Middle East and North Africa Edition
April 2, Issue 73
costA cruises to DominAte the meDiterraneAn costa cruises, the italian travel group and cruise company, is set to reign the mediterranean with estimated 9 million passenger movements.
Marriott International has revealed plans to manage two properties in Abu Dhabi, UAE, that will open in 2014.
2 Gulf Air to touch Down in AfGhAnistAn Gulf Air is set to debut in Kabul, the capital of the islamic republic of Afghanistan, by launching four weekly flights starting on June 15.
7 In This Issue
Market Update Weekly News Accommodation News Air Travel News International News Who’s Moved Travel Talk Agents’ Corner Travel Channels Rendezvous Events
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2 4 5 7 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 issue 73
Marriott Signs Deals for Abu Dhabi Hotels
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www.traveltradeweekly.travel
Costa Cruises to Dominate the Mediterranean Sea
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY Managing Editor mary Kammitsi mary@traveltradeweekly.travel Journalists rita Kasziba Duncan macrae marianna Keen
Costa Cruises, the Italian travel group and cruise company, is set to reign the Mediterranean with estimated 9 million passenger movements.
Design & Layout elina Pericleous Sales & Marketing 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
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osta eyes a leader role in the mediterranean ports with about 2,800 calls in 92 destinations and with almost 9 million passenger movements, achieving an increase of 33 percent over 2010. The 21 italian ports are predicted to witness a significant, almost 50 percent increase in movements generated by costa cruises, by welcoming nearly 4 million passengers. The 17 spanish and
Travelport Revives Partnership with Saudia
MENA Exchange Rates Accurate as of 31/3/2011 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
11 Greek ports are projected to see more than 1 million while the nine french ports about half million passenger movements. As part of costa’s intensive expansion in the mediterranean, and the eur9.6 billion (usD13.7 billion) fleet enhancements, the 15th vessel of the flotilla, Costa Favolosa is set to depart from Venice on July 4, while Costa Fascinosa is due for delivery in summer 2012. following the launch of the new sister ships costa projects around 9.5 million passenger movements by 2012.
1USD= 3.67 5.96 3.75 1503 0.37 0.71 47.35 0.28 3.64 0.38 1.38 7.96 10,42 214.99 72.13 1.22
Travelport has renewed its partnership with saudi Arabian Airlines (saudia) by signing a multi-year content agreement with the carrier. The compact warrants enhanced and seamless access to Galileo and worldspanconnected users worldwide to the airline’s flight and fare inventory with full booking capability for agents in the Kingdom. saudia’s adaptation of travelport’s ‘inside availability’ will ensure great benefits to the agents, will owen hughes, senior director of airline services, middle east and Africa, travelport comments on this. “As the national carrier of the middle east’s largest economy and our largest customer base in the region, saudia remains an important, long-standing partner of travelport. we believe this content agreement will not only meet the needs of our travel agency customers, but maximise the growth potential of an emerging travel market.”
Saudia remains an important, long-standing partner of Travelport APril 2, 2011
Dubai’s Budget Airlines Takes on 16th Aircraft
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lydubai celebrated its third anniversary by welcoming a 16th aircraft to its fleet. The aircraft arrived in Dubai on march 23 after making the journey from the manufacturer’s base at Payne field, seattle. The Boeing 737-800nG will support the low-budget airline’s expanding network of 33 routes across the middle east, Asia, Africa and europe. it is the airline’s seventh aircraft to be fitted with Boeing’s sky interior and revolutionary fibre-to-The-screen in-flight entertainment system by lumexis. Ghaith Al Ghaith, ceo, flydubai, commented that the airline had come a long way in its first three years. “we started out with one aircraft, a couple of destinations and the determination to be unique as well as accessible. less than two years after operations began, we have a fleet of 16 aircraft, a growing network that spans destinations across the Gcc, middle east, indian subcontinent, Africa, russia and the former cis, and have served hundreds of thousands of travellers. The numbers alone speak volumes about flydubai’s rising prominence as an airline that provides quality, comfort, convenience and value for money,” Ghaith added.
