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MURIYA TOURISM DEVELOP-MENT SHOWCASES DHOFAR
08
15
QATAR AIRWAYS SERVES CYPRUS DAILY
IN THIS ISSUEMARKET UPDATE
TECHNOLOGY
ACCOMMODATION
AIR
INTERNATIONAL
RENDEZVOUS
WHO’S MOVED
TRAVEL TALK
AGENT CORNER
TRAVEL CHANNELS
PHOTO ALBUM
NEWS & EVENTS
02
03
09
12
17
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20 JUNE 2015 ISSUE 293
11
DAMAC PROPERTIES AWARDED MORE THAN AED2.8 BILLION (USD762 MILLION) IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS IN THE
FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF THE YEAR.
DAMAC: USD762 MILLION WORTH OF DEALS
GOPPAR Forecasts Favour Abu DhabiDrilling down to the all important gross operating profits per available room (GOPPAR), hotels throughout Europe and MENA will experience varying levels of profits through 2017, according to the latest quarterly forecast data released by e-forecasting and HotStats.
T he predictions for Abu Dhabi indicate that the metric will plummet four percent this year but will surge 13.8 percent and 14.8 percent in 2016 and 2017,
respectively. In addition, figures for Dubai are less optimistic, as this year GOPPAR will drop 8.3 percent and 6.2 percent in 2016, but will rise 9.1 percent in 2017.
Emirates Celebrates USD913 Million Sukuk ListingH.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO, The Emirates Group, rang the market-opening bell at Nasdaq Dubai to celebrate the listing of a USD913 million Sukuk by Emirates.
20 JUNE 2015
MARKET UPDATE
2
TRAVEL TRADE PUBLICATIONS
MANAGING EDITORMary Kammitsi
ASSISTANT EDITORMaria Kazeli
SENIOR JOURNALISTRita Kasziba
CONTRIBUTORS
Ana MladenovicDominique Christou
PRESS Maria Demetriadou Pauline Shahabian
Inna Armeanu
DESIGN & LAYOUTElena Stylianou
WEB & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Savvas Kammitsis
DIRECTORS Andreas Constantinides
Mary Kammitsi
HEADQUARTERS
T.T.W. Travel Trade Weekly LTD P.O. Box 25255, Nicosia 1308 Cyprus
Tel: +357 22 021607, Fax: +357 22 103670
WEBSITEwww.traveltradeweekly.travel
EMAILS
[email protected] [email protected]
Bahrain (BHD)
Jordan (JOD)
Oman (OMR)
Qatar (QAR)
Saudi Arabia (SAR)
UAE (AED)
Algeria (DZD)
Egypt (EGP)
Iran (IRR)
Iraq (IQD)
Kuwait (KWD)
Lebanon (LBP)
Libya (LYD)
Morocco (MAD)
Syria (SYP)
Tunisia (TND)
Yemen (YER)
Dinar
Dinar
Rial
Rial
Riyal
Dirham
Dinar
Pound
Rial
Dinar
Dinar
Pound
Dinar
Dirham
Pound
Dinar
Rial
0.37
0.71
0.39
3.64
3.75
3.67
98.36
7.62
29,125.74
1,191.99
0.30
1,509.56
1.37
9.64
188.82
1.92
214.89
MENA EXCHANGE RATES
As of 19/6/2015Currencies shown in blue are fixed against the US Dollar
COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=
T he move follows the airline’s listing of a USD1 billion Sukuk on the exchange in March 2013 and, as Al Mak-toum, noted, reinforces the company’s strategy to main-tain a diverse portfolio of financing sources.
“Nasdaq Dubai’s exceptional links to international and regional investors provide us with an effective platform to sup-port our aircraft financing initiatives,” explained Al Maktoum. “This transaction set many new milestones, including being the first time that a Sukuk has been used to finance and prefund the acquisition of our [Airbus] A380 aircraft.”
Emira
tes
cele
brat
ing
listin
g of
USD
913
mill
ion
Abu Dhabi
Did you know...
The total valu
e of
Sukuk listed
on
Nasdaq Dubai
reaches USD34.96
billion?
20 JUNE 2015
TECHNOLOGY WEEKLY NEWS
3
F ollowing extensive research among the 355 members of the International Association of Conference Centres (IACC), the entity released its Top 10 Meeting Tech Trends for this year, which have an impact on meeting plan-
ners and venue operators across the globe.Mark Cooper, CEO, IACC, commented, “Meeting planners are seeing their
role influenced more and more by technology, not just for the meeting itself, but in researching and booking venues, how planners interact onsite and how they communicate following the meeting. The balance between technology and in-person relationships is an interesting one, with a need to attain a balance of the two in order to plan and deliver successful meeting outcomes.”
Technology Influences the Meetings Industry
S tar Alliance has widened its distribution channels for its fare products. Trav-
el agents connected to the Sabre global distribution system can now book and automatically cal-culate the corresponding Round the World and Circle fares.
Star Alliance Extends Distribution Channels
Horst Findeisen, vice presi-dent, commercial and business development, Star Alliance, said, “Leveraging technology to sim-plify and accelerate complex pro-cesses is a key benefit which an alliance can provide. In this case, we now enable even more travel agents in even more markets to quickly and easily respond to cus-tomer wishes for round the world travel, which often involves high-ly individualised and complicated routings.”
