Arab Turkish Travel Magazine

AT

Arab & Turkish

Travel Magazine & www.arabturkishtravel.com

MAY 2010

&

Health Tourism Thermal Resorts of Turkey News from the Countries Algeria

Bahrain

Morocco

Oman

Comoros

Palestine

Djibouti

Qatar

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

Iraq

Somalia

Jordan

Sudan

Syria

Kuwait

Tunisia

Lebanon

Turkey

Libya

U.A.E

Mauritania

Yemen

Inside This Issue

6 Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey 15 News From Countries 29 Exhibition 30 Aviation News

AT &

Travel Magazine Arab & Turkish Travel Magazine

May 2010

19

Palestine

Kasr-i Nehroz

23 32

Iraq wants accelerated delivery of new Boeing crafts

Country News

15

Pamukkale Thermal Resort

8

Lebanon

Palestine

Syria

Algeria

Egypt

Libya

Qatar

Tunisia

Bahrain

Iraq

Mauritania

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Comoros

Jordan

Morocco

Somalia

U.A.E

Djibouti

Kuwait

Oman

Sudan

Yemen

Arab & Turkish Travel Magazine Prepared by S&M Publication Ltd. ART DIRECTOR: Fatih Tahtalı OFFSET PREPARATION: Repronet Reprodüksiyon FILM&PRINTED: ÖzgürMatbaacılık HEAD OFFICE: S&M PUBLICATION LTD.Muratreis Muradiye Mektep Sokak 13/1 Baglarbasi- 81140 Istanbul-TURKEY Tel:+90.216.391 3795 Fax:+90.216.391 3796 www.arabturkishtravel:com ALL EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES TO suat@arabturkishtravel.com - ozgur@arabturkishtravel.com

4 May 2010

A&T Travel Magazine

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey Gazlıgöl Thermal Resort

T

urkey is not the only but maybe the most important area in the whole world, rich with thermal water and springs. This year the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey announced new projects for tourism. Health and Thermal tourism is one of the new project and we introduce you important thermal destinations of Turkey in these pages.

Turkey is located on top of a major geothermal belt, it is among the top seven countries in the world for quality and quantity of thermal springs with over 1000, with temperatures ranging from 20ºC to 110ºC. Most are in the Marmara and Aegean regions and because of their proximity to popular travel destinations such as Istanbul, Izmir, Pamukkale and Marmaris, public transport is easy. Many of Turkey’s historical places developed because of their springs, like the ancient city of Hieropolis which was built upon the rich mineral springs of Pamukkale, and the ancient Lydian city of Kaunos, whose people took baths in the rich mineral mud of Lake Koycegiz.

22km north of Afyon, on the highway to Eskisehir highway near Demiryolu.

The nearest airport is in Isparta, 150 km south.

Water temperature: Between 40° - 71° C. pH value: 6 - 7.5 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, sodium, hydrogen sulfide (3.75 mg/l.) and carbon dioxide (360 mg/l.), and metaboric acid (47.79 mg/l). Classified as hyperthermal (64°C) and hypertonic. br> Helps to heal: Rheumatism, cardiovascular disorders, kidney and urinary tract conditions, liver-gall bladder dysfunction, disorders of digestive system and poor metabolism, calcium deposits and skin conditions.

Accommodation: Gazligol Thermal Facilities - 240 beds.

Afyon- Hüdayi Thermal Resort Location: 66km south-west of Afyon, 7km south-west of Sandikli.

Transport: Buses from Afyon. Nearest airport is Isparta, 150km south.

ADANA

Haruniye Thermal Resort

On the banks of the Ceyhan river, north of Haruniye near Bahce. 22km from Haruniye and around 150km east of Adana.

Water temperature: 33°C pH value: 6.1 Physical and chemical properties: Contains a mixture of bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide.

Recommended applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Effective in treating rheumatism, gynaecological disorders, skin conditions, nervous and eating disorders, liver, gall bladder, stomach and intestinal disorders.

Accommodation: The thermal facility (115 rooms, 150 beds)

Water temperature: 70°C pH value: 6.3 - 6.9 Physical and chemical properties: Sodium, calcium, sulphur, bicarbonate, fluoride and carbon dioxide, and is radioactive.

Helps to heal: Rheumatic ailments, aches and cramps, cardiovascular disorders, calcium deposits and aching joints, mental and muscular fatigue, nervous disorders and gynaecological disorders.

Accommodation: Kaplica Hotel - 64 beds. Yeni Thermal Hotel - 264 beds.

AFYON

Terziköy Thermal Resort

Ömer and Gecek Thermal Resort

North-west of Afyon, on the highway to Kutahya. 15 km from Afyon. The nearest airport is in Isparta, 150 km south.

Water temperature: Between 51° - 98° C. pH value: 6.5 - 7.3 Physical and chemical properties: Chlorine, bicarbonate, sodium, iron (4.9 mg/l), arsenic (l/15 mg/l.), carbon dioxide (423.1 mg/l.), metaboric acid (24.7 mg/l.), fluoride (4.32 mg/l.) and boron (10 mg/l.).

Recommended applications: Drinking, bathing and inhaling.

Helps to heal: Rheumatism, skin conditions, cardiovascular and digestive disorders, calcium deposits and aching joints, liver and gall bladder problems, eating and nervous disorders, gynaecological disorders.

Accommodation: Orucoglu Thermal Resort (4 star) - 428 beds.

Omer Thermal Resort - 315 beds. Gecek Resort - 130 beds.

6 May 2010

AMASYA

30km south of Amasya, south of Samsun, in the Black Sea region. Many buses to Amasya from all over the country, then private vehicle to Terzikoy.

Nearest airport at Samsun.

Water temperature: 37°C pH value: 6.6 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, calcium, small amount of carbon dioxide.

Recommended applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, eating disorders and liver, intestinal, kidney and urinary tract conditions.

Accommodation: Motel - 90 beds.

A&T Travel Magazine

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey

ANKARA

Kızılcahamam Tourist Thermal Spring Kizilcahamam is 80km north of Ankara.

Water temperature: Buyuk Thermal Spring - 47°C; Kucuk Thermal Spring - 44°C; Kizilcahamam - 19.5°C; Acisu - 34°C; Sey Hamami - 43°C; Acisu Spring - 37°C. pH value: Buyuk Thermal Spring - 7.06; Kucuk Thermal Spring - 7.45; Kizilcahamam - 6.62; Acisu Thermal Spring - 6.20; Sey Hamami and Acisu Spring - 6.52.

Physical and chemical properties: The various springs contain some or all of the following: hyperthermal, hypertonic, isothermal, bicarbonate, sodium, chlorine, arsenic, carbon dioxide, calcium, carbon dioxide.

Recommended applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Drinking - liver, gall bladder, stomach and intestines, internal and external secretions, and poor metabolism. Bathing - heart, vascular system and rheumatism.

Accommodation: Belediye Thermal Hotel - 130 beds. Cam Hotel 81 Beds.

Sey Hamamı Tourist Thermal Resort Location: 2km from Guvem, which is 15km north of Kizilcahamam and around 80km north of Ankara.

Transport: Guvem is on the highway between Ankara and Cerkes.

Water temperature: 43°C pH value: 6.5 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, sodium, calcium, carbon dioxide and fluoride.

Recommended applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, joint pain and calcium build-up, stomach and intestinal conditions, poor circulation, nervous disorders, liver and gall bladder conditions and eating disorders.

Accommodation: 14 rooms and 28 beds in the facility.

BALIKESİR

Gönen Thermal Resort

Next to Gonen Creek, near the town of Gonen, around 80km north west of Balikesir.

Water temperature: 52°C pH value: 7.36 Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, sulphur, chlorine, bicarbonate, sodium.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Drinking - liver, gall bladder and kidney ailments.

Bathing - rheumatism, infections of the large intestine, hardening of the arteries and neurological and vascular complications.

Accommodation: Yildiz Hotel - 381 beds. Dermal Hotel - 44 rooms.

Park Hotel - 111 beds).

A&T Travel Magazine

BİNGÖL

Kös Thermal Resort

18km northeast of Bingol, on the highway to Karliova, in Eastern Anatolia. Bingol is easily accessible by bus from all over the country, and there is some private and public transport to the resort.

Water temperature: 47°C pH value: 6.1 Physical and chemical properties: Mildly radioactive, containing sodium, bicarbonate, sulphur and small amount of chlorine.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, cardiovascular and gynaecological disorders, conditions of the respiratory tract, and mental and muscular fatigue.

Accommodation: Hotel - 60 beds.

BOLU

Karacasu Thermal Resort

5km from Bolu, in the Western Black Sea region. Bolu is easily connected by road to the rest of the country. Private transport is available from Bolu to the resort.

Water temperature: 44°C pH value: 6.3 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, carbon dioxide and fluoride.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, heart conditions and circulatory conditions, gynaecological disorders, kidney and urinary tract conditions, liver and gall bladder disorders and eating disorders.

Accommodation: Bolu Thermal Hotel and Kucuk Kaplica Hotel.

BURSA

Oylat Thermal Resort

27km south of Inegol, southwest of Bursa. The resort is off the highway between Inegol and Tavsanli. The nearest airport at Yenisehir, near Bursa.

Water temperature: Oylat Hamami Spring - 40°C. Sizi Suyu Spring – 35.5°C. Goz Suyu Spring - 10°C. pH value: Oylat Hamam Spring – 7.26. Sizi Suyu Spring – 7.18. Goz Suyu Spring – 7.04.

Physical and chemical properties: The various springs contain some, or all of the following: Sulphur, bicarbonate, calcium, ionic hydrogen and iron.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Drinking - diuretic and good for obesity. Bathing relaxing sedative.

Accommodation: Buyuk Hotel - 220 beds. Motel - 210 beds.

May 2010 7

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey Çekirge Thermal Resort

DENİZLİ

Pamukkale Thermal Resort

In the Cekirge area of Bursa, on the eastern side of the city.

Water temperature: Vakifbahce Spring - 47°C. Karamustafa Spring - 58°C. Kaynarca and Yenikaplica Springs - 77°C. Kukurtlu Hamam Spring - 78°C pH value: Vakifbahce Spring – 6.98. Karamustafa Spring – 6.6.

Kaynarca and Yenikaplica Springs – 6.78. Kukurtlu Hamam Spring – 6.44 Physical and chemical properties: The group of springs contain some, or all of the following: hyperthermal, hypertonic, oligometallic and radioactive, bicarbonate, sulphur, calcium, magnesium, sodium and carbon dioxide.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatic ailments, painful disorders of muscular system, chronic gynaecological infections and cramps, blood clots and bronchitis. Combination of bathing and drinking for liver and gall bladder condition, mild gout and diabetes, and obesity.

Accommodation: Anatolia Hotel - 192 beds. Buyuk Yildiz Hotel - 68 Beds. Hotel Kervansaray - 500 beds.

BURSA - Armutlu Thermal Resort 2km north of Armutlu, which is around 20km west of Yalova.

Accessible from Bursa, Yalova and Istanbul by road, sea and air.

Water temperature: 57°C pH value: 6.2 - 6.5 Physical and chemical properties: Sulphur, bicarbonate, chlorine, calcium, sodium and carbon dioxide.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, cardiovascular conditions, gynaecological disorders, mental and muscular fatigue, nervous and eating disorders.

Accommodation: 2-star hotel.

In the Aegean region north of Denizli near the historic ruins of Hieropolis. 20 km from the city centre of Denizli, buses to Pamukkale.

Water temperature: 33°C - 35.5°C pH value: 5.83 - 6.02 Physical and chemical properties: Thermal, hypertonic, bicarbonate, sulphur, calcium, carbon dioxide.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Drinking - digestive system especially stomach, intestines, liver and gall bladder disorders, dyspepsia, diabetes, obesity and gout. Bathing – arthritis, rheumatic ailments like osteoporosis, bronchial asthma, blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and circulation problems.

Accommodation: Hotels Hierapolis (4-star), Ergur, Colossea, Polat’s and Richmond.

Karahayıt Thermal Resort

ÇANAKKALE

Kestanbol Thermal Resort

15km south of Ezine, which is around 50km south-west of Canakkale.

Transport: The resort is off the Ezine – Ayvacik highway. Ezine and Canakkale are easily accessible by bus.

Water temperature: Ana Spring - 67°C. Ikinci Spring - 47°C. Camur Spring - 68°C. Hamam Spring - 31°C. Goz Suyu Spring - 21°C pH value: Ana Spring - 5.92 Ikinci Spring - 6.16 Camur Spring - 5.86 Hamam Spring - 6.92 Goz Suyu Spring - 6.94 Physical and chemical properties: The collection of springs contains some or all of the following properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, radioactive, chlorine, sodium, iron, calcium.

Recommended Applications: Bathing, mud treatments, inhalation and showers.

Helps to heal: Chronic gynaecological infections, rheumatism, pinched sciatic nerve, calcium deposits, some types of bone tuberculosis, swollen lymph nodes in small children, upper respiratory asthmatic syndrome. Showers can act as an antibiotic for upper respiratory problems and other lung disorders.

Accommodation: Lodging facility - 100 beds.

8 May 2010

20km north of Denizli, and 5km from Pamukkale thermal springs.

Buses and dolmus to Pamukkale.

Water temperature: 42°C - 56°C pH value: 5.98 - 6.26 Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, sulphur, bicarbonate, calcium, carbon dioxide, Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Similar to waters of Pamukkale. Drinking - digestive system especially the stomach, intestines, liver and gall bladder disorders, dyspepsia, chronic infections of the gall bladder and gall bladder pigmentation and gall stones, diabetes, obesity and gout.

Bathing – arthritis, rheumatic ailments like osteoporosis, bronchial asthma, problems maintaining proper blood pressure, hardening of the arteries. Helps maintain a healthy circulatory system.

Accommodation: Hotels Hierapolis (4-star), Ergur, Colossea, Polat’s and Richmond.

A&T Travel Magazine

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic mineral waters. Bicarbonate, sodium, magnesium, calcium, sulphate, Çermik Thermal Resort nitrate.

Just outside Cermik, around 90km west of Diyarbakir in South Eastern Recommended: Applications Bathing Anatolia.

Helps to heal: Diabetes, obesity, gout, certain blood disorders, Water temperature: 48°C excess sugar and fat, prevents kidney stones. pH value: 6.3 Accommodation: Municipality Facilities - 400 beds. Aytac Tourist Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, chlorine, carbon Facilities - 40 beds. dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and mildly radioactive.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, skin and respiratory conditions, Şifne Thermal Resort gynaecological disorders, joint pain and calcium build-up.

6km east of Cesme, and 80km west of Izmir. Cesme is easily accessible by bus, and the nearest airport is at Izmir.

Accommodation: Hotel with 100 beds.

Water temperature: Ilica Spring - 42° C. Buyuk Icme Spring - 19° C. Kucuk Icme Spring - 25°C pH value: Ilica Spring - 6.76; Buyuk Icme Spring - 6.52; Kucuk Icme Pasinler Thermal Resort Spring - 6.56 Physical and chemical properties: The various springs contain one or all of the following properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, chlorine, sodium, magnesium Recommended: Applications Bathing, drinking and mud treatments Helps to heal: Bathing and mud treatments - rheumatic ailments, gynaecological problems and poor metabolism, problems with liver, gall bladder and pancreas. > Accommodation: Turban Ilica Hotel -120 Beds.

DİYARBAKIR

İZMİR

ERZURUM

Balçova Thermal Resort (Agememnon)

Pasinler, 40km east of Erzurum in Eastern Anatolia. Transport to Erzurum is easy by bus or air. Pasinler is on the main international highway to the Iranian border.

Water temperature: 39°C - 45°C pH value: 6.5 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, chlorine, sodium and carbon dioxide and mildly radioactive.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, nervous disorders, joint pain and calcium deposits.

Accommodation: There are better options in Erzurum.

ESKİŞEHİR

Sarıcakaya - Sakar Thermal Resort

The resort is around 33km north of Eskisehir, southeast of Bursa in Central Anatolia. Eskisehir is easily accessible by road or air, and the Sakar resort is off the road to Mihalgazi.