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Abu Dhabi Experiences Double Digit Growth Across the Board The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADtA) announced on march 24 that the emirate achieved double-digit growth across its key tourism performance indicators during february, compared to the same month last year. in february, the number of guests staying in hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate increased by 17 percent to 175,309 and guest nights rose 29 percent to 524,594, recorded the ADtA. lawrence franklin, strategy and policy director, ADtA, suggested reasons for the growth. “This year on year february increase has been primarily driven by major events held in the emirate including the iDeX international defence show, the Al Ain Aerobatic show and Gourmet Abu Dhabi. There is also some evidence of shifting demand resulting from regional issues with hotel guests from saudi Arabia rising by 90 percent while there has been a tailing off of hotel guests from Qatar and oman.”
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- Accommodation
Marriott Signs Deals for Abu Dhabi Hotels Marriott International has revealed plans to manage two properties in Abu Dhabi, that will open in 2014.
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he hotel group signed the agreements with real estate Group llc, a subsidiary of Bloom Properties. The Abu Dhabi marriott hotel comprises of 315 rooms, while the marriott executive Apartments Abu Dhabi city centre will be made up of 64 units. They will both be part of Bloom central, a mixed-use development including 16,200 m2 of office and residential space on rashid bin saeed Al maktoum st, a 20 minute drive from Abu Dhabi international Airport. ed fuller, president and managing director of international lodging, marriott international, was pleased to welcome the new additions to the company’s portfolio.
Abu Dhabi marriott hotel will feature a casual restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a lounge, open lobby area and a roof-level pool-bar. There will also be a health and leisure club, spa and fitness centre. for conferences and social events, the hotel
will offer a ballroom, junior ballroom, three meeting rooms, two board rooms and a ViP room. executive Apartments Abu Dhabi city centre will offer the convenience of five-star, full service hotel facilities with the space, ambience and privacy of residential living.
The Middle East continues to be one of the most attractive tourism areas in the world “we are delighted to introduce our upscale marriott hotels & resorts and marriott executive Apartment brands in Abu Dhabi and by the continued expansion of our lodging brands portfolio in the united Arab emirates. The middle east continues to be one of the most attractive tourism areas in the world and we are confident these two properties will be welcomed additions to the hospitality sector of the market.” APril 2, 2011
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- Air News
Gulf Air to Touch Down in Afghanistan Gulf Air is set to debut in Kabul, the capital of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, by launching four weekly flights starting on June 15.
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s part of the intensive expansion of the carrier’s network, following the introduction of new services to ethiopia, iran, iraq, italy and switzerland, Kabul is set to become the next destination. samer majali, ceo, Gulf Air, commented on the new route. “The launching of our service to Kabul follows extensive safety and security audits, and further demonstrates our strategy to connect the Kingdom of Bahrain with niche and under-served markets within the region that have high growth potential. The islamic republic of Afghanistan has seen some remarkable growth recently and the government is committed to facilitate and promote the development of a dynamic,
competitive private sector by closely working in partnership with local businesses to revitalise and expand the economy.” with the launch of the new service, Gulf Air is set to become the first middle eastern commercial carrier to operate ‘full service’ scheduled flights to Afghanistan. “By connecting Kabul with Bahrain we are opening a huge commercial opportunity for Afghanistan’s well known traditional industries such as carpets and gems, and the industrial sectors namely construction and engineering, it/telecommunications, transportation, and of course mining, which are poised for take-off. we also foresee a huge opportunity for Bahrain’s private sector businesses in Afghanistan,” added majali.
The carrier believes that the new route between Bahrain and Kabul will live up to the expectations. “in addition, there are many international corporations and organisations working on several multi-million development projects in Afghanistan and there is a vast Afghan community living and working in the middle east, north America, europe and Asia. Gulf Air will be the only ‘full service’ commercial airline to provide seamless and convenient flight connections to these passenger segments between Kabul and the entire Gcc network, the levant region, europe, india, Pakistan and Bangladesh. we are confident that our service to Kabul will be as successful as our recently launched routes,” concluded the ceo.
