, 2012. The flights are already on sale, from August 23, 2012.
Overall growth in the first six months stood at 67.2%
Andrew Gower
First Dreamliner lands in Dubai
James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways said,
“The key objective is to provide our passengers with a direct service to Rome.” The new route will open the doors to exceptional business and tourist destinations around the world on Etihad Airways’ network.
ubai International will be running out of capacity soon and we are already experiencing clogging. Hence, airlines moving to DWC would be an option,” informed Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports.
“The addition of Concourse-3 during the first quarter of 2013 is well-timed to boost our capacity upbeat on our already high levels of customer service,” he further said. Dubai International recorded the busiest in its first half of 2012 in its history
Paul Griffiths CEO Dubai Airports
with 27.9 million passengers up by 13.7 per cent from 24.5 in the corresponding period of 2011. “We are on track to meet the annual projected traffic of 56.5 million passengers, which will bring us very close to Dubai International’s operational capacity of 60 million passengers per annum,” added Griffiths.
Getting Busier Dubai Airports possess both Dubai International and Dubai World Central (DWC) Dubai International recorded the busiest in its first half of 2012 in its history with 27.9 million passengers up by 13.7 per cent from 24.5 in the corresponding period last year
UAE’s 1st domestic flight T T B U R E AU
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President and Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways
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Airports have announced a US$ 7.8 billion expansion programme which will enhance capacity at Dubai International from 60 million to 90 million passengers per year by 2018. India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Pakistan and the US had the greatest passenger volumes in terms of top destinations served by Dubai International.
RAK Airways is set to launch UAE’s first domestic flight, Ethiopian Airlines created history by connecting Ras Al Khaimah with Abu Dhabi from October becoming the first airline to land the 3, 2012. This new initiative will reduce a stretched Boeing 787 Dreamliner at the Dubai 3-hour road journey to a mere 45-minute flight. International Airport on August 19.
his new development is a new step to cater to the growing need of business and leisure travellers between Middle East and Africa.
James Hogan
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The aircraft landed at Bole Addis Ababa International Airport on August 16. Earlier Ethiopian became the first airline outside Japan to receive the ultramodern Dreamliner aircraft.
“We are the first airline outside Japan to receive this ultra-modern aircraft. This is an affirmation of our continuous pioneering role in African aviation.
Global Distribution Systems. “We have already signed an interline agreement with Etihad to interlink the airlines in Abu Dhabi from RAK,” he further said.
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It is also a testimony of our commitment to give our passengers the best possible travel experience, with the best industry products and services,” said Tewolde Gebremariam, CEO, Ethiopian Airlines.
ow, travellers will be able to reach Abu Dhabi from RAK in just 45 minutes as against more than 3 hours that presently takes to cover the 250-km distance by road under normal traffic conditions.
The aircraft is fitted with unique feature including 24 Cloud Nine Business Class seats besides 243 Economy Class seats. It is also equipped with many other first-of-its-kind features like higher humidity, bigger storage for on-board luggage, 60 per cent smaller noise footprint than peer airplanes, biggest windows in the sky and unique and adaptable lighting to the environment.
“With the launch of the inaugural flight to Abu Dhabi, we are offering residents of Ras Al Khaimah and Northern Emirates, an alternative mode of connecting Ras Al Khaimah with the capital,” informed John Brayford, Acting CEO, RAK Airways. “There has been a significant domestic traffic between RAK and Abu Dhabi with lot of people from up in the north commuting to the capital daily and weekly. For the same, we already have a bus service operating on the
Price Comparison
John Brayford Acting CEO RAK Airways
said route. Abu Dhabi is a growing market and a key source of revenue for our network, hence the idea of connecting directly RAK to the capital will help us build a network out of RAK,” added Brayford. Comparing taxi charges, which are AED 300 one way, the flight rates are reasonably priced as AED 230 one way and return fare AED 410 all including taxes. RAK Airways have changed their reservation system very recently to get connected with the outer world, through airlines and
Comparing taxi charges, which are AED 300 one way, the flight rates are reasonably priced as AED 230 one way and return fare AED 410 all including taxes
RAK Airways has filled 250,000 seats in 2011 and is gradually expanding its network to Africa, Middle East and Asia. The airline is constantly working on plans to increase passenger traffic that led to 58.5 per cent rise in passenger footfall at the RAK International in Q1 2012. Connecting Ras Al Khaimah with Abu Dhabi is a strategic step, which eventually would help, strengthening its foothold in the regional civil aviation market.
CRUISES Q. A.
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Does Royal Caribbean International (RCI) have any special summer itineraries? Guests can enjoy the final months of the summer cruising season with popular Mediterranean itineraries. The seven-night and longer European sailing options are available till October/November in Spain, Italy and France. It also has sailings in Alaska and Northern Europe for the summer till September. What are the add-on facilities RCI offers to cruise lovers that are different from other cruise lines? We have an excellent international product line. RCI offers a host of unique on-board activities, like rock-climbing wall, mini golf, ice skating, surf simulator, zipline. Our cruise ships are floating resorts with all the choices that fine resorts have to offer, only better; they also take you to different places. What on-board activities can be purchased prior to sailing? Most of RCI’s on-board activities are already included in the cruise price and guests have the option to book some of these online, prior to sailing. Shore excursions, however, they can be pre-purchased up to five days before sailing as well.
Ferry services are back Port Rashid resumed its passenger ferry services to regional destinations after its refurbishment and is all set to become the new beehive for Cruise Tourism. equipped with up-to-date facilities to efficiently manage passenger arrivals and departures, including new luggage belts and departure and arrival gates.
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fter the upgradation and refurbishment, Port Rashid resumed its passenger ferry services to regional destinations. The port connects Dubai with all the port cities across the Gulf region and is all set to become the new beehive for Cruise Tourism. The ferry Hormuz-12 arrived this week carrying 190
“For 40 years, Port Rashid has played a central role in connecting Dubai to the region and the rest of the world.
