Middle East and North Africa Edition
sOfiTel in saudi accor’s sofitel brand has opened its second property in saudi arabia, in the city of al Khobar on the country’s Gulf coast. The property is set to become the brand’s flagship in the country, signalling a wave of new openings across the Middle east next year.
Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has rejuvenated its web presence with the launch of a new brand identity and online portal for consumer tourism to the emirate. The new concept, labelled Definitely Dubai, is designed to capitalise on a nine percent increase in guest numbers to Dubai over the first half of 2010 and will specifically target travellers from the UK and Ireland.
4 cruise abu dhabi in a new deal with abu dhabi Tourism authority, Msc cruises will home-port its luxury MSC Lirica ship at abu dhabi’s Mina Zayed Port from October, 2011. The italian cruise operator is the first company to choose abu dhabi as a home port.
7 In This Issue
Market Update Accommodation News Air Travel News Cruising News International News Agents’ Corner Travel Tips Travel Talk Who’s Moved Rendezvous Events
OcTOber 30, 2010
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Definitely DUBAI
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www.traveltradeweekly.travel
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY Editor laura Warne Deputy Editor louis dillon savage Design & Layout elina Pericleous Sales & Marketing Marianna Tsiamas evelina hadjigeorgiou dimitris Thomaidis Directors andreas constantinides Mary Kammitsi Headquarters P.O. box 25255 nicosia 1308 cyprus Tel: +35722820888 fax: +35722318958 Website www.traveltradeweekly.travel Emails info@traveltradeweekly.travel editorial@traveltradeweekly.travel sales@traveltradeweekly.travel
Publisher’s Note Welcome to the latest issue of Travel Trade Weekly! The month of November marks the first anniversary of our publication – in just one year, Travel Trade Weekly has become one of the leading sources of news, analysis and opinion for the travel trade industry in the Middle East and North Africa. I would like to personally thank our editorial, design and sales and marketing teams, as well as our loyal readers and advertisers for their contribution to the continued success of our two publications. Since launching in November 2009, we have produced: n 51 issues of Travel Trade Weekly, featuring up-to-the-minute industry news and market developments, as well as exclusive interviews with leading industry figures. n 13 issues of our sister publication Travel Trade Monthly, full of in-depth feature articles covering leading destinations and travel trends.
MENA Exchange Rates Accurate as of 27/10/2010 currencies shown in red are fixed against the us dollar COUNTRY uae (aed) egypt (eGP) saudi arabia (sar) lebanon (lbP) bahrain (bhd) Jordan ( JOd) syria (sYP) Kuwait (KWd) Qatar (Qar) Oman (OMr) Tunisia (Tnd) Morocco (Mad) iran (irr) Yemen (Yer) algeria (dZd) libya (lYd)
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CURRENCY dirham Pound riyal Pound dinar dinar Pound dinar riyal rial dinar dirham riyal rial dinar dinar
1USD= 3.69 5.78 3.75 1501 0.37 0.70 46.74 0.28 3.64 0.38 1.40 8.15 10,530 214.67 73.61 1.26
I would also like to take this opportunity to highlight some changes within our team. Firstly, I am pleased to announce the promotion of Laura Warne to the position of editor of Travel Trade Weekly and Travel Trade Monthly. Taking her place as deputy editor will be our former journalist, Louis Dillon Savage, who has also played an integral role in the growth of both our weekly and monthly publications. Once again, I would like to thank all of our readers for your continued support of Travel Trade Weekly and Travel Trade Monthly – I hope you enjoy this latest issue and many more to come! Mary Kammitsi Publisher OcTOber 30, 2010
DTCM Launches Consumer Tourism Portal Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has rejuvenated its web presence with the launch of a new brand identity and online portal for consumer tourism to the emirate.
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he new concept, labelled definitely dubai, is designed to capitalise on a nine percent increase in guest numbers to dubai over the first half of 2010. While the portal will target new and repeat tourists from around the world, definitely dubai will also incorporate specific information for the emirate’s largest source markets - the uK and ireland. new content for irish and uK travellers will be added to the site by the end of 2010; it will include information on air travel, special promotions and tour operators that specialise in packages to dubai.