Etihad: Five Years in Jakarta Etihad Airways celebrates its fifth anniversary of scheduled flights between Abu Dhabi and the indonesian capital city, Jakarta. The airline debuted in the southeast Asian country on march 16, 2006 with four non-stop flights a week, but increased its operations soon to six services a week, and then to daily flights in response to the growing demand on services between indonesia and the uAe. Jakarta is now sorted among the top destinations of etihad’s route map with passenger loads consistently reaching between 80 and 90 percent of capacity. The route serves both leisure and business travellers, James hogan, ceo, etihad, commented on the route. “etihad is pleased to play a small but important role in building the deep relationship between indonesia and the uAe, in particular Abu Dhabi. in our first five years of service to indonesia, we have received tremendous support from the government, business sector and the people of this wonderful country. for making etihad their airline of choice over this time, we owe the people of indonesia – the business travellers, religious pilgrims, holidaymakers, students, and migrant workers – our gratitude.” over the last five years etihad has demonstrated its commitment to indonesia also on the ground by supporting local charities and educational initiatives. APril 2, 2011
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- Air News
easyJet Touches Down in Jordan easyJet has added yet another destination to its global network with the introduction of its new services to Amman, the capital of Jordan.
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he uK-based airline will operate three-flights-aweek from london Gatwick to one of the oldest cities in the world. with its newly launched services the carrier ensures quick and convenient connection between europe and the entire Gulf region, highlighted carolyn mccall, ceo, easyJet. “This new route between london and Amman is a great example of us making it easy and affordable for people to visit great destinations. Jordan has a rich history and diverse range of attractions. with easyJet having one of the best european networks, we hope to be able to connect Amman with other destinations from across our network in the future.” By choosing Amman as its latest destination, easyJet added one of the fastest growing cities of the region to its route map, pointed out curtis Grad, ceo, Airport international Group. “The introduction of easyJet to the Jordan market will further propel Amman’s phenomenal growth, which has witnessed a 40 percent rise in passengers and a 65 percent growth in weekly flights over the past three years, ranking Amman as one of the fastest growing airports in the region. with our new terminal coming online in 2012, we will be well positioned to serve the new demand stimulated by easyJet, further sustaining this strong growth trend.”
More Extensive Collaboration Between Cyprus Airways and Olympic Air George Mavrokostas, executive chairman, cyprus Airways, and Yiannis Karakadas, executive chairman, olympic Air, announced an agreement on march 22 for comprehensive cooperation between the companies as of march 27. The agreement, which was signed in nicosia, involves carrying out shared code sharing of direct domestic and international scheduled flights. it opens up new opportunities for the two companies and lays foundations for strengthening their presence in the wider region of southeastern europe. the airlines will begin code sharing flights to and from larnaca and Paphos, as well as Athens, rhodes, heraklion and thessaloniki, on march 27, and they plan to expand the scheme from April 15. By this time cyprus Airways and olympic Air anticipate code-sharing for most routes covered. The partnership means that the airlines will also cooperate in the provision of ground services, the joint use of ViP lounges and other infrastructure sharing at airports in cyprus and Greece.