Mohammed Al Muallem
The Comeback Story
What are the guidelines for children on RCI cruise lines? Two children under 11 years can share the cabin with adults while sailing for free on selected European and Middle East cruises. Children need to pay only taxes, fees and gratuities. Lakshmi Durai Executive Director – Middle East Royal Caribbean Cruises
The ferry Hormuz-12 arrived this week carrying 190 passengers from the Port of Bandar Lengeh in Iran The vessel later departed on its return voyage with 250 passengers on-board. The ferry service will run to Badar Lengeh once every 3 days and the 7-hour ferry journey costs AED 250 for one-way ticket, less than half the price of an airline ticket to Tehran
Senior Vice President and Managing Director – UAE Region, DP World
passengers from the Port of Bandar Lengeh in Iran. It was accorded a warm welcome at the dedicated terminal by Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, DP World, UAE Region, Mohammed Ali Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer, DP World, UAE Region and Mohammed Al Mannaei, Director – Port Rashid. The newly refurbished Port Rashid Passenger Terminal is
New ‘guest’ on Celebrity Celebrity Cruises is growing its fleet with the new addition of a Solstice Class ship; Celebrity Reflection that is scheduled to join in October 2012. vacy of guests using the unique glass shower.
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elebrity Cruises, presently consists of 10 ships in its fleet and with this new addition, the company aims to make significant changes in 3 main areas; the Lawn Club, Michael’s Club and Team Earth. The cruise brand will be adding 42 Suites to Celebrity Reflection, including 34 Aqua Spa Suites (the first cabins of their kind) and eight Sky Suites. Nestled in the ship’s 14th deck the Reflection Suite is going to be situated, adjacent to the brand’s five new ‘Signature Suites’. The essence of modern luxury in Celebrity Reflection will present an enhanced Aqua Spa allowing guests to create their own circuit of sensory experiences as they move from room to room,
Spine-tingling Feature A two-bedroom Reflection suite will also be available with an all-glass shower stall that extends out over the edge of the ship for a spine-tingling experience
SEPTEMBER, 2012
“We have made a big investment, ensuring
Lakshmi Durai Executive Director - Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises - Middle East
experiencing hot and cold, wet and dry, peace and tranquility throughout. A two-bedroom Reflection suite will also be available with an all-glass shower stall that extends out over the edge of the ship for a spine-tingling experience. Reflection will also have an additional 19 Concierge-class cabins and 11 inside cabins. Lakshmi Durai, Executive Director, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises Middle East is completely ‘transparent’ about how the brand will preserve the pri-
our cruise lovers can now enjoy the shower entirely concern free of being visible. They can enjoy sea views while showering courtesy; special reflective glass. But, if they seek even further privacy, the shower also features ‘smart glass’,” she explained. Itinerary-wise, Celebrity Reflection will debut with a nine-night Northern Europe inaugural cruise, followed by a pair of two-week Mediterranean voyages. The ship will then sail from Barcelona to its Miami homeport on a 13-night transatlantic voyage. Once in Miami, Reflection will sail a threenight teaser cruise before kicking into its premier season of week-long Eastern Caribbean cruises.
We have developed the largest cruise terminal in the region here. We are, now, delighted to welcome regional ferry passengers to the Port’s Passenger Terminal,” informed Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director – UAE Region, DP World.
TRAVTALK
7
Offering daily Iftars DP World, UAE Region, had arranged daily Iftar buffets for workers in Jebel Ali port, where around 700 staff members gathered to break their fast during the Holy Month of Ramadan. Daily Iftar meals were being offered to port workers in a custom-built Ramadan tent located conveniently within the port area. Mohammed Sharaf, Group CEO, DP World, Mohammed Al Muallem, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, UAE Region and other senior officials of DP World, UAE Region, joined the staff to break their fast at Jebel Ali Port. Reaching out to its people and community with Iftar buffets is a long-established practice for DP World under its corporate responsibility initiatives.
8
TRAVTALK
COVER STORY
SEPTEMBER, 2012
Bookings get better after Ramadan Contd. from page 1
In today’s world, clients have lot of options available and therefore, the travel agents should not wait for the traveller to call. In fact, they should rather be prepared with fabulous offers for the up-coming holiday’s everytime so that they do not loose on business. “This will not only help the traveller to save money but, also enjoy the ‘Best Deals’ available which we as agents will provide. It’s important to be in touch with our previous clients and maintain healthy relationships with them,” suggested Manju Manchanda, Manager, Akbar Holidays. Commenting on the business comparison in 2012 different from 2011, Manchanda explained, “Economic downturn is never good for business, but if used correctly, it can provide travel agents and suppliers time to re-evaluate their strategies. Exposure to the customers, reminding them of the value and providing them with the best possible expertise as per their needs are some of the basic key ingredients for a good business. Staff communication is also very important and every individual should be trained to deliver their 110 per cent.” With fairly simple and easy visa procedure, Turkey remains a popular destination for the UAE residents with travel companies like Sharaf Travel offering special Ramadan packages to the country. “Lot of families managed to combine their EID breaks and holidays to destinations like, in and around Gulf, Muscat,
Rami Asaad Managing Director Darina Holidays
Ramadan is a slow season but it started improving from the last week of the festival and will extend till December-end
“Travel agents from India went to Jordan and had interactions with other agents from the region during the B2B sessions. In fact, to create a ‘Tourism Forum’, a line of meetings have been planned in Amman during mid-September,” he further informed. “In this ‘Tourism Forum’, there would be the Ambassador of India, members from airlines, travel agents, tour operators and important opinion makers. Such a huge participation will help us seek their advice
Jamal Abdulnazar
Manju Manchanda
General Manager Bin Majid Tours
General Manager Cozmo Travels
Manager Akbar Holidays
The Visa process is cumbersome in case of such holidays hence travel gets better only after Ramadan
Jordan, some parts of Europe, India and Thailand,” informed Premjit Bangara, Travel Manager, Sharaf Travel. “We achieved a decent profit and also met our client’s expectations, as some people booked their travel in advance while some waited for a week before witnessing a satisfying season,” he added.
“With the increased knowledge of a traveller regarding packages, airfare and the ability to compare best deals; we as agents have also learnt how to move with time and trends of the business. All in all, the general perception has changed and gotten more tech-savvy with the increasing numbers of online travel agencies,” informed Bangara.
Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Cyprus and Europe surprisingly has picked up this year, whereas, Czech Republic, Vienna and Kiev have improved in providing good packages to the travellers.
This Ramadan, even the airlines such as, Emirates lured customers with attractive airfares. Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, too, have now become more active in the ‘best deals’ race.