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ian scott, uK and ireland director of dTcM, said simplicity was the new brand’s greatest strength.
The Definitely Dubai brand identity has a contemporary edge, reflecting the Dubai offering and making it relevant to the diverse market to which the destination appeals “The definitely dubai brand identity has a contemporary edge, reflecting the dubai
offering and making it relevant to the diverse market to which the destination appeals,” he said. “it heralds an exciting new era for dTcM in our drive to promote dubai to uK and irish travellers, and definitely dubai will now provide the umbrella for a consumer brand campaign being launched later this year, with tactical activity to follow early in the new year.” The definitely dubai website features information for leisure and business travellers, as well as residents; in addition to accommodation, restaurants and tourism attractions, the site also has information on lifestyle, events and doing business in dubai.
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- Accommodation
Hilton Launches New Global Spa Brand, Eforea Hilton Worldwide has launched a new spa concept for its global accommodation network.
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he new spa brand, eforea, will first be introduced at the company’s hilton short hills property in new Jersey, us, but will be rolled out globally across hilton hotels and resorts, doubletree by hilton and embassy suites properties. dave horton, global head of the hilton hotels and resorts brand, said the eforea brand would be introduced via the company’s pipeline of spas in new and existing properties. hilton hotel owners considering installing a spa will have eforea as an optional concept, but will not be required to adopt the brand.
The uae was named by hilton as one of the countries that should expect an eforea facility in the near future. “With today's opening at hilton short hills and more than 80 spas currently in our global pipeline, eforea has the potential to evolve the spa segment of our industry on a global scale,” horton said. Tyra lowman, senior director of spas for full service and luxury brands at hilton Worldwide, said the concept had been developed in part to meet the demand by hotel developers for a turnkey spa option. “hotel owners and investors have long been searching for a turnkey spa solution that is easy to implement yet meets guests' needs across the globe,” she said.
“eforea's new cutting-edge design concept is complemented by the ease of standard operating procedures, global supply agreements, an exclusive treatment menu and training - which together can make opening a new spa simpler and more profitable for our hotels.”
Eforea spa products
Sofitel Al Khobar Opens its Doors Accor’s Sofitel brand has opened its second property in saudi arabia, in the city of al Khobar on the country’s Gulf coast. sami nasser, vice president in the Middle east, africa and indian Ocean for sofitel, said the property would become the brand’s flagship in the country and signalled a wave of new openings across the Middle east next year. “consistent with the sofitel luxury brand's image and positioning, we are confident that sofitel al Khobar the corniche will be the landmark property for the sofitel brand in the kingdom of saudi arabia and will complement our other properties which will open in 2011 in bahrain, abu dhabi, egypt and Mauritius,” he said. dominique colliat, senior vice president of operations for sofitel in europe, the Middle east and africa, confirmed the brand’s commitment to continued expansion in the region. “sofitel al Khobar is truly representative of sofitel luxury hotels’ ambition to be the leading hotel operator in the Gcc and Middle east region,” he said. sofitel al Khobar offers 229 rooms, 30 suites and one royal suite. sofitel has one other saudi arabian property operating, in Jeddah, and according to nasser, the brand has further plans for expansion within saudi arabia, with a particular interest in Makkah. “We have a very strong focus on Makkah... which we think will be very big business,” he said. 4
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- Accommodation
New Hotel Brand to Enter Middle East in 2011 Start-up hotel brand, U Hotels, has finalised an agreement to manage its first hotel in the Middle East.
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le Mirage doha is scheduled to open in august, 2011, in downtown doha. The u hotels brand is operated by absolute hotels services (ahs), based in Thailand, while the doha property has been developed by Gulf Trading and contracting company (GTc), local to Qatar. Jonathan Wigley, ceO of ahs, said the brand was unique in its focus on tailor-made experiences. “With an emphasis on personalised, bespoke experiences, guests can design or tailor-make their visit to perfectly suit their individual tastes,” he said. “Our unique brand attributes and services, namely 24 hour use of the room, breakfast whenever / wherever, free Wifi and more will be some of the many key demand and differentiating drivers for this beautifully designed hotel,” he said.