Qatar Airways to Transfer Alexandria Flights to Borg El Arab Qatar Airways announced on march 22 that it will transfer its Alexandria flights from el nozha international Airport to the city’s Borg el Arab Airport, effective from march 27. The Doha based airline is one of a number of international carriers moving its egypt destined services to Borq el Arab Airport for operational reasons. Qatar Airways operates daily, non-stop flights from Doha to Alexandria. schedules for flights will not be affected by the change. Borg el Arab Airport is situated approximately 50 km from Alexandria city centre. in addition to Alexandria, Qatar Airways also flies to cairo and luxor in egypt. The airline operates a modern fleet to 99 destinations across europe, the middle east, Africa, Asia Pacific, north America and south America. By 2013 it plans to serve over 120 key business and leisure destinations worldwide. 8
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- International
Accor Creates New Smartphone Offerings
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ccor has introduced Accorhotels.com applications for the BlackBerry and samsung, equipped with the new Bada operating system. The application will give users of the smartphones access to more than 3,000 hotels around the world that operate under the Pullman, mGallery, novotel, suitenovotel, mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons, etap hotel and formule 1 et hotelf1 brands. The Accorhotels.com applications include functions that enable users to conduct searches according to predefined criteria, such as geolocalisation and current date. search preferences can be memorised and refined, for example, on preferred brands or number of children. members of Accor’s A|club loyalty program can also enter their membership number and earn points each time they book from their smartphone. The applications are in addition to the iPhone application the hotel group launched more than a year ago. Business travellers will soon also be able to find negotiated rates on BlackBerry and iPhone Accorhotels.com applications. The company has also updated its website to meet new customer needs with an ambitious target of 260,000 bed-nights that has been set for 2011.
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The Westin Houston Memorial City Opens its Doors starwood hotels & resorts worldwide inc. announced on march 24, the opening of the westin houston memorial city, situated in houston’s vibrant west side. The hotel has been awaited as a key element of the city’s memorial city complex and is considered a convenient, fully equipped hub for business travellers as well as offering ample facilities for leisure guests. ideal for business meetings and social functions alike, the westin houston memorial city offers a three-storey glass and wood staircase ascending to a conference and banqueting space of over 30,000 square feet. The hotel, with 267 guest rooms, joins two other westin hotels in houston and is the third starwood property to open within the memorial city complex. nancy london, Brand leader, westin hotels & resorts commented on the significance of the new hotel."The westin houston memorial city is a prime addition to our fast-growing portfolio of hotels and gives us an even greater presence in this key metropolitan centre."
APril 2, 2011
Frank Normann Eikeland
Andrew Fairbairn
frank normann eikeland has been appointed as general manager at Park inn Al Khobar. eikeland, who brings more than 26 years of experience to his new role, started his career with world leading hotels. he then moved to sheraton in oslo, before joining radisson sAs in 2000 where he held several managerial positions in operations and sales and marketing. Prior to taking on Frank Normann Eikeland his current role, he led rica Victoria hotel in oslo as general manager. eikeland graduated in 1981 from the hotel management school in his home country, norway.
Andrew fairbairn has been appointed as director of sales and marketing at le meridien Kuala lumpur to lead the property’s sales and marketing team and ensure optimum returns from all revenue channels. The 30 year old, who is armed with experience in Andrew Fairbairn account management of wholesale, fit and mice markets, as well as public relations and e-commerce, began his career as marketing executive for tourism noosa. he joined starwood hotels and resorts in 2004 as business development manager at sheraton noosa resort & spa, before taking on the role of director of sales in sheraton & westin resort fiji. most recently he worked as director of sales and marketing at laguna, nusa Dua, Bali. fairbairn holds a Bsc of business majoring in marketing and a diploma of market research.
Diana Banks Diana Banks has been appointed as vice president of sales and marketing at raffles hotels & resorts. Banks, who brings over 30 years of experience to raffles, will spearhead the luxury hotel group’s global sales, marketing and communication operations. Previously she held strategic sales positions with prominent companies, including Pegasus / utell and langham hotel and The Grove resort in the uK. Prior to joining raffles she worked as vice president of sales and marketing, europe, middle east and Africa at mandarin oriental hotel Group.
