UPFRONT

WYNDHAM OPENS BEACHFRONT PROPERTY IN DOHA

WYNDHAM HOTELS AND RESORTS has opened a 278-key beachfront property in Qatar’s capital. e Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach was built in collaboration with Hala Real Estate Development Company. e hotel includes on-site restaurants, a spa bath, steam room, sauna and outdoor pool as well as a tness centre.

Business travellers can make use of the property’s six corporate meeting rooms, which have a combined capacity to host nearly 350 people. e Wyndham Grand Doha West Bay Beach is the latest addition to Wyndham’s portfolio of three operational hotels in Qatar, and two further properties which are currently under development. Wyndham’s regional o erings include a development pipeline of 27 hotels. It currently has approximately 9,000 hotels across nearly 95 countries.

ROTANA TO ENTER ALGERIA

UAE-BASED HOTEL management company Rotana will enter the Algerian market with a new property located in the Algerian port city of Oran. The Azure Rotana Resort & Spa will be built on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and is set to open in March 2023. It will feature 185 rooms and suites, including eight sea view ambassador suites.

The property will have five F&B options including a lobby lounge, shisha terrace, an all-day dining restaurant, pool bar, and a speciality restaurant. The resort will also include a spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a sauna, and a kid’s club. The grand ballroom will be able to accommodate up to 300 people.

SAUDI’S PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND AND CAIN INTERNATIONAL INVEST US$900 MILLION IN AMAN GROUP

AMAN GROUP has secured US$900 million of investment to accelerate its global expansion strategy. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and London-based real estate investment fund Cain International are providing the investment, which Aman said will bring the value of the company to over US$3 billion.

The funds will be used to construct the pipeline of Aman and Janu properties and support the acquisition and development of additional sites. Aman was founded in 1988 and currently has 34 hotels across 20 countries, 12 of which include branded residences. There are a further nine projects under construction, including three under the Janu brand in Tokyo, Saudi Arabia and Montenegro.

Etihad posts record H1 2022 profits

ETIHAD AIRWAYS has declared a record core operating pro t of US$296 million for H1 2022, compared to a US$392 million loss it accumulated in the corresponding period last year. e carrier said that it managed to achieve that pro t despite fuel costs increasing by almost 60 per cent over the same period last year. e airline carried 4.02 million passengers in H1 2022 with an average seat load factor of 75 per cent, over three million more than in H1 2021 when it transported 980,000 passengers. Etihad’s passenger revenues tripled in the rst six months of 2022, climbing to US$1.25 billion versus US$320 million in H1 2021. Its cargo division reported revenues of US$802 million from January-June 2022, an increase of six per cent year-on-year.

H1 2022 PERFORMANCE OF DUBAI INTERNATIONAL (DXB) AIRPORT 27.9

MILLION

The volume of passenger tra ic

390,520

TONNES

The amount of cargo handled

154,993

Total number of flight movements

175km

Length of baggage handling system

27.1

MILLION

Total number of bags processed

62.4

MILLION

Revised forecast for 2022 passenger tra ic

EMIRATES BEGINS RETROFIT PROGRAMME FOR 120 AIRCRAFT

EMIRATES HAS PROVIDED details of what it says is a $2 billion investment in its inflight customer experience. A significant part of this is taken up by plans to upgrade cabin interiors across all classes, with retrofitted or reupholstered seats, and new flooring.

Emirates has begun upgrading the entire interior cabins of its Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft. The target is to completely retrofit four Emirates aircraft from start to finish every month over a period of two years. Once the 67 earmarked A380s are refreshed and back in service, 53 777s will undergo their facelift.

This will see nearly 4,000 new premium economy seats installed, 728 first class suites refurbished and over 5,000 business class seats upgraded by the time the project concludes in April 2025.

Ras Al Khaimah announces its rst music and wellness festival

RAS AL KHAIMAH’S FIRST music and wellness festival – Raktopia – will take place from October 22-23, 2022, at the 300-metre stretch of the Longbeach Campground in the emirate. e organisers have announced the lineup of activities and performers at the festival. It includes body movement awareness with Raktopia ambassador Allaoua Gaham who will introduce a yoga-meets-breakdancing workout, as well as Systema, a form of martial arts that focuses on physical, mental and spiritual wellness. ere will also be guided meditation sessions with Sarah White and a pilates class with Tamara Khoury. Besides a jamming session with Charl Chaka, several local and international DJs will join live artists to perform at the upcoming festival.

JUMEIRAH OPENS FIRST PROPERTY IN OMAN

JUMEIRAH GROUP has unveiled its first hotel in Oman, located around 15 minutes from the capital Muscat. Plans for Jumeirah Muscat Bay were first revealed in 2017, with the 206-room property situated within the cove of Bandar Jissah.