We believe we have a winning formula Wigley noted that while the u brand was still young, it had already found success in asian markets; he also flagged continued expansion within the Middle east.
“encouraged and enthused by the brand’s impressive expansion into Thailand, india, Vietnam, indonesia, laos and cambodia, we believe we have a winning formula,” he said. The property will contain 120 rooms, including six suites.
Jonathan Wigley OcTOber 30, 2010
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- Air Travel
Gulf Carriers Increase Routes for Hajj Season Gulf carriers are increasing their services to Saudi Arabia in anticipation of a booming Hajj season.
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tihad has scheduled additional hajj-specific flights, while nasair has added three routes to its network for the whole winter season and emirates will boost capacity on its riyadh and Jeddah routes indefinitely from October 31. nasair will fly from Madinah to beirut, amman and abu dhabi between november 1 of this year and March 31, 2011. simon spencer, ceO of nasair, said the routes had been chosen to accommodate increased traffic during the winter. “The number of passengers travelling to and from Madinah increases significantly during this period of the year, which
coincides with the hajj season,” he said. similarly, etihad will add 11 weekly flights to its existing schedule of daily flights between november 2 and november 20. representatives of both etihad and nasair emphasised the growing significance of hajj pilgrims from around the world. in 2009, nasair carried approximately 30,000 pilgrims from india, Pakistan, cameroon, sudan and senegal; spencer
said the airline would continue to focus on expanding its services to the hajj market. James hogan, ceO of etihad, said he expected his airline’s global reach to funnel many travellers through abu dhabi en route to their observances. “in addition to carrying pilgrims from the uae, we anticipate many Muslims will fly from around the world to Jeddah, via our home base in abu dhabi,” he said.
Petra Takes Delivery of First Aircraft Jordanian airline Petra airlines is ready to fly, following the delivery of its first aircraft. The carrier was established in 2005, but has remained in planning stages until now. Petra airlines is a subsidiary of the rum Group for Transportation and Tourism investment, which also operates rum hotels and rum Tours. according to riad Khashman, ceO of rum Group, Petra airlines aims to change the approach taken to inbound tourism to Jordan by integrating air travel with in-country services. The carrier will operate a two class (business and economy) service using airbus a320 aircraft; Khashman said the second aircraft would come online shortly. “We are expecting to take delivery of the second aircraft during this month; we have properly equipped our technical staff, crew members as well as our operations office at amman civil airport,” he said. Petra’s route network will focus on europe, emerging markets and destinations not served by existing flights into Jordan. Khashman said adding an airline to rum Group’s portfolio would boost profits by injecting international currency into the business. 6
OcTOber 30, 2010
- Cruising
Abu Dhabi’s Cruise Industry Boosted by MSC In a new deal with Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), MSC Cruises will home-port its luxury Msc lirica ship at Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed Port from October, 2011.
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he italian cruise operator is the first company to choose abu dhabi as a home port. Msc cruises’ maiden arabian Gulf cruising season will take in five destinations in the region as part of a seven-night itinerary. The move has reinvigorated calls for a dedicated cruise terminal capable of handling both boutique and mega cruise liners; adTa has announced plans for a technical and operational feasibility study into the development of such a terminal. Mubarak al Muhairi, director general of adTa, said Msc cruises’ commitment to abu dhabi as a home port would deliver tactical and strategic outcomes for the emirate. “beyond the substantial, broadbased benefits to our domestic tourism sector through incremental gains in hotel guests, longer length of stay and greater spending, this partnership provides abu dhabi a firm footing on the international cruise tourism map and reinforces the strategic case for a world-class, purpose-built cruise terminal in the emirate,” he said. adTa has estimated that the deal with Msc will generate more than aed135 million (usd37 million) for the emirate’s tourism sector. al Muhairi said it was vital to continue developing abu dhabi’s existing cruise infrastructure, as well as creating new pre-cruise and post-cruise options, in order to harness the potential increase in cruising visitors. OcTOber 30, 2010
according to Pierfrancesco Vago, ceO of Msc cruises, abu dhabi has already proven immensely popular with international tourists. “after having discovered the uae and its exciting attractions from our luxury ship,
visitors will come back, as they always do, further boosting the development and promotion of the local economy,” said Vago. Msc cruises’ arabian Gulf cruising itinerary will run from november, 2011 to March, 2012.