Water temperature: 56°C pH value: 7.6

10 May 2010

10km west of Izmir and west of Balcova, near the historical site of Agememnon. 25 km from Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport, and 10km from centre of Izmir. The closest beach is 18 km.

Water temperature: Spring and well water vary between 45°C -140°C. pH value: 6.4 Physical and chemical properties: Chlorine, bicarbonate, sodium, calcium, carbon dioxide and fluoride. Hyperthermal (62 °C) and Hypertonic (30.68 milimol/l.).

Helps to heal: Rheumatic ailments, digestive tract, eye ailments, poor metabolism, liver and gall bladder problems and heart and circulatory conditions, and nervous disorders.

Accommodation: Balcova Agamemnon Thermal Facilities (3-star) 435 beds. Thermal Princess Hotel (5-star) - 630 beds.

Çeşme Thermal Resort In Cesme, 70km west of Izmir. Well connected by bus, and nearest airport at Izmir.

Water temperature: 55°C pH value: 6.58 Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, chlorine, sodium, magnesium Recommended: Applications Bathing and soaking Helps to heal: Effective in treating rheumatic ailments, gynaecological disorders and poor metabolism.

Accommodation: Turban Cesme Hotel - 420 beds. Altinyunus Holiday Village - 1030 beds.

A&T Travel Magazine

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey

KIRŞEHİR

Terme Tourist Thermal Resort

In the city of Kirsehir, north of Cappadocia, around 150km south-east of Ankara, and 90km north-west of Nevsehir, on the main highway between the two.

Water temperature: 40°C - 56°C pH value: 6.2 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, chlorine, calcium, sodium, carbon dioxide and fluoride.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Cardiovascular problems, mental and muscular fatigue, nervous disorders, joint pain, calcium deposits and patients recovering from surgery.

Accommodation: 3-star hotel - 200 beds.

KONYA

Ilgın Thermal Resort

Physical and chemical properties: The group of spring has one or all of the following properties: thermal, hypertonic, oligometallic, sulphur, calcium, magnesium.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing.

Helps to heal: Rheumatic ailments, liver and gall bladder problems and skin conditions, poor metabolism.

Accommodation: Harlek Hotel -186 beds

Muratdağı Thermal Resort On the northern slopes of Muratdagi (1700m), around 15km south of Gediz and 100km southwest of Kutahya. Kutahya is well connected by road and air. Gediz is on the main highway between Kutahya and Usak.

Water temperature: 40°C - 42°C pH value: 7.2 Physical and chemical properties: Sulphur, calcium, magnesium, bromide and radioactive properties.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, skin conditions, gynaecological problems, joint pain, calcium deposits and eating disorders.

Accommodation: Youth Camp – 150 beds. Otherwise, small hotels in Gediz.

MANİSA

Kurşunlu Thermal Resort

6km from Salihli, in the region of Manisa.

Water temperature: 52°C pH value: 5.8 Physical and chemical properties: Bicarbonate, sulphur, calcium, hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, respiratory tract and skin conditions, gynaecological and nervous disorders, calcium deposits and joint pain.

Accommodation: The resort has 70 rooms, 210 beds.

MUĞLA

Sultaniye Thermal Resort

Foot of Mt. Olemez, western shore of Lake Koycegiz, west of Koycegiz in Mugla province and 4km from Dalyan. region.

Just outside Ilgin, 88km north-west of Konya. Konya is well connected Water temperature: Buyuk Hamam Spring - 39°C. Kubbeli Hamam to the rest of the country by road and air. The resort lies just off the Spring - 41.9°C. Sultaniye Drinking Spring - 32°C. main highway to Ilgin. pH value: Buyuk Hamam Spring - 6.68. Kubbeli Hamam Spring – Water temperature: 42°C 6.65. Sultaniye Drinking Spring – 6.74 pH value: 7.0 Physical and chemical properties: Each spring contains one of Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic and all of the following properties - Chlorine, sodium, hydrogen sulphide, radioactive, bicarbonate, calcium, sodium, carbon dioxide. bromide, radioactive, Recommended: Applications Drinking, bathing and inhalation. hyperthermal, Helps to heal: Rheumatism, gall bladder and liver problems, poor hypertonic. metabolism.

Recommended: Accommodation: Konya Ilgin Thermal Facilities - 570 beds.

Applications Drinking and bathing.

Harlek (Ilıcaköy) Thermal Resort Helps to heal: The resort is 27km Rheumatic, from the centre of respiratory and Kutahya, in Western epidermal ailments, Anatolia, and 190km poor circulation south-east of Bursa. and heart disease, Kutahya is well nervous conditions, connected by bus, and gynaecological, 90km south-west from kidney and urinary the airport at Eskisehir. tract conditions, Water temperature: poor metabolism.

25.2°C - 43°C Accommodation: pH value: Kadilar Kaunos Hotel - 82 Spring - 6.84. Haslas beds. Ozay Hotel Spring - 6.78. Harlek Spring - 6.87. Kadinlar Hamami Spring - 6.64 38 beds.

KÜTAHYA

12 May 2010

A&T Travel Magazine

Health Tourism & Thermal Resorts of Turkey

NEVŞEHİR

Kozaklı Thermal Resort

In the town of Kozakli, 24km north of the Kayseri-Ankara highway, around 90km north-east of Nevsehir and north-west of Kayseri. There is good transport to either Kayseri or Nevsehir, and Kozakli can be reached by public or private vehicle.

Water temperature: 27°C - 93°C pH value: 6.7 - 7 Physical and chemical properties: Chlorine, sulphur, bicarbonate, sodium, calcium and radioactive.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, skin conditions, gynaecological problems, respiratory conditions, joint pain and calcium deposits and eating disorders.

Accommodation: Motel with 102 rooms and 309 beds.

RİZE

Ayder Thermal Resort

The resort is 18km southeast of Camlihemsin in the Eastern Black Sea region. Camlihemsin is around 50km east of Rize.

Water temperature: 46°C pH value: 8 Physical and chemical properties: Radioactive composition of sodium and sulphur.

Recommended: Applications Bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, cardiovascular, respiratory and epidermal conditions, gynaecological disorders, mental and muscular fatigue.

Accommodation: The construction of a 1000-bed lodge is underway.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, skin conditions, gynaecological problems, respiratory conditions, joint pain and calcium deposits and patients recovering from surgery.

SİVAS

Kangal Balıklı (Yılanlı) Çermik Thermal Resort

17 km northeast of Kangal, 100km southeast of Sivas in Central Anatolia. There are regular buses from the centre of Sivas.

Water temperature: 36°C pH value: 7.3 Physical and chemical properties: Isothermal, hypertonic, oligometallic water containing bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium.

Recommended Applications: Drinking – 3-4 cups in morning on empty stomach. Bathing - 6-8 hours a day, with breaks. Drinking alcohol during treatment is prohibited. Applying medication to wounds during treatment may be hazardous. Treatment should continue for at least 21 days.

Helps to heal: The 2-8 cm fish in the waters aid in the healing of skin ailments like shallow wounds, pustule, eczema and psoriasis. The 1530 cm snakes help to heal erysipelas (St. Anthony’s Fire).

Accommodation: There are two hotels at the spring.

YALOVA Thermal Resort

11km south of Yalova, in the Marmara region. Yalova is easy to access by boat or bus.

Water temperature: 55°-60° C pH value: 6.88 -7.48 Physical and chemical properties: Hyperthermal, hypertonic, sulphur, sodium, calcium.

Recommended: Applications Drinking and bathing Ladik Thermal Resort Helps to heal: Rheumatic conditions, aching muscles and patients Ladik Hamamayagi, or Hillaz thermal spring, is 60km west of Samsun, after stomach operations; chronic gynaecological infections or cramps, near the Samsun-Ankara highway. road. There is good public transport blood clots in the legs, gout, diabetes, metabolic problems such as to both Samsun and Ankara, and Ladik is off the main highway. obesity, high blood-cholesterol, cleansing of lipids and fats and removal Water temperature: 38°C of excess accumulations of uric acid. pH value: 7.2 Physical and chemical properties: Mildly radioactive composition of Accommodation: Turban Thermal Hotel (Yalova) - 200 beds.

Thermalium Wellness Park Hotel (Yalova) 80 rooms, Gokcedere bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium.

Hotel (Gokcedere Village) - 86 beds.

Recommended Applications: Drinking and bathing Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, calcium deposits and joint pain, nervous disorders and patients recovering from surgery.

Accommodation: A camping area can be used in the summer. There Sarıkaya Thermal Resort are small hotels in Merzifon and Amasya.

Just outside Sarikaya, around 80km south-east of Yozgat in Central Anatolia.

Water temperature: 44°C - 47°C pH value: 6.4 - 6.8 Billoris Thermal Resort Physical and chemical properties: Radioactive waters with chlorine, 17km south of Siirt, on the banks of Botan Creek, south-west of Lake Van in Southeastern Anatolia. There are buses from all over the bicarbonate, sodium, iron and calcium. country to Siirt.

Helps to heal: Rheumatism, mental and muscular fatigue, skin Water temperature: 33°C -36°C conditions, gynaecological problems, nervous disorders, respiratory pH value: 6.4 conditions, joint pain and calcium deposits as well as patients Physical and chemical properties: Chlorine, sulphur, bicarbonate, recovering from surgery. sodium, hydrogen sulphide and calcium.

Accommodation: 1-star hotel - 164 beds, 2-star hotel - 1960 beds.

SAMSUN

YOZGAT

SİİRT

14 May 2010

A&T Travel Magazine

News From Countries

Algeria Algeria architectural treasures at 2010 Shanghai World Expo

Algeria Algeria will be renting a 1,000 square meter pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo with the intention of showcasing the country’s many marvelous ancient architectural wonders, as well as highlighting the modern urban planning of its cities. Emphasis will be placed on the way Algerian cities are planned to ensure that modern buildings coexist in harmony with valuable historic sites. Algeria has a history going back thousands of years BC when it was occupied by Berbers. Due to its strategic geographical location, Algeria has been invaded and conquered by a series of military powers including Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab, Turk and French, before finally attaining independence in 1962. With each conquest, the conquerors constructed buildings, some of which were destroyed by the subsequent conqueror, but many of which remain. The most enduring architectural influence has perhaps been that of the Arabs, Turks and French. Visitors to Algeria don’t have to be architects to appreciate the graceful French-colonial style buildings and imposing fortresses, the Arab-styled homes, beautifully decorated mosques, the crowded lanes and markets of the Kasbahs and so much more.

The host country, China, will be emphasizing the topic of “Urbanization in China”. Algeria’s choice to highlight the modern and ancient blend of its urban areas fits in perfectly with the overall theme of the expo. The 2010 Shanghai World Expo will give Algeria the opportunity to bring the beauty of its cities, towns and villages to the international community. This will very likely encourage many expo visitors to travel to Algeria and see firsthand all its architectural treasures, along with all the other many facets that make this fascinating country a popular tourist destination.

Bahrain Food hygiene and basic health and safety within the catering industry TUV NORD, Bahrain had Over 190 applicants registered for a workshop to learn about the requirements of the International Food Safety Management Systems Standards, held during the first day at Food and Hospitality Expo 2010.

The event which was held by the HRH Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, The Prime Minister of Bahrain organized by Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority (BECA), is being held at the Bahrain International Convention Centre (BEICC) from 12-14th January and has 82 exhibitors.

TUV NNORD has partnered with BECA to offer its support and will be conducting workshops helping people to learn about how to comply with the requirements of the International Food Safety Management System Standard during the three-day premier, international food and hospitality event.

Basic Food Hygiene, Basic Health and Safety for Catering Industry, Critical Control Points are some of the topics that will be discussed at the workshops which aim to raise safety standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities and processes utilized daily in the food

A&T Travel Magazine

industry and and preserve consumer confidence in the products of the food industry in Bahrain.

“We are delighted to partner with TUV Middle East, a member of TUV NORD Group, for Food & Hospitality Expo 2010 as they play a vital role in helping companies, working within the food industry, to develop the quality standards that are so important to maintain Bahrain’s reputation in this industry,” said Hassan Jaffer Mohamed, BECA. “TUV Nord’s participation not only enhanced the Expo, but also added a dimension of training to this very busy event,” he added.

In only its second year, the Food and Hospitality Expo has more than doubled in size with leading companies and organizations such as TUV Middle East, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coca-Cola, Tamkeen (Labour Fund), Babasons, Bahrain Modern Mills, Bahrain Airport Services, Noor Al Bahrain, The Diplomat Radissson, Hotel, Moevenpick Hotel and The Regency Inter.Continental Hotel and local farmers and small businesses all taking part.

“BECA’s Food & Hospitality Expo serves as a strategic platform for those in the food, beverage and hospitality business to buy from each other and network to exchange ideas optimizing opportunities for exhibitors and retailers.

We are very happy to support this event and add value by introducing our quality training element which are available for all to study and implement within their own premises,” said Mr Jamal Al Baeejan), President of TUV NORD. The success of the Expo is already clear with many exhibitors have already signed up again for next year’s event, some taking larger spaces than this year. It looks as though the Food and Hospitality Expo 2011 will, once again, increase in size and is building to become one of the regions premier events.

Egypt Alexandria is the capital of Arab Tourism for 2010 Egyptian Tourism Minister, Zoheir Garranah, and Major General Adel Labib, the Governor of Alexandria, declared the initiation of the ceremonial festivals of selecting Alexandria as the Capital of Arab Tourism for the year 2010 during the press conference that was held on March 17th in Alexandria.

Concluding its agenda on Thursday, 28th of May, 2009, the Arab Ministerial Council of Tourism declared that Alexandria was selected to be the Capital of Arab Tourism for the year 2010, among twelve other Arab cities applied for the competition. The idea of selecting an Arab city as the Capital of Arab Tourism was due to an initiative proposed by the Arab League to annually select one of Arab city to be the Capital of Arab Tourism.

This aims at encouraging the Inter-Arab Tourism initiative along with highlighting customs and traditions each city is characterized with, in addition to bringing into view the tourism value of each city selected.

Moreover, such initiative aims to accentuate the role the city undertakes to enhance the Arab tourism industry throughout interaction with other cultures and civilizations.

The reason behind selecting Alexandria as the Capital of Arab Tourism by the members in the Arab Ministerial Tourism Conference, for the year 2010, is related to the deep-rooted history of Alexandria.

Alexandria is considered a city with a rich history of several civilizations, such as Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic, making it a city abounded with, and characterized by many of the unique monumental, and cultural sites, such as Pompey’s Pillar (Amoud Al-Swary), the Catacombs of Kom Al Shoqqafa, the Fort of Qaitbay, the Ancient Roman Amphitheatre, the Greco-Romanian Museum, and the Royal Jewelry Museum. Alexandria is also famous for many of the religious sites, such as El-Mursi Abul Abbas Mosque, and Saint Mark’s Church.

Alexandria is also distinguished with a mild climate both in the summer and winter seasons, in addition to its shores that extend along the Mediterranean seacoast.

Additionally, Alexandria is home to one of the most important cultural edifices in the Arab World. It is the Library of Alexandria that includes a large number of unique manuscripts and reference books in all domains and sciences.

Furthermore, it is rich in various features of tourism such as cultural and entertainment events, conferences, festivals, exhibitions, and maritime tourism, in addition to other touristic outlines that help in attracting different classes of tourists.

May 2010 15

News From Countries South Korea, Egypt sign tourism accord Egypt vowed to step up security for foreign visitors as it signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea on promoting bilateral tourism.

Zoheir Garranah, Egyptian Minister of Tourism, said in Seoul that his country will bolster anti-terrorist measures across the country, addressing concerns over violence by extremists there, according to Yonhap News Agency.

“The government of Egypt is making its best efforts to ensure the safety of foreigners not only in tourism attractions but in the entire country,” the visiting minister told Yonhap.

