Al Zajel Magazine_43th issue_june_ 2010 by JIHAD Azeez

Issue 43 - June 2010

Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates

IAAI President meets ATTAC Discuss travel agents’ problems Biji Eapen, President of IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) together with Mr. George Kurian have visited Travel & Tourism Agencies’ Council (ATTAC) recently to discuss pertinent issues concerning Travel Agents’ future role in the travel industry especially in relation to the role of IATA and the Airline. The meeting was conducted in ATTAC premises and was at-

ATTAC members with IAAI President

this issue:

Printed on recyclable paper

tended by the ATTAC representatives namely: Mr. Mohamed Salehi of Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, Mr. Mohamed El Sawi of Omeir Travel Agency, Mr. Alaa Al Ali of Nirvana Travel, Mr. Mohammad Al Ita of Advanced Travel & Tourism and Mr. Hani Khorsheed, Secretary General of ATTAC. On the said meeting, Mr. Eapen had briefed the attendants on his experiences regarding the

Ambassador’s Interview

Q & A - UFTAA

Interview - Chairman SCTDA

Social Page - Rotana Graduation

Interview - Ali Al Saloom

The Coverage - Bu Tinah

Airline commission. He also reiterated IAAI’s achievements and how they have accomplished their issues with IATA. Above all the matters over which both associations have shared same ideologies it was also agreed between ATTAC and IAAI to have a constant communication in order to strengthen their aim of protecting the Travel Agent’s interests.

Europe still struggling as global aviation returns to profitability The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects airlines to post a global profit of $2.5 billion in 2010. This is a major improvement compared with IATA’s previous forecast released in March of a $2.8 billion loss. This was revealed in a statement issued by IATA recently. Industry revenues are forecast to be $545 billion in 2010. This is up from the $483 billion in 2009, but still below the $564

billion achieved in 2008. “The global economy is recovering from the depths of the financial crisis much more quickly than could have been anticipated. Airlines are benefiting from a strong traffic rebound that is pushing the industry into the black. We thought that it would take at least three years to recover the $81 billion (14.3%) drop in revenues in 2009. But the $62 billion top line improvement this year puts

us about 75% on the way to pre-crisis levels,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. “The $2.5 billion profit comes with some important health warnings. First, this represents a net margin of just 0.5%, which is a long way from sustainable profitability. Second, a major part of the global industry is still posting big losses. A stagnating economy, strikes, natural disas-

ters, and a currency crisis have left European carriers struggling with an anticipated $2.8 billion loss,” said Bisignani. Highlights of the revised forecast include that the, passenger traffic is forecast to grow by 7.1% in 2010 while cargo traffic will expand by 18.5%. This is significantly better than the previous forecast growth of 5.6% and 12.0% respectively. Countine...Page 11

ADTA

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Publisher: ATTAC Secretary General: Hani Khorsheed

Producers of Al Zajel Magazine Tel. +971 2 6416 218, Fax: +971 2 6416 918 P.O. Box 36672, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. e-mail: info@newideaadv.com Managing Director Ayham Hababa e-mail: ayham.h@newideaadv.com Business Development Manager Mohamed Barakat Mobile: +971 50 8474791 e-mail: mohd.b@newideaadv.com Assistant Editor Muhammad Khalid Shuja Mobile: +971 056 6151902 e-mail: editor@newideaadv.com Marketing & Advertising Manager Roula Azzi Mobile: +971 50 1321743 e-mail: roula.a@newideaadv.com Magazine Designer Jihad Ahamed Azeez Mobile.: +971 50 8232732 e-mail: jehad.a@newideaadv.com Contributions We welcome your comments about the magazine and your news stories. Please submit any interesting stories about your organisation to us at editor@newideaadv.com. Please also let us know about your achievements, awards, new appointees, birthdays, or other special occasions. Don’t forget to include all your contact details so we can get in touch with you. Disclaimer The Editor and Management reserve the right to decide on the editorial content of the magazine and publication is not guaranteed although we will do our best to accommodate you. All information in Al Zajel magazine is derived from sources that we consider reliable. Information is published for our readers in good faith and with the best of intentions. We cannot accept responsibility for erroneous information that is passed to us from other sources. The content of the magazine reflects the views of a wide range of sources and does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, ATTAC (Abu Dhabi Travel & Tourism Agencies’ Council) or the management of New Idea Advertising, the media agent. Similarly, advertisers represent and warrant that their advertisement and contact information comply with advertising standards; and that they hold the necessary rights to permit the use of the advertisement and contact information by AL Zajel magazine and agree to indemnify and hold it harmless from any and all liability, damages, or claims.

H.E Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon receives premier French cultural honour His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and of Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) received the premier cultural honour of the Republic of France from the country’s Culture Minister, Frédéric Mitterrand. The French Republic has made Sheikh Sultan a Commander of the prestigious L’Ordre des Arts et Lettres recognizing his significant contribution to the enrichment of French and international cultural inheritance. Commander is the highest order in the accolade and is presented to only 20 recipients every year. “Sheikh Sultan’s leadership in securing a 30-year cultural ac-

cord with France which includes 30-year rights to the Louvre name has been far-sighted and will, in the long term, benefit culture and art lovers worldwide, many of whom will venture to this emirate when the Louvre Abu Dhabi opens its doors,” said Minister Mitterrand. The presentation came as the Minister visited Al Ain, the emirate’s cultural heartland where Sheikh Sultan, who also chairs the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage (ADACH), showed him around the renovated Al Jahili Fort. The 119-yearold fort, sensitively restored by ADACH, is one of the UAE’s most historic buildings and the birthplace of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding President of the coun-

try and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. “This is a very welcome recognition of the strides Abu Dhabi has taken in developing, on Saadiyat Island, a cultural asset which will belong to the people of the UAE, the Middle East and the world,” said Sheikh Sultan. “It is, however, an honour that owes much to the vision of the emirate’s rulers, most notably Their Highnesses Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Mohammed

Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Executive Council Chairman, who laid the groundwork for the transformation of Saadiyat Island and the creation of its Cultural District,” he elaborated. Abu Dhabi is creating the world’s single largest concentration of world-class cultural institutions in Saadiyat Island’s Cultural District including the Louvre Abu Dhabi which is to open in 2013. During his visit to Al Ain, Minister Mitterrand paid a courtesy call to His Highness Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region before visiting Al Ain Museum, the Palace Museum, Al Ain Oasis and returning to Abu Dhabi to take in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

ADTA strengthens consumer engagement with new Beijing visitor centre-cum-office Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has launched a new concept for its overseas offices in one of Beijing’s prime commercial and shopping districts. The bright, modern design adorned with images reflecting Abu Dhabi’s rich heritage and culture encompasses an exhibition area, visitor centre and promotional office and will now be progressively rolled-out throughout ADTA’s expanding overseas office network. “This is an investment in our overseas profile to bring added focus to Abu Dhabi’s increasing stature as an international tourism destination,” explained ADTA’s Director General Mubarak Al Muhairi, who performed the opening. “The office is easily accessible and its prominence sends a clear signal to the Chinese travel trade and Chinese travellers that their patronage is extremely important to us.” The opening brought the Chinese culture together with Abu Dhabi’s as Chinese artists performed the traditional ‘Lion Dance’ in celebration while a troupe of performers from Abu

ADTA Opens Beijing visitor centre-cum-office, China

Dhabi demonstrated the traditional Ayala celebration dance. Mr Al Muhairi then dotted the eyes of the lion with red paint – a symbolic gesture which in Chinese culture signifies the birth of a new lion. “I hope they are right and that Abu Dhabi’s roar resonates throughout this increasingly important market,” joked Al Muhairi. ADTA has identified China as a key emerging market with increasing numbers of Chinese

nationals staying in the emirates’ hotels. In the first four months of this year, the number of Chinese nationals staying in Abu Dhabi hotels rose 31% to 5,887. “The trend is in the right direction and we intend to consistently and pro-actively nurture what is a huge potential market,” explained Al Muhairi. “We are putting the infrastructure and promotional tools in place to attract a slice of a highly lucrative market which we have greater access to since last year’s grant-

ing, by the Chinese authorities, of Approved Destination Status to the United Arab Emirates. This now enables us to target group and incentive business as well as the free independent traveller (FIT) from the Middle Kingdom to Abu Dhabi.” Recent forecasts from international tourism consultancy Tourism Economics put Chinese outbound travel in excess of 34.7 million by 2015 end – a rise of 22% on this year’s 26.8 million expectations.

ADAC / ADTA

ADTA opens Al Jahili fort visitor centre

Passenger traffic up by 10% at ADIA, Cargo tonnage up by 21.3%

Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority has opened a dedicated visitor centre in the renovated Al Jahili Fort , one of Al Ain’s leading landmarks. Al Jahili now takes the number of ADTA visitor centres throughout the emirate to four, with a fifth being operated at Mina Zayed’s cruise terminal in the November-May season. Al Jahili is the first of three visitor centres the authority is planning to open this year. “We are working on a centre which we plan to open in July in The Souk, Central Market with a third due to open in October at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi,” explained Saeed Al Dhaheri, Visitor Information Manager, ADTA. In addition, the authority is planning to scale up the number of visitor information kiosks in operation throughout the emirate. It plans to install the touchscreen kiosks at the Mazyed visitor checkpoint on the Al Ain/ Oman border, at the five-star Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) monthly traffic report for Abu Dhabi International Airport, shows the double-digit growth experienced since the start of 2010 is still holding strong. In spite of cancellations of flights due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland which grounded many flights to and from Europe during the month, the airport recorded a passenger traffic increase of 10.1%, up to 866,475, in the month of April. The month of April 2010 saw aircraft movement increase by 11.1%, compared to the same month in 2009. Cargo movement through the airport also increased substantially in April, with tonnage handled up by

Facade of Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain

Anantara in Abu Dhabi’s stunning Liwa Desert and on the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi site when the world’s largest indoor theme park opens on October 28. The new Al Jahili Visitor Centre is open daily 9am-5pm with the exception of Mondays when the fort is closed to visitors and Friday, when it is open from 3pm to 5pm. The picturesque Al Jahili Fort is one of the UAE’s most historic forts and is the birthplace of the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding President

of the country and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. The fort was erected in 1891 to defend Al Ain and protect the precious palm groves of this ‘Oasis City,’ The former headquarters of the Oman Trucial Scouts, it also served as a residence for the local governor. The fort, which was restored by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage, now houses a permanent exhibition of the world of British adventurer Sir Wilfred Thesiger and his 1940s crossings of the Rub Al Khali (Empty Quarter) desert.

Abu Dhabi Airport Company welcome Royal Falcon Airlines Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) welcomed the Jordanian airline, Royal Falcon Airlines, which is flying directly from Marka Airport, Amman to Abu Dhabi International Airport. This is the Royal Falcon Airlines’ second direct flight into the UAE after its service to Sharjah, which started in March 2010. The new Amman – Abu Dhabi route was added to Abu Dhabi International Airport’s growing position as one of the region’s most improved and proficient airports. The airline deploy its Boeing 737-400 for the Abu Dhabi route with two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Saturdays arriving at Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2.00pm (local Abu Dhabi time) and departing at 3.00pm for arrival at Marka Airport at 5.20pm (local Jordan time). Ahmad Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President Airports Operations, said, “It is with great plea-

sure that we welcome Royal Falcon Airlines’ inaugural flight to the city of Abu Dhabi. Royal Falcon Airlines marks a welcome addition to the increasing number of airlines that choose Abu Dhabi International Airport as a new destination in their network. The new service will be offering more travelling options to passengers flying from and to Jordan”. Captain Ziad Hanandah, President/ CEO of Royal Falcon Airlines said, “We are delighted that we are able to start

a new working relationship with Abu Dhabi Airports Company. We are committed to providing world class quality services in all aspects of the Royal Falcon Airlines experience, and look forward to being welcomed to Abu Dhabi as the new falcon in the sky.” Royal Falcon Airlines is ambitious about increasing flight frequency in the coming months for this Boeing 737-400 aircraft will be used. Al Rays Travel, is the exclusive GSA in the UAE for the airline.

21.3% over the same month in 2009. London, Doha, Bangkok, Manila and Jeddah were the top five city destinations; whilst the USA was the fastest growing country destination for the month, with a 160% increase in passenger traffic over the same period in 2009. This growth can largely be attributed to the launch of Etihad’s Chicago route and its growing connectivity to the American market through its code share agreement with American Airlines. Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, ADAC, said, “In spite of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the volcanic ash cloud

that spread from Iceland across Europe during several days in April and thereby grounding numerous flights to and from the continent, Abu Dhabi International Airport continued to record double-digit growth, which is a great result. The increases illustrate the strong fundamentals of our economy and the strength of our tourism offering in Abu Dhabi. ADAC will remain focused on enhancing the facilities and services we offer to our passengers, and to attracting new airlines to our airport hub.”