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- International
Starwood Steps Up Chinese Hotel Pipeline China is now the second largest hotel market, behind the US, for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
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he group currently has 62 hotels in operation across the country and has announced a pipeline of 86 new hotels to be introduced. during 2011, one out of every three new starwood hotels worldwide will open in china – frits van Paasschen, ceO of starwood, said the commitment to this market matched china’s position as one of the fastest growing domestic and outbound travel markets. “demand continues to outpace supply in china and there is still a long runway for growth, especially when you consider that china has 171 cities with populations of
more than one million, most of which do not yet have a major international branded hotel,” said van Paasschen. “it is not hard to imagine that we will ultimately have as many hotels in china as we do in the us, which is more than 450.” according to Miguel Ko, chairman of starwood’s asia Pacific division, the company has a considerable head-start in china.
It is not hard to imagine that we will ultimately have as many hotels in China as we do in the US
starwood opened The Great Wall sheraton hotel in beijing in 1985 – it was the first international branded hotel in china. Van Paasschen added that the company’s growth in china was illustrative of its focus on emerging markets, including africa, the Middle east and latin america.
Sheraton Qiandao Lake Resort, China
US Travel Market Anticipates Recovery The US is recovering as a market for both inbound and outbound traffic, according to figures from a number of sources. The us department of commerce (dOc) has predicted that international travel to the country will return to growth this year and continue to expand at a pace of six to nine percent until 2015. according to dOc, growth will be dramatic, with arrival number records expected to be broken in each of the five years covered by the report. The greatest growth is expected to come from asia and south america, with arrivals from each region predicted to nearly double by 2015. as an outbound market, signs of recovery are being led by the business travel segment, according to the national business Travel association (nbTa). Michael W Mccormick, executive director of nbTa, said growth was incipient after two years of sharp decline. however, he warned that a return to pre-recession levels would take time. “it is clear that companies are taking their time in shifting from the current cost-containment culture, and recovery will continue to ramp up slowly,” he said. “We’re looking forward to the end of 2012 – when the industry should see a return to peak levels” 8
OcTOber 30, 2010
Dnata to Launch in India in 2011 The UAE’s dnata World Travel plans to enter the indian market next year, with offices in delhi and Mumbai. More than 100 staff will be recruited for the new offices, which are expected to commence operations by the second quarter of 2011. dnata already has an established network the Gcc. abdulla Tawakul, senior vice president of corporate and regional network at dnata, said the company would pursue indian expansion independently. “unlike other regional ventures we have undertaken, we will not be taking on a local partner, but [will be] running the business and making the total investment ourselves,” he said. Tawakul added that ties between the uae and india were very strong, with nearly 1.5 million indian expats residing in the uae.
Unlike other regional ventures we have undertaken, we will not be taking on a local partner
MMI Travel Targets Cricket Fans MMI Travel, an emirates Group company, has been appointed official travel agent in the Middle east for the 2011 icc cricket World cup. The event, hosted by india, sri lanka and bangladesh, will be broadcast in around 220 countries worldwide and is expected to draw strong tourist numbers. Mayank dhingra, general manager of MMi Travel, said that, following the success of the 2007 event, he expected to see even greater interest from travellers in the Middle east who were keen to experience the live action of a major sporting event.
Agent’s Insight Name: Wissam Assi Position: Tours Manager Company: Concord Travel Location: Lebanon
Who are your highest spending clients? The Gcc market is our highest spending group – both business and leisure travellers from this region are high spending.
What are the most popular holiday activities for your clients? Travellers from the Gcc come to lebanon with their own arrangements and do not book tours. however, visitors from european countries will book tours with their trips and they usually like to see historic tourism attractions.