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS
4
H.R.H. Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz, president, Saudi Com-
mission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA), recently approved the al-location of SAR5 million (USD1.3 million) to rehabilitate and devel-op the Heritage Village in the Fed city in Hail province.
Fed historic city is on the threshold of a new phase through the establishment of a visitor centre and a museum, in addi-tion to intensifying the excavation process in the site, as well as com-pletion of a number of tourism services such as furnished apart-ments, desert resorts and festivals and events.
Developing Heritage Village in Fed City
Norway Visa Application Centre Opens in AmmanAs part of the global contract between VFS Global and the government of Norway, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, inaugurated a new centre to extend visa service delivery in the capital.
The Norway Visa Application Centre in Amman is the first ever in the city for the govern-
ment of Norway.At the inauguration ceremony, H.E.
Sissel Breie, ambassador to Jordan, Norway, said that the visa application centre will be the main channel in Jor-dan for submitting applications for vi-sas to Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, as well as residence permits to Norway and Denmark for persons residing in Jordan and Iraq. “This is a major improvement in the processing of visas,” Breie added.Sissel Breie (left) at the inauguration ceremony
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS
6
WEEKLY NEWS
Mar
riott
Exe
cutiv
e A
part
men
ts D
ubai
Cre
ek
Positive GCC Arrivals to Morocco
Morocco is attracting increasing numbers of visitors from the GCC, bringing the North African country closer to its aim to welcome 12.7 million tourists by 2018.
According to Stephan Killinger, president, Mazagan Beach & Golf Resort, the fact that many families from the region prefer to visit an Arab country rather than a foreign destination, will go a long way in taking it close to its target.
As Killinger noted, the Kingdom is benefitting from rising levels of foreign invest-ments, bolstering the industry’s value and tourism-related expenditure.
Although still relatively new to Morocco, the GCC is already surpassing other des-tinations in the number of annual visitors.
Dubai: Fourth Most Visited Global City
Dubai has risen to the fourth position in the MasterCard Global Destination Cities
Index that ranked 132 of the world’s most popular locations.
Having improved one place since the last report, the emirate is listed right behind London, Paris and Bangkok, with official figures released by the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing suggesting 13.2 million interna-tional overnight visitors in 2014. Dubai, which progressed from the eighth spot in 2012, is expected to welcome close to 14.3 million guests this year, a ratio of 5.7 inter-national overnight visitors per city resident.
Maz
agan
Bea
ch &
Gol
f Res
ort
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS
8
Muriya Tourism Development Shines Light on Dhofar
During the recent FTI Destination Pro Conference at Salalah Rotana Resort, Muriya Tourism Development Company hosted over 400 German tour operators,
travel agents and service providers, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Tourism.
Between September and May 2016, around 20,000 Ger-man tourists are expected to arrive to Salalah via four weekly charter flights.
Ahmed Dabbous, CEO, Muriya Tourism Development Company, commented, “What started as a Muriya initia-tive in late 2013 of bringing one weekly charter flight from Germany to Salalah International Airport, has turned into a wider initiative serving the entire tourism sector in Dhofar.”
Boeing: Improving Environmental Performance
B oeing has released its 2015 Environment Report high-lighting the company's increased use of renewable en-ergy, testing of promising technologies and other pro-
gress toward improving the environmental performance of its products, services and operations.
The report updates Boeing's major facilities' performance to the environmental targets of zero growth by 2017 in green-house gas emissions, water intake, hazardous waste genera-tion and solid waste sent to landfills. It also shows how Boeing employees demonstrate their commitment through educa-tion, preservation and conservation activities in the communi-ties where they live and work.
S audi Commission for Tourism & Antiquities (SCTA) participated in the 7th Conference on the effects of the Red Sea, which was
held at Procida Island, Naples, Italy. The conference was attended by over 150 ex-
perts and researchers of archaeology from all over the world, during which over 70 working papers were presented, different themes discussed relat-ing to maritime trade routes across the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf and their development role in the revival of international economy since the ancient times.
SCTA participated in the conference with six working papers on the antiquities of the Red Sea and the Kingdom’s efforts, represented by SCTA, in archaeological research and discovery along the Red Sea.
SCTA Attends Conference on the Effects of the Red Sea
Did you know...
SCTA had hosted the
6th Conference for
Antiquities an
d
Heritage of t
he Red
Sea, held in the
University of T
abuk
in 2013?
20 JUNE 2015
ACCOMMODATION WEEKLY NEWS
9
ACCOMMODATION WEEKLY NEWS
Rezidor to Add Hotel Apartments in Saudi Arabia
W ith existing hotel apartments flying both the Park Inn by Radisson and Radisson Blu flags in Dubai, Manama, Jeddah and Duqm, The Rezidor Hotel
Group plans to further expand its extended-stay brands’ pres-ence in the region.
As Ramsay Rankoussi, director of business development, Middle East and Africa, The Rezidor Hotel Group, revealed, the company expects future openings in Saudi Arabia mainly and in cities such as Dammam, Khobar and Riyadh. In addi-tion, the hotelier is also reinforcing its serviced apartment of-fering in Dubai and Jeddah.