The accord signed between Garranah and Yu In-chon, South Korea’s minister for tourism, sports and culture, calls for the governments of the two countries to facilitate greater tourism, boost related investments and simplify visa processes, the report said.

“Egypt implements anti-terror measures on a pan-governmental level and is making its full efforts for the safety of not only locals but also foreigners, ” the minister was quoted as saying.

Egyptians are also interested in the fast-growing medical tourism industry in Korea, the world’s 13th largest economy, where foreign visitors often receive advanced medical care at a fraction of costs seen in other advanced countries, the minister said.

Iraq Iraqi Erbil airport soon start to operate Test flights began in Iraq’s Erbil airport after the first aircraft arrived at the airport on April 1st from Turkey.

The new airport, featuring a runway 4800 m long and 90 m width , which is the longest runway in Middle East and the fifth-longest runway in the world coming after airports in (China – Russia – South Africa – the United States).

Stafford Clarry, airport director said that the airport can receive 150 flights daily and accommodate three million passengers .

It was built by the Turkish company , Makyul Genghis , and designed by British company Scott Wilson group on an area of 27 000 square meters and includes 17 gates

Iran, Iraq to launch tourist shipping line A tourist shipping line will soon be launched between the Iranian port of Khorramshahr and the Iraqi port of Basra. During the Iraqi delegations visit to Khuzestan province the governor generals of Basra and Khuzestan agreed to launch the Tourist shipping line.

The two sides also signed some MOUs. Boosting the trade volume in the Shalamche border and holding joint exhibitions in Khuzestan and Basra are among the agreed items

Jordan Jordan visitor figures show strong start to 2010 The Kingdom’s tourism revenues rose by 32.2 per cent in January, according to the official statistics, indicating a strong start to the year for the tourism sector.

According to statistics issued by the Central Bank of Jordan, revenues generated by the sector last month stood at JD158 million, compared to JD119 million in January 2009.

Jordan also witnessed a 20 per cent growth in the number of visitors in January, as 478,169 tourists visited the Kingdom, compared to 399,268 in the same period in 2009.

The number of overnight tourists totalled 281,039 last month, up from 215,572 in January 2009, while the number of same-day tourists increased by 7 per cent to 197,131, compared to 183,696 in the same month last year.

Of the total overnight visitors, 82,368 were Jordanians living abroad, 79,430 were non-Arab foreigners, 72,461 came from non-Gulf Arab countries and 46,780 from the Arab Gulf, the figures showed.

16 May 2010

The ancient city of Gadara in Umm Qais witnessed the largest increase, registering 9,544 visitors in January 2010, up 138 per cent from 2009 when 4,006 tourists visited the northern site.

The mosaic city of Madaba came in second, registering 16,406 visitors, up 60.7 per cent from January 2009, which saw 10,211 tourists.

Wadi Rum witnessed the largest drop in the number of visitors with 5,607 tourists in January 2010, a 50 per cent drop compared to 11,263 visitors in the same period last year.

JITOA – Increasing Jordan inbound tour operators’ access to the European market The Jordan Inbound Tour Operators Association (JITOA) in cooperation with the CBI -Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries in Netherlands supported JITOA active members of inbound Tour Operators to participate in the “Export Coaching Programme (ECP)” for tourism. CBI is an agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. Its objective is to assist companies from developing countries to achieve sustainable exports to Europe, through conducting a wide range of support programmes in different sectors.

European outbound tourism is still growing, however, many receptive companies miss the opportunities and fail to benefit of it. CBI offers companies for incoming tourism guidance and training to build contacts in a systematic and successful way in the various European generating markets.

JITOA members will get the opportunity to get the needed assistance and support to enter the European market. Within this tourism programme, CBI offers Jordan Tour Operators needed guidance and training to build contacts in a systematic and successful way in the various European generating markets. This is accomplished by carrying out sector-specific export programs that follow a step-by-step approach to increase market access and penetration. The programs are run by independent consultants whose extensive knowledge and networks throughout Europe guarantee high-quality, specialized and up-to date content.

JITOA took the initiative to involve the Jordan Inbound Tour Operators in the CBI specialized Export Coaching program, to boost business cooperation with Jordan and Europe, and help Tour Operators to develop and gain more business opportunities with Europe, and increase the Jordanian exports to Europe.

Jordan seeks more Indian visitors Jordan is targeting a 20 per cent increase in the number of Indians visiting the Kingdom this year, the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) said. According to JTB Director General Nayef Fayez, some 29,000 Indian tourists visited Jordan in 2009, following the opening of a JTB office in New Delhi last April.

Last year, the government unveiled several measures to target emerging tourist markets in order to mitigate the impact of the global downturn in the sector.

Under the measures, citizens of India are no longer required to apply for a visa at a Jordanian embassy in their country and groups and individuals travelling to the Kingdom through tour operators can receive a visa upon arrival.

“The Indian market is a very important part of the Asian market, particularly since the Indian economy has not been negatively affected by the global financial crisis,” Fayez told The Jordan Times in a phone interview yesterday.

As part of promotions in India, JTB’s office in New Delhi participated in the “Fourth World Gujarati Conference” that took place in Ahmedabad recently.

Despite a global downturn in the tourism industry in 2009, the Kingdom’s tourism sector weathered the impact of the financial crisis and practically sustained what was considered a benchmark year in 2008.

Figures released by the Central Bank of Jordan last month showed a 1.2 per cent drop in 2009 tourism revenues, which stood at JD2.064 billion, compared with JD2.089 billion in the preceding year.

Also, the number of visitors witnessed a 0.2 per cent drop in 2009, standing at 7,084,552 compared with 7,100,483 in 2008.

Ministry of Tourism figures showed an increase in the number of overnight visitors, which rose by 1.6 per cent to 3,788,891, up from 3,728,724 the year before, while the number of same-day tourists declined by 2.3 per cent to 3,295,660.

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News From Countries Motorcycle tourism in Jordan The USAID-Jordan Tourism Development Project (JTDP) extended a grant to the Jordan Motorcycle Club to encourage inbound and domestic tourism on motorcycles.

The two institutions will also work to cater to motorcycle enthusiasts visiting the Kingdom and coordinate with regional motorcycle clubs for events and tours, according to the grant.

The club, which is operated by the Jordan Motorcycle Association (JMA), will work with the US-based Motorcycle Safety Foundation to establish safety standards – such as proper road behaviour and requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets – and develop a training course for motorcyclists.

The Kingdom is replete with winding scenic roads passing archaeological and natural sites away from major highways, the perfect routes for motorcycle rides to highlight the country as an “open-air museum”, according to JMA Secretary General Raja Gargour.

“We have the most beautiful natural scenery on Earth. How better to see them than in the open air rather than in the confines of a bus or a car?”

Gargour said.

“The road from Wadi Feinan to Petra is stunning, and the road from the Dead Sea to Karak is as if you’re driving along the Grand Canyon,” he said, describing back-roads in green areas such as Ajloun and Jerash as the “perfect destination” for motorcycle enthusiasts from the Arabian Gulf.

According to the grant agreement, USAID-JTDP will also help the club develop a website to link with similar associations and transform the JMC into a new tourism product to offer activities and “adventure experiences”.

“Supporting motorcycle tourism will help diversify the tourism offering in Jordan and attract a niche market of visitors to the country, in addition to promoting a new way to explore Jordan’s amazing sites to locals,” said Ibrahim Osta, chief of party of USAID-JTDP. Through cooperation with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation, the JMA will develop safety manuals and initiate a training of trainers programme according to international standards in order to provide lessons for drivers and aspiring club members.

Once certified, riders will obtain a licence enabling them to import and ride motorcycles with engine sizes above current national limits, according to the association. Should riders commit traffic violations, such as improper riding behaviour or driving without a helmet, the club would revoke their membership, Gargour noted.

Kuwait Kuwait- Syrian cooperation in hotel investment The Kuwaiti Hotel Management Company Safir signed with al-Sahmi Tourist Investment Company a cooperation agreement, whereby the Kuwaiti side assumes the management of a 5-star hotel under construction in Aleppo.

Regional Director of Safir Company Najib Saad said the move stems from the importance of Aleppo and its promising future on the tourist map, along with its rich archeological sites.

Safir is a branch of the Kuwaiti Hotels Company. It manages a series of hotels in Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Amman, and seeks to expand towards Morocco, UAE, Sudan, Iran, Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey and India.

Lebanon Two million tourists to visited Lebanon Tourism Minister of Lebanon Faddi Abboud said the number of tourists to Lebanon to reach two million at the end of 2009. In a statement to the press, Abboud said this number could even rise further in the future if a sustainable tourism plan is adopted by the government.

Lebanon saw a record number of Lebanese, Arab and European visitors this summer, despite the biting global recession which hit the EU and several oil-rich Gulf states.

Tourism represents a big chunk of the country’s GDP. Abboud, an industrialist by practice, believes that tourists could be enticed to visit the country 365 days a year in 2010 if a proper and full-proof plan to promote tourism is adopted.

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“Arab tourists represent now 50 percent of the total visitors to Lebanon and they have become the main driving force for the tourism industry here,” Abboud said.

He added that many tourists have arrived in the month of December and intend to spend Christmas and New Year eve in Beirut and the mountains.

He added that the Europeans now represent 21 percent of the total number of visitors to Lebanon and this is a significant figure.

Abboud also pointed to a considerable rise in the number of tourists from the Far East, most notably from China.

The minister said that many middle class tourists from Europe and Asia have attended musical concerts in Lebanon during the summer season.

Beirut hotel-occupancy rate at 73 percent Ernst & Young’s benchmark survey of the Middle East hotel sector indicated that the occupancy rate at hotels in Beirut was 73 percent in 2009, up from 55 percent in 2008, as reported by Lebanon This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group.

The occupancy rate at Beirut hotels was the sixth highest among 21 markets in the region, compared to being the lowest in 2008. Beirut posted the highest growth in occupancy rates in the region, but this was largely due to the fact that occupancy rates in Beirut hotels were low in the first half of 2008. The survey said the average rate per room at Beirut hotels was $234 in 2009, ranking the capital’s hotels as the eighth most expensive in the region, behind Muscat, Makkah, Kuwait City, Manama, Doha, Abu Dhabi and the Dubai-Beach sub-market.

The average rate per room at Beirut hotels increased by 26.5 percent to $234 year-on-year and posted the highest increase among all markets in the region. The average rate per room in Beirut came above the regional average of $195, which declined by 5.8 percent from $207 in 2008.

The average room rate in Beirut reached $273 in December 2009, unchanged from November and relative to $254 in December 2008.

Occupancy rates at Beirut hotels were 87 percent in July 2009, 75 percent in August, 71 percent in September, 85 percent in October, 79 percent in November and 75 percent in December 2009, compared to 74 percent in July, 90 percent in August, 48 percent in September, 83 percent in October, 71 percent in November and 81 percent in December 2008. Beirut hotels posted the third-highest occupancy rate in December along with Dubai-apartments and behind Dubai and the Dubai-Beach sub-market.

Furthermore, revenues-per-available room (RevPAR) were $172 in Beirut in 2009, up from $103 in 2008, ranking it in fourth-place in the region after Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai-Beach. Beirut’s RevPAR was up 67 percent year-on-year, posting the highest rise in the region, and compared to an average decline of 11.2 percent across the region. Beirut posted RevPARs of $281 in July, $242 in August, $162 in September, $165 in October, $218 in November and $205 in December 2009 compared to $156 in July, $216 in August, $84 in September, $91 in October, $131 in November and $208 in December 2008.

Dubai-Beach posted the highest average room rate in the region at $309, the highest RevPAR at $257 and the highest occupancy rate at 83 percent in 2009.

Libya Libya Expeditions announces new 2010 Libya Adventure Tours Libya Expeditions, Libya’s leading tour operator and travel adventure specialist, today announced the addition of two highly anticipated Libya desert adventure tours to its holiday package line-up for Spring and Fall 2010 – the 12 day introductory “Libya Desert Explorer – Ubari Lakes” and the 14 day Sahara adventure, “Libya Odyssey – Into the Desert.”

The North African country of Libya, long shrouded in mystery, has earned a cult reputation in recent years among adventure enthusiasts and the discerning cultural traveler looking for more than the usual “sun, sea, and sand” destination. Long a crossroads of ancient civilizations, Libya is an incredible land of majestic classical ruins and awe-inspiring desert landscapes and is home to five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The Roman ruins of Leptis Magna and Sabratha; the Hellenic ruins of Cyrene; the desert town of Ghadames; and the Rock-Art Sites of the freakish Tadrart Akakus.

May 2010 17

News From Countries “Customers demanded, and we delivered,” said Ryad Sunusi, Libya Expeditions Founder and CEO. “Libya is one of the most beautiful and magical travel destinations in the world, and we are pleased to offer travelers an opportunity to get off the beaten track and experience the incredible scenery and other-worldly landscapes of the Libyan Desert.”

“Libya Desert Explorer – Ubari Lakes” takes you deep into the heart of the Sahara and into serene landscapes of outstanding beauty, a land often described as “touched by the Gods.” Places visited include Germa; desert capital of the mysterious Garamantian Empire; the tranquil and gorgeous Ubari Lakes; the Metkhandoush Valley and its open art gallery of Neolithic Rock-Art; and the magnificent and foreboding Tadrart Akakus; a landscape reminiscent of an alien planet, with its bizarre rock formations, wadis, and cave art. From $2,230 per person, double occupancy, Land Only.

“Libya Odyssey – Into the Desert” takes the journey even further, venturing into one of the most amazing and remote places on Earth – Waw Al-Namus, an extinct volcano that rises out of the desert sands and is awe-inspiring in its solitary splendor. From $2,570 per person, double occupancy, Land Only.

Libya recently announced an ambitious strategy to attract 1.5 Million tourists annually by 2012; and to that effect, loosened tourist visa procedures so visas for most nationalities can be obtained on arrival. Top countries sending tourists to Libya are Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Canada, and the UK.

Mauritania Sudan and Mauritania ink 15 cooperation agreements Sudan and Mauritania signed 15 cooperation agreements between the two countries.

The 15 agreements and memorandum of understanding covering the areas of infrastructure, sports, justice, social protection and the free movement of goods and people between the two countries were signed by the Mauritanian and Sudanese ministers in charge of international cooperation.

These agreements deal with trade, ports facilities, the judiciary, youth and sports. Further, the two countries decided to establish a bank in Mauritania to encourage private investments. Were also signed several agreements between the businessmen of both countries on projects for the establishment of a sugar factory, a five-star hotel and shopping mall in Nouakchott .

Morocco Moroccan Travel Market successfully held in Marrakech Moroccan Travel Market, the international Fair for tourism professionals held for the 3rd time from the 14th to 17th January 2010 in Marrakech.

MTM, which combines Business and meetings in an incredible and festive framework in the magical city of Marrakech, was a success for many exhibitors.

Despite the global economic downturn Morocco saw a 6 percent rise in the number of visitors to 8.35 million in 2009, while numbers fell in rival holiday destinations Tunisia and Spain. Government and industry officials are forecasting a further 10 percent growth in numbers for 2010.

‘We aim to realise growth of 10 percent, or three times the world trend that is forecast,’ said newly-appointed Tourism Minister Yassir Znagui at MTM. Although last year income from tourism dropped by 5.7 per cent to 52.4 billion dirhams despite higher visitor numbers, the government expects to see that trend reverse in 2010.

The MTM fair welcomed more than 13,000 visitors from Europe, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Americas.

18 May 2010

Oman Oman eyes more tourists from UAE The Sultanate of Oman has setup a tourism promotion office in Dubai, as flow of tourism to the sultanate has picked up momentum in recent years.

“For the Sultanate of Oman, the UAE is very strong market with rising tourist arrivals. In order to tap this market Oman has opened an office here for better marketing and coordination,” said Khalid Al Zadjali, Oman’s acting Director of Tourism Events Department.