ADAC launches new airport brand: Shop-Dine-Unwind Having changed from a direct operator to a landlord for its duty free operations, the relevance of the existing Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) brand was brought into question, so recently Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC)’s launch its new brand concept: Shop-Dine-Unwind. With the change in strategy came the innovation to revise the retail division’s approach and a travel-retail concept and brand that could be transferred beyond the physical borders of the emirate. Huraiz bin Huraiz, Chief Commercial Officer for ADAC, explains, “While we all appreciate the achievements and equity that was built up with the Abu Dhabi Duty Free brand, the new business model has transformed significantly over the past 18 months and it was not a suitable brand we could grow and use outside of Abu Dhabi.” “The Shop-Dine-Unwind brand, which will be managed by ADAC’s Commercial Division, not only highlights the change in our business model from owneroperator to landlord, it is also easily transferable – outside of Abu Dhabi – and will eventually enable us to highlight the qual-

ADAC launches Shop-Dine-Unwind

ity of a travel-retail offer, within ADAC managed airports, internationally,” added Bin Huraiz. ADAC currently manages five airports within the emirate of Abu Dhabi and sees potential, in the long-term, as an airport asset management company. This necessitates the need to create a transferable destination brand for its retail and F&B division which could manage this aspect of the business, within the respective airport. ADAC’s vision is to ‘create the world’s best airport environments’, and Shop-Dine-Unwind was created to reflect the retail, food and beverage (F&B) offer within those ADAC managed airports. The first Shop-DineUnwind branded property within

ADAC’s portfolio is Terminal 3 – Abu Dhabi International Airport. “The Shop-Dine-Unwind offer in Terminal 3 represents the base benchmark of our retail offer and experience from which, through constant feedback from our passengers, we will strive to learn, improve and grow the offerings,” concluded Bin Huraiz. Shop-Dine-Unwind will also go live in Abu Dhabi International’s Terminal 1 facility within 2010 and in line with the major renovations and enhancements to other travel-retail real estate within the ADAC portfolio. The ultimate Shop-Dine-Unwind offer will, says ADAC, be delivered when Abu Dhabi’s upcoming Midfield Terminal Complex is launched in 2015.

Policy Matter

Cyprus

More that meets the eye

The Embassy of Cyprus was established recently to further develop all aspects of relationships. In order to get more insight about Cyprus and its tourism along other important matters Al Zajel talked to the first Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Arab Emirates, H.E Costas A. Papademas, here is what he said for our readers. Tell us something about yourself and your experience in the UAE and what are those things from which you can relate UAE to Cyprus? It was indeed a great challenge but a pleasure as well and honor to open the Cyprus Embassy in Abu Dhabi and to be the first Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the United Arab Emirates. Although there is a longstanding relation and friendship between our two countries, our presence here will give us the opportunity to enhance and further develop our cooperation and relations in all fields. Both countries are located in strategic positions and although small in size, they can play an important role for the stability and peace in the turbulent area of the Middle East. Despite different religions and culture, both societies share same visions and aspirations for peace, progress and development. Needless to say that I was astonished by the remarkable development that anyone can witness in the UAE and which was achieved in such a short span of time by a visionary and skillful leadership who led the UAE to the qualities that everyone enjoys today, not only the citizens of the country but also a large number of foreigners. Furthermore I would like to express my sincere thanks and pleasure for the warm reception I had and the cooperative spirit I met since my arrival in the UAE, in March 2009. How do you see the relationship between UAE and Cyprus? UAE is not unknown to Cypriots. Cypriot companies, especially those in the field of

H.E Costas A. Papademas, Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the UAE

construction are present in the UAE since a long time and in this respect many Cypriots were here and still are, working or offering their services. I believe there’s a lot of potential to develop our trade and business relations as well as the political and cultural ones. My aim is to institutionalize cooperation between our two countries, by signing bilateral agreements, as well as to promote cooperation in international fora and international organizations. In your opinion as the Ambassador of Cyprus. How the business in general and tourism in particular would be enhanced between Cyprus and Abu Dhabi? Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite - the Goddess of beauty, is

more than a holiday destination. It’s not only beautiful beaches and blue skies, not only archeological sites and rich history. Cyprus can cater to your business needs ranging from registering your company and setting up operations to manage your European Union, North Africa, Middle East and all over the world clients. So if you are in search for a new business base, consider Cyprus. There is more to it that meets the eye! The Embassy is at the disposal of all our friends for further information and for those who need a visa to travel to Cyprus I can assure them that they can have it within the same day. Being in a luxurious hotel by the beach or to a beautiful resort in the mountains among the sensational smell of a pine

wood forest, I am sure that the first question that comes to your mind is: “when shall I visit Cyprus again?” What Cyprus offers to Emiratis? Being at the crossroads of three continents and in a close proximity to the busy trade routes linking Europe with Arab countries and the Far East, Cyprus has been rapidly developed into an international business and service center. Its excellent political and economic relations with neighboring countries and its highly developed socioeconomic infrastructure helped Cyprus to become an ideal center for business activities. Offering a unique basket of comparative advantages, deriving from its favorable business climate, fiscal regime, stable macroeconomic environment and its modern legal, banking and financing systems, as well as its excellent infrastructure and advanced transport and telecommunications network, Cyprus retains and enhances its competitiveness as an international business center and becomes a stepping stone for investments. The opportunities offered in Cyprus are further vested by the advantage of its accession to the European Union and to the Euro zone. Therefore, through Cyprus, foreign investors can develop links with European countries and vice versa. In that effect, important ventures with local firms and other forms of industrial and economic cooperation can be realized. What opportunities UAE offers to Cypriot tourists? It is indeed a lot of interest among Cypriots to visit the UAE and to enjoy the remarkable luxury as well as to be familiar with the Arab culture and needless to say to take advantage of the ample shopping opportunities. Of course we should not forget the Formula 1 fans and the safari in the desert.

Which is the main source market for Cyprus tourism and where does UAE stand? There’s a variety of nationalities who visit Cyprus every year, mainly Europeans with the UK leading the numbers. I am glad to mention that tourism from the UAE is increasing rapidly and although the numbers are still not so high, the prospect is bright. ln your perspective. What are the main areas which will be the most flourishing in the future between Cyprus and UAE? I believe that there are very good prospects for expanding our relations in the fields of trade, tourism, shipping and especially investments for the reasons that I have mentioned above. What are the strategies Cyprus is pursuing to lure more tourists from UAE? A tourist office is in operation in the UAE since a long time and in recent months we intensified our efforts by organizing workshops, seminars, participating in local tourist exhibitions and promoting Cyprus through the media and the press. I believe that those already been to Cyprus are the best promoters for tourism.so come to know Cyprus and then your friends will come too.

What Cypriot attractions would you like to suggest to UAE Nationals and residents to see when they travel to Cyprus? I believe that UAE nationals are people who know to value quality, so they can enjoy the best beaches and hotels, excellent variety of food, wonderful mountain resorts and forests. Nevertheless they can combine pleasure and knowledge. More specifically I would suggest to them to visit the archeological sites which date back to several thousands of years and see through them the evolution of history not only for Cyprus but also for the whole mankind. Also Cyprus is full of religious monuments as churches and mosques where Christians and Muslims lived side by side for many centuries. Last but not least, they could visit the capital, the old city of Nicosia, surrounded by the Venetian Walls, which is the only divided capital in Europe, due to the Turkish invasion and occupation of 1974 which forcibly divided the people of Cyprus by ethnicity and by land. Message to the Travel Trade and to AI Zajel readers First of all i would like to express my warmest thanks for the opportunity given to me to elaborate on Cyprus and its relation with the UAE. AI Zajel is a remarkable magazine addressing a special kind of readers and I believe that it offers a great opportunity to travel and tourism agents through it’s in-depth contents, to be familiar with foreign countries and cultures as well as with local events. My message to your readers, by quoting Shakespeare in his “Othello”, a play that took place in the Cypriot city of Famagusta, is: “Welcome Sir to Cyprus” enjoy the Cypriot hospitality and human approach!

General Information Capital

Nicosia

Official language :

Greek and Turkish

Government

Presidential republic

Currency

Euro

GDP

$22.746 billion(in 2009)

Population

870,000(1.1.2010)

Interview - UFTAA

A Veteran Campaigner Brian Barrow Director at Large for UFTAA and its Head of Air Transport, has been with UFTAA for just over one year. Before that, he was Travel Agency Commissioner for ten years initially for Area Two but finally for the world. Before that, he had a long spell with IATA, the old IATA where for 20 years; he was the Agency Administrator, in-charge of the Airlines’ Global Cargo and Passenger Agency distribution systems. He knew the Agency Program in the days before the BSP. Was actively involved in developing and implementing the BSP and its cargo equivalent, CASS. One of his UFTAA functions today is to represent the Travel Agents on the Passenger Agency Program Global Joint Council (PAPGJC) where the Travel Agency sector has a chance to express its views and concerns. He recently on invitation of Travel & Tourism Agents’ Council (ATTAC) visited Abu Dhabi and presented a detailed presentation about BSP, large number of travel agents attended the presentation, for our readers, Al Zajel interviewed him asking pertinent question about travel trade…… Your role in UFTAA. As UFTAA’s director at large, I undertake assignments for the board when its members are otherwise occupied running their own businesses and are unable to give adequate attention to UFTAA matters. As a former IATA official and familiar with its regulatory system I can often answer questions and give advice to UFTAA members on how to go about resolving issues arising with IATA. Having an office in the building adjoining IATA in Geneva facilitates direct links with IATA executives. You have been in the industry for long, how much the industry has changed since the time you started your carrier? The answer to that question could take days since the air transport industry has undergone a revolution in the forty years during which I have been associated with it. But, in a nutshell it has transformed itself from a high price, regulated luxury industry into a highly competitive mass consumer industry. The jet engine, the computer, the lowering of trade barriers globally and the end of the Cold War combined to bring this about. Competition pressures and rising labor costs have also caused airlines to cut back many services that were the norm, even twenty years ago, including their indus-

Travel agents attending the presentation Brian Barrow Director at Large for UFTAA during his recent visit to Abu Dhabi

try affairs departments which used to be the lifeblood of IATA activities and the ingredient that explained its enormous prestige

and success as the authoritative setter of industry standards. The airline industry’s centre of gravity has also shifted away from the

Brian Barrow Director at Large for UFTAA

mid-Atlantic where it was once dominated by the US and European airlines. The Middle East and Far East airlines have come into their own as their national markets have expanded. The industry is truly global these days. Please tell us about the BSP, what is it and what are the positive and negative attached to this program? The BSP is a unified airline industry-wide system for accounting and settling travel agents’ sales on behalf of the airlines. Most of the world’s IATA Accredited Agents report and remit through the BSP which is managed on behalf the three hundred or so airlines that use it by a dedicated IATA staff called the BSP Management. Being in the IATA Agency Program allows an Agent to do business with hundreds of airlines using the same basic contractual terms for all. The BSP goes one step further by providing access to a standard electronic airline ticket which is honored by all airlines. By standardizing non-competitive aspects of doing business IATA has brought about con-

siderable economies for the industry and its customers. The downside from the travel agents’ viewpoint which I hear about is the recent growing rigidity of the system, particularly with regard to fiduciary requirements imposed by IATA on Accredited Agents. IATA is apparently in search of the perfect watertight business system and as the perfect is the enemy of good, there is friction and some discontent. On the other hand, BSP makes travel agents’ lives simpler and saves them costs. So, there is trade-off for accepting to work under IATA discipline. IATA is an airline industry’s voice why should it helps in solving travel agents issues, your comments on this? IATA does not purport to represent travel agent interests. It is an airline association and as its members rely on travel agents for more than eighty per cent of their sales income, IATA has, almost by default become the custodian of the industry sales distribution system. A business that turns over more than USD200 billion per year.

Being an IATA Accredited Agent in many parts of the world is essential if a travel agent wants to stay in business. That puts IATA in a very powerful position indeed, particularly as, with the passage of time, the unique IATA Numeric Code has become the industry recognized credential for doing business. Hotels, cruise lines, car rental companies, and many other travel industry suppliers all recognize the IATA Numeric Code, incorporate the IATA Agency List into their own computer systems and do business without demur with travel agents who can show they have that code. There is a growing perception, at least on the travel agent side of the industry that IATA has become less sensitive than in the past to the need to use its considerable powers with restraint and to bear in mind that it is the servant of the airlines and not a business in its own right insofar as running the Agency Program and the BSP are concerned. So, to sum up, it would be unrealistic to expect IATA to rush to the help of travel agents in dispute with the airlines. Sometimes, IATA will mediate but much less so than in the past. In short, travel agents associations remain the travel agents’ best friends when it comes to dealing with IATA. What makes the diminution of IATA’s neutrality particularly disappointing is the fact that it derives considerable revenues from travel agents who have to pay to be in the Agency Program and who are increasingly the subject of charges and fees for ‘extras’ which come in many shapes, flavors and colors, not all of them sought for.