“Over 50 percent of our future pipeline in the region has either a mixed-use component or is a standalone develop-ment catering for long-term stays,” added Rankoussi.
Radi
sson
Blu
Res
iden
ce D
ubai
Mar
ina
Dubai to Welcome Two New Hilton Hotels
Hilton Garden Inn Bur Dubai, located in a prime area of Dubai Creek, will feature 292 rooms, two food and bever-age outlets, a large multi-functional meeting room, 24-
hour business centre, a swimming pool and health club. Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Mina will be conveniently locat-
ed near Dubai International Airport, Dubai Creek and the emir-ate’s Port Rashid. The property will feature 206 guest rooms, a breakfast area, a bar and gathering zone, a gym and swimming pool.
Hilton Worldwide and wasl hospitality and leisure have announced agreements to open a further two midmarket hotels in Dubai, Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Mina and Hilton Garden Inn Bur Dubai, with both expected to open in early 2019.
Dubai
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS
10
WEEKLY NEWS ACCOMMODATION
Second Cristal Hotel to Open in Erbil
Construction has commenced for Cristal Grand Erbil Hotel, the second hotel to be operated by Cristal Group in the city, and its third in Iraq.
The five-star flagship property will feature 160 rooms and suites when it opens in 2017, as well as sev-eral restaurants, gym, spa and business centre.
Peter Blackburn, president, Cristal Group, said, “We now have all government approvals to proceed and a contractor has been appointed for this USD49 million project. There is a tremendous influx of interest in Er-bil from the major international hotel groups, but we were among the first global names to launch in the city.”
Erbi
l
Crowne Plaza Jordan Updates Facilities
Crowne Plaza Jordan Dead Sea Resort & Spa’s facilities recently went through major transformations to enhance the guests’ experience.
The resort added four breakout rooms to its already impressive collection of outdoor and indoor venues. Additionally, the kitchen of the Lebanese restaurant, Burj Al Hamam has been expanded even further with an additional
capacity of 50m2. The all-day dining Ambrosia Restaurant has witnessed an increase in its seating capacity of up to 100 extra seats, in order to accommodate the busy weekends and holidays.
In terms of summer and leisure, a large part of the big pool at the resort is now heated, as well as the El Grito pool.
Crow
ne P
laza
Jord
an D
ead
Sea
Reso
rt &
Spa
20 JUNE 2015
ACCOMMODATION WEEKLY NEWS
11
Sundus Begins Construction
Sundus Investments Projects has officially broken ground on the Sun-dus Rotana Hotel development.
The four-star business hotel marks the first phase of the mega Sundus Airport Heights project and will open doors to the public in Feb-ruary 2017. The property will feature 215 rooms including suites, ball-room, six meeting rooms, executive lounge, boardroom, fully-equipped business centre, fitness centre, swimming pool and a variety of dining options.
The second phase of the project will include the development of Sundus Arjaan by Rotana featuring 85 luxury hotel apartments, includ-ing studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The property will also host an all-day dining and lobby lounge café.
DAMAC: USD762 MILLION WORTH OF DEALS
P rojects include three hotel apartment developments, namely DAMAC Maison Privé, NAIA Vantage and NAIA Celestia, along with a number of residential and life-style communities.
As of March 31, DAMAC Properties has delivered almost 14,000 homes and has a development portfolio of over 37,000 units at various stages of progress and planning. Included are more than 10,000 hotel rooms and serviced hotel apartments under development, which will be managed by its hospitality arm, DAMAC Hotels & Resorts.
DAMAC Properties awarded more than AED2.8 billion (USD762 million) in construction contracts in the first five months of the year.
C apitaLand’s wholly-owned serviced residence busi-ness unit, The Ascott Limited has secured a contract to manage its first Citadines Apart’hotel in Oman, achiev-
ing its target of 40,000 apartment units globally ahead of its planned schedule of end the year.
Residents of the upcoming Citadines Al Ghubrah Muscat, can choose from a range of studios and one-bedroom apart-ments, fully equipped kitchens, living areas and separate work-spaces. Guests can also enjoy an array of amenities such as a swimming pool, fully equipped gym, breakfast lounge, resi-dents’ lounge and Internet corner to cater to their work and rec-reational needs.
Ascott to Manage Citadines Apart’hotel
DA
MAC
Mai
son
Priv
é
Cita
dine
s A
l Ghu
brah
Mus
cat
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS AIR
12
Gulf Air Consolidates Greece Presence Reaffirming its commitment to the Greek market, Gulf Air has inaugurated its new sales office in Athens.
L ocated in a prime location in the capital city, easily acces-sible by car as well as public transport, the fully renovat-ed outlet boasts dedicated departments and personnel
to manage passengers’ ticketing and sales requirements and respond to any enquiries from Monday to Saturday.
The Bahraini carrier operates four weekly flights between Bahrain and Greece.
Record Oman Air Operation for the Khafeef Season
O man Air will offer more flights than ever between Muscat and Salalah during the country’s monsoon season, known as the Khareef.