He said that the travel and tourism sector is set to achieve annualised growth of 7.8 per cent per annum, in real terms, over the next ten years

Oman aims to become world class tourist destination Oman Tourism is currently identifying new international markets to appeal to. During the past decade, Oman’s tourism industry rapidly expanded and became one of the Sultanate’s most pivotal non-oil sectors, specialising in eco-tourism and first class tourism.

Usama Bin Karim Al Haremi of Oman Air’s Corporate Communications and Media said that in light of this success, the tourism industry became one of the top targets of the Omani long-term socio-economic plan, namely, “Oman 2020″. The ministry of Tourism and Oman Air he added, continue to promote the Sultanate as a high quality destination aimed primarily at responsible tourists. Through aggressive marketing campaigns and improved infrastructure, Oman has raised the industry’s contribution to GDP from one to nearly three percent in 2008.

He informed that Business Monitor International (BMI), a leading UK print and online publisher of specialist business information on global emerging markets, has recently published its Oman Tourism Report 2009.

The summary reads, Oman might still lay claim to being one of the ‘great undiscovered destinations’ but that position is very likely to change in the coming years. While tourism – at least from countries outside the Arabian Gulf region – is still only new, there has been a successful effort to build the profile and attract visitors to this once closed nation.

Oman has smaller oil and gas reserves than many of its neighbours and consequently has had to face the challenge of diversifying its economy earlier than most. Tourism was identified several years ago as one of the new industries on which the Sultanate will invest. Funds have been allocated both to infrastructure within the country and marketing efforts overseas. The most recent initiative is a regional one. Iran and Oman have entered into an agreement to promote tourism between the two countries and to undertake joint promotions to third countries.

Oman plans to attract 12 million visitors annually by 2020, an almost fourfold increase on the current level. The focal point for decision-making is how it can achieve this increase while maintaining the ‘authentic’ character of the Sultanate.

New cruise terminal opened in Oman Oman’s first ultra modern passenger cruise terminal, which is a joint venture of Ministry of Transport and Communication, Ministry of Tourism and Port Services Corporation, was opened at Port Sultan Qaboos (PSQ) with Costa Deliziosa — a brand new vessel from the Costa Crociere stable — becoming the first cruise liner to call at the 3,300sqm terminal.

The terminal has been built at a cost of RO2.7 million. More than 300,000 tourists are expected to arrive at the port this year, while a total of 84 cruise vessels have already called at the port in 2009.

The terminal has a quay — landing place — length of up to 470 metres and has 11 to 13 metres draft — the depth to which a vessel is immersed when bearing a given load — for ships of all sizes.

The ground floor hosts the arrival and departure halls, immigration, coffee shop, Internet café, tourism office, shipping and travel agencies, baggage counter, customs. A money changer and an ATM are expected to open soon.

Duty-free and coffee shops and handicraft shops are located on the first floor.

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News From Countries

Palestine Palestinian cycle tourism project

Qatar Qatar Royal Family buys five-star hotel in Turkey Qatar royal family has bought a five-star hotel in Marmaris town of southwestern province of Mugla. The company owned by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Ahmad Ali al-Thani bought Munamar Hotel in Icmeler hamlet in Marmaris, officials said. Al-Maselah Construction and Industry Co. paid 22 million Turkish lira for the hotel. (One dollar equals 1.48 TL). Munamar Hotel has totally 180 rooms including 13 suites and 2 king suites.

Tourism representatives discussed marketing strategy in Doha

Palestine A Palestinian peace project has launched a series of cycle tours aimed at showing visitors the full range of the nation’s culture. Tours start 25th April, 26th September and 3rd October 2010.From Jenin to Jerusalem A day by day breakdown, Day 1: Saturday: Arrival.On arrival at Ben Gurion Airport the Siraj Centre representative will transfer you to your hotel in Jenin. We will tour Jenin and take coffee in one of the numerous coffee bars. Accommodation will be at Hadad resort village outside of Jenin. Dinner and orientation.

Day 2: Sunday Jenin to Nablus .Cycle from Jenin towards Sabastya, ancient Canaanite, Hellenistic and Roman city. Sabastya is believed to be the place where John the Baptist was beheaded. Lunch in Sabastya then tour the ancient city and meet with the local community. After lunch we cycle to Nabulus, tour the old city and enjoy a Turkish bath. Dinner and overnight in the Al- Yasmin hotel- in the old city of Nabulus Day 3: Monday. Nablus to Taybeh.Cycle to Taybeh. There we’ll tour the old village and St. George’s Church. Then we’ll visit the Peace Lantern factory, the beer factory and enjoy dinner with local families. We’ll stay overnight in the Church guesthouse in Taybeh.

Day 4: Tuesday. Taybeh to Jericho and the Dead Sea. Cycle to Jericho.

Visit Hisham’s Palace and the Mount of Temptation. Then cycle through the Jerusalem Wilderness to the Dead Sea. Dinner and overnight in the Jericho resort village.

Day 5: Wednesday Bethlehem . Cycle to Bethlehem. Visit Nabi Musa then take the dirt road to Mar Saba Monastery. Enjoy the wilderness and experience the landscape. After visiting Mar Saba Monastery we’ll cycle to Bethlehem. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem. Accommodation will be in the Golden Park Resort Hotel in Beit Sahour.

Day 6: Thursday Bethlehem to Hebron . Cycle around Bethlehem. Visit the Church of the Nativity and the Shepherd’s Field. In the afternoon we’ll cycle to Hebron and visit the old city. Dinner and overnight in Bethlehem Farewell party and Debkeh dance event in the tent restaurant.

Day 7: Friday Departure. Optional trip to the Souk in East Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre Siraj is a non-governmental non-profit organisation based in Beit Sahour, Palestine. They aim to create links between Palestinian people and people from around the globe through educational tourism, interfaith and ecumenical dialogue

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A three-day tourism marketing training workshop organized by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) at the Millennium Hotel in Doha. Seventy industry representatives from countries around the region including Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia and the Arab League took part in the sessions.

The program kicked off with a brief welcome and opening remarks by Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority. “The world has recently seen a number of changes and crises which have adversely affected the tourism industry and as a result, both government and private sectors have shouldered a heavy burden,” said Mr. Al Nuaimi. “Experience has shown that intensifying efforts in tourism marketing and developing promotional schemes have largely contributed to remedying repercussions of any crisis or challenges facing the industry.”

Mr. Amr Abdel-Ghaffar, Regional Representative for the Middle East UNWTO, followed Mr. Al Nuaimi’s addressed the attendees: “International tourism is one of the most important social and economic phenomena in this day and age as a billion-dollar industry generating economic growth, investment, employment and foreign trade.”

Mr. Abdel-Ghaffar added, “Our region’s remarkable performance in the tourism industry over the past decade is the result of sustained efforts on behalf of national tourism administrations to improve domestic tourism infrastructure and strengthen promotion and marketing activities.”

“We expect that tourism in the Arab world will far surpass anticipated growth in international tourism, and as such, the UNWTO understands the importance of supporting national administrations dedicated to tourism marketing.”

Qatar’s $23b rail project to be completed in 2026 Qatar aims to have most of a 17 billion euro ($22.79 billion) rail project with Deutsche Bahn built by 2022, officials said recently after signing one of the biggest-ever foreign deals for German industry. The whole project – which includes freight and passenger trains and a metro – is expected to be completed in 2026.

But a major portion of the work will be completed by 2022, when Qatar hopes to host the FIFA World Cup, officials said.

Qatar also aims to build a connection to neighboring Saudi Arabia via a 40-kilometer causeway, one of the world’s longest, to Bahrain, according to a report quoted to foreign agencies and published today by the Jeddahbased Saudi Gazette.

The network will integrate Qatar’s east coast rail link, a passenger and freight railway line, and connect oil and natural gas hub Ras Laffan in the north with the refinery town of Mesaieed in the south, via Doha, and a high-speed link between the new Doha international airport and the city’s centre.

The network will also connect to Bahrain via the Qatar-Bahrain causeway, a freight rail link based on the Gulf Arab rail network and Doha Expressway studies, a comprehensive Doha Metro Network, based on the Qatar Transport Master Plan and multiple light rail people mover networks in Lusail, Education City and West Bay. Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Deutsche Bahn AG will develop a metro system in Qatar’s capital, a national railroad network for passenger and freight traffic, and a long-distance connection to neighboring Bahrain.

Qatar is world’s biggest exporter of LNG with economic growth expected at 9 percent this year. It spends billions on infrastructure.

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News From Countries

Saudi Arabia Saudi tourism generates SR70b revenue The Saudi tourism sector has generated revenue of SR70 billion and has contributed 6.5 percent to the country’s GDP growth, said Abdullah Bin Sulaiman Al-Jehani, Vice President for Marketing and Media in the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA).

Al-Jehani said the number of tourism facilities in Saudi Arabia has reached 40,000 which together have provided employment to 445,000 Saudi nationals.

Al-Jehani was speaking on the eve of a forum organized by the Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Market (STTIM).

“We are talking about a tourism industry that has generated revenue of SR70 billion,” he said quoting a report by the Tourism Information and Research Center (MAS), an arm of SCTA. Al-Jehani, who is also head of the STTIM Steering Committee, said the theme of this year’s forum, “Tourism and employment”, distinctively focuses on employment strategies in the tourism sector.

Four Million Umrah pilgrims expected in 2010 Over four million foreign pilgrims are expected to come to Makkah for Umrah during 2010. This is according to the National Committee for Haj and Umrah that released information estimating a 15 percent year on year increase in pilgrims this year, a number that had grown by 8.93 percent in 2009 to 3.3 million from 3.1 million in 2008.

“We have high hopes for 2010 and are well placed to welcome guests to the holy city of Makkah,” said Omar Boujlid, general manager of Mövenpick Hotel & Residence Hajar Tower Makkah. “Following the global market stagnation observed in 2009, this year we have so far witnessed strong demand and have welcomed many new guests looking to experience a calming, spiritual stay in the Holy City.”

Boujlid expects elevated occupancy rates when the Umrah season commences at the end of February, paving the way for solid demand during the rest of the year.

To meet this demand, Boujlid noted that another 129 rooms have been added to bring the hotel’s room capacity to 412 high-end rooms.

Bin Laden is building the highest hotel in the world Saudi Arabia will be put into operation a skyscraper Makkah Clock Royal Tower, whose height will be 577 meters. There will be a hotel, which will rank the highest in the world.

Currently, the highest skyscraper is the recently opened Rose Rayhaan in Dubai, whose height reaches 333 meters, says Arabian Business.

Saudi Bin Laden Group is the company, which build the 76-storey skyscraper Makkah Clock Royal Tower. The hotel will comprise 858 rooms, and also will have a huge clock, which will be visible from a distance of 17 km, a lunar observatory and the museum of Islam.

First Doubletree by Hilton Hotel management agreement signed in Saudi Arabia Hilton Worldwide announced the signing of a management agreement with Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Trading Group for the first Doubletree

by Hilton in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Al Khobar.

The 304-room new build Doubletree by Hilton, Al Khobar will be located in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province and is set to open in Q4 2012. This latest deal reinforces additional Doubletree by Hilton hotel openings already scheduled for Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar, Tanzania in Q4 2009 and Ras Al Khaimah, UAE in mid-2010.

“The Eastern Province is the industrial heart of the Kingdom’s oil and petrochemical industries, resulting in ever-increasing business opportunities and an exponential growth in the number of international and regional visitors. Domestic tourism is also on the rise. As a result, hotel accommodations are in great demand. Given that Saudi Arabia is a key development market for us, we are delighted to have signed this management agreement with Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Almousa Trading Group to further the growth of the Doubletree by Hilton brand in this region,” said Jean-Paul Herzog, President, Hilton Worldwide, Middle East & Africa.

20 May 2010

Somalia Direct flights to Somalia from Nairobi The two-hour flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)

by East African Safari Air Express cuts down the 12-hour journey of connecting flights to Hargeisa, the capital of the semi-autonomous region in northern Somalia. The twice a week flight is bound to spur regional integration and trade. Speaking while receiving the chartered flight at Hargeisa Egal International Airport at the weekend, Mr Hussein Ali Duale, minister of Finance of Somaliland, said the development will open the country to trade from the East African Community. “We used to fly for 12 hours from Nairobi to Dubai via Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Sometimes we were taking up to two days. But with the launch of the direct flight, we will be travelling for only two hours,” he said.

East African Safari Air Express Commercial director George Kivindyo said the airline is the first Kenyan carrier to fly directly from JKIA to the former British Somaliland protectorate. “We are going to save them more than eight hours they used to travel before we made the bold move,” he said.

He said the airline would be make stop overs at Wajir International Airport on return from Somaliland as directed by the Kenyan government requiring all airlines from Somali to make a stop over at Wajir for security reasons.

Somaliland Director of Aviation, Said Mahdi Ileye said the launch followed a Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) signed between the two countries last year.

Somaliland has considerable economic potential but violence in Somalia has made it lag behind.

Syria Syria tourist number increases by 12 Percent in 2009 Syrian Ministry of Tourism on Saturday announced that the number of tourists who visited Syria increased in 2009 by 12 percent in comparison to 2008.

The Ministry pointed out that Syria was able to overcome the consequences of the global economic crisis as the number of tourists who visited the country increased by 12 percent.

According to the records of the Ministry of Interior 16 percent of the tourists who visited Syria in 2009 were Europeans while 32 percent were Turks.

6, 091, 889 foreign and Arab tourists visited Syria in 2009 in comparison with 5, 430, 181 tourists in 2008.

The Ministry said that the number of Arab and foreign tourists who visited Syria in 2009 without the Syrian expatriates was 5, 026, 952 tourists in comparison with 4, 471, 442 tourists in 2008.

The increase in the number of tourists in 2009 came as a result of promotion campaigns launched by the Ministry of Tourism during the last two years.

According to the estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, the number of the tourists who came from the Arab Gulf States increased by 18 percent in 2009 as it hit 764, 309 tourists in comparison with 659, 269 tourists in 2008.

The total number of the Arab tourists increased by 8 percent in 2009 as it reached 3, 590, 273 tourists in comparison with 3, 311, 010 tourists in 2008 .

The number of the European tourists who visited Syria in 2009 amounted to 772, 031 tourists in comparison with 618, 272 in 2008 with an increase of 25 percent.

25percent of the European tourists were from Italy, 25percent from France, 26 percent from England, 11 percent from Germany, 14 percent from Spain, 16 percent from Russia, 31 percent from Holland and 24 percent from Sweden.

The number of the foreign tourists in 2009 including the European ones reached 1, 436, 679 tourists in comparison with 1, 160, 433 tourists in 2008 with an increase of 24 percent.

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News From Countries

Tunisia Tunisian quickly becoming attractive health tourism destination Tunisian towns and resorts are slowing transforming into prominent therapy centers, making the country a health tourism destination that attracts people who seek relaxation, treatment or plastic surgery from around the world.

The government is seeking to place Tunisia on the world’s health tourism map, and has made the export of health services a goal for 2016. In this spirit, health institutions have begun in recent years to market themselves as a health tourism destination, and quickly ranked second after France in mineral spring water treatment, and second among African nations in sea water treatment.

Estimates indicate that the number of health tourists came to 250,000 in 2009.

The quality of medical services and high technology have opened up new horizons for Tunisia in this field, and the country is now hosting large numbers of visitors from the region and Europe. Some 3,000 British nationals come every year for surgery; organ transplants, kidney and heart conditions, plastic surgery, vision correction, cornea transplants.

According to statistics released by the Ministry of Tourism, some 150,000 people visited Tunisia for treatment and relaxation in 2008, compared to 111, 000 in 2007. Only 42,000 such visitors came to the country in 2003.

Along these lines, the government’s strategy is encouraging the construction of comprehensive health cities – complete with specialized centers, hospitals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical production, and labs – as well as the diversification of services. In partnership with the private sector, some 17 centers will be constructed. The strategy also incorporates expanding beyond the regional and European markets to Canada, the US, Russia, China and the Gulf.

Tunisian Medical Tourism attracts 250,000 patients In a survey published in the French edition of the January-February issue, “African Business” reports that 250, 000 foreign patients came to Tunisia in 2009 for treatment, including from Libya, Algeria and sub-Saharan Africa.