‘Tourism Forum’ to promote India Contd. from page 1
Hassan Ali Abdelal
Future Roadshow Dates In January 2013 - Jeddah, Dammam and Riyadh of Saudi Arabia and in February 2013 - Kuwait
and guidance on how to promote India further and undertake promotional activities to further promote the Brand Incredible India in the Middle East,” he stated. With the participation of medical representatives, roadshows will take place in January 2013 in Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait in February 2013.
Such a disconnected holiday discourages travel plans and, hence, plays against the travel trade
Travel Manager Sharaf Travel
Economic downturn is not good for business, but it can also provide time to re-evaluate business strategies
Darina Holidays mainly focusses on the GCC market and has observed 80 per cent growth in 2012 so far over 2011. They also have plans to expand their business in Latin America and to the European market. Around 43,000 passengers have poured in 2011 and 60,000 more are expected throughout 2012.
ing the CIS and the European markets coming up. We deal with tour operators and are indulged in various expansion plans. We are shortly going to buy a new fleet and move to a new office in Business Bay in October 2012,” explained Rami Asaad, Managing Director, Darina Holidays.
“As far as the responses from the travellers are concerned, the Holy Month of Ramadan is a slow season, but it started improving from the last week of the festival and will extend till December-end. We have seen the bookings getting better and witness-
Comparing Ramadan 2011 with 2012, the tourist movement was not that favourable due to the breaking summer holidays as The Holy month came in between. “People look for a long, stretched out, continuous holidays. Visa processing gets cumbersome, hence
Indian-Theme Fun Day @The Lost Chambers
Premjit Bangara
We as agents have learnt how to move with time and trends of the business and we have gotten more tech-savvy inbound and outbound travel gets better after Ramadan,” asserted Hassan Ali Abdelal, General Manager, Bin Majid Tours. For inbound, Ramadan would have been popular if they had provided special rates when the auspicious time started but, the hotels introduced attractive rates later on. Unfortunately, by that time most of the travellers had already started travelling and planned to come back after Ramadan. “We are looking more from CIS, Europe and GCC markets and are coming up with 2 new hotels in Abu Dhabi in November 2012,” Abdelal asserted.
An ode to ‘art’
Atlantis, The Palm celebrates ‘Indian-theme Family Fun Day at The Lost Chambers’ on September 7. Children’s entry was free with each paying adult. Guests tried traditional Indian sweets, heared Indian folklore and met Indian marine species such as the rare Giant Devil Catfish, native to the Indian Great Kali River.
Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi recently organised an ar t exhibition ‘Colours from South Africa’. The event was inaugurated by Yacoob Abba Omar, Ambassador of South Africa along with Ruprecht Schmitz, General Manager of the hotel.
Egypt saw 23% rise in Q1 The Egyptian government witnessed a rise of 23 per cent in the number of tourists visiting the country in the first half of 2012 with 5.08 million.
AGENTS Book and save
Cozmo expands its reach
Emirates airline passengers can receive exclusive savings at premium hotels in Dubai while booking via www.emirates.com before September 10, 2012. It is hence applicable for guests travelling between now until October 15, 2012, the discount welcomes Emirates passengers to stay in luxury in Dubai. In addition to Dubai’s iconic Atlantis The Palm Jumeirah, the upscale Dubai playground for all ages, the discount applies to four exceptional Emaar properties across Dubai; The Address Downtown Dubai, The Address Dubai Mall, The Address Dubai Marina and The Address Montgomerie Dubai. As a further bonus, guests at Emaar properties will also receive a complimentary pass to the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo at Dubai Mall during their stay. Emirates Airline flies to 126 destinations in 74 countries and operates 180 wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The airline has orders for an additional 220 aircraft.
Cozmo Travels has already opened new branches in Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in August 2012. Following that, they have plans to open offices in Fujairah on September 1 and in Dubai in October. S USMITA G HOSH
and requirement with a range of competitively priced products and services,” further said Abdulnazar.
A
s part of its network expansion, the Travel Management Company has plans to start 7 more outlets in all major gateways of Saudi Arabia.
“Only the ticket fare to Istanbul shows AED 3,500 everywhere, but our total package combined with accommodation and Air ticket is available at AED 3,000 and this is where we stand different,” informed Jamal Abdulnazar, General Manager, Cozmo Travels. Cozmo Travels is the first Middle East travel agency to sign up
Jamal Abdulnazar General Manager Cozmo Travels
for Travelport Universal Desktop. Through this new step, Cozmo has access to advanced desktop functionality including the ability to seamlessly combine all components of the travel itinerary and centrally manage profile and policy information, all within the highly configurable desktop. “The technology will help us in crucial times to respond to the clients’ needs
The Company has inaugurated and is operating outlets in 14 locations across the GCC. To fulfill its aim, Cozmo Holidays, the subsidiary company of Cozmo Travels is launching affordable holiday packages like ‘Companion-Goes-Free’ and ‘Eid Al Adha’ packages, both on sale from September 1.
Cozmo Packages The ‘Companion-GoesFree’ package will offer outbound travel to selective destinations as a 3-night package and is valid for travel between September 15-October 15 The ‘Eid Al Adha’ package to Istanbul will be valid to travel from October 25 to 29, 2012
SEPTEMBER, 2012
TRAVTALK
9
Remunerative options Contd. from page 2
market increased by 34 per cent in 2011 and we aim to clock at least 60-70 per cent growth in 2012 by enhancing our network in Tier-II cities. Even though our major business comes from the metros, still the Tier-II cities in India have opened new avenues for tour operators,” he further explained. Abdullah Bin Suwaidan, Deputy Director - Oversees Promotions and Inward Missions, DTCM said, “Ramadan is a month of festival and I am glad that Lama Tour have taken such a big initiative to bring this new flight in such auspicious time to showcase Dubai as a yearround destination. India is a very important market for us and such initiative surely would enhance the growth of this market.” John Beveridge, Area Manager and General Manager, Hyatt Hotels Dubai said, “The Government is taking a big initiative in promoting Dubai as a leading destination. During the Holy Month, people can come and experience the true Arabian culture.” This unique flight has marked a milestone in Lama
Abdullah Bin Suwaidan Deputy Director - Oversees Promotions and Inward Missions DTCM
India is a very important market for us. Such initiative will enhance the growth of this market Tours’ fifteen years of operation and has made it one of the largest inbound tour operating companies in Dubai. Ramadan is a non-peak season and the primary objective of this fam trip was to highlight the remunerative option for the travel agents during the Holy Month.