When did you get involved in the travel industry and how has it changed since then? i have been in the industry for 10 years and i’ve noticed that compared to when i started, business is booming. There are more hotels, more touristic attractions and an expanded industry.
Where are you most interested in visiting next and why? There is no particular place – for me, i like to visit one different place each year. for my next trip i am interested in visiting a beach destination rather than a town or city.
Why do you think internet booking is increasing in popularity? in lebanon, and for our market, it is a very different situation compared to the rest of the world. Our main clients are arab travellers and they do not like to book online. They prefer to have someone arrange travel details for them and take care of it all. so we find that internet bookings are not so popular.
Compared to when I started, the business is booming 10
OcTOber 30, 2010
High Spending Hajj Tourists Offer Opportunity The upcoming Hajj season is set to become a windfall for the travel industry in the Middle East, a report from hotel price comparison site, HotelsCombined.com, has hinted.
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espite the rapid growth in hotel room inventories in saudi arabia’s holy cities, prices during the recent ramadan holy month soared by an average of 31 percent compared to last year. hichame assi, head of strategy and online kerning for hotelscombined.com, said even these large price increases did not seem to affect the booking behaviour of pilgrims, with many actually increasing the length of their stays in Makkah. “Whilst the average night rate for ramadan increased, it did not cause pilgrims to cut their travels short; rather,
OcTOber 30, 2010
pilgrims extended their travels this year on average seven nights, up from five nights in 2009,” he said. hachemi shared his experience of how pilgrimage demographics were changing, providing insight into potential markets for the upcoming hajj. “as a global site we believe we are a good barometer to travel trends and based on site traffic, pilgrims and visitors from europe, south africa, america, australia and neighboring Gcc states were on the rise, while the number of pilgrims and visitors from developing countries, including egypt, india, Pakistan and Philippines, dropped,” he said. “We believe the drop is somewhat related
to the rising hotel prices, although the drop from Pakistan may be due to the impact of the floods as well.” record numbers are expected for this year’s hajj and hotelscombined.com reported that early figures indicate prices three times those of ramadan 2010. Just as hotels have benefited from religious travellers, James hogan, ceO of etihad, said he expected hajj to drive traffic through other Middle eastern aviation hubs such as abu dhabi. With pilgrims increasingly flying from richer nations, religious travel represents a lucrative seasonal opportunity for all aspects of the travel business.
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Claus Frimand
Seif Al Suwaidi
General Manager, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi “i know i speak for the whole team at ferrari World abu dhabi when i say we are very enthusiastic to finally be able to share the thrill and excitement of ferrari World abu dhabi with the public. We hope our guests will enjoy being the first to experience the legendary ferrari passion, history and culture through our rides and attractions.”
Director General, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority “it is essential for the states of our region to commit to sharing information regarding the performance of their respective safety oversight systems. This should help identify deficiencies more quickly and efficiently, and to correct them. Our role is to improve safety. in many cases, individual states do not possess the resources or the expertise to act alone in resolving safety concerns. Therefore, this regional body is best suited to coordinate and align multiple safety initiatives by strategically leveraging expertise and resources of states concerned.”
We are very enthusiastic to finally be able to share the thrill and excitement of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi with the public G-Force ride, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi
Mariam Al Dhaheri Visitor Information Services Representative, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority “With so many visitors, be they local, regional or international, making the trip to Yas island, the [f1 Grand Prix] race weekend is the perfect environment to increase awareness of every aspect of abu dhabi's multi-faceted tourism proposition.”