The survey writes that 70% (about 4 million people each year) of Libyans came for medical care.

Patients from sub-Saharan Africa, who represent 12% of medical tourists in Tunisia come from Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali and Burundi.

Westerners, who represent 18%, come to Tunisia for cosmetic surgeries, including plastic surgery. 3, 000 European patients visited Tunisia in 2008.

Tunisia ’s attraction as a medical tourism destination is explained by “the positioning of Tunisia which is close to the West, the high level of Tunisian plastic surgeons and the cost of surgery, which remain cheaper than in Europe”. For example “breast augmentation or liposuction account for 40 to 50% cheaper than in Europe” said the spokesman of the Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies to “African Business”.

The survey adds that medical tourism, “a source of significant currency for Tunisia”, holds 5% of the country’s exports of services. It represents 24% of turnover of private clinics, amounting to 175 million Euros.

Patients spend on average 4000 Euros, whereas the standard tourist only spends 300 Euros.

Tunisia attracts an increasing number of British, Germans, Italians, French, Belgians, Swiss, Portuguese, and Spaniards. The number of foreign patients having been treated in private Tunisian clinics has witenessed an expotential growth in the last five years.

According to the International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ), “Medical tourism in Tunisia has become the country’s second highest foreign currency earner, and the second largest employer. Most of the 8000 doctors were trained in Europe or America, so they meet Western standards. Prices are 40% to 60% less expensive than those in Western Europe, even allowing for a stay of one week. Its proximity to Europe makes Tunisia an attractive alternative to India and Thailand, for those who want to avoid long-haul flights”.

22 May 2010

Tunisia ranked 2nd destination According to the website,”quotidiendutourisme.com” “Leclerc Voyages”, one of the largest French online travel agencies has recently announced that Tunisia was ranked second destination by the travel agent’s customers.

France ranks first on Leclerc’s list of favorite destinations with 35% of the total number of passengers, Tunisia is second (13%), followed by Morocco (8%), and continental Spain (7%).

Tunisia which was recently ranked as one of the top 5 most attractive tourist destinations for French tourists, attracts about 1 million French tourists each year, representing the largest contingent of European tourists.

Turkey Turkey tops the list of 2010 holiday destinations The first shots of a package holiday price war have been fired with tour companies offering a host of discounts as they attempt to capitalise on a recovering market. Bookings for the top 20 summer 2010 destinations have increased sharply over the past three months, according to the Cooperative Travel company.

The Turkish resort of Dalaman has seen an 82 per cent increase in bookings and has taken over from Majorca as the number one holiday destination for UK travellers in 2010. Majorca is in second place, with Orlando in Florida third, the Spanish Costa Blanca fourth and the Greek island of Crete fifth.

Other destinations high on the booking list include Bodrum in Turkey, Ibiza and Larnaca in Cyprus.

Trevor Davis, director of retail distribution at Co-operative Travel, said: “As the holiday sector recovers, the battle for bookers will intensify, with companies seeking to increase their market share after a challenging 12 months.”

Meanwhile, holiday company Thomas Cook launched a new advertising campaign today.

It coincides with a survey by the company that revealed that people put foreign holidays higher in their “must have” list than eating out, home improvements, buying new clothes or UK breaks.

Thomas Cook predicted Turkey would be the in-place to visit in 2010, with Egypt, Majorca, Tenerife and Cyprus all expected to do well too.

Travel agency Going Places said it was launching an early-booking offer for Airtours’ holidays tomorrow.

There will be savings of up to £200 per booking for those booking before 4 February, 2010.

Direct Holidays is offering £100 off prices and child-goes-free deals for those booking before 31 January, 2010, on selected holidays.

The company is also offering an additional £50 off winter 2010-11 breaks for early bookers.

Latest figures from Shearings Holidays reveal that bookings for next year’s UK breaks have increased by more than 95 per cent in some regions, with locations that have been showcased in the latest barrage of British holiday TV shows proving to be among the biggest winners.

Caroline Brown, commercial director for Shearings, said: “Programmes such as John Sergeant On The Tourist Trail, Martin Clunes’ Islands Of Britain and Alexander Armstrong’s Very British Holiday have reignited people’s love of Britain.

“Screen locations are always popular with tourists and the trend for UK holiday programmes has encouraged people to have a closer look at holiday destinations in the UK.” Meanwhile, another study found that more than half of those who spent their holiday at home in the UK this year are planning on making up for it by flying abroad in 2010.

Fifty-six per cent said they plan on escaping British shores to head for sun, sea and warmer climates next year. Spain, US and France emerged as their desired travel hotspots.

Nick Trend of travel website www.simonseeks.com said: “It reveals a real determination to travel, especially among those who didn’t take a holiday overseas in 2009, but it also made clear that keeping a tight grip on budget was a clear priority for many people.”

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News From Countries Turkey spent 3 days of success at the GIBTM Abu Dhabi 2010 Turkey appeared with a strong presence at the Gulf Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM2010), a business travel exhibition for the meeting, conference and incentives industry which was held from 29 – 31 March 2010 at the National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi.

For the first time participating in this event and between another 40 countries and over 250 exhibitors from the region and all over the world, Turkey had a lot of opportunities to provide to its visitors.

By virtue of possessing a significant historical and cultural heritage, Turkey has positioned itself as a door of amazing possibilities. Turkey where Europe and Asia meet has become an ideal destination for Congresses and Incentive Travel for many regional and multinational companies with a wide range of accommodation and congress facilities.

It is never a problem to find meeting rooms equipped with the latest technology and everything necessary to meet perfectly the needs of different sorts and sizes of productive gatherings. All meetings can be comfortably and pleasurably arranged in Turkey’s delightful resorts. In these resorts there can be found four- and five-star hotels, holiday villages, boutique hotels and fully-equipped congress centers that all boast the highest standards plus friendly professional service and traditional Turkish hospitality. Wonderful hotels and restaurants, thoughtfully restored, offer the opportunity to try local dishes including the unique richness and authentic tastes of Turkish-Ottoman cuisine plus Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. To all of this should be added a wonderful climate, non-stop entertainment and interesting excursions.

Because of its proximity to Europe and the convenience of flying with Turkish Airlines as well as growing number of regional airlines from the GCC, amongst others, to large cities in the United States, Middle east and asia, Turkey has become the country of choice for meetings, congresses, conferences, exhibitions and fairs.

The most important destinations in terms of Congress Travel are: Ankara, Antalya, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Izmir, Konya, and Marmaris.

Amongst the internationally important events that took place in Turkey in recent years were: the Geo-Thermal Congress, the Universiade, a NATO Summit, Formula One race and the Champions League Final, the ITU Telecommunications Conference, the 17th World Accounts Congress, the UPAV Belgian Travel Agents Union Committee, the European Oncology Union Congress and the European Guides Union Committee Meeting.

Situated on the doorstep of the world Turkey offers large organizations a comprehensive professionalism plus dynamic and exciting new opportunities.

Turkey is a major attraction for international inbound tourism. Projections made on the Turkish tourism sector point out the need for huge new investments, particularly in infrastructure and accommodation. According to the Tourism Investors Association (TYD) $10 billion investments for hotels, marinas, golf courses and shopping centers only, disregarding infrastructure work, will be required in the next five years.

Currently tourism in Turkey is largely concentrated in the seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean coasts offering visitors the 3S’s: the sun, the sea and the sand. Also Istanbul stands out as the most popular city for tourists coming to Turkey. Seventy five percent of available facilities are in the coastal tourist centers and in Istanbul.

Turkey is seeking to develop a broader tourism industry to ensure healthy and sustainable development. In line with world tourism trends, it is adopting a new strategy to promote tourism offerings based on the Education-Entertainment-Environment concept instead of the SunSea-Sand triangle. It plans to utilize its untapped tourism potential by diversifying into new areas such as golf, yachting, thermal, winter, M.I.C.E (meetings+incentives+conventions+exhibitions), and faith tourism. This will also help the tourism sector contribute to the economy in additional seasons.

Kasr-i Nehroz: A fabulous hotel in the legend city Kasr-ı Nehroz… A dignified, strong building which witnessed to most of the periods of the history of 1200 years…

It seems as if it promises to tell mysterious stories at first sight with its epic silhouette, its noble form which evokes a medallion, its proud walls which try to keep away itself from the unsteadiness of the Middle Age and its two towers that rise upright as if it challenges the changing ages…

Kasr-ı Nehroz will open the way for Midyat to become a new focal point of departure and accommodation for the trips organized to the region with its wide touristic hinterland and its historical beauties. The alternative trips centring Midyat would help countless nearby historical wealth come to light.

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Kasr-i Nehroz This summer place was used by one of the first Muslim families as home for 260 years in Midyat, where Syrian lived for centuries. 1200 years ago the summer place was built with its two bastions in style of a church and was used as Assyrian church for many years. In 1750 the Assyrians invited the Nehroz to Midyat to avoid the attacks of the tribes around. So the neighborhood and the house, where the Nehroz moved in, were called by their name.

After the Nehroz summer place had been used as home by the Nehroz (Yenigün) family throughout centuries, the place was renovated in 2009 in a regional architectural style as Kasr-ı Nehroz Boutique Hotel and opened its doors to new guests. In the room, where the women of the Yenigün family made butter in churns years ago, a lot of goods and accessories used by the family are displayed. The small children of that time who have today grandchildren played in the yard. During converting the summer place into Kasr-ı Nehroz special attention was paid to maintain the warm ambiance and home life.

Biggest tourism investment of Cyprus by Cratos Premium Hotel Turkish construction company; BOZGROUP announced the biggest tourism investment of both Turkish Republic of North Cyprus and Republic of Cyprus.

Cratos Premium Hotel

Using only its own equity capital, BOZGROUP invested US$220 million for a hotel project – Cratos Premium Hotel – Casino – Port – Spa located in Kyrenia (Girne), Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC). The hotel is expected to open officially beginning of June 2010 and make a soft opening mid of May. BOZGROUP organized a press conference at Four Seasons Bosphorus in Istanbul on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. Boz Group’s vice chairman, Murat Bozoglu said, “They used to say that investing in Cyprus is just like writing on ice. We are going to change that belief with Cratos Premium”.

Ozer Diler, General Manager of the hotel said that Cratos Premium is the first Premium Hotel of the island [Cyprus]. “We have used best of the best equipment, design elements and you will find world’s most famous brands at every corner of the hotel” said Mr. Diler. Mr. Diler also stated that the casino has the latest machines such that guests may not see many of them in Las Vegas or Monaco casinos.

The hotel has 10 King suites, 410 premium rooms that half of them are suites. The guest rooms are decorated in 35 different designs.

May 2010 23

News From Countries STR Global posts Middle East/Africa february 2010 results

Cratos Premium Hotel The hotel has 14 meeting rooms and a big ballroom. Beside the hotel’s main restaurant, guests can also dine at 14 fine dining and gourmet restaurants within the Cratos Premium. Guests can enjoy their stay at 24 hours open beach club and at 1 km long private beach. The hotel has also an island named ‘Nu Island’ where VIP guests can have a relaxing spa and wellness retreat.

Guests that enjoy gambling must see Cratos Casino where will serve its guests with over 250 slot machines, 35 live table games, and a big Jackpot where all tables are linked.

Guests can be picked up from airport with luxurious vehicles including Rolls Royce, 2 different types of Hummer and Chrysler limousines, Bentley, Mercedes and Jaguar.

The promotional fares will continue till next year and rooms can be booked from 100 euro to 5,000 euro.

Travelers can fly to Ercan Airport in TRNC from several airports in Turkey or use ferry from Alanya.

U.A.E 60% of Abu Dhabi’s international visitors new to Emirate Some 60% of international visitor arrivals in Abu Dhabi are guests making their first trip to the emirate, according to an Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) survey, and 87% would consider returning.

The interim ADTA report, based on interviews during the final quarter of 2009, is part of a year-long visitor profiling exercise, which saw 1,100 international overnight guests answer a range of questions as they visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the emirate’s shopping malls, hotels and other important attractions.

“The survey is delivering crucial insights into key inbound tourism drivers,” said Lawrence Franklin, Strategy & Policy Director, ADTA. Almost a third of respondents, (31%) travel with their spouses and friends, 28% were visiting on their own while families made up 16% of the sample surveyed.

“One of the most important results was that 86% enjoyed their stay rating their overall experience as very good or excellent, a massive 92% said they would definitely, or probably, recommend Abu Dhabi to others,” added Franklin.

The study also showed that the average visitor stay was seven days, extending to eight days for those visiting friends and relatives. Business visitors stayed, on average, nine days, and those involved with MICE activities visited for five days.

Some 30% came to the emirate after hearing about it from a friend, 23% had been to the UAE before and returned to explore it more, while 15% had visited the region before and wanted to discover another of its destinations.

More than three quarters of those interviewed (77%) took in Abu Dhabi’s stunning Corniche during their stay, closely followed by shopping malls – 73%, the opulent Emirates Palace hotel with 72% while the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque attracted 46% of the visitors.

In the main, visitors bought souvenirs (48%), while 45% spent money on clothes and 24% opted to take home locally produced date products.

ADTA expects to survey 5,000 visitors in the exercise, which will run until September.

24 May 2010

The Middle East/Africa region reported increases in all three key measurements for February 2010, when reported in U.S. dollars, according to data compiled by STR Global.

The region’s occupancy rose 1.9 percent to 65.7 percent, average daily rate increased 1.7 percent to US$166.18, and revenue per available room grew 3.6 percent to US$109.23.

“The Middle East/Africa region reported its first positive month of RevPAR growth since the second half of 2008—resulting in only a 0.8 percent RevPAR decline for the first two months of this year, which is a marked improvement from a 10 percent RevPAR decline in the 4th quarter 2009”, said Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global.

Highlights among the region’s key markets for February include (yearover-year comparisons, all currency in U.S. dollars): • Dubai, United Arab Emirates, reported the largest occupancy increase, rising 15.9 percent to 86.2 percent, followed by Muscat, Oman, with a 10.0-percent increase to 73.2 percent.

• Abu Dhabi, UAE experienced the largest decreases in all three key metrics. The market’s occupancy fell 31.2 percent to 58.9 percent, ADR dropped 39.9 percent to US$233.03, and RevPAR decreased 58.7 percent to US$137.28.

• Three markets posted ADR increases of more than 20 percent: Beirut, Lebanon (+48.1 percent to US$243.13); Cape Town, South Africa (+33.7 percent to US$163.36); and Johannesburg, South Africa (+29.5 percent to US$100.03).

• Beirut reported the largest RevPAR increase, jumping 42.1 percent to US$169.81.

• Other than Abu Dhabi, two markets posted RevPAR decreases: Muscat (-9.9 percent to US$186.84) and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (-1.1 percent to US$179.73).

UAE moves to improve process for tourist visa Tourists or visitors who require a UAE-based sponsor to enter the country might be looking at an easier visa process in the future.

The Higher Permanent Committee for Finance and Assets of the Interior Ministry has recommended the UAE visa procurement process be outsourced to specialised companies in countries from which tourists or visitors seek to come.

The committee has proposed external offices run by firms specialising in visas be set up under the approval and supervision of UAE embassies, according to an Interior Ministry Security Media statement.

The proposal is a follow-up of a July 2008 decision announced by Lieutenant-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then Minister of Interior, amending certain provisions of the law of entry and residence of foreigners.

Under the decision, the Department of Naturalisation and Residency and the embassies and consulates of the UAE will have the authority to issue visas to foreigners for visiting relatives or friends who have legitimate resident visas here.

Apart from the GCC countries, whose residents do not require a visa, there are 33 countries whose residents are granted tourist or visitor visa on arrival — among them countries of Western Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

For other countries, a visit requires a visa in advance through a sponsor in the UAE. The sponsor could be an authorised travel agent, the hotel at which a booking is made, a company or department with which the visitor has business, or a UAE resident who qualifies.

As per the proposal, these specialised companies shall undertake to conduct all visa formalities, including medical tests, retinal scan and processing entry visas, subject to the approval and supervision of the UAE embassy concerned.