Indian agents on LAMA flight to Dubai
Lama Group in association with IndiGo Airlines, Hyatt Hotels in Dubai and Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) had launched ‘LAMA flight to Dubai’ during August 11 – 13, 2012. This maiden flight brought in over 100 travel agents and tour operators from North India.
10
TRAVTALK
STATISTICS
SEPTEMBER, 2012
Europeans top in limit stay in Dubai
According to Dubai Hotel Establishment 2011, 72,62,730 guests stayed in hotels and 18,32,840 in hotel apartments from January to December 2011.
Number of Dubai Hotel Establishment Guests by Month Jan-Dec 2011
HOTELS
E
uropeans stayed on an average of 7.2 per cent in standard hotel apartments and 6.6 per cent in deluxe hotel apartments respectively throughout 2011.
in hotels and 21,83,284 guests stand highest from Asian and African countries. As per Classification Category of Dubai, 2011 there was an average occupancy of 72,62,730 guests in 387 hotels.
dard and 6.1 in deluxe hotel apartments respectively. Following Nationality and Classification Category for Dubai throughout 2011, it’s observed that guests from European countries occupied 83,72,595 residence nights
On the other hand, guests from American countries had average length of stay of 6.8 per cent for standard and 5.8 per cent in deluxe while other Arab countries constitute 5.2 per cent length of stay in stan-
T T B U R E AU
LISTED
582,152
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
TOTAL
TOTAL
194,302
809,082
3
4
5
STAR
STAR
STAR
STAR
STAR
HOTELS
582,258
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
TOTAL
TOTAL
122,425
50
61
76
63
387
Number of Rooms
443
4,498
5,198
8,387
14,568
20,734
53,828
Rooms Occupied
275
3,149
3,950
6,290
10,780
15,551
39,833
Number of Beds
897
9,054
7,750
13,921
21,386
30,074
83,082
Beds Occupied
466
5,161
5,890
10,023
16,681
24,661
63,142
713,484
5MAY
6JUNE
HOTELS
668,428
757,324
1,371,265
1,828,696
2,586,547
HOTELS
Residence Nights
169,216
1,839,617
2,316,425
3,725,666
5,945,838
9,270,112 23,266,874
587,869
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
88,998
TOTAL
1
LISTED
TITLE
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
United Arab Emirates
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
GUESTS
2
STAR
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
GUESTS
3
GUESTS
4
STAR
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
GUESTS
9SEPTEMBER
Hotel Class
Hotel Class
Hotel Class
HOTELS
HOTELS
633,528
666,547
665,408
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
HOTEL APARTMENTS
172,886
TOTAL
831,317
11NOVEMBER
12DECEMBER
Hotel Class
HOTELS 7,262,730
5
Hotel Class
HOTEL APARTMENTS 1,832,840
STAR
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
GUESTS
TOTAL
839,433
10OCTOBER
STAR
165,909
TOTAL
783,744
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
719,026
8AUGUST
7JULY
HOTEL CLASS TOTAL
STAR
TOTAL
497,363
Hotel Class
131,157
TOTAL
839,668
Guests and Residence Nights at Hotels by Nationality and Classification Category - Emirate of Dubai (2011)
HOTELS
408,365
165,615
7,262,730
Hotel Class
674,053
150,216
50,470
TOTAL
690,392
HOTELS
Number of Guests
131,226
Hotel Class
Hotel Class
120
HOTELS
567,967
4APRIL
17
Hotel Class
628,464
799,682
Number of Hotels
3MARCH
Hotel Class
Hotel Class
TOTAL
TOTAL
759,877
2FEBRUARY
1JANUARY 171,218
2
177,725
812,502
HOTELS
1
HOTELS
618,200
161,163
Hotels and Occupancy Average of Rooms and Beds, Guests and Residence Nights by Classification Category- Emirate of Dubai 2011
TITLE
HOTELS
647,919
TOTAL 9,095,570
TOTAL
GUESTS
RESIDENCE NIGHTS
GUESTS
260
193
9,023
6,629
91,599
50,862
163,527
94,557
513,540
190,825
862,532
365,849
1,640,481
708,915
Other A.G.C.C. Countries
11,375
6,843
250,334
150,160
306,654
129,418
442,827
176,187
899,462
283,602
1,262,992
377,387
3,173,644
1,123,597
Other Arab Countries
18,251
5,207
234,432
79,197
246,003
80,646
276,382
102,181
431,633
131,310
478,659
146,628
1,685,360
545,169
122,691
33,328
1,116,258
363,872
782,389
244,556
1,453,729
559,276
1,752,383
544,871
1,332,650
437,381
6,560,100
2,183,284
European Countries
13,054
3,559
193,958
56,100
741,221
185,673
1,108,915
291,168
1,814,559
479,483
4,500,888
980,463
8,372,595
1,996,446
American Countries
2,059
736
25,566
9,053
119,696
53,684
193,864
91,109
389,607
143,046
655,552
218,555
1,386,344
516,183
Oceanian
1,525
604
10,046
3,417
28,863
12,485
86,422
56,787
144,654
55,559
176,840
60,284
448,350
189,136
169,215
50,470
1,839,617
668,428 2,316,425
757,324
9,270,113 2,586,547 23,266,874
7,262,730
Asian and African Countries
Total
3,725,666 1,371,265
5,945,838 1,828,696
Average Length of stay for Hotel Apartments Guests by Nationality and Classification 2011
7.2
(Length In Days)
6.1 5.2
4.1
2.9
United Arab Emirates
5.2
4.7
3.7
5.5
5.4
5.7
6.6
5.5
6.9
Deluxe
Total
6.8 5.8 6.2
5.1 5.0
5.1
5.0
5.6
4.1
Other A.G.C.C Countries
Source: Department Of Tourism & Commerce Marketing
Standard
Other Arab Countries
Asian and African Countries
European Countries
American Countries
Oceanian
Total
5.2
HOTELS
SEPTEMBER, 2012
TRAVTALK
11
Spreading ‘Green Tourism’ First budget ‘Inn’ in Bahrain The Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi continues its journey towards a green earth by engaging children with its eco-activities throughout its two months summer camp that started from July 1 in the hotel premises. T T B U R E AU
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he summer camp at the hotel proved to be both educational and experiential
sustainable practices families wish to follow at home like encouraging kids to healthy eating or recycle or make use of old objects instead of throwing them. Ruprecht Schmitz, General Manager, Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi, expressed, “We want to build the pathway to turn great kids into great leaders and build both their and our planet’s future on the whole.