Between June and September, the national carrier will operate a record 284 return services from the capital to the Dhofar region, marking a 11 percent rise over 2014 and meaning that over 352,700 passengers will get the chance to witness the natural phenomenon.
Describing Salalah as one of the most important destina-tions in the network, Abdulrahman Al-Busaidy, chief oper-ating officer, Oman Air, said, “Each year has seen us operate more flights to the city and this season, we will not only utilise regional and narrow-body aircraft on the route, but also our award-winning Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft.”
Did you know...
Back in 1950, the
airline started as a
small-scale commuter
service, ser
ving the oil
fields of the Gulf an
d
some regional
customers?
20 JUNE 2015
AIR WEEKLY NEWS
13
Oman Air Codeshares with Garuda Indonesia
O man Air has entered into a codeshare agreement with Garuda Indonesia, offering greater choice and convenience for travellers using both airlines.
The deal enables the Omani carrier’s customers to book flights operated by the Asian company between Jakarta and Bali, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.
In turn, Garuda Indonesia’s passengers can take advantage of Oman Air’s services between Muscat and Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Jakarta or Salalah.
As Abdulrahaman Al-Busaidy, chief operating officer, Oman Air, noted, since the launch of the airline’s op-eration from Muscat to Jakarta, demand has been strong on the route and the codeshare agreement will now enable passengers to travel further afield without booking with multiple carriers.
E tihad Airways is expanding its Boe-ing 787 Dreamliner
flight network with the deployment of the aircraft on the Abu Dhabi – Zürich route.
From July 6 onwards, the national airline will substitute the currently operated Airbus A330-300 with the three-class Dreamliner, offering a total of 3,290 seats per week be-tween the capitals.
According to James Hogan, president, Etihad Airways, Swiss travellers ex-pressed strong interest for the carrier’s latest product.
“This strategic decision to deploy the Dreamliner demonstrates our clear commitment to the Swiss market,” added Hogan.
E xpanding its services to Saudi Arabia, flydubai will operate direct flights to Gizan and
Jouf as of July.Daily operations to Gizan will
commence on July 10 and services to Jouf will follow on July 11 with four flights a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO, flydubai, said, “We are honoured to have the opportunity to further expand our network in Saudi Arabia. We look forward to seeing our flights to these two major cities further strengthen the strong cultural and trade ties between our two nations.”
flydubai Expands in Saudi Arabia
Etihad to Operate Dreamliner to Zürich
Jaka
rta
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS AIR
14
E mirates plans to launch services to Multan, Pakistan, beginning August 1, with four weekly flights on Mondays,
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Moreover, the airline will offer an extra
five weekly flights to Karachi as of July 1, available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fri-days, Saturdays and Sundays.
“The additional services to Karachi and the introduction of Multan to our network will position Pakistan as Emirates’ fourth most highly served country worldwide with 80 return flights a week operating between Dubai and Pakistan,” said Ahmed Khoory, senior vice president, commercial opera-tions, West Asia and Indian Ocean, Emirates.
W izz Air is to operate another route to and from Al Maktoum International at Dubai World
Central.Effective from December 19, the airline
will offer two weekly services from its Cluj-Napoca base to Dubai, on Tuesdays and Saturdays complementing the carrier’s ex-isting flights to the emirate from Budapest, Bucharest and Sofia.
As Daniel de Carvalho, corporate communications, Wizz Air, revealed the decision to increase services to Dubai from Romania follows the encouraging results the company has enjoyed with its Bucharest – Dubai route.
Etihad Airways Enters Scotland
Wizz Air to Add to Dubai Routes
Emirates to Further Serve Pakistan
E tihad Airways has launched a new daily service between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh, the car-
rier’s first destination in Scotland.The inaugural flight took off on
June 8 and was celebrated by staff from Scotland that are based in Abu Dhabi, alongside Mazen Mohammed Al Mis-ery, Nedal Mahmmod Al Badan and Mohammed Noweed Arshad, bagpip-ers from the Abu Dhabi Police Band.
The daily service will offer connec-tions onward to vital destinations for the Scottish economy in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia.
Edinburgh
20 JUNE 2015
AIR WEEKLY NEWS
15
Etihad Business Transformation Project Moves Ahead
E tihad Airways has selected Ireland-based Accenture to sup-port the implementation of its business transformation pro-gramme, to further improve productivity, efficiency and en-
able growth. In terms of the multimillion dollar agreement, the global man-
agement consulting, technology services and outsourcing compa-ny will provide strategy and management consulting services for the airline. It will cover the areas of human resources, finance, and procurement and supply management, to streamline the carrier’s corporate processes and enable the development of best-in-class capabilities within those functions.
As Robert Webb, chief information and technology officer, Eti-had Airways, explained, to sustain the company’s current and fu-ture growth, operational and organisational efficiency are crucial.
E mirates and SNCF, France’s nation-al railway company, announced a new codeshare partnership which
will allow Emirates passengers from around the world to travel to 19 new des-tinations in France. With just one ticket, travellers will be able to fly on Emirates and reach regions in France using high-speed trains that leave directly from Par-is-Charles de Gaulle Airport.