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News From Countries Dubai restaurant offers camel burger A traditional Arabic restaurant; Local House, with two outlets in Dubai is offering camel burgers in a local take on an American classic.

Ali Ahmad Esmail, Assistant Manager, Local House, said the restaurant uses camel meat from an Al Ain farm to prepare the Dh20 burger – with each patty weighing 120 grams.

Although camel meat is normally hard, Esmail said they make the meat tender and prepared a “secret” mix of spices. Esmail added that the best part of the burger is that the patty is made of zero fat meat that also has no cholesterol.

Local House in Bastakiya, Bur Dubai, based on a traditional Emirati home, and it’s kiosk in The Walk, Jumeirah Beach Residence, is selling a quarter pounder camel burger for AED20.

The Dubai Mall hosts a record 5 million visitors during DSF The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination, hosted an astonishing 5 million visitors during the one-month Dubai Shopping Festival, setting an all-time record in visitor footfall to the mall. Weekly visitor footfall during the festival month was an average 30 per cent more over regular weeks.

Emaar Malls Group – a key sponsor of DSF 2010, reported positive results across its key retail properties including Dubai Marina Mall, Souk Al Bahar and Gold & Diamond Park with records of strong visitor footfall and sales during the month-long shopping and entertainment extravaganza.

A total of five lucky winners were awarded from Emaar Malls Group’s key DSF promotion: ‘Fly from one Fashion Capital to Another’ with the last of the weekly draws held on March 1, 2010. For every AED 300 spent at The Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Souk Al Bahar and Gold & Diamond Park, shoppers received a voucher for the chance to win one of four luxury vacations to the world’s fashion capitals: London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris, and a draw to win a Mercedes C-Class.

The four winners in the ‘Fly from one Fashion Capital to another’ promotion are: Sanda Popa (Romanian), Amr Mohammed Al Sayed Al Najrie (Egyptian), Safa’a Juma Awad Al Azizi (Emirati) and Mithal El Alem (American).

Winners each received a pair of return tickets to the fashion capital destination plus five-days/four nights accommodation near the fashion district. An additional draw was held on March 1 for the Mercedes C-Class courtesy of Al Ain Class Motors, which also showcased 11 of the world’s most luxurious cars at The Dubai Mall during DSF. The winner of the car is Mohammed Noureddin Akbik (Syrian).

Mr Nasser Rafi, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Malls Group, said the 15th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival and the success of The Dubai Mall’s visitation set a new record-setting benchmark for retail, highlighting the instrumental role played by the festival in driving tourism and retail in Dubai, as is evident in the 30 per cent increase in footfall figures.

“The Dubai Mall was the city’s key shopping, entertainment and leisure destination during DSF, underscored by the record 5 million visitor footfall – and thus setting a new precedent for shopping malls across the region and internationally. The dynamic entertainment and promotions calendar showcased across all of Emaar Malls Group’s retail properties and the extensive array of shopping and dining options reiterate our efforts to reinvent and offer an enhanced shopping mall experience for residents and tourists. Emaar Malls Group brings innovative lifestyle promotions that add value to our visiting guests, as highlighted by the ‘Fly from one Fashion Capital to another’ promotion,” he added.

The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination with 1,200 retail outlets including 160 F&B outlets. Dubai Marina Mall has over 160 retail outlets; Souk Al Bahar, an Arabesque themed shopping centre overlooking The Dubai Fountain, hosts a selection of restaurants and retail outlets; and Gold & Diamond Park has an array of gold & jewellery outlets.

Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport opened Holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport officially opened, marking the limited services brand’s eighth property across the Middle East and Africa region and fourth in Dubai.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), in partnership with Ishraq Gulf Real Estate Holding Company, launched the 381-room hotel to benefit from the 11 million tourists that are forecasted to visit the UAE this year.

Andy Cosslett, CEO of IHG, said: “IHG opened its first hotel in the UAE 35 years ago and we have continued to invest in the UAE and build on this rich heritage to become one of the biggest hotel operators in the

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country. Today we have 16 existing properties and seven hotels under development.”

John Bamsey, Chief Operating Officer, IHG MEA, said: “Traditionally, the Gulf markets have been dominated by luxury, upscale hotel brands.

However, as markets mature and develop, customers seek out trusted brands.”

As the exclusive developer of the Holiday Inn Express brand in the GCC, excluding Saudi Arabia, Ishraq will be responsible for the operation and management of the new property.

Sami Al Ansari, CEO of Ishraq, said: “We have signed three Dubai hotels with IHG over the past three years for locations in Internet City, Safa Park and Jumeirah. We are also looking to expand the brand in other locations within the Gulf, the first of which will be the Holiday Inn Express Manama, Bahrain, which is due to open Q4 2011.”

There are currently 2,069 Holiday Inn Express properties across the world, with 563 additional hotels in the development pipeline.

Royal Caribbean makes Middle East Cruise entry through Dubai Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Brilliance of the Seas’ made her maiden docking into Dubai, marking the company’s official entry into the Middle East.

At a ceremony aboard the vessel, Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) which operates the Dubai Cruise Terminal, welcomed the cruise ship and assured of assistance to the Royal Caribbean International in making this initiative productive.

In the presence of senior immigration, police, customs and DTCM officials, he presented a memento to the RCI’s top management.

The luxury liner will be making seven-night round-trip sailings to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain from her home port of Dubai over the next four months, as Royal Caribbean International sets its sights on the region’s promising cruise market.

Brilliance of the Seas is one of the most elegant cruise ships in the world and boasts one of the highest space-per-guest ratios in the industry. It will add more than 32,000 guests in her first four-month season to the region’s burgeoning cruise sector – which is expected to grow 30 percent this year according to Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Mr. Michael Bayley, Senior Vice President International for Royal Caribbean Cruises, said the arrival of Brilliance of the Seas is an important catalyst in driving forward regional cruise tourism growth and announced Brilliance of the Seas’ 2011 will return to Dubai following this year’s inaugural season.

“The Middle East’s prospective growth figures for luxury cruising are remarkable and we expect Brilliance to establish itself as the leading cruise option for years to come,” he said.

Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Executive Director Business Tourism said: “At the DTCM, we look forward to a period of tremendous growth in cruise tourism. Cruise tourists are becoming an increasingly important part of Dubai’s tourism industry.”

We are confident that Royal Caribbean International’s decision will give a big push to our efforts to promote cruise tourism in the region. It also reconfirms the potential of Dubai as the regional cruise industry hub, he added.

In 2009, Dubai played a host to 87 cruise ships that brought 260,000 cruise tourists. This year, Dubai will be hosting 120 ships with over 325,000 passengers after the new Dubai Cruise Terminal gets operational next month.

Next year, the terminal is expected to receive 135 ships with 375,000 passengers followed by 150 ships with 425,000 passengers in 2012, 165 ships with 475,000 passengers in 2013 and 180 ships with 525,000 passengers in 2014 and 195 ships with 575,000 passengers in 2015.

The new terminal spanning an area of 3,450 square metres will have the capacity to handle four ships simultaneously when it opens next month.

Aboard the vessel, cruise guests can experience the contrasts of sun, sea, desert, city life, culture, luxury and Arabian hospitality in just one single holiday.

The ship features indoor and outdoor pools, the 9,000-sq. ft. Brilliance Fitness Centre and Day Spa, an indoor and outdoor sports deck with golf simulator, sports courts, a rock-climbing wall and a jogging track.

It also boasts a wide range of dining options with Arabian flavour added especially for the Gulf cruises, shopping arcades and a theatre.

May 2010 25

News From Countries Brilliance of the Seas’ guests also will enjoy the cruise line’s awardwinning Broadway-style musical revues from Royal Caribbean Productions in the Pacifica Theater, complimentary Adventure Ocean kids and teen programming, and Royal Caribbean’s Gold Anchor Service of friendly and engaging service from every staff and crew.

Although the majority of guests at present come from traditional Western markets on fly-and-cruise packages, Mr.Rama Rebbapragada, Regional Vice-President of Royal Caribbean International, believes that as regional awareness grows about cruise holidays as a viable vacation option, there will be a significant increase in local and regional passengers signing-up.

“Already there is high demand from our key global source markets in the UK, North America and Germany,” he says; “but as news of our on board facilities, great shore excursions and exceptional service has spread, we have also seen strong levels of interest from the more traditional Middle Eastern markets.

The Regional Sales Director, International Representatives, EMEA, Helen Beck adds: “Bookings for our Brilliance of the Seas sailings are performing well – the inaugural sailing is fully booked and the following cruises are filling up quickly.”

With an overall length of 293 metres, and a breadth of 40 metres, Brilliance of the Seas – which was built in Papen burg, north-west Germany, and registered in the Bahamas – weighs 90,090 tons and can travel at a speed of 24 knots. It has two anchors each weighing 12 tons and it even generates its own fresh water.

For business travellers, Brilliance of the Seas also offers numerous conference and meeting facilities. The State-of-the-art fully equipped meeting rooms and Wi-Fi connections on board the vessel can accommodate big groups and charters too; whilst theatres and lounges are also available for corporate events with up to 1,000 people.

The second consecutive seasonal sailings will comprise nine roundtrip sailings from January through March 2011. Vacationers also can choose a four-night cruise tour extension for an 11-night Arabian adventure. New for the 2011 season are two 12-night Dubai and India roundtrip sailings, departing on March 28 and April 9, which will include the ship’s maiden port calls at India’s Mumbai (Bombay), Goa (Mormugao) and Cochin.

Millennium Group plans four hotels in GCC Millennium Hotel Group, headquartered in the UK, will open four hotels in the GCC region next year, including a five-star hotel in Abu Dhabi. The group will be opening one hotel in Mecca in the second quarter of 2010, and one each in Oman and in Dubai in the third quarter of the year.

The proposed new hotel in Abu Dhabi will be opened in the second half of next year, Tarek Elsherif, Regional Director, Sales and Marketing, Middle East and North Africa, and Fadeel G Wehbe, Vice President – Development and Acquisitions, told a Press conference here on Tuesday.

The four-hotels together will have a room strength of about 1900 and the one in Abu Dhabi will have the highest number of 850 rooms. The group runs about 120 hotels in regions like North America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the MENA region.

In the UAE, the group currently owns six hotels, and out of them, three are in Dubai, while two are in Abu Dhabi and one in Sharjah. This will go up to eight with the proposed opening of one hotel each in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, they explained. According to Elsherif, about 4,000 hotel rooms are likely to be added to Abu Dhabi hotel market by different groups in 2010.

But this will not lead to any glut in the market as the demand for rooms is expected to go up in the emirate in the coming years.

The present occupancy level of hotels rooms is about 78 per cent in Abu Dhabi and this might come down slightly to 75 per cent, with the proposed addition of the 4,000 rooms, he said. The rent levels also might drop a little to stabilise at rational levels. Out of the total 850 rooms in the proposed Grand Millennium Hotel and Spa, Al Wahda in Abu Dhabi about 300 will be designed as apartments, Abel Damergi, who has just taken over as its the general manager, said.

The group had earlier announced that the hotel project was estimated to cost about Dh650 million. “But these figures have changed with the amendments in the design and due to several other factors, and we may not be able to disclose the revised cost of the project at this stage,” he said.

Wehbe said the group was in advanced stages of negotiations for starting hotels in Egypt, Qatar, Morocco, Libya and Bahrain.

26 May 2010

Sharjah tourism sector set to recover from economic recession The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has released detailed statistics on the performance of Sharjah’s tourism sector for the second half of 2009. According to the statistics, the number of visitors to Sharjah picked up by nine percent during this period, which balanced out the 15 percent decline experienced in the first half of the year due to the effects of the financial crisis on the global tourism sector.

During 2009, the number of hotels and hotel apartments in the emirate of Sharjah increased by seven percent to 110 (41 hotels and 69 hotel apartments), as compared to 103 (37 hotels and 66 hotel apartments) in 2008. Accordingly, the total number of available rooms rose to 8,727 in 2009 (4,275 hotel rooms and 4,452 hotel apartment rooms), a 14 percent increase from the 7,647 rooms (3,896 hotel rooms and 3,751 hotel apartment rooms) that were available in 2008 Despite the global financial crisis and its impact on the world’s tourism sector in 2009, Sharjah’s hotel occupancy rate suffered a mere 11 percent decline from 80 percent in 2008 to 69 percent in 2009, taking into account the dramatic 14 percent increase in the number of additional rooms made available throughout 2009. The hotel occupancy rate in Sharjah was 74 percent in 2009, only marginally lower than the 86 percent occupancy rate recorded in 2008, while the occupancy in hotel apartments was 64 percent in 2009 and 72 percent in 2008.

According to the SCTDA’s statistics, the 608,281 European tourists accounted for 42 per cent of total tourist arrivals to the emirate in 2009, while GCC tourists accounted for 23 percent (327,916), tourists from other Arab countries for 11 percent, and tourists from Asian countries for 15 percent (218,515), with the remaining nine percent was made up of six percent African tourists (88,596), two percent tourists from the US (28,774) and one percent tourists from the Pacific region (19,242).

Commenting on the SCTDA’s report, H.E. Mohamed A. Al Noman, SCTDA Director General, stressed that Sharjah’s leading position on the global tourism map can be seen from the minor decline witnessed in the emirate’s tourism performance in 2009 compared to other regions in the world. He credited this excellent performance and the increase in the number of hotels and hotel apartments to the mutual strategic planning carried out by different economic sectors within the emirate.

“We deeply believe in Sharjah’s tourism brand, which is distinguished

Sharjah receives overwhelming response in Istanbul The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) launched its series of promotional road shows in Istanbul. The Authority, in cooperation with Air Arabia and a number of representatives from the emirate’s tourism sector, plans to host these road shows in a number of Europe’s capital cities.

The launch ceremony was held at the Intercontinental Istanbul Hotel, and was attended by Professor Ahmet Emre Bilgili, Director of Culture and Tourism Istanbul, as well as H.E Mohammed Al Khouri, UAE Deputy Consul General to Turkey. Various leading travel and tourism companies and media representatives were also present.

The 10-day road show aims to attract more European tourists to the emirate of Sharjah by promoting Sharjah’s tourist attractions in three prime European destinations between 14 and 21 February 2010.

In his statement during a luncheon hosted by SCTDA to celebrate the launch, H.E Mohammed Ali Al Noman, Director General of the SCTDA, said that Sharjah – appointed the Cultural Capital of the Arab World by UNESCO in 1998, and the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014 by the Organization of Islamic Conference – is still a leading cultural, heritage, business, leisure and tourism destination.

A&T Travel Magazine

Exhibition ATM-Dubai’09

Business Exceeded Expectations at ATM 2009

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rabian Travel Market 2009 boasted more than 2,100 exhibitors and stand-sharers, from 69 countries, including 70 new-to-market representatives, as well nearly 60 national tourist bodies representing six continents, including debutants from the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Romania and Nigeria, as well as first-time representation from the Ecuadorian, Slovenian and San Marino private sectors which ran at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from May 5-8th.

Turkey Attended ATM with a Large Stand Turkey attended Arabian Travel Market with a well decorated stand. A large group of representatives of Turkish Tourism from hotels, tour operators, travel agencies, hotels, associations, airlines and airports, etc. were present at the Turkey stand. Mardan Palace and Les Ottomans Hotel are some of the other participants locating outside the Turkey stand that represented Turkish tourism at the ATM. Turkish tourism professionals found the exhibition exciting and expect the future of business is promising however an increase in contracts this year is not expected.

Ersan Atsur is celebrated 40th anniversary of Orion Tour at ATM’09.

Nese Topcu-Cornelia Hotels and Mustafa Tontu-Blue Bird Travel agency

Sarhan Keyder (Elite World Hotel, Istanbul), Richie Karaburun (GTA) and Suat Tore at Turkey stand.

Suat Tore is together with Muberra Eresin.

From left Uygar Kocas The Marmara Hotels & Resort , Arcan Bayraktaroglu now represents Courtyard Hotel Istanbul and Erdogan Turan now GM of Royal Grand Azur Hotel - Egypt.