Ruprecht Schmitz General Manager Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi
immersion in the living of green values for a child establishing a pattern of life. The camp mirrors the
All our games, activities and programmes are focussed on the betterment of the environment that will provide the kids a firm foundation to build the
rest of their lives,” commented Schmitz. Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi is constantly striving for perfection for over the past few years. The attention to detail plays a major role in the hotel’s continuous success. This hard work was translated to a very positive feedback by the valued guests of the property. “We always believe in raising our standard of quality to reach new heights of achievement. We do not just look at the entire picture from outside, but dig deeper to perfect the minor details that makes all the difference, as we are thriving to exceed expectations,” explained Schmitz while discussing the hotels value.
New look for Black Tower 2
Ishraq Gulf Real Estate and InterContential Hotels Group (IHG) jointly opens the first budget Holiday Inn Express hotel in Bahrain. The 274-room property, marks the debut of the brand in Bahrain. T T B U R E AU
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iven a local ‘four-star’ rating, the hotel is situated on Exhibition Avenue, close to Bahrain International Airport. It features a 24-hour selfservice business centre, free high speed internet
connection, gym, restaurant and 24-hour kiosk. Pascal Gauvin, Chief Operating Officer - India, Middle East and Africa, IHG informed, “Holiday Inn Express is going from strength to strength across Asia and the Middle East.
Following our recent brand launch in Thailand, we’re thrilled to see the brand open up in Bahrain, just shortly before we launch in India later this year.” With a unique operating model, Holiday Inn Express Bahrain will address the needs of the price-conscious
Pascal Gauvin Chief Operating Officer - India, Middle East and Africa, IHG
business and leisure traveller seeking quality accommodation at affordable rates. Owned by Dubai International Capital, Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Company is a developer. The Bahrain hotel will be operated by its subsidiary firm, Ishraq Hospitality Management and employ 70 staff.
Cruise-theme team building event
Ramada Ajman is a landmark in itself with three black towers. After its full refurbishment within 3 months, the hotel is re-opening its doors of Tower 2 on September 1. T T B U R E AU
Tower 2 Features
T
he Hotel Management utilised the summer period to upgrade the property. The upgradation includes, newly added facilities of two executive floors to cater top notch corporate and MICE segments with its state-of the-art facilities. Iftikhar Hamdani, General Manger, Ramada Ajman said,
“We are excited to open the newly refurbished wing to offer quality rooms to our corporate and leisure segment in the coming winter season. Catering to all types of market, 168 newly refurbished rooms will fulfill every need along with our executive floors that’s required for government and corporate segment.”
Upgradation includes, newly added facilities of two executive floors to cater top notch corporate and MICE segments with its state-of-the-art facilities
Iftikhar Hamdani General Manger Ramada Ajman
Predominantly on sustainable measures to improve the bottom line and to take a Corporate Social Responsibility by involving in environmental support,
Catering to all types of market, 168 newly refurbished rooms will fulfill every need along with our executive floors that’s required for government and corporate segment
Ramada Ajman engages itself with many activities round the year. To name a few such as Beach cleaning, regular blood donations camp at the hotel, Earth Hour celebration, education to the guest for the environment support, visits to the elderly home Ajman and special need children at Sharjah are some among the many initiatives that the hotel involves itself.
Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort, an upmarket Moroccan-style property in the heart of Fujairah, recently organised a cruise-theme, team-building event. Around 100 staff participated in this notable and fun-filled event dressed in complete sailor uniforms, imbibing the thrills and bliss of a sea voyage.
‘Ultimate Summer Escape’ sales blitz
Tilal Liwa Hotel recently concluded a series of sales blitz for the ‘Ultimate Summer Escapes’ campaign. During the 2-month campaign, the sales team targetted corporate companies, embassies, hospitals and government organisations and covered a total of 17 days sales blitz, conducted on weekly basis in different regions and cities.
12
TRAVTALK
NTO
SEPTEMBER, 2012
‘Hotel classification’ in Sharjah
Identifying 200 tourist spots
With an aim to boost the tourist inflow, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) plans to launch a new hotel classification The Indonesia Government has criteria. The Tourism Board have started dialogues with various identified 200 tourist attractions stakeholders to elicit their views and suggestions on the said hotel scheme. and 80 national tourism strategic locations to be developed by 2025. tourist flow to the emirate,” most crucial pillar of the T T B U R E AU
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harjah in its bid to boost tourist inflow has put onus on upgrading and improving the quality standards in the emirate’s hospitality sector. “The proposed norms are aimed at improving the experience of the growing number of international visitors to Sharjah, offering the travellers better quality services and greater number of choices.
This will help, create new investment opportunities and attract new tourism market segments,” said Mohamed Ali Al Noman Al Noman, Chairman,
Mohamed Ali Al Noman Chairman SCTDA
SCTDA at a meeting with selected audience of more than 60 leaders and representatives of the hotel industry. The two-day meeting discussed the 2008 Sharjah’s Hotel Classification and Licensing Law along with the latest updates terming the hospitality sector as the
tourism industry.
said Al Noman.
The Board hopes, that greater cooperation, between the Authority and hotel industry will eventually benefit and lead to the strengthening of the hospitality sector.
SCTDA hopes that the new classification norms which are in tune with the latest trends and developments in global tourism markets will benefit the domestic market of the emirate.
“Providing better quality services and facilities to tourists will in turn enhance the standard of the tourism sector and boost the
Welcoming the Initiatives Hotel industry leaders have welcomed the new initiatives for hotel classification scheme. Their representatives promised to extend all the possible help and cooperate with the Authority
Hotel industry leaders have welcomed the new initiatives for hotel classification scheme. Their representatives promised to extend all the possible help and cooperate with the Authority to boost the tourism sector in the emirate, which has been witnessing a boom of late. Tourism industry in Sharjah is witnessing a steady growth particularly in terms of hotel occupancy rates and number of inbound international visitors.
T T B U R E AU
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s a pilot project, it has picked up 16 priority destinations out of 80 locations to create tourism as one of the nation’s economy. Improving tourist locations is the biggest challenge if there is no collaboration with the local government.