“This codeshare agreement with SNCF opens up new possibilities for our passengers and complements our current services to Paris, Lyon and Nice. With TGV Air, travelling to the Far East from Bordeaux, or to Strasbourg from Dubai has never been easier,” comment-ed Thierry Antinori, executive vice presi-dent, Emirates.
Emirates Further Serving France
Qatar Airways Serves Cyprus Daily
Qatar Airways has commenced a direct daily service from Larnaca International Airport to Doha’s Hamad Interna-tional Airport, to help meet the demand of leisure and
business travellers.Marimar Laveda, country manager, Iberian Peninsula, Greece
and Cyprus, Qatar Airways, explained that the daily service will provide passengers with extra capacity and flexibility in their trav-el arrangements, and the opportunity to explore Far East, Africa, US, Australia and Middle East.
All flights on the Doha – Larnaca routes will be operated with Airbus A320, featuring a two-class configuration, including up to 12 seats in business class and up to 132 seats in economy class.
Paris
20 JUNE 2015
WEEKLY NEWS AIR
16
Etihad Airways and Tourism Malaysia to Boost Tourism
E tihad Airways and Tourism Malaysia have signed a global partnership agreement to support inbound tourism to Malaysia by leveraging the airline’s global
passenger network. Under the agreement, Etihad Airways and Tourism Ma-
laysia will put into effect a range of joint marketing activi-ties targeting Malaysia’s leading inbound visitor markets, namely the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy and the Middle East region.
Etihad Airways’ marketing messages and Malaysia’s Years of Festivals campaign will be maximised throughout the partnership and the airline will also benefit from an enhanced presence on Tourism Malaysia’s traditional and digital platforms.
Medina Joins Air Arabia Jordan’s Route Network
Emirates Serving Bali Daily
J ust weeks after commencing operations, Air Arabia Jordan has launched flights to its fifth city, offering twice weekly services from Amman to Medina, on Mondays and Thurs-
days.Adel Ali, group CEO, Air Arabia, said, “We are delighted by the
progress achieved in a relatively short time. In the past month, we have fully established our operations and have grown to serve five destinations, including two in Saudi Arabia. With the first phase of our launch strategy now complete, our focus turns to expanding the Air Arabia Jordan network to serve more of the cities where our customers want us to fly.”
E mirates has commenced a daily nonstop service to the island of Bali in Indonesia.
Bali is Emirates’ 146th global destination, adding to the airline’s route network in the Far East region, which now spans 18 destinations in 11 countries.
“Bali remains a leading tourist destination and a signifi-cantly important market for Emirates. There is high interest from across our network for flights to Bali, specifically in the leisure segment, and we are pleased to now be able to serve this demand and contribute to the island’s economic and tourism growth,” said Barry Brown, divisional senior vice president, commercial operations, East, Emirates.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bali
20 JUNE 2015
INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY NEWS
17
A C Hotel Chicago Downtown has welcomed its first guests in the heart of the city’s thriving River
North neighbourhood, marking the lifestyle brand’s entry into Illinois.
Dedicated to millennial and business travellers, AC Hotels by Marriott edits away what is unnecessary and embodies an el-egant yet unpretentious style.
Owned and managed by Marcus Hotels & Resorts, the eight-storey AC Hotel Chicago Downtown offers an innovative food and beverage programme, a library work area and 280m2 of meeting space.
The property marks the brand’s fourth project in North America and is expected to be followed by some 50 hotels in the coming years in the US and Latin America.
A utograph Collection Hotels re-cently welcomed The Press Ho-tel in Portland, Maine, the first
lifestyle boutique hotel in the city, giving the coastal culinary destination its newest restaurant, UNION.
The hotel aims to capture the essence of Portland by inviting guests to get the insider experience through the Maine arti-sans, craftsmen and local culinary talent fea-tured throughout the 110-room property.
Among the hotel’s rooms is a pent-house suite with exclusive rooftop access and 360-degree views of the city. Four private function rooms are available for groups and special events, in addition to the UNION restaurant and The Inkwell lobby bar.
Sun Siyam to Bring Largest Tourism Offering to Maldives
Portland Welcomes The Press Hotel
Marriott Lifestyle Brand Debuts in Chicago
S un Siyam is to further expand its foot-print in the Maldives with a 600-key resort, hailed as the largest tourism of-
fering in the country.As Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, managing di-
rector, Sun Siyam, revealed, the project will of-fer 15 food and beverage outlets with a range of unique amenities, bringing the company’s portfolio on the island to four properties.
According to Mohamed, the Maldives is on the verge of a massive repositioning that will enable the destination, that has long been a favourite among affluent European travellers, to attract a wider audience.
Sun Siyam brands will also be expanding across Sri Lanka. In addition to the Sun Aqua Pasikudah, the company will be developing an overwater villa resort in Kalpitiya.
The Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, Maldives AC Hotel Chicago DowntownThe Press Hotel, Portland
20 JUNE 2015
RENDEZVOUS
18
Q & A withAtieh Hamarneh
WITH THE JORDANIAN HOSPITALITY SCENE WITNESSING SEVERAL DEVELOPING TRENDS, ATIEH HAMARNEH, CLUSTER GENERAL MANAGER, AMMAN ROTANA AND THE BOULEVARD ARJAAN BY ROTANA, SPEAKS ABOUT ROTANA’S PROMISING DEBUT INTO THE KINGDOM.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: How has the hotel performed in the past few months and what are your expecta-tions for the year?