Ali Topcu promoted Thermalium Wellness Park Hotel Yalova at ATM’09.

Turkish night with Whirling Dervishes at Rıtz Carlton Hotel-Dubai.

Ali Sile promoted Istanbul’s new airport; Sabiha Gokcen at ATM.

A&T Travel Magazine

May 2010 27

News From Countries

Yemen Tourism in Yemen Last February, over 4000 tourists visited Yemen utilizing the land fleet of the Yemeni International Mass Transportation Company (YIMTC), a key partner of the tourism industry since its establishment in 1996. The YIMTC was the first private mass land transportation in Yemen, and remains the larges land transportation firm in the country because of their commitment to professionalism and excellence.

At the forefront of the tourism arena The Yemeni International Mass Transportation Company, a subsidiary of al-Rowaishan Trade, Industry and Services Group, facilitates the travel of foreigners throughout several key Yemeni cities. The company takes all groups to the most important tourist attractions and archaeological sites. YIMTC is the top ranked tourist firm within Yemen.

Mohammed al-Khazraji, the company’s General Director, said, “Through the facilitation of tourists groups within Yemen, we hope to create a vibrant image of our country. We attempt to support the tourism sector, while remaining the key partner in tourism industry in our country.”

Abdul Kareem al-Hatimi, the company’s Marketing Director, said that the YIMTC is the leading Yemeni Company capable of meeting the requirements of foreign international companies requests. Most companies in Yemen are designed for small adventure seeking groups.

However, YIMTC, with their large transportation fleet, characterized by giant safety features and extreme comfort, is capable of catering to large international demands.

Al-Khazraji, the General Director, added, “The Company once had to provided 40 buses to enable the transfer of more then 2,000 tourists between Aden and Taiz in a single day during February. We accomplished this feat without affecting the other regularly scheduled internal trips Al-Hatimi pointed out that the YIMTC has close links with several well-known international firms, such as the International Company for Tourism and al-Hashimi Company, two pioneers in the tourism industry. The YIMTC has also continuously developed their continuous cooperation with the Tourism Ministry to the benefit of the company and the customer. The General Director confidently explained that the company has become a key link between all the Yemeni governorates around the clock. In addition, the YIMTC has continued to develop Yemeni ties with other Gulf Cooperative Council’s countries.

The company has not excluded their services exclusively to foreigners though. “Our company will play a major role in the grand football event for the Gulf Cup of Nations 2010. We will transfer our Yemeni guests,” al-Hatimi said with pride.

Al-Hatimi stressed that the company continues to pursue their ambitions for development within the sector in order to achieve the highest quality of service. He added that the company is currently seeking to develop a series of unique tourist shows created with the smaller communities that the groups pass by. In order to have the benefits of an increased tourism sector reach all members of Yemeni society, the villages must be able to provide a service in order to encourage the groups to stop and explore the smaller communities as they travel. The company has been an active and distinctive contributor within the provision of communal services, through their support and sponsorship activities.

28 May 2010

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Qatar Airways started to fly between Doha and Ankara.

Hilton to open new property on the famous Nile River in Egypt.

Erdogan Turan appointed Royal Grand Azure Hotel, Egypt.

Middle East joins Emirates as it flies to Tokyo.

Le Royal Sonesta Collection luxury resort opens in Sharm El Sheikh.

Etihad signs full content agreement with Travelport.

Jumeirah expands presence in the Maldives.

The Al Bustan Rotana Dubai has announced the appointment of Abbas Moubarak as Director of Protocol and George Khozam as Director of Front Office.

Ahmet Bozdas has been appointed as director of Turkish Airlines Abu Dhabi.

Rotana is set to open its first beach property in Dubai.

Mohammad Haj Hassan as the new General Manager of Al Bustan Rotana Dubai.

Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas announced that it will manage two new luxury lodges on Sir Bani Yas island in Abu Dhabi. Çırağan Palace Kempinski appointed Lara Otru as Marketing Manager.

Emirates signs 60 million Euro deal with AC Milan.

Leyla Taskin has been appointed as General Manager to Highlight Hotel in Yalikavak - Bodrum.

A.Nevra Saylam has been appointed The Green Park Hotels & Resorts as Sales & Marketing Manager.

The Kempinski Residences & Suites, Doha; the first property in Qatar operated by the renowned global hospitality group, opened in April 2010.

Baris Tansever has been re-elected as the President of Turkish Restaurant & Entertainment Association (TURYID) for the 5th time Cathay Pacific Airways announced that it will increase the number of flights to Jeddah from four times a week.

Adnan Soyaslan has been appointed Hotel Sun Zeynep as General Manager.

Philippine Airlines started its nonstop Manila to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia service at March 28.

Esra Degirmenci has been appointed Dorak Turizm as Brand Director.

Hilton to open new hotel in Cairo at 2014.

Pegasus launches Flight Training Centre in Istanbul.

Nurhan Erdem Tanir named General Manager of Antalya Convention Bureau (ACB).

Jumeirah to manage 5-star hotel in Bangkok.

James Gancos named General Manager of W Istanbul.

Four Seasons Hotel now open in Beirut.

Kaya Gürlersan named as General Manager of boutique Hotel Kasr-i Nehroz Mardin.

Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport Hotel opened.

Murat Yilmaz Zeren appointed Dedeman Antalya Hotel & Convention Center as Food and Bevearage Manager.

Göktan Bal has been appointed Türkiz Hotel Beldibi as general Manager.

Accor Hospitality Middle East added two new ibis hotels to its growing Middle East portfolio with the opening of ibis Amman in Jordan and ibis Muscat in Oman.

Kempinski to manage two 5 star luxury properties in Doha.

First Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Management Agreement Signed in Saudi Arabia.

Kempinski The Dome Hotel Belek appoints Puneet Singh as its new General Manager.

General Coordinator of Crystal Hotels; Umman Cetinbas has been elected as Skål Antalya President.

Rezidor marks its Abu Dhabi Debut with Two New Hotels.

Adil Hamade has left the UAE and relocated to Beirut, Lebanon where he will manage Turkish Airlines operations.

Ayse Misirli Mirza, previously Director of Turkish Airlines Abu Dhabi, has been transferred to Dubai.

Erdogan Turan

Abbas Moubarak

George Khozam

Mohammad Haj Hassan

Lara Otru

Nevra Saylam

Baris Tansever

Adnan Soyaslan

Esra Degirmenci

James Gancos

Kaya Gurlersan

Murat Yilmaz Zeren

Puneet Singh

Umman Cetinbas

Ayse Mısırlı Mirza

A&T Travel Magazine

Exhibition GIBTM-Abu Dhabi

Turkey at the GIBTM Abu Dhabi 2010 Turkey appeared with a strong presence at the Gulf Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM2010), a business travel exhibition for the meeting, conference and incentives industry which was held from 29 - 31 March 2010 at the National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi.

For the first time participating in this event and between another 40 countries and over 250 exhibitors from the region and all over the world, Turkey had a lot of opportunities to provide to its visitors.

By virtue of possessing a significant historical and cultural heritage, Turkey has positioned itself as a door of amazing possibilities. Turkey where Europe and Asia meet has become an ideal destination for Congresses and Incentive Travel for many regional and multinational companies with a wide range of accommodation and congress facilities.

It is never a problem to find meeting rooms equipped with the latest technology and everything necessary to meet perfectly the needs of different sorts and sizes of productive gatherings. All meetings can be comfortably and pleasurably arranged in Turkey’s delightful resorts. In these resorts there can be found four- and five-star hotels, holiday villages, boutique hotels and fully-equipped congress centers that all boast the highest standards plus friendly professional service and traditional Turkish hospitality. Wonderful hotels and restaurants, thoughtfully restored, offer the opportunity to try local dishes including the unique richness and authentic tastes of Turkish-Ottoman cuisine plus Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines. To all of this should be added a wonderful climate, non-stop entertainment and interesting excursions.

Because of its proximity to Europe and the convenience of flying with Turkish Airlines as well as growing number of regional airlines from the GCC, amongst others, to large cities in the United States, Middle east and asia, Turkey has become the country of choice for meetings, congresses, conferences, exhibitions and fairs.

A&T Travel Magazine

The most important destinations in terms of Congress Travel are: Ankara, Antalya, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Izmir, Konya, and Marmaris. Amongst the internationally important events that took place in Turkey in recent years were: the Geo-Thermal Congress, the Universiade, a NATO Summit, Formula One race and the Champions League Final, the ITU Telecommunications Conference, the 17th World Accounts Congress, the UPAV Belgian Travel Agents Union Committee, the European Oncology Union Congress and the European Guides Union Committee Meeting. Situated on the doorstep of the world Turkey offers large organizations a comprehensive professionalism plus dynamic and exciting new opportunities.

Turkey is a major attraction for international inbound tourism. Projections made on the Turkish tourism sector point out the need for huge new investments, particularly in infrastructure and accommodation.

According to the Tourism Investors Association (TYD) $10 billion investments for hotels, marinas, golf courses and shopping centers only, disregarding infrastructure work, will be required in the next five years.

Currently tourism in Turkey is largely concentrated in the seaside resorts along its Aegean and Mediterranean coasts offering visitors the 3S’s: the sun, the sea and the sand. Also Istanbul stands out as the most popular city for tourists coming to Turkey. Seventy five percent of available facilities are in the coastal tourist centers and in Istanbul.

Turkey is seeking to develop a broader tourism industry to ensure healthy and sustainable development. In line with world tourism trends, it is adopting a new strategy to promote tourism offerings based on the Education-Entertainment-Environment concept instead of the Sun-Sea-Sand triangle. It plans to utilize its untapped tourism potential by diversifying into new areas such as golf, yachting, thermal, winter, M.I.C.E (meetings+incentives+conventions+exhibitions), and faith tourism. This will also help the tourism sector contribute to the economy in additional seasons.

May 2010 29

Aviation

Turkish Airlines announces new Middle East directors

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urkish Airlines has announced some directorial changes in a bid to fortify the organization’s presence in the Middle East and strengthen the local platform.

Following a successful year as Director of Dubai & Sri Lanka, Mr. Adil Hamade has left the UAE and relocated to Beirut, Lebanon where he will manage Turkish Airlines’ operations. He plans to implement novel strategies to enhance awareness of the airline as a global brand and highlight its ever expanding network across the region.

Ms. Ayse Misirli Mirza, previously Director of Turkish Airlines Abu Dhabi, has been transferred to Dubai after launching operations in the capital four years ago. Ms. Misirli Mirza has a long standing background in the aviation industry and has been with Turkish Airlines since 1998.

“Our clear vision for the UAE is continued expansion, increasing the number and frequency of routes, and establishing ourselves as a leading airline carrier for flights out of the country,” stated the newly appointed Dubai Director.

Replacing Ms. Misirli Mirza as Abu Dhabi Director is Mr. Ahmet Bozdas, who is transferring from his previous post as Director of Egypt. “The UAE boasts a booming travel & tourism industry and I am very excited to become a part of that. I look forward to my new role and will continue in my efforts to improve on Turkish Airlines’ role in the regional aviation sector,” said Mr. Bozdas.

The new posts have been effective as of 15th February 2010.

Historic record year for Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport

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he number of passengers flying via Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SGIA) increased 52% in 2009 compare to previous year.

According to the announcement, a total of 6,639,958 passengers flew from Sabiha Gökçen International Airport compare to 4,358,710 passengers in 2008.

SGIA CEO Gökhan Bugday said, “In 2008, we took over the management of the airport and we increased the service quality here with our investments”.

Mr. Bugday added, “Sabiha Gökçen’s annual passenger capacity had risen to 20 million as the new international terminal building had started operations in October. We aim to serve over 10 million passengers with best service quality”.

Compare to 2008, flight traffic to domestic destinations in 2009 is increased by 63 percent to 4,547,673. Moreover flight traffic to international destinations recorded 33,4 growth and reached 2,092,285 passengers in 2009. In line with the rise in the number of passengers, the number of inward and outbound flights was also up by 35.5 percent compared with 2008, totaling 60,630.

38 percent of the passengers using Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport flew to Germany, 12% flew to UK and 9% flew to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

SGIA is operated by a multi-national consortium of Turkey’s Limak Holding (LİMAK), GMR Infrastructure (GMR) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

Setur duty free reports strong early sales at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen

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etur Duty Free has reported a strong start to its new business at Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen Airport’s new international terminal, where the company’s retail stores began trading on 9 November. Moreover, the group has won the sole rights to operate duty free at Bodrum-Milas Airport following a recent tender.

At Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen, Setur has opened an initial 1,500sq m of core duty free retail space in Departures, plus 600sq m of shop-in-shops housing watches, jewellery, sunglasses and accessories. Among the brands on show in this area are Montblanc, Omega, Tag Heuer, Maurice Lacroix, Baume Mercier, Tissot, Swarovski, Vakko, Swatch, Pilgrim, Zeades, Kipling and Haremlique. The company also has around 1,250sq m of space in Arrivals.

30 May 2010

The retailer is also planning soon to open a further 100sq m of space devoted to a number of luxury fashion brands in their own corners.

Setur reported that passenger numbers had surged ahead of the previous year since the terminal opened, driven partly by additional Turkish Airlines flights (now seven international flights a week). Spend per passenger and average spend have also shown dramatic increases in the new space, the retailer said. Setur had previously operated at the old terminal since June 2008. The company has a 20-year concession for the business.

The company also announced that it has been selected as the sole duty free concessionaire at Bodrum-Milas Airport, following a tender called by the General Directorate of the State Airports Authority (DHMI). A new terminal is planned at Bodrum-Milas, which is currently part of the continuing wave of privatization of Turkey’s state-owned airport assets.

Qatar Airways launches flights to Copenhagen

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atar Airways embarked on the second leg of its 2010 expansion programme with the launch of flights to Denmark and further strengthening

its operations in Scandinavia.

With four-flights-a-week on the route, Qatar Airways offers an excellent alternative gateway to Scandinavia, as well as great connections via Doha to an exciting range of business and leisure destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and South Asia.

The Doha – Copenhagen flight schedules (all times local) are:

Depart Doha International Airport

QR097 TUES, SAT at 0120hrs, arrive in Copenhagen at 0705hrs QR085 FRI, SUN at 0800hrs, arrive in Copenhagen at 1345hrs

Depart Copenhagen International Airport QR098 TUES, SAT 1205hrs, arrive in Doha at 1920hrs

QR086 FRI, SUN at 1620hrs, arrive in Doha at 2335hrs

Royal Jordanian inaugurated direct flights to Madinah

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oyal Jordanian inaugurates its direct flights to Madinah, Saudi Arabia, with four weekly flights on March 28, 2010.

RJ President/CEO Hussein Dabbas said that opening this route is an advantage to RJ passengers who wish to visit Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah.

He pointed out that pilgrims normally wish to pass by Madinah and visit Prophet Mohammed and religious places before heading to Mecca to perform Hajj and Umrah rites.

He added that the route will be easier for pilgrims instead of reaching Madinah via Jeddah airport or by land.

He stressed that the feasibility study the airline carried out shows that the service is bound to succeed in serving Jordanian passengers and transit passengers from all around the world who wish to visit Saudi Arabia via Amman.

As a result of the strong demand on seat bookings even before running the route, the airline decided to increase the frequencies to Madinah from two weekly, as previously announced, to four flights a week.

Sundays and Wednesdays the flight departs from Amman at 20:30 pm and arrives in Madinah at 22:15 pm. It flies from Madinah at 23:00 pm and arrives in Amman at 12:45 am next day.

Tuesdays and Thursdays, the flight leaves Amman at 1:00 am (after midnight) and arrives in Madinah at 2:45 am. The flight from Madinah departs at 6:30 am, arriving in Amman at 8:15 am.

Dabbas said that with the Madinah rout, RJ now operates 57 direct destinations around the world, in addition to other 750 points served by RJ partners in the oneworld airline alliance.