The race weekend is the perfect environment to increase awareness of Abu Dhabi's multi-faceted tourism proposition
In many cases, individual states do not possess the resources or the expertise to act alone in resolving safety concerns Seif Al Suwaidi
Yas Island
Travel Talk is your space – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hear from you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to editorial@traveltradeweekly.travel 12
OcTOber 30, 2010
Yousry Ali
Bassam Abu Hassan
rezidor hotel Group has appointed Yousry ali as general manager of radisson blu hotel alexandria, egypt. ali has 20 years of experience within the hospitality industry. he started his career with hyatt in cairo and has since worked with swissotel, Mövenpick and iberotel. ali’s most recent position was resident manager of hyatt regency sharm el sheikh. he holds a bachelor of arts from ain shams university.
intercontinental aqaba resort in Jordan has appointed bassam abu hassan as executive assistant manager. Most recently, abu hassan was posted as director of food and beverage at intercontinental Jordan. he first joined intercontinental hotels Group in 1988 and has since held a range of key posts within the group.
Yousry Ali
Bassam Abu Hassan
Philip Bartle
Selim R Boutros
beach rotana abu dhabi has appointed Philip bartle as director of recreation. bartle holds uK qualifications in business management and leisure and recreation, and has more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Over the past 10 years, bartle has worked in the uae in a range of positions that included recreation manager at royal Méridien beach resort, director of leisure facilities at Grosvenor house and senior operations manager for emaar hospitality Group.
Travel technology company amadeus has appointed selim r boutros as general manager for amadeus lebanon. boutros has a strong background in finance and auditing; most recently, he was in charge of finance and administration for besix Group Middle east. he holds a master’s degree in accounting and finance, plus a bachelor of business administration.
Abdo Kayali
Abdo Kayali
southern sun has appointed abdo Kayali as complex director of sales and marketing for the group’s two dubai properties, al Manzil and Qamardeen. Kayali has more than 20 years of industry experience in the Mena region and joins southern sun from his previous sales and marketing role at Mövenpick hotel bur dubai. he holds an executive Mba and has worked for four seasons, sheraton, le Méridien, Kempinski and hilton. he has also lectured on hotels and tourism at King abdulaziz university in Jeddah, saudi arabia.
Philip Bartle 14
OcTOber 30, 2010
Q&A with Laurent Rigaud Laurent Rigaud, general manager of the soon-to-be-opened JAL Tower Dubai, spoke to Travel Trade Weekly about the upcoming property and the expansion of the Japanese JAL brand in the Middle East. Travel Trade Weekly: What makes JAL properties different to others in the Middle Eastern region? Laurent Rigaud: it is a fact that there are many reputed luxury hotel brands in the Middle east region that compete aggressively in providing the best of services and the most luxurious facilities. Jal hotels, in addition to following high brand standards in providing luxurious hospitality service and featuring state-ofthe art-facilities, is definitely focusing on the quality of its service to its guests. Japanese hospitality is well known for its unique touches, extreme attention to detail, personalised service and refined approach.
latest rules and policies. Most importantly, it is a phase where the hotel team members get to know each other better and bond and nurture the feeling of belonging to the product. i love the pre-opening time, when you put in all the foundations for the future of your property, working with various parties in order to achieve a common goal. We have all been working very closely with the support of our owners who have been of great assistance when the hurdles seemed a bit high. as we are reaching completion, we can look at this beautiful
Combining offers between a city hotel and a resort presents real added value to all our guests
Travel Trade Weekly: What are the greatest challenges you have faced during the pre-opening phase of your new hotel? property and be proud of the achievement. Laurent Rigaud: To open a hotel of this magnitude (with an inventory of 471 rooms Travel Trade Weekly: Will the two JAL and suites, seven speciality restaurants, properties (Dubai and Fujairah) work extensive meeting and business facilities, a together in terms of promotions, etc? spa and a health club), we face a great Laurent Rigaud: Yes, of course. We have amount of challenges: from construction, to reaching the product handover - where the hardest part starts. [issues include] getting all the required licences and permits, hiring of all the team members, snagging and double-checking every detail of every single department’s procedures. furthermore, there is the brand positioning and the sales and marketing strategy to enter the local and the international feeder markets in a well studied manner for a successful opening and operation. indeed, challenges are there, but they are part of an opening and it remains a very exciting and interesting phase where you get to know more and get familiar with the OcTOber 30, 2010
put in place special packages that have proved successful with the european market. This offering adds value to our guests whether they are staying and visiting for business or leisure. combining offers between a city hotel and a resort presents real added value to all our guests. it is also a luxury for us to boost business for both properties and offer guests the opportunity to join city life with business and shopping, to rejuvenation and resort relaxation.