The hotel features five F&B venues, including multi-cuisine restaurant Peridot, Tarini lounge for afternoon tea, poolside eatery Zuka, and Anzo bar and terrace. Signature seafood restaurant Brezza will open this month. Other facilities at the property include a Talise Spa with a hammam, sauna and steam room, as well as a fitness centre, adults-only and kid's pools, yoga studio, tennis court and water sports centre.

KUWAIT’S AGILITY ACQUIRES JOHN MENZIES IN £763 MILLION DEAL

KUWAIT-BASED SUPPLY chain services and infrastructure company, Agility, has acquired UK-headquartered John Menzies in a £763 million deal. Agility will combine John Menzies with its National Aviation Services (NAS) business to create a company called Menzies Aviation which will provide air cargo handling, fuelling and ground services at airports around the world.

Menzies Aviation is expected to become the world’s largest aviation services company by the number of countries it operates within and the second-largest by the number of airports served. It will have approximately 35,000 employees and operations at 254 airports in 58 countries, handling 600,000 aircra turns, two million tonnes of air cargo and 2.5 million fuelling turns per year. e combined revenues of Menzies and NAS exceeded US$1.5 billion in 2021.

Turkish Airlines resumes full operations to Saudi Arabia

TURKISH AIRLINES has fully restored services to Saudi Arabia following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions by Türkiye. The flights to the kingdom have now resumed to pre-pandemic conditions with Saudi citizens able to travel to or transit through Türkiye once again.

Turkish Airlines flies to Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah and connects travellers from Saudi to 335 cities in 128 countries, including 51 cities in Türkiye. Passengers can fly to Türkiye without a PCR test or vaccination proof.

With the resumption of the airline’s complimentary Touristanbul service, Turkish Airlines passengers with connecting flights in Istanbul airport, and a stopover of between 6-24 hours, will have the option to visit select tourist sites in the Turkish capital courtesy of a guided tour organised by the airline itself.

Kingdom Suite unveiled at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh

OVER THE PAST 18 months, Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre has undergone an extensive US$150 million renovation. One of the highlights of the revamped property is the new Kingdom suite. The hotel’s signature penthouse suite is spread across the 48th and 50th floors and covers an area of 330 sqm. The design of the contemporary ceiling pendant in the main living area references the phases of the moon. The suite is also decorated with Saudi objects d’art from Alwaleed Philanthropies, a US$45,000 Master Innovation turntable handmade in Germany and a selection of rare vinyl records. A dedicated butler is assigned for this suite to o er guests exclusive personalised services during their stay.

RADISSON BEACH RESORT ON DUBAI’S PALM JUMEIRAH CONFIRMS Q3 2022 OPENING

RADISSON HOTEL GROUP has confirmed that the Radisson Beach Resort Palm Jumeirah in Dubai will open in Q3 2022. Located along the Palm Jumeirah, West Beach, the four-star resort features 315 king- and 74 twin-rooms. It will house 389 units in total, all designed with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies with views of the sea as well as of the Dubai Marina skyline. The resort will also provide easy access to the beach in addition to a swimming pool. Additionally, a spa will be opened on the property. There are several other beachfront properties in Radisson’s current portfolio within the UAE – the most recently opened is the Radisson Resort Ras Al Khaimah Marjan Island.

LAST MONTH, THAI AIRWAYS began operating four weekly services between Bangkok and Jeddah. It marks the first commercial service to Saudi Arabia by the carrier in 32 years. The airline will allow 40kg of baggage allowance for Royal Silk passengers and a 35kg allowance for economy passengers until December 31, 2022. Passengers on this route can also avail options from the HAL-Q certified inflight menu. Royal Orchid Plus members travelling on this sector will earn 1,000 miles per flight in Royal Silk class and 500 miles per flight in economy class.

Ascott unveils 140-unit Citadines Abha in Saudi Arabia

THE ASCOTT LIMITED recently launched its newest property, Citadines Abha, in partnership with Almutlaq Real Estate Investment Company. e property features studio as well as one- and twobedroom apartments. Each apartment has a living space, dining area, kitchenette and oor-to-ceiling windows. Citadines Abha also has a swimming pool, gym, resident’s lounge, restaurant, meeting rooms and a business centre. e 140-unit aparthotel is Ascott’s eighth property in Saudi and its sixth regional opening this year alone. Ascott now has an operational footprint of 1,062 keys in the kingdom, and 2,391 keys across the region.

Thai Airways launches new service to Jeddah

BACK ON THE MOVE

Global travel assistance organisation World Travel Protection found that business travel is on the rise

28%

of business travellers say their organisation is encouraging travel for face-to-face meetings

26%

say international travel is important for their job

25%

missed travelling for work during the pandemic 24%

view travel as one of the best parts of the job

24%

have a backlog of trips due to Covid-19

22%

are travelling more than they did pre-pandemic

20%

refuse to travel to regions with high Covid-19 rates

16%

don’t want to travel for work as much they did pre-pandemic

Source: Opinium survey of 500 UK business travellers who travel internationally for business at least once a year, commissioned by World Travel Protection