UFTAA: The United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations (UFTAA) emanates from the Universal Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations created in Rome, Italy, on November 22nd, 1966. UFTAA was originally founded as a result of a merger of two large world organizations, FIAV and UOTAA, recognizing the need to unify travel agencies and tour-operators into one international federation. In 1989, coming from Brussels, UFTAA set up its General Secretariat in the Principality of Monaco. UFTAA started its operation as a Confederation on January 1st, 2003. It is a non-profit Confederation of international scope, representing Regional Federations comprising some 80 national associations. UFTAA is a world body representing the travel agency and tourism industry. UFTAA effectively represents Travel Agents and Tour Operators views on both Inbound and Outbound travel by continuous dialogue and consultation with other international organizations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) the International Union of Railways (IUR), the International Road Union (IRU), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to mention only a few. UFTAA has consultative status with the UN/NGO/ECOSOC, and works closely with other world bodies such as UNESCO, WHO etc for a sustainable and responsible tourism. UFTAA is an affiliate member of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and its Business Council (WTOBC).).

point of views

Sports More than a game :

There is little doubt that sports and athletics play a major role in tourism. In much of the world newspapers devote more space to sports news than to foreign news and major sporting events such as World Cup Football, the Olympic Games, the World Series and the Super Bowl have become more than national pastimes but also real or quasi real national holiday. Both young and old alike idolize sports figures as role models, so much so that when a sports figure ends up on the wrong side of the law or in a moral crisis that too becomes major news. From a tourism perspective, sports really are two different commodities, the passive commodity called ‘spectator sports’ and the active commodity called ‘participatory sports’. Spectator sports are really part of the entertainment industry; in fact some call the US’s university sports system ‘edutainment’ as college athletes are as much entertainers as they are students. These athletic games exist as emotion releases and permit people to discuss ‘safe’ and ‘noncontroversial’ subjects. Participatory sports, such as skiing, swimming, or jogging, may or may not have a competitive side to them, but in all cases force the partici-

pant to increase his/her skill and physical stamina. In this latter category success is not dependent on the other but rather on the skill and luck of the actor. Both spectator and participator sports can play a major role in a community’s tourism industry and in its quality of life. Sports, then, are a major tourism generator. Thousands of people attend major sporting events such as Super Bowls or Olympics Games and their attendance generates a great deal of revenue, not only for the teams but also for the tourism industries that serve these athletic spectacles. Hotels, restaurants, nightspots, transportation facilities are only a few of the tourism industries that benefit from these sporting events. Not unlike the major professional sports, sports connected to education such as in the United States university athletics bring thousands of loyal fans to the host community and in pregame and after-game activities produce a great deal of economic revenue. Midway between professional and academic sports and participatory sports is what may be called armature league sports. These tournaments can be especially helpful to a

tourism industry during an offseason and the players often bring their entire families to these localized series. To help you develop a sports tourism programme that is right for your community consider some of the following ideas: Determine what facilities your community has and build your sports tourism programme around the best that you can offer. Offer your visitors the best facilities and equipment possible. If you are building your sports programme around participatory activities then make sporting equipment easily available. For example, a golf course that does not provide clubs may be well suited for the local population but may fail to become a tourism attraction if visitors cannot rent clubs easily. Visitors, especially who come for sporting or athletic reasons, tend to respond to their environment. Surround your athletic facilities with pleasant surroundings, not only to develop a sense of ésprit de corps, but also to encourage people to stay in town after the athletic event has ended. Know the conditions under which tournament teams

are going to have to compete. There is perhaps nothing as destructive for a community’s sports tourism reputation then taking its guests by surprise. Athletes want to know what to expect, what the playing conditions are going to be, and what challenges they are going to face. Sports tourism, just like other forms of tourism, requires that you maintain good community lists, and emergency numbers. All sporting events have an element of risk. Make sure that visiting athletes know where to go for medical attention, what restaurants serve before and post-games foods, and if hotel check-outs can be co-ordinated with sporting event timetables. Know the risks that go with the types of sporting events that you are promoting. Be age sensitive. Especially if you are promoting participatory athletic activities, know which are the special needs with which you may be challenged. Business catering to older athletes may have to deal with different risks than those businesses that deal with visitors

or younger sports enthusiasts. Every sports oriented tourism community should know how to find a 24-hour pharmacies, hospital emergency rooms, and doctors and dentists who willing to take on emergency out-oftown patients. Use sports as a means to teach people new skills. Many people love to combine travel with skill enhancement. Consider developing lists of athletes, formers professional athletes or educational centers that may be willing to accept tourists for the purpose of teaching them or helping them to improve a particular athletic skill. Learning a new athletic skill may not only be beneficial for a person’s stress levels, but also can teach teamwork and offer a new outlook on life. There are numerous ‘sports schools’ around the world that will accept both groups and individuals. For example, Portugal’s Pierre de Coubertin Soccer Academy, located in Santa Maria da Feira, just outside of Oporto will teach individual how to incorporate the art of soccer into a person’s business life, or provide the person with a chance to distress on the soccer field during the day and over a glass of Portuguese wine

at night. These skill enhancement centers are a great way to increase a community’s tourism potential. Know the legal consequences of any event and practice good risk management. In today’s society where litigation has become a way of life, check with your community’s law offices about the need for waivers when conducting public tournaments, when hosting major sporting events or when encouraging out-of-towners to visit your community for recreational reasons. Use sports tourism to give your community a new image. Athletics provides a community with a sense of sizzle and a dynamic image. Use your sports tourism as a way to develop a halo affect that spills over into every aspect of your community’s self-image. Contributed by:

Dr. Peter E. Tarlow is the president of T&M, a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA and a popular author and speaker on tourism. source: www.destinationworld.info

Inbound / Outbound

Focus a cardinal factor of Success

In any business one of the primary functions to succeed is to be clearly focused on your objective, sometimes very difficult due to outside forces and unwanted annoyances. In a period of less than 5 months Salem Travel have created an entirely new concept in the development of incoming tourism which is the future. Recently we have witnessed more traffic via Abu Dhabi airport to/from Dublin – Colombo – Tokyo to name just three. Not all passengers are corporate or in transit. With this focus we now have Arabian Odyssey with 23 different

itineraries and bookable on line – very user friendly and more being added for you to take advantage of. Salem Holidays had just a few destinations on offer 4 weeks ago – now in excess of 60 programmes with Zanzibar – Kenya safari’s – two centre holidays combining Thailand with 10 other destinations – Istanbul with 15 other destinations and coming shortly Kiev in the Ukraine and 9 other destinations. We are focused on what we need to do to survive in an industry with wafer thin margins. In the UK I created a char-

ter based tour operation from just me and an A4 sheet of paper to eventually carry in excess of 250.000 passengers and 400 staff. This was achieved by organic growth not by acquisition. As we grew I locked the company into a massive time charter agreement with an airline and naturally a remarkable rotation price. The airline ceased trading and I needed to find replacement carriers and could not. The boards decision was to bring forward by two years our plans to create our own in-house airline. With a press release in Flight Inter-

national I had calls from every corner of the globe offering aircraft. We settled on the BAC 1-11 and within 4 months in our own livery Air Manchester was created. The look of excitement on all our faces with our first take-off was overwhelming – in total we had 4 aircraft in service. This was not the result of good luck or just hard work but, being focused on our objective and picking the right people to achieve our goal. This philosophy has been brought into play here at Salem Travel – we have products to offer the trade both inbound

and outbound. Our outbound product Salem Holidays is going from strength to strength with a wonderful array of diverse destinations and the month of May broke all records. I attribute this to our ability to convert the enquiry into a positive sale by a systemic process of a positive attitude – quality of service and giving a quotation within a matter of hours. Need I say it but our operations personnel receive a commission on all sales. That’s the motivation coupled with a singular positive approach to business. I have also given the

staff the power of discretion to make decisions for themselves with a computerized costing system – they are guided by having the minimum mark up we need with all net components as we do not work on commission. It’s not such a bad industry after all. Take care – speak again next month, Contributed by:

Peter Mayne Business Development Manager Arabian Odyssey & Salem Holidays.

Interview - Hotels

Peninsula: A Living legend of Luxury Peter Borer was appointed Chief Operating Officer of The Peninsula Hotels and an Executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) in April 2004. The Peninsula Hotels is a subsidiary of HSH, an international hotels and property group headquartered in Hong Kong. Borer joined the Company in 1981 after acquiring extensive working experience in luxury hotels in Europe and the United States. Mr. Borer holds a degree in hotel management from the Lausanne Hotel School in Switzerland. In addition, he has been awarded an Adjunct Associate Professorship and Chapter Honouree of Eta Sigma Delta of the School of Hotel Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2001 and 2004 respectively. He recently visited UAE with his team for exploring the future prospect of the Peninsula Group presence here in UAE, Al Zajel interviewed him and tried to sneak in his and the group’s past present and future.

Peter Borer, Chief Operating Officer of The Peninsula Hotels & Executive Director of The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH)

Tell us about The Peninsula Hotels in general and prospect of Peninsula Hotels in UAE in particular, when is Peninsula planning to open its first property in UAE? The Peninsula Hotels group has a unique identity among the world’s leading hotels. Established in 1928, we now operate prestigious luxury properties in nine major cities. These include the flagship in Hong Kong, plus Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, New York, Chicago, Beverly Hills, Bangkok and Manila, with Paris opening in 2012. Peninsula is a living legend, the name synonymous with luxurious comfort and impeccable service. We set our sights high and our standards higher, aiming always to delight our customers, and in many cases we are now serving the third generation of our loyal guests. While we are always open to considering new locations for Peninsula properties, and indeed have received several very interesting proposals from the Middle East, we are not actively pursuing a property in this part of the world for the time being. We are currently focused on the recent opening of The Peninsula Shanghai (which had its grand opening recently), have just commenced construction on The Peninsula Paris and are looking

closely at opportunities in London and India. Amid stiff competition, what are the strategies The Peninsula Hotels are following, and what will be the strategy for UAE market? We continue to adhere to our longstanding strategy of providing excellent service in hotels in key locations in their respective cities. For the UAE market, we have just appointed Dnata to represent us here on the ground, rather than working from our New York office as previously, thus demonstrating our commitment to our Middle Eastern customers and also growing our market share in this region. We have also just launched an Arabic version of our website, together with the reservation system in Arabic, enabling visitors to easily find information and make bookings at our hotels. There are so many hotels ranging from 3-stars to 7-stars already present in UAE, what will be the difference customers will notice about Peninsula properties? We take an uncompromising attitude to providing luxury and outstanding personalized service, and also benefit from a number of unique aspects which

set us apart from other hotel groups. These include : our history and heritage as one of the world’s oldest hotel groups, with our parent company The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited dating back to 1866, and several generations of the Kadoorie family at the helm as majority shareholders. our longstanding relationship with Rolls-Royce dating from 1970, with record-breaking

orders of Rolls-Royce limousines customized for our hotels, together with three 1934 vintage Phantom II Rolls-Royces. our unique in-room technology, ranging from bedside panels controlling all functions in the room, spa buttons in the bathroom to create a mini spa ambience, internet radio, and so on other in-room amenities and facilities, such as the valet box for pick-up and delivery of laun-

Peninsula group has tied up with Dnata to represent them in the ME showing their interest in the region from an outbound business perspective. The Peninsula Hotels are introducing “Enriching Your Life” - a collection of programs and activities on offer in all Peninsula Hotels throughout 2010 and beyond. With the aim of enhancing the guest experience in each of The Peninsula Hotels, “Enriching Your Life” comprises three components - “Me” (January to April), “My Family, My Friends” (May to August) and “Our Community” (September to December) - with each offering an integral collection of experiences designed to enrich, enlighten and educate.

dry etc, in order not to disturb guests, fax and printers, Espresso coffee makers in Tokyo and Shanghai, free internet access in all hotels, and free international VOIP calls in Shanghai. Our guest room designs and layout – our obsession with attention to detail starts with the original room design, when we create a fully-operational sample room. Our Chairman The Hon. Sir Michael Kadoorie and his wife stay in it, followed by a number of our other top executives, who all give input and opinions. The room is then amended and adapted accordingly, and this process continues until all parties are completely satisfied. very long-serving and loyal staff together with extensive training programs enable us to deliver outstanding service to our guests. Who are Peninsula Hotels’ target customers, and what specifically will be done by the hotel to entice its customers? Our hotels welcome a wide mix of customers – business, leisure and family travelers from all over the world – with some hotels having a larger share of some categories than others by virtue of their location. Our hotels have welcomed individual travelers, government and trade delegations and family groups from the Middle East, and look forward to continuing to receive many more. Apart from our new Arabic website, our hotels can also offer a range of special amenities for guests from the Middle East, including Halal food on request, prayer mats etc.