“Our endeavour is not only to increase the number of tourists visiting our country but to inspire good quality tourism and make them stay here longer,” informed Nour Aridi, Country Manager, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office, Middle East Representation Office.
Nour Aridi Country Manager, Visit Indonesia Tourism Office, Middle East Representation Office
The 16 destinations include Lake Toba, Pangandaran, Borobudur, Bromo – Tengger, Semeru, Lombok, Rinjani, Flores, Wakatobi, Toraja, Derawan, Pulau Weh, Togean islands, Thousand Islands and Old Batavia and Bali’s southern and northern coasts as well as around Mount Batur.
Abu Dhabi in Saudi Arabia Accolades for RAK TCA Abu Dhabi held a 3-city roadshow in Saudi Arabia in August. The idea was to attract greater number of tourists from the region looking for leisure breaks, cultural excursions and business trips in a familiar environment. T T B U R E AU
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audi Arabia is the emirate’s 5th largest international source market. Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) recorded an
from-home for thousands of Saudis eyeing short leisure breaks, cultural excursions and business trips in a familiar environment,” expressed Mubarak Al Shamisi, Country Manager - TCA Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia.
The capital has seen a boom in Saudi arrivals for short leisure breaks, cultural excursions and business trips Mubarak Al Shamisi encouraging 17 per cent increase of overall hotel guest arrivals in June 2012. Among which 6,661 Saudi Arabian Nationals checked-in at Abu Dhabi’s hotels and hotel apartments. This was a staggering 57 per cent jump compared to June 2011. “Geographic proximity is one of Abu Dhabi’s selling points, among many others to Saudi tourists. The capital has become a home-away-
The roadshows were held in Jeddah (August 26), Riyadh (August 27) and Dammam (August 28)
Surprising Figures During January-June 2012 some 36,430 Saudi Arabians checked-in at Abu Dhabi’s hotels and hotel apartments registering a 36% rise on the equivalent half-year in 2011
respectively. More than 20 stakeholders from Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector including airlines, hotels, attractions, tour operators and Destination Management Companies (DMCs) participated in the 3-city event. They highlighted the emirates multi-faceted leisurebusiness-cultural propositions to the three Saudi cities. “Besides large number of Saudi nationals traditionally opting to travel by road, Abu Dhabi is also well-connected with various Saudi cities through air as well. Etihad Airways operates 42 weekly services between Abu Dhabi and the three Saudi cities. Saudi Airlines operates daily services to Abu Dhabi from both Jeddah and Riyadh, while NAS Air operates daily flight from Jeddah,” added Al Shamisi. TCA Abu Dhabi updated trade representatives on the recent additions to the emirate’s tourism proposition through a tailored presentation including details of new hotels and resorts and various other upcoming attractions.
Ras Al Khaimah and its international hotel brands were recently honoured with regional and international awards. These accolades are the testament to the hard effort attributed by each of the hotels’ team members. T T B U R E AU
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as Al Khaimah is striving to strengthen its position on the international tourism map as leisure, adventure and an affordable luxury destination and this new achievement boosts the nation’s tourism pride. A total of seven Awards were presented to Banyan Tree Al Wadi and its sister
Victor Louis Chief Operating Officer Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority
resort, Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach, the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa. DoubleTree by Hilton received five accolades including com-
munity care and social responsibility recognition, where Bin Majid Beach Hotel received one regional award.
Villa Resort; Middle East Leading Desert Spa Resort and Middle East Leading Villa for Al Rimal Deluxe Villa.
Commenting on the hotels’ awards, Victor Louis, Chief Operating Officer, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority said, “I congratulate the winning hotels and resorts for achieving these prestigious awards.
As for the 2012 MENA Travel Awards, Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach was awarded with the UAE Leading Beach Resort; the Banyan Tree Al Wadi won a Silver Award for Best 5-Star Leisure Hotel and the Platinum Award for Best Spa.
These awards endorse the aims of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism and Development Authority in promoting the region as a global affordable luxury destination for leisure and adventure travel.” At the recent 2012 World Travel Awards (WTA), The Banyan Tree Al Wadi and Banyan Tree Ras Al Khaimah Beach walked away with five awards; Ras Al Khaimah Leading Resort; UAE Leading
Two of Hilton Worldwide brands in RAK were honoured with five international awards including Holiday Check Award 2012. This property received two internal awards - 2011 MEA Hilton Brand Award of Excellence and the MEA Q4 Blue Energy Award. Doubletree by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah had won two awards, including 2011 Crystal Cookie Community Care Award and the Care Cup heading over 300 hotels worldwide. Bin Majid Beach Hotel had also won the Platinum Award for Best 4 Star Leisure Hotel at 2012 MENA Travel Awards, for the second time after 2004.
TECHNOLOGY
Wizie bonding with ME agents
SEPTEMBER, 2012
TRAVTALK
13
First Crowne Plaza opens in Qatar
Wizie.com has the expertise to streamline critical business processes, optimise revenue streams, reduce costs and earn higher profit of margins to enhance customer service operations. The company aims to strengthen its ties with the ME agents and the region to further expand its footprints. RA I N A M A N DA L
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izie.com provides vast domain knowledge and proven expertise in Technology, Consulting, Sales and Marketing solutions to the travel and hospitality industry. Middle East explored further on the company’s decision of spreading its footprints across the Middle East. “Middle East is a virgin market as far as Travel Technology is concerned. There are not too many OTAs. Since there is a boom in the travel similar to other markets, there is definitely a lot of scope for technology,” explained Moondeep Aggarwal, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President – Operations, Wizie.com. Wizie sees the Middle East market as a rich market, for all services the
company provides, starting from Online Booking Engine Solutions, Automation Solutions to Fare Management Solutions. When asked about the company’s future prospect in the Middle East market, Aggarwal replied, “Wizie is just penetrating into the Middle East market. But, being a popular technology company (between travel agents and GDS) in North America and with some presence in Syria, Europe and India, we are quite confident that we will soon penetrate and increase our market share in the region.” “Travel Industry globally is going through turbulent times and travel agents in the ME region are definitely affected by this as well.