He mentioned that the airline will also resume its operations to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, at the beginning of June this year. Studies are being conducted to open new routes such as Johannesburg, Tehran, Izmir, Luxor and Aswan.

A&T Travel Magazine

Aviation

Tunisair increases its market share

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n spite of a difficult international economic conjecture, “Tunisair”, Tunisia’s flag ship company has managed to stabilize its turnover, as well as increasing its market share. In November 2009, the company strengthened its Italian market share by an additional 1 million Euros compared with 2008.

The company’s overall balance posted a 6% increase in the last quarter of 2009.

Regular flights increased by 3%, while other flights decreased with by 17% due to the decrease in traffic.

According to observers, with signs of economic recovery accompanied by a decline of unemployment in Europe, this decrease is temporarily. On the bright side, “Tunisair” has signed at the end of 2009, an agreement with “SeniorenReizen” an Austrian tour operator which will enable 9000 Austrian tourists to visit Tunisia in April and May 2010 as part of a promotional “back to back” operation, destined to attract senior Austrian tourists.

To this purpose, “Tunisair” will operate 60 flights between airports in Austria such as Graz, Linz and Salzburg and Tunisia’s Tunis-Carthage, Monastir and Djerba.

Skytrax names Abu Dhabi “World’s Most Improved Airport”

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bu Dhabi International Airport today celebrated the news that it has been named the world’s “Most Improved Airport 2009-2010″ by Skytrax – the award based on the votes of more than 9.8 million travellers from 100 different countries.

Moving up to become the world’s number 26 airport – a jump of 47 places from the previous year – the success has largely been credited to the multi-billion dollar programme of investments being placed in the airport, including the Terminal 3 launched in Q1 2009, and the focus in delivering high quality services to passengers.

Announced at The Skytrax World Airport Awards ceremony, held at the

A new look for Seawings Dubai

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eawings Dubai, the only seaplane tour operator in the Middle East has changed the face of their business with the launch of their new look website www. seawing.ae.

Spurred on by ever changing client preferences, Seawings recognized the need for something new, exciting and captivating and has stepped up the website to deliver a complete online experience.

Designed with a focus on elegance and usability, the Seawings team has produced a website that captures the essence of the service they provide and the experience their guests will enjoy.

Seawings Marketing and Development Manager, Darren Brews states, “We have taken the input from our guests, suppliers and employees in developing an informative, user friendly and elegant website that allows our online visitors to get all the information they need quickly and make their booking with the greatest of ease. We have included new features that were not in the old site and over time will continue to add new features to enhance the usability of the website. We are proud of our new look and hope our guests enjoy it as much as we do.”

The new site includes updated historical information and unique facts and figures supplied by Motivate Publishing on the Emirates of Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah, as well as content describing the complete Seawings Guest experience. One of the most elaborate features, is the newly added promotional video, which is available in low and high resolution formats to give guests a better understanding of the Seawings service.

Booking a scenic flight is also made easy by choosing your departure point, viewing the options available and clicking on the link to book your seat online or sending the reservations team a booking request.

To view the new site go to www.seawings.ae, browse through the pages and enjoy the benefits of the Seawings new look.

Passenger Terminal Expo 2010 in Brussels, Belgium, Skytrax is the industry’s most extensive air traveller-based awards, with the survey of airport customers conducted between July 2009 and March 2010 at more than 200 airports. Is now showing this is an area of strong performance for them.”

Jet Airways and Gulf Air enter into a code share agreement

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et Airways, India’s premier international airline has entered into a code share agreement with Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air, enhancing network connectivity on services between India and Bahrain.

The agreement, which was signed on April 1st between the two airlines’ management, comes into effect from 12 April 2010.

As per the agreement, Jet Airways will place its flight code on all Gulf Airoperated flights between Bahrain and Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Gulf Air will place its flight code on Jet Airways’ daily services between Mumbai and Bahrain.

According to Mr. Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, “Jet Airways is delighted to enter into a codeshare agreement with Gulf Air, one of the most respected carriers in the Gulf. Besides offering enhanced connectivity to Bahrain from several cities in India, the agreement will also enable our guests from Bahrain to tap into our unmatched domestic network, besides complimenting our existing frequent flyer partnership.”

Mr. Samer Majali, Gulf Air CEO commented, “The codeshare agreement with Jet Airways will enable both carriers to further leverage their respective networks, offering passengers enhanced connectivity, seamless transfers between flights, baggage checked-through to their final iddle East Airlines has launched the first ever destination and a host of other benefits including the fastest and most integrated baggage management system in frequent access to the Middle East region.”

Lebanon. The new system, provided by aviation IT “This agreement makes commercial sense for both carriers to achieve specialist SITA, will reduce the level of mishandled further revenue synergies by utilizing each others leadership position in baggage and will facilitate security at Beirut Rafic their respective market niches,” he concluded.

Hariri International Airport.

Jet Airways currently flies to 42 domestic destinations that span the length The system will immediately benefit 80% of the airlines flying to Lebanon and breadth of India, and 22 destinations across North America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf, including New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, whose flights are handled by Middle East Airlines Ground Handling Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, (MEAG) and will also be made available to other ground handlers at the Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, airport.

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah, Dammam and Riyadh, from several SITA’s integrated baggage management system (BagManager and cities in India.

BagMessage) is a leading solution adopted by a majority of airlines and airports worldwide. It provides passenger-bag reconciliation which ensures Gulf Air currently operates the largest network in the Middle East with non-stop flights while providing seamless onward connections to other that the right bag gets on the right plane and is assigned to the right international destinations. The airline’s current network stretches from passenger. By reducing the number of mishandled bags it is expected to Europe to Asia, connecting 43 cities in 28 countries, with a fleet of 35 deliver Middle East Airlines cost savings of up to 30%. aircraft.

Middle East Airlines and SITA enhance baggage management in Lebanon

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A&T Travel Magazine

May 2010 31

Aviation

Egyptair received its new Boeing aircraft Middle East joins Emirates as it flies to airo Airport witnessed the milestone delivery Tokyo

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product.

of the first EGYPTAIR new Boeing 777300ER. EGYPTAIR will take an additional five 777-300ERs through the second quarter of 2011 to continue upgrading its long-haul service with premium

The Economy Class on this aircraft accommodates wider and more relaxing seats with only 9 seats abreast which is a great edge for EGYPYTAIR, and each seat is provided by personal entertainment system with 10.4 inch screens to enable our customers selecting the best from the hundreds of audio-visual entertainment programs. Further, economy class customers will use power outlets in their seats to recharge their personal electronic devices.

The aircraft is equipped with advanced lighting system through colour mixing. Different mood lighting can be chosen to imitate the sunset, sunrise and dimming lights. In addition, the plane ceiling is decorated with shining blue star lights.

The aircraft will operate on the daily service between Cairo and London Heathrow, while the second aircraft who will be delivered by the end of next month will operate on the non-stop service to Narita Tokyo. After the delivery of the third and forth aircraft EGYPTAIR customers will enjoy this premium product on the daily non-stop service between Cairo and New York.

Oman Air offers 12,000 seats this summer

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man Air, the National Carrier of Oman and the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Tourism are linking up with top hoteliers to launch a major tourism campaign across Europe this summer.

Branded Now is the Time, the campaign aims at encouraging visitors to Oman, by offering high quality, week-long accommodation and return flight packages to the Sultanate, over the summer months. The collective promotional drive links Oman Air and The Ministry of Tourism with the IHG Group, Shangri-la, Radisson Blu, Grand Hyatt, Chedi, Al Nadha Resort and Spa and Park Inn. The Now is the Time campaign will target travellers from the UK, France and Germany, who will be able to book the packages through their participating travel agents. Each country is served by Oman Air flights, with daily services to Muscat from London Heathrow, four flights a week from Paris, four from Frankfurt and three weekly from Munich.

Prices start from just £599 or €659 per person, including all taxes and charges, and cover seven nights for visitors from the UK and six nights for visitors from France and Germany. Packages can be booked immediately, for travel between 12th April 2010 and 1st October 2010.

Abdulrazaq Alraisi, General Manager, Worldwide Sales, at Oman Air, launched the campaign at ITB Berlin, saying: “Oman is a superb destination for European travellers. We offer yearround sun, breathtaking scenery, including an unspoiled coastline, and renowned Omani hospitality and are delighted to be offering these packages at prices too good to miss.

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arly on Sunday morning of March 28, passengers from nine gateways across Emirates’ Middle East network joined the award-winning airline’s inaugural non-stop flight from Dubai to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan.

Tokyo is the 102nd destination on Emirates’ ever expanding network and the non-stop service brings a huge range of benefits, including the expansion of trade relations between Japan and the UAE, which has grown by 300% to over US$57 billion in 2008 from US$14 billion in 2002, the year Emirates first began flights to Japan.

A high level Emirates delegation led by Richard Vaughan, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Worldwide, along with a number of the airline’s guests from Tokyo and Dubai, along with members of the media is on aboard the first flight.

Mr Vaughan said, “The fact that passengers from across the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are joining our inaugural flight to Tokyo, further demonstrates how we are connecting this important region to Japan, be it for business or leisure. We are also seeing passenger traffic demand from Africa, South America and Europe.

Emirates will be serving the Tokyo route five times a week using its Boeing 777-300ER with eight Private Suites in First Class; 42 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 304 Economy Class seats.

EK 318 will depart Dubai at 03:15 hours and touch down at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport at 18:00 hours the same day, five times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The return flight EK 319 departs at 21:40 hours, touching down in Dubai at 04:35 hours the following day

Iraq wants accelerated delivery of new Boeing crafts

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raq’s ministry of transport is asking Boeing to accelerate the scheduled delivery of 55 new aircraft the country has on order.

The country needs those aircraft to restore links with the outside world as the nation returns to normalcy, government officials told Reuters.

The country’s airline, Iraqi Airways, lost nearly all of its aircraft in the 2003 war, and it is seeking modern replacements.

The country has three Boeing aircraft models, the 737, 777 and 787, on order. The first of those is now scheduled for delivery in 2013. Iraqi Airways now owns four older Boeing 737s.

The airline wants to increase its schedule to connect Iraq with Europe, Asia and North America.

Syrian Cham Wings starts flights to Istanbul

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yrian private airline company Cham Wings launched its first DamascusIstanbul flight.

The inagurating flight carried 165 passengers, including artists, journalists and businessmen arrived Istanbul on March 15th. Cham Wings Airlines will fly to Istanbul three times a week, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The company will start flights to Turkey’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and southern province of Antalya starting in July.

32 May 2010

A&T Travel Magazine

Aviation

Etihad Launches non-stop flights between Abu Dhabi and Tokyo

pleased that as a retail operation we reacted quickly to those challenges and worked closely with our suppliers and staff on a number of initiatives, Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free said: “I am particularly grateful for the support, as always, of His Highness tihad Airways, the national airline of the Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President Dubai Department of United Arab Emirates (UAE), has commenced Civil Aviation and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free Establishment and I join non-stop flights from its home base in Abu Dhabi to His Highness is thanking our entire team of staff at Dubai Duty Free who do a great job throughout the year,” added McLoughlin.

Tokyo, becoming the first Middle Eastern airline to In 2009, Dubai Duty Free recorded over 20.3 million sales transactions operate to the Japanese capital.

The inaugural flight, EY878, departed Abu Dhabi at with an average of 55,800 sales transactions per day. Category-wise, 10:25pm on March 27 and landed at Narita airport in Tokyo at 1.35pm on perfumes continued to be the No. 1 category with sales topping Dh567 million ($157 million), up two per cent over the previous year and March 28. representing 14 per cent of total sales at Dubai Duty Free. Liquor and Etihad will operate five non-stop flights per week to Tokyo, in addition to gold remained as the No. 2 and No. 3 category respectively. The tobacco the five flights per week it offers to Nagoya. category increased by 15 per cent to become the No. 4 selling category The flights will be operated by three-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft and and confectionary sales rose by 11 per cent to take the No. 5 position.

Other steep increases were seen in the ‘Gifts from Dubai’ category which rose by 17 per cent while sunglasses rose by 19 per cent and precious jewellery by 20 per cent.

Continuing with the ‘Fashion’ theme, ladies fashion saw an increase of 36 per cent in 2009, which is no doubt attributed to the extended Fashion offer available following the opening of Emirates Terminal 3 in late 2008.

2009 was also the year in which Dubai Duty Free was announced as the biggest single airport retail operation in the world based on sales analysis issued by Generation Research.

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will feature in-flight services dedicated to the Japanese market, including a tailored menu, local in-flight entertainment content and cabin crew consisting of a number of Japanese speakers and nationals.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said Etihad was delighted to be the first Middle Eastern carrier to operate to Tokyo, and was expecting a high volume of traffic on the route, particularly business travellers.

“We also believe the variety of high profile attractions opening in Abu Dhabi in the coming years, including Ferrari World, The Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, will be very attractive to Japanese leisure travellers,” he said.

“Japan is a key market for Etihad and will be an important focus in 2010.

We have worked closely with the Japanese Government to enable us to commence services between our two capital cities, and we thank them for their support.”

Etihad’s Tokyo services follow the commencement of the airline’s flights to Nagoya in February this year and code-share services with ANA this month.

Current trading relationships between UAE and Japan are strong, with trade between the countries reaching USD $29.21 billion (AED 107.2 billion) annually. Currently, there are approximately 350 Japanese companies operating and over 3,500 Japanese expatriates living in UAE. Since its establishment in 2003, Etihad has expanded its network to over 60 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Europe, North American and Asia. Etihad’s commitment to excellence in customer service resulted in the airline being awarded ‘World’s Leading Airline’ at the 2009 World Travel Awards. Etihad Airways has served over 22.5 million customers to date.

Air Arabia’s Adel Ali named ‘Airline CEO of the Year’

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he Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia has been named “Airline CEO of the Year” by Aviation Business magazine, the leading industry title in the Middle East. Adel Ali received this accolade, which recognised him as the region’s top airline executive, at the Aviation Business Awards 2009.

This award follows a string of similar regional and international honours, including World LCC “CEO of the Year 2008″ at Budgie Awards in London, UK, which also Air Arabia was named “Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East and Africa.”

“On behalf of everyone at Air Arabia, I am honoured to accept this prestigious award,” said Ali, “and share this mark of recognition with our employees across the Middle East and North Africa region who work so hard to make Air Arabia a success. I would also like to offer my gratitude to the more than three million passengers who have chosen to travel with Air Arabia this year alone, and who continue to inspire us to offer the most reliable value-for-money air travel options in the wider region.”

This year has seen several accolades for Air Arabia strong performance during a challenging period for the global aviation sector. Air Arabia also named 2009 World Airline Award for “Best Low-Cost Airline in the Middle East” for the third consecutive year by Skytrax Research based on global, independent passenger surveys of airline standards.

Most recently, Air Arabia was named “Low-Cost Carrier of the Year” by both the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) at the Aviation Outlook Asia 2009 congress in Beijing and at the Doha Aviation Summit 2009.

The Aviation Business Award recognise companies, organisations and individuals that have achieved excellence in the sector in the Middle East.

The awards are organised annually by Aviation Business, the leading source of information for airline, airport and government officials.

Dubai duty free records $1.14 billion annual sales

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n a year that posed many challenges for the global airport retail sector, Dubai Duty Free has bucked the trend by announcing record annual sales of Dh4.1 billion ($1.140 billion) for 2009, representing a 3.76 per cent increase over the previous year.

“Dubai Duty Free, like most businesses, felt the impact of the global recession particularly in the early part of the year. However, I am delighted that the operation has successfully turned sales around in the second half and that a new annual record has been achieved. Congratulations to the management and staff on their success in 2009,” Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free Establishment said.

December itself was a record month with sales reaching a new monthly high of Dh441 million ($122 million), which represents a nine per cent increase over December 2008. Meanwhile on December 20, the day on which Dubai Duty Free celebrated its 26th Anniversary with a special discount offer, daily sales reached Dhs62.5 million ($17.3 million) “Without doubt, 2009 will be remembered as a year of challenges. I am

34 May 2010

A&T Travel Magazine