As the world in general and hospitality sector in particular is moving towards the cause of eco-friendly hospitality, what does The Peninsula Hotels plan for the future in regards to Eco-Oriented Hospitality? While each of our hotels has energy-saving and other environmentally-friendly initiatives in place, we have also just completed a year-long study on group-wide strategies which are being put in place. What do you think the future holds for The Peninsula Hotels, and what are your plans for 2010? Business levels are back up in all hotels, and so we are positive about 2010 and beyond .We took the opportunity during 2009 to renovate and open new facilities in several of our hotels – including of course the opening of The Peninsula Shanghai in October – and thus are ideally positioned to take advantage of the upswing in business. We continue to offer excellent value in everything we do, with a range of enticing value-added packages and promotions and the Enriching Your Life campaign, and are continuing our schedule of international road-shows to bring our messages to our key markets. Work is continuing on our newest hotel, The Peninsula Paris, scheduled to open in 2012.

THE PENINSULA H

Interview: Chairman - SCTDA

Truly Outstanding

Best among the rest

Recently Al Zajel got the chance to interview the young, ambitious and passionate H.E Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Here is what he said for our readers…….

H.E Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmed Al Qassimi, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA)

Sharjah’s tourism sector has shown outstanding growth in last six years, accounting for good percentage of Sharjah’s GDP and number of visitors has increased threefold since 2001. To what do you attribute this success? Indeed tourist arrivals have been increase multifold in past couples of years, Sharjah is very well known as a cultural and family destination and many tourists like to visit Emirate because of its cultural connection. Then being different and versatile is one another vista, which attract tourist to this Emirate. The Emirate of Sharjah has constantly strived for exclusivity, dynamic is the word that best depicts this beautiful and charming Emirate. Home to many ongoing festivals and events among other activities, Sharjah offers a year-long tourist season to its visitors from all over the world. Every day it has something new on offer, which is special and distinguished, ranging from culture to heritage to entertainment. It is

not surprising for anyone to see new and novel activities in an

Emirate, as Authority spares no effort in its quest for excellence.

The statistics show the vibrancy and resilience of the emirate’s tourism sector, and its ability to maintain its previous achievements while pressing ahead with well-studied plans for the future to further increase the tourist flow into Sharjah. The SCTDA is working according to a clear strategy to develop Sharjah’s tourism sector by targeting international markets and organizing events and activities that promote the emirate, such as tourism fairs, trade fairs and promotion tours. These statistics reflect the changes that are occurring in Sharjah’s tourism sector, and the positive outcome of our efforts throughout the year.

There is no doubt in the fact that owing to the wisdom and vision of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the Emirate of Sharjah has emerged as the Capital of Arab and Islamic Culture. I will not be wrong if I say Sharjah is steeped in history and heritage and it is blessed with an ancient history of a rich civilization that dates back more than 6,000 years. Sharjah, is today moving steadily with confidence towards further accomplishments. The Emirate is thriving to become the most successful model of cultural development and prosperity in the region due to the landmark achievements it has already made in various fields and arenas. The Emirate of Sharjah has witnessed 70% hotel occupancy in the first quarter of this year, a slight increase over last year’s figures despite the repercussions of the global financial crisis. Whereas a slight increase in hotel occupancy rates, with the number of guests staying in the emirate’s hotels increasing from 368,309 in 2009 to 401,647 this year, proving the resilience of the emirate’s tourism sector despite the impacts of the global financial downturn. What are the strongest points Emirate of Sharjah has in terms of Tourism from other Emirates? Every Emirate has its own selling point, like some offer lifestyle and shopping experience, while other market them for state of art marina developments and beaches but for Sharjah culture and family orientation is its ex-

clusive selling point. It is the fact that hotels cannot get liquor licenses making it a dry destination, is this, a hindrance or a help? Being liquor free is not a hindrance at all, according to the figures of tourism authority European tourists, who accounted for 42% of the total tourists visiting Sharjah in the first quarter of 2010, came first in terms of tour-

Al Midfa Wind Tower - Sharjah

ist flow into the emirate. While GCC citizens, who accounted for 23% came second, followed by Asian tourists (19%), tourists from other Arab countries (11%), and tourists from Commonwealth countries, Africa, US and the Pacific region (6%). So you can easily judge that being dry destination is not a hindrance as the number one arrivals are form European countries which are most likely to be looking for

Interview: Chairman - SCTDA

couple of years has shown good progress, the total number of hotels and hotel apartments in Sharjah rose to 109 (41 hotels and 68 hotel apartments), compared to 103 (37 hotels and 66 hotel apartments) in the corresponding period in 2009. Ultimately the increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments raised the number of available hotel rooms, which rose to 8,393 in 2010 (4,275 hotel rooms and 4,118 hotel apartment rooms), a remarkable increase from the 7,647 rooms (3,869 hotel rooms and 3,751 hotel apartment rooms) that were available in 2009.

A View of Sharjah Corniche by night

liquor. Then to make things more clear let me tell you one other fact, the hotel occupancy in the Emirate remained between 70 to 80 percent during this year and this is not all, the occupancy during the crisis in 2009 was also maintained at 70 percent. So I think figures speak themselves that whether being dry destination is a hindrance or a help, and if we read the figures well then its shows that it is not at all a hindrance. Is something special planned for summer to compete with Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s offerings? First of all let me tell you that Sharjah is an Emirate that has a very active cultural movement represented in their painstaking efforts towards organizing a series of prestigious and distinct cultural, art and theatrical activities. Consequently for the summer of 2010, SCTDA has planned a very nice and over all program to lure and entice more tourists of all sectors, The activities will continue throughout the summer. Last year tourism authority in conjunction with Air Arabia, hotels and hotel apartments devised a package, which offered tourist to stay in emirates as low as 99 Dhs. This year, apart from other attractions we are planning to do the same but this time around with different hotels and hotels apartments. Then Ramadan is falling in

the last part of the summer so there will be a Ramadan festival for which Sharjah is very well known. Then we are working close with our partners like Sharjah Cultural Board in devising something fabulous and dazzling. Sharjah Cultural Board organized 600 events annually so you can understand this year’s summer will be grand on scale and on quality as well, where guest can witness all new and fabulous events and activities. Tell us something about first of its kind Sharjah Light Fes-

tival.? This is first of its kind in GCC, it has never been tried ever any where in this region, Sharjah which always proud in bringing something new with the unveiling of the Sharjah Light Festival 2011 on the side lines of ATM, shining brightly then ever. The festival will offer visitors a spectacular show of lights lighting up in unique formations. The Sharjah Lights Festival will be the venue, where the colors will combine to form a picture. Lights will be used in new and innovative ways using vari-

ous techniques to illuminate the Emirate’s streets and buildings. Sharjah will follow major European capitals and cities such as Lyon and Berlin and is the first in the Middle East to organize such festival. Sharjah has a rich treasure of old buildings and historical sites where people can understand the value of their heritage and incorporate it into their modern way of life – examples are the aesthetically restored Heritage Area which hosts Sharjah Fort to Sharjah Arts Museum to the Majlis of Ibrahim Al Midfa. During the festival artists will be allotted with different buildings to present their creations through creative usage of light. Lights shows will be held at 13 venues in Arts and Heritage Area, Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, Al Qasba, Al Hisn, Central Souq, Palms Oasis, Al Majaz Park, Al Magfira Mosque, Al Noor Mosque, Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Culture Palace Court, Governmental Departments’ buildings. Tell us about the new developments, International hotels which are slated to open this year? Good number of new developments are in pipeline, couple of international hotel chains are going to start their operations in Sharjah, Sheraton is among one of those international chains, which is going to start operation this year. In fact hotel development in the Emirate in last

Can you please tell us about the growth of the tourism sector in current scenario and objective set for 2010? As far as Emirate of Sharjah is concerned, I am very hopeful that the tourism will remain in lime light, we had witnessed a good increase of tourist arrivals during hard times (2009). When most of the other tourist destinations experience decline in arrivals, we have managed to attract a good number of international, local and GCC travelers, indeed

compared to 194,149 in 2009, while the number of tourists who stayed in hotel apartments increased from 174,160 to 200,695. It was also heartening to see that the total number of occupied room nights in Sharjah’s hotel establishments rose to 414,700 nights in 2010, with hotel room nights accounting for 213,104, and hotel apartment room nights totaling 197,846 nights, compared to the 385,567 occupied room nights in 2009, with hotel room nights accounting for 213,135 nights, and hotel apartment room nights totaling 176,389 nights. These results were because of the fact that the SCTDA has worked extremely hard during the first half of 2010 as we have stepped up our efforts to target the local, regional and international tourism markets so as to meet the needs of Sharjah’s fast-growing and flourishing tourism sector. This hard work was only possible because of that fact that The SCTDA is working according to a clear strategy to develop Sharjah’s tourism sector by targeting international markets and

Souk Al Arsah

during the first quarter of 2009 tourists’ arrival went otherwise, but we regain the momentum during later part of the year. In the first quarter of 2010 Emirate once again proved its resilience and posted good result, a slight growth in the tourism sector, with an overall occupancy rate of 70% in the first quarter of this year showed that we at SCTDA did succeed in our endeavors. A total of 200,952 tourists stayed in the emirate’s hotels during this year’s first quarter,

organizing events and activities that promote the emirate, such as tourism fairs, trade fairs and promotion tours. And statistics reflect the changes that are occurring in Sharjah’s tourism sector, and the positive outcome of our efforts throughout the year. This is the start, we at SCTDA will not stop and will continue our endeavors to cope with the latest developments and to further promote Sharjah as a favorable tourist destination, a world-class family, heritage and culture centre.

Airlines / Aviation / Airports

Etihad wins “best in Abu Dhabi” award for environment

Emirates win accolades for innovative financing solutions

Etihad Airways has won the title for “Best Environmental Initiative” at the “Best in Abu Dhabi” awards 2010. The “Best in Abu Dhabi” survey is voted for by residents of the UAE’s capital and are considered the people’s choice awards for the best in the emirate. Etihad Airways’ Head of Environmental Affairs, Linden Coppell, received the award on behalf of the airline at a ceremony at the Yas Rotana in Abu Dhabi recently. Ms Coppell said, “To receive the ‘Best Environment Initiative’ title is a great achievement for Etihad as it follows the launch of a number of special projects we are now committed to with our partners in Abu Dhabi and around the world. Winning the award also demonstrates that the public in our home-base appreciate the environmental efforts we are undertaking and we will build on this further in the coming months as we look to reduce the airline’s carbon footprint.” One of the initiatives Etihad is involved with is a sustainable bioenergy research project that was launched in January 2010 and is hosted by the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Airline has once again been recognized for its innovation and unparalleled ability to maintain economic efficiency in adverse global market conditions, winning three awards at the prestigious Airfinance Awards. The airline’s Corporate Treasury department was awarded ‘Treasury team of the year’ by Euromoney’s Airfinance Journal, for its astounding ability to source funding for 19 widebodied aircraft, in a year tainted by global and regional critical liquidity levels, as well as for exceptional performance in cash and risk management. This is the second time that Emirates’ Treasury has been recognized for excellence in its field, having previously won in 2001. Emirates also won ‘overall deal of the year’ for being the first airline to issue a new capital markets product: the Ex-Im bond, which took considerable research and development alongside arrangers Calyon and Goldman Sachs, as well as US Ex-Im Bank. The third award was for the ‘Middle East deal of the year’ for a German Lease financing arranged by Doric Asset Finance, concluding a tri-fecta of accolades for Emirates and marking the very first time, in the history of the Airfinance Awards, that an

Linden Coppell, Etihad Airways’ Head of Environmental Affairs with Best in Abu Dhabi Award 2010

The project, which is also supported by Boeing and Honeywell’s UOP, is looking at the use of integrated saltwater agricultural systems to support the development and commercialisation of biofuel for aviation and co-products. In addition, Etihad recently signed a service agreement with MASDAR, the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, to purchase carbon credits for the airline’s voluntary offset programs. As part of the agreement, the expert carbon management team within MASDAR will help to support the voluntary carbon offset programs of Etihad in

sourcing and retiring high quality carbon credits. Etihad has also implemented a number of internal initiatives such as the use of “Permagard”, a polymer coating applied to the exterior of the airline’s aircraft. The coating helps to provide protection to the aircraft surface, reflecting dirt and dust, so they need to be washed less often, reducing wash water requirements by more than 70 per cent. The treatment also eliminates the need for strong cleaning agents, which can be replaced by more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Wataniya Airways launches regular flights to Alexandria Wataniya Airways, Kuwait’s premium service airline began a regular service to Alexandria, The Pearl of the Mediterranean, Egypt’s second largest city and recently nominated as the Capital of Arab Tourism for 2010. The inaugural flight coincides with the addition of a sixth brand new custom fitted Airbus A320 to Wataniya Airways’ fleet. Wataniya Airways offering its guests four flights a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Monday from the exclusive Wataniya Airways Sheikh Saad Terminal to Alexandria’s Borg El Arab airport. The airline will also provide a free shuttle bus from the airport to Sedy Jaber Train Station

where guests can travel around Egypt. Alexandria is Wataniya Airways’ tenth destination since the launch of its commercial operations in January 2009 and the third Egyptian city to be served by the airline. The other two destinations are Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh. Abdulsalam Al Bahar, Chairman and Managing Director

of Wataniya Airways said, “By launching regular services to Alexandria, Wataniya Airways is serving the increasing demand for travel between Kuwait and Egypt. Alexandria is an ancient center and a destination for culture, known for its cultural diversity and its historic civilizations. Its long history attracts large numbers of visitors from all around the world including Kuwait and we believe the launch of our new service will continue to strengthen the long standing trade and tourism links between both countries.”