Technology is gradually becoming the universal key for reducing cost and increasing sales. Such a scenario is a perfect platform for Wizie to establish relations with agents across ME. Also with the vast knowledge, experience and products/solutions, we definitely have something to offer to every agent/airline in ME,” he further added. The company is already driving its marketing plans aggressively. “We have started some marketing and are also meeting with customers. We are further planning to be a part of various industry events and eventu-
InterContinental Hotels Group and Trans Orient Establishment celebrated the opening of the first Crowne Plaze Doha - The Business Park on August 21. The new property offers unparalleled meeting and conference facilities and new restaurants for the booming Doha market. The hotel, the first in the region, which has launched under the new Crowne Plaza branding, is set to appeal international visitors and Qatari residents alike.
Moondeep Aggarwal Chief Operating Officer and Vice President – Operations Wizie.com
Maximising business with China
ally plan to establish a strategic location in ME to cater to the local customers,” he said.
Top Source Markets Apart from ME / Africa wizie’s other top source markets are USA, Canada, Australia, Europe, India and the rest of the Asia
Ramada Downtown Dubai, participated in the China Workshop 2012, organised by the Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) to maximise the business potential in the Chinese market. The workshop was conducted to create awareness about Dubai.
Saudi Arabia among top-5 Tripling the scores As per Amadeus Total Demand analysis report, Asia leads the world’s growth in travel and holds seven out of the ten busiest inter-city routes. Regionally, Saudi Arabia confirms its prime position followed by UAE. T T B U R E AU
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he analysis report sees the growth figures of the Kingdom reaching 15 per cent in 2011, keeping Saudi Arabia amongst the top 5 countries showing highest percentage growth in passengers between
per cent reaching 38 million travellers in 2011. “With the fast increasing tourism potential of the region, the Middle East confirms its prime position, becoming one of the most prominent travel hubs in the world.
This is mainly due to its infrastructure, its strategic location and strong commitment and vision by the region's rulers,”
to gain competitive edge,” added Medawar. In the Middle East, inspite of the smaller volumes, certain trends can be highlighted. The growing traffic, in the Middle Eastern inter-city routes, rose predominantly between Dubai and Jeddah, followed by Dubai and Doha.
T T B U R E AU
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n addition, new content has recently been added from leading hotel aggregators, Hotelzon and Tourico Holidays. To deliver a complete integrated hotel booking platform, the booking engine
More so, busiest routes with other regions are London-Dubai and BombayDubai. Increased traffic to and from Jeddah with other regions was also registered, a growth supported by religious travel.
Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Amadeus
asserted Antoine Medawar, Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, Amadeus.
Market Intelligence Solution Analysis
2010 and 2011. Securing a place in the top 15 fastestgrowing countries, the UAE achieved 10 per cent growth in visitor departures in 2011. Traffic between Asia and Europe and between Asia and North America, grew by 9 per cent while between Asia and the Middle East, it grew by 6
“We, at Amadeus will continue supporting the travel sector growth in this part of the world and beyond. Analysing and sharing key trends is a serious step for us to ensure that provided technology solutions meet the industry needs and enable its players
Amadeus Total Demand provides detailed demand data for any origin and destination pair in the world. Data is mined from a large number of sources including commercial and government airline and airport traffic statistics and major GDSs as well
Antoine Medawar
‘Travelport Rooms and More’, the hotel booking engine, is already witnessing a triple growth on the fast growing hospitality sector with over 7,00,000 supplier offers on more than 3,40,000 hotel properties.
Niklas Andreen GVP Hospitality and Partner Marketing Travelport
combines meta-search functionality from Sprice.com, acquired by Travelport in May 2010 with Travelport’s core B2B expertise. It is now available in over 70 countries and in six different languages
(English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish).
platform through which they can market their content.”
Niklas Andreen, GVP Hospitality and Partner Marketing, Travelport, said, “Developing ‘Travelport Rooms and More’ was a strong one as it complements our GDS hotel offering and benefits everyone in the supply chain. Importantly,
Hotelzon and Tourico Holidays added 14 other leading hotel content suppliers on the portal, including Booking.com, Agoda, Hotels.com and LateRooms. The tool also contains Travelport’s extensive GDS hotel content.
it negates the need for leisure travel agents to search for hotel offers on multiple websites. Instead it allows them to access and book commissionable accommodation offers through one quick and easy process. With agents in over 70 countries now using Travelport Rooms and More, we are also offering leisure hotel suppliers an additional
Hotelzon, an online B2B hotel booking technology provider, adds more than 1,00,000 additional hotel property offers. With 37,000 exclusive hotels that cannot be found through other distribution channels, Hotelzon offers a comprehensive European inventory that continues to grow organically.
Add-ons Tourico Holidays, a Travel Holdings company is a leading global travel brokerage company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. With a worldwide hotel network exceeding 37,000 individual properties across 4,500 destinations is the company's core asset
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SEPTEMBER, 2012
FAMILY ALBUM
roadshows in Jordan Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Tourism, India along with India Tourism Dubai office held a roadshow event in Amman, Jordan highlighting the charm and diversity of India to the travel trade of the region. Many tour operators, travel agents, hotels and airlines showcased Indian tourist attractions at the event. The roadshow was held on June 27, 2012.
MOVEMENTS
SEPTEMBER, 2012
TRAVTALK
15
Airberlin Berlin
Ramada Downtown Dubai Dubai
Stella Warmuth has been appointed as the new Area
Wael El Behi has been appointed as the new General Manager
Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi & Cristal Salam Hotel Abu Dhabi
Manager - Middle East, Asia Pacific & Africa for airberlin. In her present profile, she will be responsible for sales in these markets. Warmuth has been working for airberlin since June 2008 and was initially an International Sales Manager responsible for the markets in Great Britain and France. In April 2011, she took over as Head of International Sales Planning & Coordination.
for Ramada Downtown Dubai. In his present role, he will be responsible for promoting the hotel’s reputation. With nearly two decades of experience in the industry, El Behi has extensive knowledge in sales, marketing and operations in luxury hotel brands. Before moving to Ramada Downtown Dubai, he was with Coral Hotels & Resorts where he held several managerial positions. He has joined the hotel in June 2011 as Executive Assistant Manager.
Sid Sattanathan joins as the new Cluster General Manager of Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi on Zayed the 1st Street and Cristal Salam Hotel located in the Tourist Club Area. He has over 25 years of hospitality experience. Sattanathan began his career in the Front office and branched into Distribution and Revenue Management, which led to Regional Corporate roles in Singapore, Sydney and Amsterdam.