Enad Tannous enad tannous has been promoted to general manager at intercontinental Aqaba resort, Jordan. tannous, who has over 21 years of management experience in food and beverage, rooms division and hospitality, has held various supervisory and managerial positions in oman, uAe and saudi Arabia. he returned to Jordan in 2006 as executive assistant manager for intercontinental hotel Aqaba before taking on the position of general manager of crown Plaza resort in Petra prior to being Enad Tannous appointed to his current role. APril 2, 2011
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Peter Baumgartner,
Salim Damji,
Chief commercial officer, Etihad “At etihad, we are committed to action when it comes to mitigating negative impacts of our operations on the environment, including minimising our fuel use and emissions, wisely using our power, water and other resources, and recycling wherever possible. This has led to us working closely with masdar and other Abu Dhabi companies.”
Senior General Manager, UAE, Budget Rent-a-Car “we were delighted to see the meeting hosted in Dubai this year. it was a well attended event, and highly productive. it will go a long way in providing motivation and fresh ideas for business development in different markets of the menA region. we also had the opportunity to welcome Philippe Dye, the new regional Director for middle east & Africa and bid farewell to his predecessor, robin Borton”.
We were delighted to see the meeting hosted in Dubai this year
Peter Baumgartner
We are committed to action when it comes to mitigating negative impacts of our operations on the environment
Budget Rent a Car International held their Middle East Regional Meeting in Dubai in February. The meeting was attended by Budget principals and all licensees from the MENA region.
Ahmed Al Haddabi Senior vice president, airports operations, Abu Dhabi Airports Company "february proved to be a good month for Abu Dhabi international Airport, welcoming the new services of V Australia and additional frequencies for our other airline partners. All segments continue to grow, despite the impact of the unrest in certain countries.”
All segments continue to grow, despite the impact of the unrest in certain countries
Ahmed Al Haddabi
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
APril 2, 2011
Agent’s Insight Name: Yahya Masoud Al Abrawi Position: Managing Director Company: Arabian Trails Location: Oman Who are you? my name is Yahya masoud Al Abrawi, and i have long dreamed about establishing my own travel and tourism agency to show the beauty of my homeland, oman, to the world. with almost 16 years of experience in the hospitality and tourism industry, i have successfully set up my own destination management company (Dmc), Arabian trails, which now operates in several different physical and cultural environments. our focus is now on becoming a leading professional organiser and service orientated company in oman, the uAe and the whole Gulf region. What is your favourite thing about working in the travel industry? tourism is a very interesting field, and being part of a Dmc, i have the possibility to show our culture to the whole world. furthermore, i really enjoy challenges, such as providing exciting excursions, and creating new ideas and venues at places which have not been considered before. When is the best time to visit Oman? The ideal time to travel to oman is between september to April. however, to visit salalah, the southern part of oman, i would suggest July or August, when travellers can experience the unique “monsoon” climate. Where would you like to travel for your next holiday? i would love to visit Brazil and discover its nature and jungles. Why should people come to you for travel advice? Arabian trails translates simple ideas into tangible reality. in every stage of the planning process we are continually cognizant of how to actualise and materialise a tour or event vision. we incorporate unique spatial design, lighting elements and environmental production methods in creating not only a seamless event, but an atmosphere with impact. Arabian trails specialises in the design and production of corporate functions, fundraising galas, live concerts and social events, group and leisure programs and cruise handling. we are committed to the personal attention and passion for details that ensure success, thereby exceeding the expectations of every client. That’s why Arabian trails’ staff strives to deliver on time and on budget every time. APril 2, 2011
Kurban Travel Deploys Amadeus Kurban Travel, a lebanese travel agency became the latest user of Amadeus’ solutions after fully migrating its business to the transaction processor and provider’s technology. The solutions set up to Kurban travel will provide a wider scale of choices of airlines, accommodations and other travel related services and will allow clients to review their bookings via Amadeus checkmytrip mobile application. The migration to Amadeus will hugely enhance the agency’s offers to its customers. nadine Kurban, managing director, Kurban travel, highlighted. “The decision to replace our reservation system for Amadeus, after 15 years of using another provider, represents a turning point for our company. it means that we have the latest technology and that while increasing our business efficiency, we will be able to bring an improved offer to our customers enabling them to access to a wider range of content and services tailored to their specific needs.” Acquiring Kurban travel, represents a milestone for Amadeus pointed out selim Boutros, general manager, Amadeus lebanon. “we are extremely pleased to support the biggest travel agent in lebanon with Amadeus’ proven technology and content.”