Emirates Airlines Finance Team with Airfinance Awards

airline has won three categories in the same year. The team, which is made up of 17 people plus a threestrong legal team, used operating leases and sale/leasebacks, export credit finance, German tax leases, and the first Ex-Im bond to finance 16 Boeing 777s and three A380s during 2009. Brian Jeffery, Senior Vice President, Corporate Treasury, for the Emirates Group said, “Sourcing funding for 19 multi-million dollar wide bodied aircraft in any year is no mean feat, but we managed it during one of the most difficult years ever for both the financial markets and global aviation.” Nirmal Govindadas, Vice President, Financing, Emirates Airlines commented, “We are extremely proud of the recognition we have received from these prestigious awards.

Building strong relations with our financing partners remains a priority for the group. We believe that when operating in a crisis situation, with markets plagued by liquidity issues, looking at new structures that may or may not have been tried and tested with an open perspective, were the most critical factors for our success,” Govindadas said. Airfinance Journal’s history for recognizing key transactions extends over the past 20 years with judgement cast by the magazine’s editors working in conjunction with leading market professionals. This comes on the back of the Dubai based luxury airline having recently posted record profits for the 2009-10 period, up 248% from last year’s results to AED 4.2 billion (US$ 1.1 billion).

IWG, ME’s major aviation holding company, establishes in Jordan In a rapidly changing Middle Eastern Aviation industry, with far more players and competition than ever before, consumers are entitled to expect benchmark service and protection from whichever business they deal in the aviation industry. “Today, and with this thinking in mind, it gives me great pleasure to announce the establishment of IWG in Jordan (www.iwg-aviation.com) with the aim to become the Middle East’s major aviation holding company.” said Ahmad Abughazaleh, CEO of IWG. IWG is the parent company of Royal Jordanian Air Academy

(www.royalflight.com), Queen Noor Civil Aviation Technical College (www.qnac.edu.jo), Arab Wings (www.arabwings. com.jo) and Gulf Wings (www. gulfwings-fze.com). The group provides Aircraft Mechanics schooling, Pilot schooling and training, Aircraft Management, Aircraft Financing, Aircraft Sourcing and Aircraft chartering. Abughazaleh added, “At IWG, our goal is to provide our customers with the highest quality Aviation Products and Services they expect from an industry leader and we take pride in our heritage and our cuttingedge product lines and dedicate

substantial resources to developing new and better ways to enhance our offerings. “He continued, “We know that our success comes only by aligning the interests of our shareholders, employees and customers. We provide the best education there is for our engineers and our pilots and we offer exceptional service to our customers. We strive to make IWG the preferred place to learn, grow and fly, and we build shareholder value by treating the company resources as though they were our own.”

INTERNATIONAL WINGS GROUP

Airlines / Aviation / Airports

Air Arabia named ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ at BTA Middle East

A leap forward: First Solar airplane conquers the sky

As further testimony of its operational reliability, great value services and widespread customer appeal, Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, has been named ‘Best Low-Cost Airline’ at the Business Traveller Awards (BTA) Middle East. This prestigious award further strengthens Air Arabia’s leadership position in the LCC sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and highlights its ability to consistently deliver best-value services without compromising on quality, despite the tough economic climate. “We are very proud that Air

Solar Impulse, a prototype of an airplane designed to fly around the world using only solar power, made its first real flight recently. As the sun shone down on the Swiss countryside aircraft powered by 12,000 solar cells flew for 87 minutes to an altitude of nearly 4,000 feet. Under the eyes of thousands of spectators from all over Switzerland, Solar Impulse HBSIA slowly climbed up to 1200 meters. The next 87 minutes Solar Impulse test pilot Markus Scherdel spent familiarizing himself with the prototype’s flight behavior and performing the initial flight exercises before making the first landing on the Vaudois tarmac. The execution of these various maneuvers (turns, simulating the approach phase) was designed to get a feel for the aircraft and verify its controllability. Solar Impulse program founder Bertrand Piccard called the inaugural flight a crucial step toward fulfilling his goal of circumnavigating the globe in such an unusual aircraft. “This first flight was for me a very intense moment!” exclaimed Solar Impulse test pilot Markus Scherdel, “The HB-SIA behaved just as the flight simulator told us! Despite its immense size and feather weight, the aircraft’s controllability matches our expectations!” “This first mission was the

Arabia has been recognized as the best low-cost carrier in the Middle East by both our customers and industry specialists,” said Air Arabia Group CEO and board member, Adel Ali. “2009 was a challenging year for the industry as a whole, and as a result, Air Arabia is more focused on its value for

money offerings. We look forward to delighting our customers by offering them superior value and excellent service when they travel with us across this vibrant region” added Ali. Air Arabia currently provides service to 60 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia from its hubs in UAE and Morocco. The low-cost carrier will shortly introduce service across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region through Air Arabia “Egypt,” the carrier’s Alexandria-based joint venture company formed in cooperation with the Travco Group, the Middle East’s largest travel and hospitality group.

Lufthansa and SWISS win European top awards Airlines of the Lufthansa Passenger Airline Group have again reached top rankings at this year’s World Airline Awards by Skytrax. Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines as well as their respective hub airports in Munich, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland were voted best across several categories by passengers from over 100 countries. Lufthansa was awarded Best Airline in Europe, taking over the prize from family member SWISS, which won the title last year. SWISS in return ranked number one in the category Staff Service Excellence, followed by Austrian Airlines, another member of the Lufthansa Group. Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines and British carrier BMI, another Lufthansa subsidiary, jointly serve 15 destinations across the Middle East from their respective hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna and London-Heathrow. Not only in the air, but also on the ground Lufthansa and SWISS are offering award winning services. Lufthansa’s First Class facilities are among the sixth best worldwide, according to the survey. Earlier this year, Lufthansa’s Munich hub was

Lufthansa & Swiss team

voted fourth best airport in the world, followed by Swiss International Air Lines’ home base Zurich Airport. “We are very proud of the results of Lufthansa and our partner airlines SWISS and Austrian Airlines in Europe. The top rankings for our product and service on board and on the ground are an acknowledgment of our commitment to continuously enhance the quality of our customer service. With their unparalleled European route network, the airlines of the Lufthansa Passenger Airline Group are first choice for travel to and from the Middle East” says Joachim Steinbach, Lufthansa’s Vice President Sales & Services, Southeast Europe, Africa

and Middle East/Pakistan. “Skytrax’s recognition of Staff Service Excellence for SWISS comes as a validation of our commitment to extend Swiss values such as quality, reliability, friendliness, safety, efficiency and exceptional service – an exemplary ‘Swissness’,” said Martin Massüger, Director, Head of Sales Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Iran for SWISS. It has been five years now since SWISS teamed up with Lufthansa, embarking on a very successful collaboration with Europe’s largest carrier. SWISS’s integration into the Lufthansa Airline Group has proved highly beneficial for both carriers – and for our valued customers in particular.

most risky phase of the entire project,” Piccard said. “Eightyseven minutes of intense emotion after seven years of research, testing and perseverance. Never has an airplane as large and light ever flown before!” During the flight, HB-SIA lifted off at just under 30 mph and a relatively short takeoff run. The four 10-horsepower electric motors are expected to deliver enough power for a cruise speed of around 40 to 45 mph. The Solar Impulse is designed to fly without the need for fuel. The 12,000 solar panels on its wing collect energy from the sun to drive its four electric motors and charge the plane’s lithium polymer batteries, allowing it to fly at night. The wingspan of HB-SIA is 208 feet, that’s about 10 feet more than Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. But the airplane only weighs 3,500 pounds loaded for flight, about 499,000 pounds

less than the 787. The recent flight was the first to see how the plane would fare at a high altitude over a longer duration. It was also considered the riskiest phase of the project by Solar Impulse CEO and co-founder Andre Borschberg. Borschberg said that the success of the maiden flight brought about a greater sense of serenity to move forward to the next phase. Next on the plane’s itinerary will be further test flights, each one increasing the distance and duration that it stays in the air. The first day-and-night flight is scheduled for this summer to see if the Impulse can remain aloft for 36 hours operating on just solar power and batteries. Grander ambitions lie ahead for 2012 with a flight that will navigate around the world in five hops over the course of four to six days.

Europe still struggling as Global Aviation Returns Countined... to Profitability Over the first quarter, the industry was growing at an annualized rate of 9% for passenger and 26% for cargo. While yields are now forecast to grow by 4.5% for both the cargo and passenger business. This is a significant improvement from the previously forecast yield growth of 2.0% in passenger markets and 3.1% for cargo. Regional Differences Regional differences in airline performance sharpened with this forecast. “The recovery from this crisis is asymmetrical. Worsening conditions in Europe are in sharp contrast to improvements in all other regions,” said Bisignani. Statement of IATA showed that Asia-Pacific carriers continue

to benefit from strong regional growth. Against a global GDP growth expectation of 2.9%, the Asian economy (excluding Japan) is expected to grow by 7% this year. China will outpace that with an expected 9.9% GDP expansion. As a result, the region’s carriers are expected to deliver the largest profit at $2.2 billion. This is more than double the previously forecast $900 million in March and a major reversal from the $2.7 billion loss in 2009. North American carriers are expected to return a profit of $1.9 billion. This is a major reversal from the previously forecast $1.8 billion loss, and the $2.7 billion that the region’s carriers lost in 2009. While report also elaborated

that Latin American carriers will show a profit of $900 million, up slightly from the $800 million previously forecast. Moreover Middle Eastern carriers are expected to post a profit of $100 million—their first since 2005. This is significantly better than the previously forecast $400 million loss and the $600 million that the region’s carriers lost in 2009. said the report. Europe according to IATA study, will be the only region in the red with a $2.8 billion loss. This is a downgrading from the $2.2 billion loss previously forecast in March, although it is an improvement on the $4.3 billion that the region lost in 2009.

Hotels

WTTC honors Emirates Hotels & Resorts with Tourism for Tomorrow Award

Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Australia

Emirates’ long term commitment to sustainability and the environment through its hotels and resorts portfolio has been rewarded with one of the most prestigious global awards in the travel and tourism industry. Emirates Hotels & Resorts was honored with the Conservation Award at the 2010 World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Global Summit, held in Beijing recently. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are the WTTC’s highest-profile global accolade, recognizing best practices in sustainable tourism development, conservation and bio-diversity protection. Within the Emirates Group, Emirates Hotels & Resorts (EH&R) portfolio encompasses three major conservation projects spread across three continents: Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai, Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Australia and the

forthcoming Cap Ternay Resort & Spa in the Seychelles. Hans Haensel, Divisional Senior Vice President, Emirates Destination and Leisure Management said, “Emirates has taken environmental commitments seriously; and our resorts and their conservation work form a central focus of our corporate environmental policy. Across the whole organization we are continuing to search for ways to improve environmental performance – on the ground and in the air.” Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President & CEO of WTTC said, “The Conservation Award, is one of four award categories, and is awarded to hotels and tourism organizations which have demonstrated that their tourism developments and operations have directly contributed to conservation of natural habitats, biodiversity, and wildlife protection. Emirates Hotels and Resorts is

a pioneer in this space and has also clearly demonstrated this through its commitment to sustainable development practices which are also directly linked to the economic well-being of local people and support cultural heritage across all their properties”. Haensel added, “We are extremely proud to receive this award; it is real recognition for over ten years of valuable work at Al Maha, and more recently at Wolgan Valley, Australia, which has led to the creation of new wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves and the protection of endangered species in Dubai. This award recognizes the increasing awareness of environmental sustainability in tourism, where it is no longer an option; but a basic expectation.” “While some hotels have recently tried to hop onto the green bandwagon, we recognized more than a decade ago that a

sustainable approach to tourism was in the best long term interests of the company, our guests, the destination and the environment,” Haensel elaborated. Emirates’ first resort, Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa in Dubai, was designed and built following the principles of environmentally sustainable development. The experience and the technology advances contributed to even greater efficiency, which has continued at, the recently opened Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in Australia, which is the first hotel in the world to be certified carbon neutral by an internationally accredited organization. “Our Resorts philosophy centres on the two most critical global environmental issues; bio-diversity extinction rates and carbon emissions reduction. Around these global issues, the resorts have implemented large-scale projects aimed at bio-diversity protection; through habitat rehabilitation, wildlife protection, and reintroduction of threatened species into protected reserves.” Added Hans Haensel. Ongoing collaborative research is also in place at each destination, and these efforts have been acknowledged by such organizations as UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the World Heritage Committee.