Travel Trade Weekly: In your opinion, are there any changes that could be made to improve the tourism and hospitality industry in Dubai? Laurent Rigaud: The tourism and
Laurent Rigaud
hospitality industry in dubai is on the right track by tapping all potential markets, whether regionally or internationally. This is mainly due to the continuous focus of the Ministry for Tourism and the dubai department of Tourism and commerce Marketing. Targeting more new markets that prove to have high potential is one of the additional steps in maximising industry growth. [it is also important] not to forget the increase of passengers going through dubai airport, which has established itself as a major hub in the world.
Travel Trade Weekly: Any further comments? Laurent Rigaud: We are looking forward to a successful opening and a positive brand positioning in the market. We will be offering a unique product with great facilities and services to choose from and to suit the different needs of our guests and visitors whether they are business or leisure travellers, local residents looking for a unique chill out, gourmet dining, a rejuvenating destination and much more. 15
Seatrade Med Cruise Convention Sees Increased MENA Participation Seatrade Med cruise convention, a conference and exhibition for the Mediterranean cruising industry, will be held at cannes, france from november 30 to december 2. according to Mary bond, editor of seatrade cruise review, the Middle east and north africa (Mena) region is increasing its importance to the cruising industry in the Mediterranean. “clearly north africa is an essential ingredient in the Mediterranean cruise scene and a destination which is growing in popularity, from Morocco, algeria and Tunisia in the west through to egypt and the red sea in the eastern stretches of the basin,” she said.
“Tunisia’s top cruise port, for example, is boasting over 400 calls and 800,000 plus passengers this year.” The exhibition has attracted exhibitors from north africa, but also the Middle east, including Tunisian ports and dubai’s department of Tourism and commerce Marketing. bond said interest in levant ports from the cruising industry was reaching new heights, with the growth of cruising in the arabian Gulf fostering opportunities for cross-over cruises to the Mediterranean. “red sea ports in egypt, Jordan and israel are set to welcome record ship visits in 2010/11, with a number of these sailing through the suez canal for onward cruises
in the Middle east and beyond,” she said. “Many of the ships based in the arabian Gulf during winter are ships that have spent their summers in the Med, so the two regions are inextricably linked.” This pattern is expected to continue, according to bond. “as interest in the Middle east as a cruise destination grows we are likely to see more ships that summer in the Med looking to either stay in the Med yearround, which bodes well for north africa ports where the temperatures are warmer in the off-peak season, or move onto the Middle east for the off-peak season before returning again at the end of spring,” she said.
Events World Travel Market London, UK, November 8-11 (www.wtmlondon.com) Global event for the travel industry – four day business to business event promoting a range of destinations and industry sectors to international travel professionals. World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi, UAE, November 22-24 (www.worldgreentourism.ae) inaugural eco-tourism exhibition, featuring tourism authorities, urban city planners, hotels and resorts, property developers, airlines, tour operators, green product suppliers, universities, museums and heritage site organisations. EIBTM Barcelona, Spain, Nov. 30 – Dec. 2 (www.eibtm.com) Global event for the meetings and events industry, including networking opportunities, professional education seminars and a trade show platform for exhibitors, hosted buyers and trade visitors.
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Seatrade Med Cruise Convention Cannes, France, November 30 to December 2 (www.seatrade-med.com) conference and exhibition for the Mediterranean cruising industry. International Luxury Travel Market Cannes, France, December 6-9 (www.iltm.net) annual business to business event for the global luxury travel industry. showcases destinations and travel experiences, with a programme of networking events and pre-scheduled meetings. Moroccan Travel Market Marrakech, Morocco, January 12-15 (en.mtm.ma) exhibition for international travel professionals. Blossom Japan Tokyo, Japan, January 18-21,2011 (www.blossomjapan.com) a new invitation-only luxury travel exhibition focusing on the Japanese market.
OcTOber 30, 2010