ATIEH HAMARNEH: Since opening its doors in December 2014, The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana has established itself as a first-class, luxurious hotel offering superior accommodation to travellers and tourists at a vibrant spot in the heart of the Jordanian capital. Featur-ing 391 serviced hotel apartments at a premium location in the Kingdom, the modern-built hotel continues to attract long-term travellers, families and tourists, retaining an exceptional average occupancy of 60 percent. The hotel’s main dining outlet, Café Italia, continues to push the envelope of fine dining in the capital, quickly becoming a sought-out spot for a sensational gas-tronomic experience in a stylish setting.
This year will see the hotel oper-ate within its full capacity, offering the state-of-the-art Bodylines Fitness & Wellness Club, two rooftop swimming pools and three fully-equipped confer-ence rooms, in addition to two unique food and beverage outlets; Café Mar-gaux, a stylish restaurant presenting a fresh take on delectable French classics, in addition to the coveted Café Italia.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: Which are the main challenges Jordan is facing at this point with regards to its tour-ism industry and how do you think those can be reversed in order to benefit the country?
ATIEH HAMARNEH: The most crucial challenge facing the tourism sector in Jordan, in my opinion, is the political up-heaval occurring in neighbouring coun-tries, which may have deterred tour-ists around the world from visiting the region. However, Jordan continues to boast a safe and secure standing in the region, offering an unparalleled tourism experience steeped in rich cultural, reli-gious and archaeological heritage. Many natural wonders make the Kingdom an attractive destination for visitors look-ing to embark on a multi-faceted ex-perience, starting with the internation-ally renowned Golden Triangle of Jordan which features the marvelous desert pla-teau of Wadi Rum, the rose-red city of Pe-tra and the vivacious beaches of Aqaba.
Realising the importance of tourism as a key driver for the Jordanian econo-
entertainment district awaits them just outside the hotel’s doors.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: Did recent developments in neighbouring coun-tries affect your business planning and promotional activities at the hotel?
ATIEH HAMARNEH: Despite the politi-cal tumult and instability in the region, Jordan continues to be a safe haven at-tracting tourists from the region and dif-ferent parts of the world. The country’s tourism sector is further enhanced by an unparalleled plethora of tourism sites, rooted in culture, religion and history.
The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana’s lo-cation with The Boulevard, a mixed-use complex featuring a host of indoor and outdoor restaurants, cafés, lounges, and health and entertainment clubs, in addi-tion to high-end shopping outlets, makes it the ideal location for domestic and in-ternational travellers looking to live, work and play in one central spot. Situated in close proximity to the capital’s major landmarks and attractions, the hotel en-sures its guests experience a full-rounded and memorable stay in the country. [...]
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: Which are the latest trends in Jordan’s hotel sec-tor that define hoteliers’ approach?
ATIEH HAMARNEH: The Jordanian hospitality scene has recently been witnessing several developing trends, starting with the advent of a variety of world-class hotel groups to the King-dom. In addition to welcoming The Boulevard Arjaan, Rotana’s first proper-ty in Jordan, the Kingdom is expecting the arrival of several properties from globally renowned names in the indus-try, including the second Rotana prop-erty in the Kingdom, Rotana Amman. These hotels are bringing to life new product offerings that meet the diverse needs of all types of travellers, includ-ing the top-tier serviced and furnished hotel apartments The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, which are one of the firsts of their kind in the Kingdom.
Additionally, Jordan’s hospitality sector is destined to grow with the in-troduction of a multitude of new hotel room keys to accommodate the influx of tourists into the country by several mega projects in Amman, Aqaba and the Dead Sea. These include Abdali, home of The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, Saraya Aqa-ba and Marsa Zayed. […]
CLUSTER GENERAL MANAGER, AMMAN ROTANA AND THE BOULEVARD ARJAAN BY ROTANA
my, Jordan Tourism Board has launched several vital initiatives to revive and im-prove the sector in the country, both on the domestic and international tourism levels. […] The government has also taken steps to make travelling to Jordan more convenient.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: How would you describe the hotel’s clientele?
ATIEH HAMARNEH: […] Located in the
heart of Abdali, current and future home to global multinational companies, and surrounded by retail and entertainment outlets, The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana caters to both domestic and internation-al business and leisure guests in the city. Leisure guests make up to 60 percent of our occupancy, while 40 percent of our guests are business travellers. Domes-tic tourists can also find an extraordi-nary home in The Boulevard Arjaan by Rotana, where a vibrant shopping and
20 JUNE 2015
WHO’S MOVED
19
Gabriele Ferola has been ap-pointed executive assistant manager at Oryx Rotana, Doha.Ferola, who holds a degree in physical education, has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry. He joined Oryx Rotana as di-rector of sales during the pre-opening phase in 2010. In recognition of his hard work and dedication, he was later promoted to cluster director of sales, handling the sales activities of both Oryx Rotana and Sedra Residences.