ISO 10002 for Shangri-La & Traders hotel Dubai

Shangri-La & Traders hotel Dubai team with ISO Certificate

Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai is the first five-star hotel in the world to receive ISO 10002 certification. At the same time, Traders Hotel, Dubai became the first four-star hotel in the world to get the same recognition. Shangri-la Hotel, Dubai and Traders Hotel, Dubai have been awarded the Certificate of Approval by the United Registrar of Systems, Ltd. (URS) to signify compliance with the international standards of ISO 10002. The certification is the culmination of the hotels’ initiatives toward being truly customer-focused organizations. ISO 10002 (Handling Customer Complaints Management System) pertains to the hotel’s ability to document, respond and resolve customer complaints in the quickest time possible. It enhances customer satisfaction by creating a customer-focused environment that is open to feedback, resolving any complaints received and enhancing the organization’s ability to improve its product and customer service.

“The certification is a seal of our hotels’ compliance to strict, internationally-set standards. This new innovation brings forth our aim of being the undisputed leader in customer service. Being the first in the world to be certified is a major feat,” said Bernhard Haechler, vice president and general manager of Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai. The two hotels’ commitment to ISO 10002 certification includes ensuring that service is delivered according to the company’s specified standards in terms of materials, mechanics, methods, environment and people; providing training to employees adequate to their nature of work; keeping employees informed about their responsibilities and accountabilities when discharging their duties; and performing internal and external audits associated with the established Customer Complaint Management System in evaluating system performance and implementation effectiveness.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts adds second property in Zimbali

Andaz Wall Street among top 45 hotels of the world

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is pleased with the opening of Fairmont Zimbali Resort, an exclusive and elegant 154-room property, located along the sublime eastern coast of South Africa. Fairmont Zimbali Resort joins the Fairmont Zimbali Lodge, a 76-room property set nearby along the beach. “Zimbali” is the Zulu word for “Valley of Flowers”. Nestled between the pristine beauty of a 700-hectare forest reserve

Hyatt’s latest New York City property, Andaz Wall Street, the only hotel situated on Wall Street, has been rated among the 45 top world hotels in Travel + Leisure Magazine’s 2010 new hotels “It” list. The Hyatt property, which opened in February 2010, was selected for its flawless blend of form and functionality. From its signature David Rockwell design, to its tech-savvy features, the Andaz Wall Street is the lat-

and the shimmering beaches of Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Dolphin Coast on the Indian Ocean, Fairmont Zimbali Resort is an oasis of unspoiled beauty. The resort is just 15 minutes from the brand new King Shaka International Airport (KSIA). Soccer fans are already appreciate being just a short drive away from Durban, one of the nine host cities of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that kicked off recently. Spectacular ocean views,

tasteful architectural design and a plethora of dining options are the trademarks of Fairmont Zimbali Resort. With sweeping private verandas and luxurious soaking tubs, guest rooms are styled with stone, wood and the natural materials of the African environment. The range of dining rooms and lounges offer something for every palate, including an elegant steakhouse serving South Africa’s finest grain fed beef and seafood.

est offering from Hyatt’s new upscale, boutique-style hotel brand – Andaz. Despite being open for business for a mere four months, Andaz Wall Street is making a name for itself. “In terms of checking in, Hyatt is onto something with Andaz, which is Hindi for personal style” stated an article in The Hotel Issue of Travel + Leisure magazine. “The experience is simultaneously hightech and high-touch; efficient

and personal.” At all Andaz properties, the check-in and service are simplified. Without the doorman, bellhop, and concierge staff at the desk, there is one “host” for each incoming guest. Hosts greet their guests in the lobby, and enter all necessary details into a handheld e-tablet, which subsequently produces the guests’ room key on the spot. All this takes place while the guest is seated and treated to a complimentary beverage.

Social Page - Rotana Graduation

Rotanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commitment towards community

Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Jumaa Bin Maktoum Bin Jumaa Al Maktoum, acting chairman of Rashid Pediatric Therapy centre, Villa , Rimal and Rihab Rotana celebrated the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the students who completed the training program which is the first of a kind in the world of hospitality rehabilitation. Here are the pictorial glimpses of the event.

Interview - Ali Al Saloom

On a mission to

created awareness that local people are approachable as the biggest misconception is that we, the locals, are not easy to be friend with and accessible. Then it has given tools and knowledge to expats on how to understand, interact and friends with local community and at the same time our programs also helps locals to embrace the new visitors to our nation and region and starts to share their culture with the expats and foreigners. People who are benefited from Embrace Arabia’s pro-

Tell us about Ask Ali book ‘guide to Abu Dhabi.’ Is it as successful as other endeavors of yours? The book is like a dream come true, I was wishing for such a venture for very long time. Ask Ali book is not something which hit the market suddenly or I planned it in one night, launching this guide was my logical next step after being into web portal, cultural consultancy, TV show and newspaper column. As you know I started by answering questions through my portal www.ask-ali.com, then after sometimes a TV show and now available on online television on www.onetvo.com platform came along, which give people chance to see Ali Al Saloom in real, they realized that a person who answers them on portal exists, then it became a column in one of the leading magazinenewspaper in Abu Dhabi. So after that it was always a book which I wanted to have so that it can cater a larger audience. By the grace of Almighty I launched this book “Ask Ali: A guide to Abu Dhabi” during Abu Dhabi book fair, it was a huge success. Some of the show experts said to me that I would be lucky if I would be able to sell fifty copies, but Alhamduallah 600 copies were sold on the first day and that gave me a lot of encouragement to do more. Ask Ali: A guide to Dubai and rest of emirates are in pipeline whereas a comprehensive guide to UAE is also under consideration.

grams are corporate and government organizations wished to improve the regional cultural business awareness of their teams. Business professional operating in, or in conjunction with, the region. Authentic cultural events organizers for high and leisure, MICE business professionals. Individuals or groups who wanted to broaden their experience and knowledge of the Gulf region and of course the UAE.

Your Message to Al Zajel readers and travel trade in general? We all are living in very fast paced environment; the speed of growth is stunning, changes are coming every second so in order to enjoy this change try to embrace, try to grab as much as you can, try to accept and understand, let go all misconception and disagreements so that you can enjoy the real taste of Arabia.”

Embrace Arabia Like many other domains, UAE is booming at tourism front too, but it is still hard for many locals (Emiratis) to work in hospitality, as most of them prefer to have jobs in public sector. Ali Al Saloom, a 30-year-old Emirati national is an exception among his peers, he has been a tour guide, cultural consultant, newspaper columnist, television presenter and founder of Embrace Arabia and the Ask Ali portal. He is the one and the only in his domain. Ali Al Saloom is changing the way visitors experience the United Arab Emirates—and perceptions about Arabs and Muslims in general. Recently Al Zajel talked to him, here are excerpts’ of his interview...... Tell us something about your self? My name is Ali Abdul Karim Ali bin Salim Alsaloom but I am commonly known among my friends and my readers as Ali Al Saloom. I am attached with service industry, founder of www. ask-ali.com a portal through that I answers the questions related to region’s culture and lifestyle in general. Through this portal I am also trying to dispel the misconceptions about local people, Arabs and about Muslims. At the same time I am also managing a cultural/tourism constancy firm named ‘Embrace Arabia”, an enterprise through which we try to foster a deeper and more incisive understanding of the Arabian culture throughout the world. How do you get this idea of starting this portal www.askali.com? Few years back, in 2005, I was welcoming some of the guests arriving from abroad, they were from the countries which are considered among the most high tech nations, where information about anything is a just a click away. Despite that,

Tradition, change, economic optimism and certainly diversity have shaped the character of the UAE. Anyone living and working here would be wise to take the opportunity to embrace the potential of this life experience by appreciating and understanding more about the society and culture of the people living in this region

they enquire about UAE and Arab people in a very ignorant way demonstrating that they do not have access to pertinent information regarding region, it’s culture and it’s traditions. Those questions and my research over the issue, made me aware of the fact that there was a serious lack of relevant and appropriate information about UAE, Gulf and Arabian culture. After realizing about the problem, I asked myself what can I do to resolve this lack of information or, should I be like those who say ‘Uh these expats and foreigners know nothing about

us’ or should I be the one who can stand and bridge the gap and clear their (expats/foreigners) misconceptions by answering their queries. I decided to be the one who can answer them, indeed, it was not an easy decision, I had to go through heap of challenges. I establish ‘ask ali’ portal to fill this lacking of information by providing appropriate information about UAE and Gulf and at the same time would be able to clear the misconceptions about local life, culture and traditions through answering people’s questions.” And bear in mind that this service has been going for the last 3 years and the dedication of answering these new questions in less than 24 hours is still valid! The biggest challenge which I faced before establishing the portal was of my own knowledge, I introspected, and it was reveled to me that like many other local people I also didn’t knew much about my culture, tradition, heritage, and other things. I only knew what my father told me or what I learned in the school. So as a first step of providing

Ali AlsaloomFounder, Embrace Arabia

valuable and right knowledge to other, I started acquiring erudition about my country, region and culture, this learning process is still going on, everyday I learn more, in fact you can say that the more I answer people’s questions the more I learn. As you told us that you also running a cultural/tourism firm Embrace Arabia, can you tell us more about it? Embrace Arabia was one other stride forward I took in a course to educate people more about UAE and secrets of Arabia. Embrace Arabia is a team of professional consultants with a unique depth of knowledge about the Arabian Gulf region and who can guide you to a greater understanding of the region’s lifestyles, customs and business practices. Every program is a unique, thought provoking experience and one which creates lasting memories and delivers tips for future success. Here we teach everything from how to meet to how to manage a business. Our Mission is to passionately train and guide newcomers to the Gulf through immersing them in Arabian culture and building friendly bridges with its people to enhance intercultural understanding. What effect your programs have created in understanding and accepting the local traditions and lifestyle? First of all our programs have broken the barrier, it has

Travel Management / Q&A

Quality services A way of success

Reaching to the top in a relatively small span of time is a great feat, not many organizations are able to achieve what has been achieved by Asia Travel and this achievement is become more meaningful when it has been attained in a competitive environment like UAE. This is not all Asia Travel will be the first travel agency to open a branch inside Abu Dhabi International Airport, adding another first to its portfolio. Al Zajel interviewed Sales & Marketing Director of Asia Travel, Mr. Mohamed Ashraf and asked him how Asia travel has risen up to the top. Here what he said…………. Tell us something about your self? Asia travel started its operation from Abu Dhabi in the year 1991 with one travel shop in Hamdan Street, now in 2010 we are operating with 21 branches in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and 5 branches in Dubai, we also operate 3 branches exclusive for cargo operations. We also have the honor to run the first IATA approved training centre in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, providing

training services to beginners in travel & tourism services and cargo field. At present we have more than 75 direct employees working with us. all our branches are working as an independent profit centers and headed with very well experienced staff. What are the challenges facing by Asia Travel in recent times? The challenges what we are facing is like the same of other

agents, we have reservations of internet sales by airlines and hotels. But up to certain extend we are able to over come this by providing extra care to our customers. We have a good number of premium clients and these clients make our position strong in the market. I would like to say that no matter what one thing is clear that if we (agents) provide an excellent service coupled with good customers’ services to our clients, we can retain them.

Global travel industry to experience “multi-speed” recovery The global travel and tourism industry will experience a “multi-speed” recovery taking up to a further four years to fully recover to pre-global downturn levels, reveals a report launched today at the WTM Vision Conference. Euromonitor International’s Forecast Update – Recovery In Sight? reveals the global travel and tourism industry will experience a “multi-speed” recovery kick started by the developing economies as high unemployment and debt in developed countries holds back their growth. Global international arrivals will not recover to pre-crisis 2008 levels until 2012, while incoming tourism receipts will not recover until 2013. Furthermore, the hotels sector will not fully recover to 2008 levels until 2014. The recovery is lead by Asia with China and India projecting economic growth of 8-10% in both 2010 and 2011. This compares to projections for the strongest western economy, Canada,

WTM VISION

16 JUNE | LONDON

CONFERENCE THE INDUSTRY TALKS

of 3-4% for the same period. The Middle East and Africa were the only inbound regions to show arrivals growth during 2009, while Asia-Pacific is expected to show strong growth in 2010. Europe’s high unemployment and mounting debt problems are holding back the continent’s travel industry growth. Spain’s unemployment rate is predicted to hit 20.7% in 2011, with Germany’s reaching 9.2%, Italy’s 8.9%, Russia’s 9.5%, and the UK’s unemployment rate hitting 7.9% in 2011. “As the global travel industry begins its slow road to recovery, dark clouds continue to hang over Europe as the region is expected to be one of the last to recover along with North America”,

said Head of Travel and Tourism Research for Euromonitor, Caroline Bremner. The hotels sector has suffered the most with heavy discounting during the global downturn meaning the sector will not recover to pre-2008 crisis levels until 2014. Hotel sales fell 7% in 2009 with the reduction in corporate travel and luxury hotel bookings. Hotels that discounted rates are struggling to increase prices as value for money remains at the forefront of consumers’ minds, this is predicted to lead to a further 0.1% decline in 2010 The hotel sector in Australasia, Latin America and Europe will take the longest to recover. Asia is again driving force behind the hotels recovery, due to the continued expansion of international and local chains. World Travel Market Chairman Fiona Jeffery said: “The findings of this report show the serious impact the global downturn has had on the travel and tourism industry.”