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MENA Trains For Better Tourism A region’s transport infrastructure and the future development of its tourism sector are inextricably linked, so it is no wonder that vast sums of money are being invested in state-of-the-art railroads in Africa and the Middle East.
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n 2009, Dubai unveiled the world’s longest fully automated rail system and this could be just the beginning as far as impressive railway projects in the region. The most notable of these developments being the proposed pan-Arab railroad that could connect six Arab nations. one 1,970km railway line was to begin in Kuwait and run through saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the uAe before ending in oman. A second 1,984km line was to be constructed between Kuwait, saudi Arabia, the uAe and oman. rumours that the Gulf cooperation council planned to create an inter-Gcc railway system began to spread about five years ago and only now it appears that it may actually come to fruition.
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At the end of 2010, a consortium comprising of a Jordanian and italian company were selected to conduct an extensive study into the feasibility of the project. This will examine the feasibility of a rail network across the 21 Arab states and the study will last for one year however, it is expected that it will be a further 25 years before the mammoth project is completed. such improvements to the region’s transport infrastructure would be a huge boost for visiting tourists, as well as travel trade businesses. some countries are already forging ahead with plans to develop their own individual rail set-ups. saudi Arabia is bolstering its religious tourism with the creation of a 440 km high-speed railway that will link mecca and medina. Qatar has plans to build 354km of metro
lines within Greater Doha and a 345km national railway by 2022 in time for vast numbers of tourists who will be attending the football world cup that year. in Kuwait there are plans to develop a 171km inner-city light metro transport network, including four metro lines across Kuwait city. oman also has ambitions of creating a railway system. last year the country invited bids for construction of a rail network in three phases. tens of billions of dollars will be spent on improving the region’s rail infrastructure in the coming years. These new railways will have a critical role in the promotion of tourism in north Africa and the middle east so, as far as travel and tourism is concerned, the region is certainly on the right track.
APril 2, 2011
Q&A with Rudi Jagersbacher Hilton, one of the fastest expanding hotel chains in the Middle East and North Africa, has recently announced new developments in the region and continues to identify growth opportunities. K. R. Rudi S.K. Jagersbacher, president, Middle East and Africa, Hilton Worldwide, talks about the hotel group’s latest projects and further strategy. Travel Trade Weekly: There are many developments happening with Hilton in Ras Al Khaimah. Can you tell us more about this? Rudi Jagerbacher: we went into ras Al Khaimah over 10 years ago when the destination was not really on the market. we had an opportunity and after a very short period of time we were very successful with two hilton properties. At the same time we felt that we should help the local rulers by assisting them in the tourism aspect in the emirate, and finally looking at today we announced the waldorf Astoria which is very important to us.
Travel Trade Weekly:Why was Waldorf Astoria chosen for Ras Al Khaimah? Rudi Jagerbacher: we believe in desegmentation on a global aspect within a luxury hotel group. There are other brands like this being discussed and when this property will be finished it will be really incredible. There will be challenges for the property, however, we have the expertise to try and sell the destination in the similar line as Abu Dhabi, Dubai or for that matter even Paris or rome. it is not going to be easy, but the product is of such that i believe it will sell itself. The journey to get into ras Al Khaimah is another challenge because clearly the access cannot be compared to Dubai today, however the intention to become a pure resort within the emirate is way above people’s expectations and we feel that it is important to be part of that journey and hence we are out there where we are. There are other projects that we are presented with and i also believe that creating such a great niche market, that sometimes people don’t necessarily only want to stay in Dubai where there is the hustle and bustle and you are not really APril 2, 2011
able to relax. we now can create an oasis whereby you have the ability within one hour to go down the road and go shopping, come back, and the ability to stay in a beautiful hotel which is calm, relaxed, secure and we feel that it is perfect for the tourists who make that journey and also important for us in our journey.