BERNARD MERCIER
NOLIE OMAR
GABRIELE FEROLA
HISHAM ALAAEDIN
Bernard Mercier has been named general manager at Kempinski Hotel Soma Bay, Cairo.A veteran of the Kempinski brand, Mercier joins the luxury hotel with a wealth of experi-ence. His most recent post was general manager at Grand Hotel Djibloho Kempinski in Equatorial Guinea.Mercier started with InterCon-tinental Hotels Group and his long career spans five conti-nents. Over the years, he has managed properties in Hong Kong, Manila, Bora Bora, Can-cun, Sanya and São Paulo for companies such as Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton World-wide and Tivoli Hotels & Resorts. Earlier roles with Kempinski in-clude cluster general manager at Villa Rosa Kempinski Nairobi and general manager of Kem-pinski Hotel Sanya Haitang Bay.
Nolie Omar is now the new general manager at Zaya Nu-rai Island, Abu Dhabi. Omar started her career in Kuala Lumpur over 20 years ago. She then worked at Parrot Cay Hotels & COMO Shambha-la Retreats, before moving to Bhutan and then continuing in Bali. Her career path took her back to Parrot Cay Hotels & COMO Shambhala Retreats and Uma Paro by COMO, Bhu-tan before joining Maalifushi by COMO in the Maldives as hotel manager. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for crafting memo-rable island guest experienc-es, Omar brings a wealth of expertise to the UAE capital.
Hisham Alaaedin has taken over as training manager at InterContinental Hotel Cairo Semiramis.Alaaedin has a strong back-ground in the retail and customer service sectors having held various training and development roles over the past nine years. Having served a number of estab-lishments, he was paramount in employee and service per-formance programmes.In addition, Alaaedin success-fully ran training initiatives across Egypt, Levant and the Gulf region where he was in-volved in training needs anal-ysis and management.
Ferola was part of the pre-opening
team
Alaaedin has a strong background
in training
Omar started her career in
Kuala Lumpur
20 JUNE 2015
TRAVEL TALK
20
SAMIR ARORA
BOUTROS BOUTROS
FAHED ABUSHAAR
General manager, Ramada Downtown Dubai
Divisional senior vice president, corporate communications, marketing and brand, Emirates
General manager, Sheraton Kuwait, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Kuwait City
“I would like to commend the team for continuously striving to provide excellent service to every guest. We place high im-portance, not just on top-quality accommodation and facilities, but also on training and honing our associates to be cordial and professional. In addition, I would like express our gratitude to our guests, for their positive feed-back [on TripAdvisor], and [the Certificate of Excellence] will fur-ther motivate us to step up our service and offerings.”
“When we ask ourselves, ‘why we travel’, we do not have to look very far for the answers. The close to 500 submissions for Be There by our talented staff speaks to our shared love for travel. Our people and our spirit of adventure play a big part in our success as an airline. [...] I am proud of our colleagues who have been chosen to rep-resent Emirates as Be There am-bassadors. We hope the stories of their individual journeys will inspire even more people to see more of the world through travel.”
We place high importance [...] on training and honing our associates
Our spirit of adventure plays a big part in our success
This […] award signifies all the hard work, effort and dedication
JAMES WILSONGeneral manager, Millennium Corniche Hotel, Abu Dhabi
“Over the past years, Millen-nium Corniche Hotel Abu Dhabi has been constantly striving for perfection, brand enhancement and quality assurance. The at-tention to detail plays a major role in our continued success. […] We are deeply privileged to receive [TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame Certificate] as a result of feedback from our valued guests. […] This certificate is like a roadmap in our journey towards quality and excellence and we will use it as a practical tool for areas of improvement.”
TRAVEL TALK IS YOUR SPACE – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hear from you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to [email protected]
Millennium Corniche Hotel Abu Dhabi has been constantly striving for perfection
“We are proud to hold our title as Kuwait’s Leading Hotel for the fifth consecutive year at the 22nd World Travel Awards. This prestigious award signifies all the hard work, effort, and dedication of the entire hotel family. I would like to take this opportunity to thank each member of our hotel family for their outstanding […]. I am confident that Sheraton Ku-wait, a Luxury Collection Hotel will maintain its highest stand-ards of excellence in service and hospitality, preserving its spot as the leading hotel and as a pio-neer in the industry.”
20 JUNE 2015
AGENT CORNER
21
B. A. Rahim
Group director and CEO
Akquasun Holidays India
India
www.akquasungroup.com
Agent’s Insight
Who are you?I am the group director and CEO of one of the largest groups of destination man-agement companies under the Akquasun Group that has its corporate head office based in Mumbai, India. Akquasun Group owns and operates 16 offices in different countries.
What is your favourite thing about working in the travel industry?Connecting people and networking.
Where would you like to travel for your next holiday?A yacht holiday in the Maldives [is my goal].
Why should people come to you for travel advice?We are 100 percent business-to-business module operators and our clients come to us due to our transparency, service and flexibility at all our destinations.