What it takes to be the leading travel services company, How Asia Travel risen up to the top? How Asia Travel is different from others, what special services you offer? How Asia Travel risen up to top, there are couple of factors, first we constantly make travel promotions in association with different airlines. This gives us an upper hand than other travel agents. Airlines give maximum assistance to us once we started providing a premium service to our clients. Than our strength is our customer base, and I think this is one main reason that has given to us the chance to expand so rapidly in the market. Apart from that we made a brand name in the travel field by providing premium travel services, then other reasons of our success are our employees and location, We employ about 10 different nationalities to handle all type of customers. All our shops are located in strategic points; most of them

are at premier locations in shopping malls. How do you see the role of ATTAC in protecting travel agents’ benefits? ATTAC is doing a great job in the travel field, at least we have an umbrella to sit and talk our issues. Also ATTAC represent the travel trade in international matters on our behalf, which is a good thing for us. What are the expectations and goals set for 2010? Abu Dhabi is coming fast at Tourism, what special services Asia travel has or planning to launch to coupe up with the demand? Our expectation in year 2010 is little different, we are the first full time travel agent to open a branch inside Abu Dhabi international airport. We will be offering a bunch of services from Abu Dhabi airport. We will provide cargo services, hotel bookings,

car rentals, local tours, left luggage service from our airport office. Left luggage is the first time at Abu Dhabi airport. Whenever you have more luggage you can leave it to us and someone authorized by you can take it next day from us. This service will be of a great help as most of the customers arrive at airport are alone or without much funds in the pocket for excess baggage. We will be offering visa and meet and assist for our selected clients. We will be opening travel offices inside major hotels in the city. We are planning to have our own DHOW cruises this year to offer to our incoming guests. In the end something about Al Zajel Magazine and message for our readers? Al Zajel is doing a good job since it is the only travel exclusive magazine from Abu Dhabi. It has a good coverage as I regularly find Al Zajel at major hotels and at airport.

Special Report

RevPar:

Revenue Per Available Room...

H.E Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director Gnereal ADTA

What is RevPar? Revenue per available room! An important fundamental, and is what hotels in the Middle East, as in other parts of the world, closely examine in a bid to increase revenue in a contracting market. It is agreed in consensus among the industry gurus that situation regarding RevPar in UAE, Middle East and in the other parts of the world has changed considerably after global economic crisis. While the situation in Middle East and particularly in Abu Dhabi has changed dramatically not just because of economic slum but also because of the fact that the good number of inventories added to capital’s hotel portfolio. According to Imad Diab, General Manager, Le Royal Meridien, “In last couple of years we have seen a substantial change in RevPar, particularly in Abu Dhabi market. In 2007 and 2008 occupancies were healthy, and hotels could afford to sell higher rates, hence RevPar was strong. In 2009 RevPar was affected by 2 factors: global economic crisis and new hotel supply within the city.” While Thomas Tapken, Managing Director, City Seasons Group of Hotels, also agreed with the fact that increase inventories coupled with economic slum in 2009 has changed the outlook of RevPar in general, “The amount

of new room supply that entered the Middle East in 2009 has meant drops in occupancy for hotels across Abu Dhabi putting pressure on room rates. The Abu Dhabi tourism product has grown to such an extent that supply has outstripped demand and this, coupled with a drop in the number of visitors, means that RevPar has suffered,” he elaborated. Thomas added, “Abu Dhabi has historically been a business destination with a strong MICE sector and the problem right now is the business has slowed and there are simply too many rooms for too few visitors.” Hotel chains during the tough situation (economic down turn), especially between second quarter of 2009 till first quarter 2010, offered not just discounts but all sorts of enticements to ensure customers come back. Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, for instance, offered a 20% saving on their daily rate for stays at the Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. John Podaris, Associate Director, Tri Hospitality Consulting, was right when he said, “During the bumper years of 2007 and 2008 the regional hotels (especially in Dubai) were focusing on methods of increasing revenue yield by concentrating on higher paying segments, in the knowledge that the strength of

demand would keep the occupancies at a high level. But during slum time they focused more on the demand side of the equation to ensure they were able to maintain their share of the market. This made them to offer incentives to entice the market to their hotels.” Earlier during 2009, with the drop in tourist traffic, most hoteliers in the region agreed a decline in RevPar was inevitable. Marko Hytonen, Area VicePresident of Rezidor Hotels said that in the economic downturn and with corporate travel restrictions and cautious travel plans, hoteliers have witnessed a lower level of demand compared with previous years. With such a decrease, a decline in RevPar was inevitable in most markets, including Dubai. It was also witnessed during hard times that the big groups tried to focus on RevPar penetration and looked for greener pastures, which despite crisis showed good business. Like RevPar in the markets of Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt have witnessed an increase. Whatever has been elaborated above was about the tough times, now the situation has changed; economic slum is getting over, arrivals improving, business travel is again straightening itself, leisure tourists looking for good packages, but RevPar in the Capital (Abu Dhabi) dropped, despite the fact that a tourist arrivals has been increased in comparison to the pervious year. The tourist flow in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has increased in recent months, figures of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) demonstrated a 12% increase on the number of hotel guests staying in the emirate April 2010 compared to April 2009. Some 167,635 guests stayed in the emirate’s 110 licensed hotels and hotel apartments accounting for 425,575 guest nights - a 13% rise on April 2009. “This is the sixth consecutive month of double digit guest growth for the emirate and keeps us on track to deliver our overall

yearly target of 1.65 million hotel guests,” said Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, ADTA in a statement. But the RevPar still is not healthy according to the recent Deloitte analysis of STR Global hotel data revealed that revenue per available room (RevPar) rates in the Middle East was estimated at $131.42 during the period year-to-date February 2010, compared to $151.51 during the corresponding period in 2009. These figures however are considerably higher than other regions in the world. For example, Europe recorded an estimated rate of $72.05 with $79.65 in Asia Pacific, during the same period. When asked about what holding back RevPar in general in the Capital Imad Diab said “Dynamics of the hotel industry have changed and hotels were enforced to take preventive measures in order to keep profitability. Today people have more variety when it comes to hotel accommodation. They become more cautious and selective when it comes to prices, which at the end influence RevPar.” Imad added, “We can see more and more hotel openings in Abu Dhabi. This trend will definitely have a negative impact on RevPar. With all new inventories in the city, competition is stronger and hotels are forced to reduce their prices (ADR) in order to maintain their volume. At this point hotel supply is greater than demand, and until that changes RevPar will continue to be under owner and operator expectation.”

Thomas Tapken MD City Seasons Group

Thomas Tapken also affirmed that and said, “The rise in inventory of new hotels means that the distribution continues to be spread much thinner that we would like. There is just not the demand yet, particularly for city properties and so we will continue to see a decline in RevPar. Location is key this summer. The

beach resorts will do better than the city hotels because they attract the leisure visitor.” ADTA also acknowledges the fact of change of supply demand as Abu Dhabi now boasts 17,240 hotel/hotel apartment rooms - as compared with 12,470 in April last year. The increase has placed competitive pressure on occupancy and revenue which dropped year-on-year by 19% to 65% and by 5% to Dhs362m ($99m) respectively. Senior hotel executives are concerned the effect of the drop in the average room rate in the long term would not be good for the industry. Hotel companies are looking at cutting costs and are tightening up controls to stay in the black. While Hoteliers doing all to control, lure new clients, and at the same time devising new and creative strategies to entice the market, “We are focusing more on marketing and promoting our hotels as well as Abu Dhabi as a destination. Different promotions, packages and of course benefits that we offer to our clients are the key factors that attract them to choose their destination,” said the General Manager of Le Royal Meridien. Whereas for Mr. Thomas traditionally slow periods such as the summer months it is easy to drop rates but he agreed that this is not the permanent solution, “I don’t believe this is the answer. A better strategy would be to create value-add packages such as complimentary breakfasts or room upgrades to attract the leisure travellers.” At the same time he said, “It is much too late now to implement a rate strategy - that should have been put in place three months ago and adhered to. Set your rates and hold them. The worst approach is to continue to drop rates.” On the flip side though, Abu Dhabi is more and more affordable, whereas new and fabulous openings giving guest more choices, Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, ADTA said, “These movements are a result of shifts in supply and demand dynamics and the subsequent rebalancing with the upside being that Abu Dhabi is now much more competitive.” Only in April Abu Dhabi witnessed 72,396 guests accounting for a 17% year-on-year rise. The UK - one of the destination’s key markets - again held up exceptionally well with some 11,485 guests representing a 23% increase on April 2009.

Imad Diab, GM - Le Royal Meridien - AD

Saudi Arabia was also among the high achievers producing some 4,220 guests - 24% up on April 2009. For Hoteliers like Mr. Imad Abu Dhabi need more attractions than those which are already in the pipeline, “At the moment 12% increase in tourist arrivals is not enough to sustain a good RevPar, not with this rapid increase in room’s inventory. Abu Dhabi needs more attractions as well as more international flights in order to increase tourist flow within the city. We should also work on marketing Abu Dhabi on new emerging markets like Russia and China.” But He also praised the role authorities are playing in developing the market, “We should not forgot the effort of Abu Dhabi Government in helping this sector and in particular ADTA. There are great projects on the way (Guggenheim museum, Louvre museum…), and with all that in place, city RevPar should look healthier in the near future,” he hoped. Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director Gnereal ADTA is very much hopeful that Abu Dhabi will be able to lure more customers, which will ultimately help enhancing hotel business. Al Muhairi in an statement said, “We are working hard to ramp up the demand side of the equation with the launch of a global marketing campaign with advertising in international print, broadcast and online mediums and an expanded Summer in Abu Dhabi family festival which for the first time takes in Al Ain and features substantial promotional deals from our growing stakeholder community to stimulate demand during the traditionally slow period.”

The Coverage - Bu Tinah

A Thriving Habitat

An undisturbed paradise

TINAH Imagine an island with shallow sparkling blue waters and sandy beaches, visited by critically endangered animals, musical with birdsong and remote from the bustle and noise of human habitation. Add colourful coral reefs and seven metre high mangrove trees to that picture and you’ll start to get an idea of the peace and beauty of the place. Off the western coastline of Abu Dhabi lies a unique wonder of nature, wild and undisturbed by human activity, known as Bu Tinah Island. Bu Tinah’s thriving habitat is a unique living laboratory, with key significance for climate change research. This distinctive natural habitat with its shallow waters, seagrass beds and tall mangroves, set amid extensive coral reefs, hosts rare, beautiful and globally endangered marine life. Seabirds such as the flamingo and the osprey, diverse species of dolphins, and the rare hawksbill turtle are to be found in Bu Tinah. The island’s waters are also home to the planet’s second-largest population of dugong, a large marine mammal that is globally threatened. This precious natural resource is part of the largest protected area in Abu Dhabi, located some 130 kilometers west to Capital, lies within the Marawah

Marine Biosphere Reserve. The Biosphere reserve is the region’s first and largest UNESCO-designated marine biosphere reserve. Closed to visitors, fishing and the collection of turtle eggs are prohibited on Bu Tinah Island. With such amazing and stunning beauty, Government of Abu Dhabi has nominated the Shoals (Islands) of Bu Tinah for the next seven natural wonders of the world. The Bu Tinah Shoals, was among 261 nominees. 224 different countries submitted nominations within the first few months of the campaign. The campaign was initiated by the organization The New7Wonders. The New7Wonders Foundation is a nonprofit organization that has used communication technology to encourage global dialogue, bringing the world together to choose and celebrate those places that we can all share, and which we all appreciate. In 2007, more than 100 million votes were cast to choose the man-made representatives of our global historical heritage. The current ‘Official New7Wonders of Nature’ campaign is in its third phase where of the 28 official finalists, the world is voting for the top seven. This campaign officially started in 2007 with over 440 participants, from that 77 were shortlisted and then further narrowed down to 28.

