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The future of travel takes the spotlight As Arabian Travel Market opens its doors today, it reunites 1,500 exhibitors and representatives from 112 destinations with an anticipated 20,000 attendees. The show floor this year is over 85 percent larger than last year, with Dubai World Trade Centre hosting one of the industry’s largest gatherings since the pandemic. This year’s show will spotlight the future of international travel and tourism. Highlighting the theme, the programme features an array of sessions and events, enabling industry professionals to discuss current trends and explore long-term opportunities within the fields of travel, transportation, tourism, hospitality, events, attractions and more. The 29th edition of ATM will form an essential part of the UAE’s annual Arabian Travel Week, which sees ITIC, ARIVAL Dubai and ILTM Arabia also taking place. Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “ATM 2022 will see a diverse range of industry leaders take to the stage, offering expert insights on trends, challenges and opportunities from across our sector.” Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said: “Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism is pleased to be part of this significant fixture in the
Dubai
global tourism calendar and is looking forward to discussing and exploring opportunities for sustainable growth, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai the most visited destination
Farnek to launch ‘Trendz’ hotel management company at ATM Farnek, the leading UAE-based smart and green facilities management company, is set to launch ‘Trendz’, a new standalone hotel management entity. Offering a unique 360-degree service for hotel owners and operating companies, Trendz accents technology and sustainability, two of the most important trends in hospitality today. Walter Knight, Director of Hospitality at Farnek, said: “Farnek, which has over 8,000 employees, has traditionally provided manpower and outsourcing services, such as cleaning, security and property maintenance. However, Trendz takes that proposition one stage further, managing front office requirements, reservations, concierge, housekeeping and room service. We can also manage sales operations, marketing and PR.
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Walter Knight
and the best city in the world to live and work in. Since reopening to the global market in July 2020, Dubai has never looked back. We have been able to build on this momentum year on year, leading to a hugely successful Expo 2020 Dubai. And ATM comes at a time when the rest of the world
wants to be a part of this remarkable journey with Dubai. As the host city, we welcome our industry partners and travel and tourism professionals to this vibrant networking environment to share experiences, insights and best practices to reinvigorate tourism growth in a post-pandemic world.”
“It is a cost-effective and flexible hospitality proposition. Hotels can engage with us for specific operational requirements or contract us to manage an entire property, either under the Trendz brand or as a white label product.” One of Farnek’s most recent accomplishments was the development of an app called ‘Flexi-Guest’, which digitises the guest journey from pre-arrival to check out. The app, which was developed in-house, interfaces with a hotel’s property management system affording guests a whole suite of services, from uploading travel documents to ordering a car on arrival, room service and laundry. The app can also send automated electronic updates and alerts to the guest as well as e-registration documents, e-invoices and e-receipts, all in one convenient space. Farnek recently completed a successful trial of the app, having secured a contract for Expo Village, situated at the Expo 2020 Dubai site. The company was responsible for managing reservation services, concierge, front office services and housekeeping for 2,273 apartments during the show. Sustainability is key to Farnek’s hospitality strategy and Flexi-Guest can estimate the carbon emissions generated by any guest during their stay and provide a cost should the customer wish to offset their carbon footprint.
Visitors to Farnek’s stand at ATM will be able to measure their own carbon footprint, with an option to contribute to a range of sustainable projects to offset their impact on the environment. Hoteliers will also be able to take advantage of Farnek’s Hotel Optimizer software, which records, analyses and benchmarks energy and water consumption as well as waste generation, resulting in a more costefficient and sustainable operation. The company can also support hotels that wish to develop and implement net zero carbon strategies. Furthermore, Farnek is a preferred partner and auditor for Green Globe, the worldwide sustainability accreditation system. It is based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses and is an essential attribute for green listings on Booking.com or to be labelled ‘Eco-Certified’ in Google search results. “We believe that our 360-degree market proposition for the hotel sector is unrivalled and our participation at ATM provides us with an ideal platform to showcase our services to a targeted audience of over 20,000, local, regional and international travel and tourism professionals.” VISIT STAND HC0666
05/05/2022 1:28 PM