COMPANY:
POSITION:
NAME:
LOCATION:
WEBSITE:
Discovery Travel to Expand in Southeast Asia
A s part of its concerted efforts to drive tourism from the UAE to less-travelled destinations and vice versa, Discovery Travel, part of the USD4.5
billion global business conglomerate RP Group, is plan-ning to launch representative offices in Southeast Asia.
Exclusive group tours to Vietnam and the Philippines are increasingly popular among Emiratis, as Ramesh Pat-naik, general manager, Discovery Travel, explained.
“We are seeing a shift in the travel preferences of our GCC customers since 2011. Earlier, they were keener on commercial destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. However, in 2012, more than 75,000 peo-ple from the GCC countries visited the Philippines and that number grew to 80,000 the following year, starting a trend that is showing no signs of reversing.”
Viet
nam
20 JUNE 2015
TRAVEL CHANNELS
22
Al Maktoum Visits Women’s Museum
T he Women’s Museum in Dubai is the region’s first specialised museum dedi-cated to the women of the UAE; their lives and the his-
torical and social contexts prior to the oil age.
Al Maktoum toured Mahbat Al Khair Dubai, an exhibition that show-cases historic collections and telling the story of Dubai’s development from the times of the late Sheikh Rashid.
Al Maktoum commended the sin-cere efforts of Rafia Ghubash, found-er, Women’s Museum, in the revival and renewal of national heritage and its preservation.
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler, Dubai, recently visited the Women’s Museum located in old Gold Souq in Deira, Dubai.
Abu Dhabi Airports Awards Strong
Performers
Expedia: UAE Travellers Are Tech-addicted
E xpedia released results of a survey examining the mobile-device behaviours and habits of global and do-mestic UAE travellers.
The study revealed that in the UAE, 99 percent of em-ployed adults own and use at least one mobile device, 86 per-cent consider it critical to their daily lives, and nearly a third of the respondents keep a power cord on them at all times.
“Results from the UAE were particularly interesting. We found that residents are using their mobile devices through-out the travel process – for booking and while taking trips – above the global average in most categories,” commented Eman Barhoumeh, director of e-commerce, Expedia.
Hawthorn Suites Donates to DCSN
In line with its ongoing partnership with Dubai Centre for Special Needs (DCSN), Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham presented a ‘special box’ of monetary contribution collected from the hotel management
and the guests. Received by Maya Choueri, public relations manager, DCSN, the do-
nation aims to assist the rehabilitation and development of the children supported by the organisation. On top of collection box, Hawthorn Suites has been encouraging its guests to participate in the campaign through voluntary contribution.
In addition, Hawthorn Suites and DCSN discussed future plans to reinforce their cooperation, including sponsorships during special events, and providing prize vouchers for families, and outstanding teachers and therapists of DCSN.
Abu Dhabi Airports has launched its annual Star of the Year pro-gramme, which recognises indi-
viduals whose performance exceeded the overall target of Abu Dhabi Interna-tional Airport during 2014.
The company recently held a recog-nition ceremony to present the winners with their certificates. Awardees includ-ed those from partners working at the airport such as operating airlines and Etihad Airways, customs and airport po-lice as well as Abu Dhabi Airports’ sub-sidiaries such as facilities management, duty free, airport traffic and internal de-partments.
The programme also recognised individuals who interacted directly or indirectly with passengers and contrib-uted positively and exceptionally in the overall performance of Abu Dhabi Air-ports in 2014.
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Members of DCSN accept the donation
20 JUNE 2015
NEWS & EVENTS
24
EVENTSINDIA INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MART
Bangalore, IndiaJuly 10 – 12 www.iitmindia.comOne of the country’s premier travel and tourism exhibitions established in 1998, this year launches in Bangalore with upcoming showings in Chennai, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata.
MICE ASIA PACIFIC EXHIBITION
Singapore, SingaporeSeptember 10 – 11www.miceasiaexhibition.comOver two days, the event aims to connect Asia’s leading meetings, conference, exhibition and events organisers to meet and network with Asia Pacific’s leading venues.
ICOMEX
Mexico City, MexicoAugust 25 – 26 www.icomex-mexico.comPart of ibtm events, the show focusses on incentives, congresses and conventions in Latin America.
IBTM CHINA
Beijing, ChinaAugust 05 – 06 www.cibtm.comA place for the meetings, events and incentives industry decision-makers to meet for global business adventures.
ATM 2016 is Poised to Succeed
T his year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM) saw over 26,000 visitors, 15 percent more than in 2014.
Among 412 exhibitors were 113 first-timers, and in total there were over 2,800 exhibiting companies representing 86 countries, and 64 national pavilions.
Nadege Noblet-Segers, exhibition manager, ATM, enthused, “20 percent of exhibitors are already contracted for 2016, a great achievement given that this is the first time that contracting has ever taken place at the event.”
E ntering its 12th year, the Beijing International Tourism Expo (BITE) will be held from June 26 – 28, fea-
turing 330 international exhibitors.Through BITE, tourism stakeholders
and interested trade buyers will have a platform for networking and collabo-ration. In addition, countries such as Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Japan, US, Ko-rea, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Cambodia will showcase their tourism resources through on-stage destination presenta-tion sessions.
Promoting China’s Tourism Industry