Rudi Jagersbacher
Travel Trade Weekly: Any other new properties coming up in the Middle East and North Africa areas? Rudi Jagerbacher: Yes, among some, we also have the Doubletree in ras Al Khaimah and we have tunisia, Jordan and egypt properties planned to open when egypt has a great pipeline. the other important part for us is Africa with a big development pipeline too. so maybe from the tourism point of view it is important to mention the Aqaba property opening; where Jordan and ras Al Khaimah will have the first two Doubletrees as an entry into the market.
Travel Trade Weekly: Will you be looking at opening a Hampton Inn’s in the Middle East? Rudi Jagerbacher: The issue with the middle east is there is still the trend of the
customer today that would like to have service. The hampton inn concept is a bit different. i think what will do well in the middle east is the hilton Garden inn, particularly for the business man, where there is this business segmentation that is very lucrative. we make sure that whatever brands are available that they work! we aim for partnerships were we have win -win situations, where we reflect good integrity.
We aim for partnerships were we have win -win situations, where we reflect good integrity 15
GIBTM: Strong Performance in the MICE Industry Despite the recent regional turmoil the mice industry remains a strong performing segment in the middle east, according to delegates at the Gulf incentive Business travel and meeting exhibition (GiBtm) which took place this week. At a panel discussion entitled ‘what is happening in the world of meetings,’ 41 percent of the delegates acknowledged some cancellations and lower interest due to the recent unrest, while 19 percent remained optimistic and predicted a positive outlook for their business. in fact, 53 percent forecasted an increase in their meeting and events business for the year. increased awareness is the key to drive the industry according to 41 percent of the
voters, while 38 percent of them stressed the importance of the political stability. The Abu Dhabi tourism Authority (ADtA) is poised to stimulate the mice business and position the emirate in the world’s top 50 meetings destinations as part of a 10-year plan. At the same time, following the recent unrest, the egypt tourism Authority has launched several endeavors to rebound the country’s tourism industry, which employs about 10 percent of egypt’s labour force. The organisation invested about usD5 million on promoting the country and many hotels dropped their prices by 50 percent to accelerate the recovery of the industry, which according to experts might take about four months.
Bahrain’s mice industry contributed usD184.6 million to the country’s economy in 2010 and expected to remain a key driver to the economic growth by generating usD223.6 million this year, despite the political situation as it is. The delegates of GiBtm agreed on the growing importance of the social media in promoting mice business, increasing awareness and improving customer service.
Events China Outbound Travel and Tourism Market Beijing, China, April 13-15, 2011 (www.cottm.com) Dedicated business to business event targeting the growing market for outbound travel from china. Arabian Travel Market Dubai, UAE, May 2-5, 2011 (www.arabiantravelmarket.com) The middle east’s largest travel and tourism exhibition.
International Pow Wow 2011 San Francisco, USA, May 21-25, 2011 (www.ustravel.org/events/international-pow-wow) An international marketplace and the largest generator of Visit usA. IMEX Frankfurt, Germany, May 24-26, 2011 (www.imex-frankfurt.com) worldwide exhibition for incentive travel, meetings & events.
CITY FAIR The European Cities Travel Workshop Indaba London, UK, 20 June, 2011 Durban, South Africa, May 7-10, 2011 (www.cityfair.travel) (www.indaba-southafrica.co.za) A one day event of pre-scheduled appointments dedicated to the showcases the widest variety of southern Africa's best sector of city tourism. tourism products. AIBTM The Hotel Show Baltimore, USA, June 21-23, 2011 Dubai, UAE, May 17-19, 2011 (www.aibtm.com) (www.thehotelshow.com) us event for the business travel and meetings industry. hospitality event for the menA, Gcc & emerging markets.
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APril 2, 2011