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27/2/07
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BREAKING
Inside this issue:
TRAVELNEWS
Breaking Barriers
Challenge for tourism Managing Growth
www.breakingtravelnews.com
ITB Edition
9 March 2007
Page 12
Page 21
Page 117
A global first: Long-haul, low-cost flights
Check out the World Travel Awards nominees
Amadeus goes big with GDS
Noel Massoud, General Manager, Emirates Palace
Emirates Palace targets European travellers Emirates Palace is now looking to attract more tourists from Europe, after a successful inaugural year, which saw the luxury hotel establish itself as one of the leading leisure and business destinations in the Middle East.
Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates
Royal families, heads of state, sporting legends and world famous architects have all graced the halls of Emirates Palace in the last few months. This iconic Kempinski hotel in Abu Dhabi is still one of the most grandiose hotels on the planet. The World’s Leading New Hotel, according to the World Travel Awards, is a clear favourite among Middle East and European tourists, in particular German travellers, based on recorded stays and bookings last year. “This year, we hope to create more attractive packages and increase our promotional efforts in our existing markets, as well as in key emerging markets in Europe such as Russia, France and the UK,” said Noel
that can seat 1,200. All of this has state-of-the-art technology – good for theatres, ballets, operas and films.
Massoud, General Manager, Emirates Palace. The growth in occupancy from these key markets is driven by the hotel’s strategy of sponsoring high profile events, including the Abu Dhabi Golf Championships and the Abu Dhabi Economic Forum. The hotel has seen a 50 percent increase in the leisure market, over the previous year. Massoud talks to Breaking Travel News on strategies for marketing the property in 2007:
BTN: What marketing campaigns are you working on? MASSOUD: We have a campaign in the Pan–Arab newspapers and naturally we are working with our public relations agency in order to introduce and push the Emirates Palace into the European market more.
BTN: What areas of the business are you focusing on? MASSOUD: We expect more conferences and we have had a lot of enquiries for big events and from international corporate accounts. We have also moved into weddings. The Emirates Palace has a huge ballroom that can seat about 2,000 people and we have an auditorium
BTN: The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) opened an office in London – how does that impact you? MASSOUD: Since the inception of ADTA itself we have already felt an increase in business and demand for the destination. They are now trying hard to push Abu Dhabi as a strong tourism destination with plans for
INSIDE: WORLD TRAVEL CEO FORUM KICKS OFF
Paris and ultimately somewhere in Eastern Europe. BTN: Which are growth markets for you going forwards? MASSOUD: At the moment growth in tourism is coming from the United Kingdom. But Germany and the German speaking countries are our top markets. I think we can do more in the UK – this is a natural market for us with the historical ties between the UK and the UAE, so we expect more business. BTN: What are you doing in the multimedia sector to promote the Emirates Palace? MASSOUD: We are waiting to finalise a 360 degree video and I think the Emirates Palace will be the first hotel to have it. www.emiratespalace.com
Read the full story on Page 11
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