Centro Sharjah & Sharjah Rotana Sharjah
Connect World New Delhi
Bin Majid Beach Resort Ras Al Khaimah
Tarek Abdel Dayem has been appointed as the Cluster Director of Sales for Centro Sharjah and Sharjah Rotana. Originally from Egypt, Dayem brings with him more than 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry. After pursuing Bachelor’s Degree (1994) in Tourism & Hotel Management from Cairo University, he started his career in the Front Office Department with Marriot Hotels and Radisson Bly in Egypt. He speaks English, Arabic and Italian fluently.
Rajiv Verma joins Connect World as the new Business
Javier Cid is appointed as the Director of Operations
Head - Sales and Marketing in India. He comes with more than 20 years of professional experience in diverse aspects of Sales and Marketing in Airlines, Hospitality, Holidays, Travel and Tourism & Destination Management Companies. In this new profile, Verma will be responsible to promote the Brand’s growing portfolio in India and Dubai. He will be based in the company’s India office and would be repor ting to the corporate office in Dubai.
for Bin Majid Beach Resort. A Spanish national, Cid has more than 10 years of extensive experience in the international hospitality industry. Prior to this, he was working as a hospitality consultant for a hotel opening project placed in Bilbao, Spain. In his present role, he will oversee and direct all aspects of the hotel operational departments. He holds an MBA degree in Tourism in Malaga and Madrid, Spain.
Jumeirah Emirates Towers Dubai
Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel Dubai
Imran Changezi is appointed as the new Hotel Manager of Jumeirah Emirates Towers. He has over 19 years of hospitality and leisure experience covering both Rooms Division and Sales & Marketing functions, working across Europe, Middle East and Asia. Changezi joined Jumeirah Group in 2000 as a member of the Sales Department for Jumeirah Emirates Towers. He was recently appointed as pre-opening Hotel Manager at Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel, opening soon in Azerbaijan.
Sandeep Kumar is the new Business Development Manager
Hilton Al Hamra Golf & Beach Resort Ras Al Khaimah
– Corporate of Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel in Dubai. He is multilingual and has experience both in India and in the Arabian Gulf. He joins the hotel from the Sheraton Khalidiya, Abu Dhabi. An Indian national, Kumar holds an MBA degree in hospitality management and international marketing management apart from several other qualifications in hospitality management, Business Administration, sales and marketing and international business management.
Riad Alsaad joins the Hilton Al Hamra Golf & Beach Resort as the new Sous Chef. In this new profile, he will oversee and manage an allelectric kitchen with several cooks and six dining outlets. In his previous roles, Alsaad served as a Sous Chef for the Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa and Chef to Partie for Hilton Worldwide in Sydney Australia.
Suite 201, 202, 203, 204 Al Sayegh Building, Bur Dubai, P.O. Box 20808 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 334 4330 / 335 7676 | Fax: +971 4 334 4232 / 335 7111 E-mail: info@lama.ae | Website: www.lama.ae
DTCM’s mega fam trip for 100 German agents
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai, as part of its ‘Dubai Expert Programme’, organised a mega famtrip and iftar banquet for agents from 100 German tourist companies. It is the first time for the website of the ‘Dubai Expert Online Programme’ to see this big number of registrations and visitors. Hundreds of expert companies in marketing Dubai overseas have participated in the e-learning course. The 100 participants successfully completed the online course for marketing Dubai in Germany. During the visit, the German delegates also visited the Burj Khalifa.
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TRAVTALK
SEPTEMBER, 2012
CAR RENTAL
Thrifty now in Mirdif City Tie-up for one-stop travel Thrifty Car Rental, UAE, launches its newest car rental location at Mirdif City Centre recently. Besides 10 other existing shopping malls, Thrifty also provides cost-effective services to airports, free zones and hotels. T T B U R E AU
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hrifty UAE lead the way in generating the concept of renting cars in shopping malls and consequently
Rahul Singh General Manager Thrifty Car Rental
instigated its shopping mall strategy in 2006. Since then, the car rental organisation started expanding its services
in most of the leading malls of the country. Intentionally moving closer to a developing community in Dubai, visitors and residents now, have a more convenient access to car rentals with a fleet of more than 17,500 vehicles to choose from. “Our businesses in shopping malls have increased by 700 per cent over the last five years. We believe it will increase more with the onset of summer, this year as well, attracting both tourists and residents in Mirdif City Centre and other malls locations,” said Rahul Singh, General Manager, Thrifty Car Rental. “As the travel market continues to improve, Thrifty sees remarkable opportunity in the UAE.
The increased number of discounted deals in hotel stays and tourist activities has led to a rise in the inbound tourist traffic, resulting in increased business activity for Thrifty Car Rental,” he further adds. Thrifty Car Rental in United Arab Emirates Thrifty continues to keep the UAE moving by servicing customers in more than 40 full-service outlets in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Fujairah, Al Ain, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah
Hertz and Royal Jordanian entered into a new tie-up. This association will provide a one-stop travelling solution and preferential rates to its frequent flyers who book their flights online. S USMITA G HOSH
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he Royal Plus members will now get special deals at best rates. There will be special rewards including, 500 Royal Plus miles for each booking and all the benefits of global car rental at Hertz locations across all 59 sectors covered by Royal Jordanian. Royal Plus members henceforth would collect 1,000 miles if they book cars from Hertz Prestige Collection that includes luxury brands like Mercedes, BMW and Porsche instead of the 500 miles they get for booking just their air tickets. “We are happy to have established a partnership with Royal Jordanian. We view this as an opportunity to build a lasting working relationship based on strong business synergies,” informed Michel
Michel Taride President - Hertz International and Executive VP, Hertz Corporation
Taride, President - Hertz International and Executive Vice President - Hertz Corporation. “We are both committed to ensure that our customers benefit from the latest innovations, developments and enhancements in travel service, comfort and ease of access.
Hertz looks forward to provide Royal Plus members and many other Royal Jordanian passengers with many attractive car rental offers and great services around the world,” Taride added. The tie-up will come handy for both business and leisure travellers needing their own transport for meetings and sightseeing as well as to embark on holiday road trips.
Presence in ME Hertz has 11 Hertz franchisees and a total of 66 locations in the Middle East
Celebrating Iftar with the travel trade Travelport hosted a fast-breaking occasion, Iftar, for a huge gathering of over 500 travel agents and their families to celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan. The event took place at Park Hyatt in Dubai. The get together was organised to strengthen ties among the travel trade as well as for enhancing business relationships.