The New7Wonders web site (www.new7wonders.com) describes Bu Tinah Island as ‘an undisturbed paradise’ and a ‘distinctive natural habitat’ with shallow waters, sea-grass beds and tall mangroves set amid extensive coral reefs, hosting rare and endangered marine life, including dugongs and hawksbill turtle.

gered hawksbill sea turtles have been recorded there. Dugongs, considered threatened under the IUCN redlist, have been observed among its seagrass meadows. An estimated 650 individual dugongs have been spotted in the summer, while 835 individuals have been spotted in the winter. Little human activity in the area has allowed for a natu-

Arial View of Bu Tinah Island - Abu Dhabi

The coral reefs of Bu Tinah continue to thrive despite extreme temperature and salinity stress. Their survival has given researchers insight into coral reef survival elsewhere in the world in the face of global warming. Moreover, the sheltered side of the island regularly undergoes tidal inundation which allows for healthy mangrove stands with heights averaging 5 meters. A large number of foraging green and critically endan-

ral sanctuary for the dugongs. The waters surrounding Bu Tinah are also home to dolphin populations, including Indo-pacific humpback, bottlenose and common dolphins. Several migratory birds use the island as a stopover to rest and forage during their migration route from central Asia to Africa. 4-5 active osprey nests have been regularly recorded on the island during successive breeding seasons. The island also hosts a small population of White-

cheeked terns and globally threatened Socotra Cormorants. The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) officially supporting Bu Tinah Shoals as a candidate for the New 7 Wonders of Nature Campaign. EAD is driving a massive promotion across UAE to urge public to vote for Bu Tinah so that Island can make into the final seven. “We strongly support Bu Tinah as a worthy candidate for the New 7 Wonders of Nature. It has critical marine habitats and is a heaven for biodiversity in this arid climate. The shoal is a UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve that is well managed ensuring that the status of the habitats and supporting species remain healthy with negligible impact from human activities,” said Thabit Al Abdessalaam, Director of Biodiversity Management – Marine Environment Sector at EAD. “We urge the public to vote for Bu Tinah Shoals at www. new7wonders.com,” added Al Abdessalaam. Bu Tinah is in the company of some of the world’s most amazing natural wonders in the Top 28 Shortlist, which includes the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef, Grand Canyon, the Galapagos, the Dead Sea, Iguazu Falls, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Maldives, the Sunderbans and Table Mountain. Apart form EAD, which

heads the Bu Tinah campaign, the duo Khalifa Al Murar and Haakon Rist, both postgraduate students of Faculty of Business and Management, University of Wollongong in Dubai working closely with EAD in promoting the island as part of their live case studies. The Agency is very enthusiastic and supportive about the project and student involvement. In November 2009, when the students began the project, Bu Tinah was ranked at the bottom of all entries. By December, when they had finished some of their grassroots marketing, the island was heading the entries. Bu Tinah is now ranked No. 12, and the ranking changes on global voting, which is now available on the website. As of June 2010 ranking posted on the website of The New7Wonders (www.new7wonders.com), Bu Tinah hold good position, and over 90 per cent of the votes come from outside the country. It is estimated that around one billion votes will be cast worldwide before the official declaration of the Official New7Wonders of Nature on November 11, 2011, chosen by the people of the world!

Fine dinning / News & Views

A perfect spot to enjoy FIFA 2010

Fine Dinning

TALAY the art of Thai dinning Experience the finest Thai cuisine at Talay, the recently renovated and elegantly redecorated, with a terrace seating overlooking the blue seas of the Arabian Gulf. Indulge in its tasty and healthy ingredients with attractive presentation and mouthwatering aroma. Talay offers tremendous variety of Thai delicacies in our A La Carte menu, from veggies and curries to fine selection of meat and is celebrated for its wide range of seafood. Every Tuesday an array of Thai cuisine

specials with our weekly Ar Han Thai Thai buffet served from 7pm for 125AED per person. Chef Chaiwat can also tailor your order to your choice, should you have any special requests just inform our friendly Talay attend-

ants. Twice a year we hold the Thai Food Festival, an event where we host a Thai chef flown in from Thailand to give our menu a twist for 9 days. Cooking classes are also held during these events.

The sound of Vuvuzela is blowing off at the terrace of Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi these days and this all started as the FIFA 2010 World kicked off when host South Africa Played Mexico in the opening match of month long event of FIFA. Millennium Hotel is providing a perfect spot for football fans to enjoy and have fun all month long during FIFA 2010 world cup. H.E. Yacoob Abba Omar, the South African Ambassador watched the opening match between South Africa and Mexico at the Sevilo’s tent at the Millennium Hotel Abu Dhabi along with Embassy members and a large crowd of the South African community in Abu Dhabi in addition to other Ambassadors

Coffee Tips

Coffee : Complexity, subtlety, power & passion in a cup

Coffee is a very powerful flavoring agent. In a typical brewed cup of coffee, a moderately strong concentration contains 1.25% coffee to 98.75% water. Yet, despite such a small concentration of coffee to water, the flavors of such a cup are aggressive. Espresso has a concentration of coffee to water at least five times that of drip coffee, so it is very strong. The potency of espresso’s body, aroma and flavor can overpower the senses of the uninitiated. The enjoyment of espresso is an acquired appreciation, which typically evolves over time and the consumer start appreciating more a plain cup of coffee without adding milk or other flavors. A standard progression for a specialty coffee consumer recognized worldwide are to begin with café latte, cappuccinos, café macchiato, and finally move to regular demand for espresso. Sometimes this evolution of the palate takes

several years. In America less than 1% of the beverages sold in a coffeehouse or espresso bar are straight espressos attests to the relative youth of the U.S. consumer’s palate toward espresso. However, the American palate is definitely moving in the direction of greater appreciation of espresso, and the consumption is getting everyday higher. The coffee world is very rich, It’s one of the most sold commodities after petrol. Most frequently, the coffee harvest suffer high percentage of fluctuation; it’s depending mostly

from the weather conditions, obviously the harvest result could be a major fact of the commodity price. The most important coffee world producers are: Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia. Followed by Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru`, Ethiopia and India. Nerveless, coffee is one of the most important product in stock market, the trend is growing continuously, thanks to the continues increase of the coffee consumption and perception of coffee culture. No one will relinquish to have

the coffee break or to have a coffee at the airport waiting for your flight or during working hours, all the day moments are good for a nice cup of coffee, which we all appreciate, and it has become part of our life standard. The coffee since ages is the national drink for Italians, as the tea for English people, Italians are famous worldwide as Espresso coffee drinkers Espresso represents the greatest icon to the concept of quality over quantity. It connotes the pursuit for balance, intensity, and spirit. Many enthusiasts claim that espresso offers the finest qualities of coffee, that the technique is the best method for capturing into a consumable beverage the highest potential of coffee. No other beverage offers such complexity, subtlety, power and passion in a cup. Proper dedication and commitment should be made to the art and science of the espresso method so that we can share with our customers the potential of this ultimate beverage Coffee break is been always a big relief for all workers. Helps to relax, and socialize with colleagues, and to break the work routine. From the next issue will provide some deliciuos coffee recipe. By: Dr. Massimo Hakim

Moine Kandil GM Mellinium Hotel with H.E. Yacoob Abba Omar, the South African Ambassador

in the UAE. The Ambassador and his wife were greeted by the Hotel’s General Manager Mr. Moine Kandil who expects plenty of people to flock in the colorful tent to view the games throughout the entire month. “ We had so far an overwhelming response particularly

that the tent is beautifully decorated with posters and flyers, flags and scarves that added flavor to watching the World Cup thrills. The celebrations will continue with the spirit of excitement throughout this major international sport event that captured the world and brought it all together.”

Gulf tourism to Munich increases by 22 % With over 77,949 arrivals and more than 270,891 overnight stays in 2009, Munich is once more the favourite destination in Germany for travellers from the Gulf region. Last year arrivals increased by 22% in comparison to 2008, according to statistics released by the Munich Tourist Office. For Arab guests there are plenty of sights to see and things to do in the Bavarian metropolis that is home to 1.3 million people. Travellers from the Gulf region particularly enjoy the great shopping opportunities, the historical architecture and the inviting parks and gardens of the city. The green countryside surrounding Munich with its beautiful lakes and castles also draws thousands of people each year to enjoy the fresh summer climate in the south of Germany. The attractiveness of the city was also underlined by Munich’s successful participation at this year’s Arabian Travel Market in Dubai where representatives were pleased with the very positive response they received from visitors to their stand. With so many enjoying the attractions of the city, Munich is

very well prepared to welcome Arab travellers. Not only do plenty of luxury hotels employ Arabic-speaking staff, offer special menus and they also reserve entire floors for their regular visitors from the Gulf region. The Arab guests also contribute significantly to making Munich a city where men and women wearing traditional regional attire define the cityscape in the summer. Moreover, Munich also offers abundant shopping opportunities to its guests. Everything is available from haute couture on the exclusive Maximilianstrasse, where a number of top couturiers present their creations, to plenty of department stores as well as handicrafts and souvenirs shops.

New Appointments/ Event Calendar

People on the move

Ali Al Balooshi Travelport has appointed Ali Al Balooshi, as a Regional Business Development Manager.

Birthday

Tarek Mourad

George Aoun

Maher Salman Al Musallam

Mareike Seeck

JAL Hotels has appointed Tarek Mourad as Director of Finance of the upcoming Hotel JAL Tower Dubai.

Marriott Group of Hotels has appointed George Aoun as the new Multi-Property General Manager.

Gulf Air has appointed Maher Salman Al Musallam as Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi has appointed Mareike Seeck as Assistant Manager PR.

Vassilis Theocharides Director Cyprus Tourism Orgnaization - Dubai

With best wishes from the management of

Al Zajel!

May you have many more

Wish you

Khawla Salem Al Badi

Etihad Airways has appointed Khawla Salem Al Badi as the airline’s Head of Business Strategy Development IT department.

Roy Kinnear Etihad Airways has appointed Roy Kinnear as the new Senior Vice President of Etihad Crystal Cargo.

Gilaine Guirguis

Hilton Worldwide has appointed Gilaine Guirguis as General Manager, Hilton Sharm El Sheikh Fayrouz Resort in Egypt.

Events Calendar June - July 2010

J U N

THUR

MON

tHUR

25 Fri

J U N

www.mydsf.com

Dubai - UAE 21st - 23rd Americas Incentive Business Traveland Meeting Exhibition (AIBTM)2010 www.aibtm.com

Summer in Abu Dhabi www.summerinabudhabi.com

Abu Dhabi - UAE 25th - 27th Beijing International Tourism www.bitechina.com.cn

Beijing, China

THUR

J U L Y

Oman Air has appointed Abdul Aziz Al Raisi, as Chief Officer, Management Affairs.

Valerie Barrie

y Birt hday

JW Marriott Dubai has appointed Valerie Barrie as the Director of Sales and Marketing.

The Palace - The Old Town leading the way Region’s first GGC hotel

Dubai Summer Show 2010.

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

J U L Y

MON

If you would like your event to feature on this page send the details to alzajel06@gmail.com

Abdul Aziz Al Raisi

Happ

8th - 11th, 2nd World Eco Conference www.discoverymice.com

Kualalampur, Malaysia 19th-25th Farnborough International Airshow (2010) www.farnborough.com

Farnborough, Hampshire, London

This month AL Zajel Green hotel of the month award’ went to The Palace – The Old Town. Indeed, there was lot of other hotels who participated and work for sustainable hospitality in UAE. But the The Palace – The Old Town, the 5 star premium hotel operated by The Address Hotels & Resorts, in Downtown Dubai leads the way as the property won a regional first by achieving the coveted Green Globe Certification, making it the city’s only sustainable and environment friendly hotel. Green Globe Certification, regarded as the premier worldwide sustainability merit for the tourism industry, the Green Globe Certificate was presented to The Palace – The Old Town for keeping carbon emissions low and promoting sustainable development initiatives by tracking energy and water consumption. The hotel also has a concerted recycling policy in place with the focus on reducing the consump-

tion of non-recyclable products. Jason Harding, General Manager, The Palace – The Old Town said, “The Green Globe Certificate is a powerful testament to the environment-friendly practices and sustainable development initiatives undertaken by The Palace – The Old Town. This will further complement the hotel’s appeal to our discerning clientele, who today are increasingly aware of environmental challenges and like to contribute by being active partners in sustainable development measures.” Going green will help develop the long-term value of the hotels in Emaar’s hospitality portfolio. Conserving energy, recycling and minimizing any harmful impact on the environment, adds to the overall welfare of the hotel’s guests, while partnering in the global efforts to conserve the environment. The Green Globe Certification is awarded by an interna-

tional team of assessors, and upholds the highest standards of credibility and transparency. The organization follows an independent third-party verification process and bi-annual update of certification standards. The process by which The Palace – The Old Town was certified was also environmentfriendly in being completely paperless. The hotel’s sustainability initiatives were tested against 248 standards which were monitored via a web based system.