Market Update 2Accommodation News 4International News 6Air Travel News 8Travel Talk 12Travel Tips 13Who’s Moved 14Rendezvous 15Events 16

Middle East and North Africa Edition

MARCH 6, 2010 ISSUE 17 www.traveltradeweekly.travel

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8SEA CRUISERA former visitor guide at Sheikh ZayedGrand Mosque has launched a newmarine tour business, Sea Cruiser, in AbuDhabi.

A boost in charter sales across the MiddleEast may foreshadow an upward trend inprivate jet sales in the near future,according to the UAE based EmpireAviation Group (EAG).

In This Issue

EtihadBranches Out

Etihad Airways has launched a destinationmanagement company, Hala Abu Dhabi.

The new company will operate throughout theUAE, offering travel products and services ranging

from airport meet and assists, through to desertsafaris, events management and accommodation.

2

HIGH HOPES

Contact us now at sales@traveltradeweekly.travel

Peter Baumgartner, chiefcommercial officer at Etihad, saidthe new destination managementcompany was a natural extensionof the airline’s current activities.

“Etihad Airways already plays a crucial role inbringing visitors to Abu Dhabi, and theintroduction of Hala Abu Dhabi will enable usto take that role a step further at what is a veryexciting time for tourism in the region,” saidBaumgartner. “We look forward to working closely with ourdestination partners and tourism services in AbuDhabi and across all seven emirates to provide a

one-stop inbound tourism shopdelivering integrated travelsolutions and unique experiences

of consistently high quality.”Hala Abu Dhabi will offer a range of travelproducts, including: tours and desert safaris;event management; bespoke experiencepackages and VIP services; airport meet andassist; ground transportation; accommodationoptions; and business and meeting venues. Baumgartner added that the company wascommitted to strong Emirati representation;more than 50 percent of tourism professionalsworking at Hala Abu Dhabi are UAE nationals.The Hala Abu Dhabi team has been drawn fromexperienced industry figures, who have recentlydeveloped and managed inbound packages forthe Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu DhabiGrand Prix in 2009 and the V8 Supercars,hosted in Abu Dhabi in February.

MARCH 6, 20102

COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=UAE (AED) Dirham 3.67Egypt (EGP) Pound 5.47Saudi Arabia (SAR) Riyal 3.75Lebanon (LBP) Pound 1501Bahrain (BHD) Dinar 0.37Jordan ( JOD) Dinar 0.70Syria (SYP) Pound 46Kuwait (KWD) Dinar 0.28Qatar (QAR) Riyal 3.64Oman (OMR) Rial 0.38Tunisia (TND) Dinar 1.36Morocco (MAD) Dirham 8.22Iran (IRR) Riyal 10020Yemen (YER) Rial 205.5Algeria (DZD) Dinar 72.84Libya (LYD) Dinar 1.26

MENA Exchange RatesAccurate as of 3/3/2010Currencies shown in red are fixed against the US Dollar

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLYDeputy EditorLaura Warne

JournalistLouis Dillon Savage

Design & LayoutElina Pericleous

Sales & MarketingJane DavidsonMarianna TsiamasDanielle Bragg Tina Georgiou

DirectorsAndreas ConstantinidesMary Kammitsi

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Etihad Airways Officially Launches New Destination Management CompanyHala Abu Dhabi has been launched by Etihad Airways to offer travel products,services and activities throughout the UAE.

Peter Baumgartner

3MARCH 6, 2010

QTA Aims For Extra 48 Hours, Boosts UK Connection

Tourism to be Taught in Saudi SchoolsSaudi Arabia is seeking to integrate learning abouttourism into the curricula of its schools.Dr Ali Al Ghabban, vice president of antiquities andmuseums for the Saudi Commission for Tourism andAntiquities (SCTA), said his organisation was working ona co-operation agreement with the kingdom’s departmentof education.He said that the agreement, if realised, would see theaddition of tourism and archeological concepts to schoolsyllabi, as part of ongoing educational reform in SaudiArabia.

Aqaba Named Arab Tourism CapitalAqaba, Jordan, has been selected as the Arab TourismCapital for 2011 by the Arab Tourism MinistersCouncil.Maha Khateeb, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities inJordan, said the title would attract worldwide attentionto Aqaba and boost tourism in the region.Criteria cited by the council in making their choiceincluded: the city’s residential capacity; year roundmoderate climate; ease of access; and cultural andtourism activities.

Qatar haslaunched thesecond phaseof itsEuropean

Road Show, staging meetingsbetween representatives of theUK and Qatari tourismauthorities.Ahmed Abdallah Al Nuaimi,chairman of Qatar TourismAuthority (QTA), said that thepromotion was aimed at a seriesof European countries andsought to entice businesstravellers to Qatar to stay longer.Al Nuaimi pointed out thatQTA was keen to extend the

stay of businessmen in Qatar foran extra 48 hours, to explore thecountry and becomeacquainted with its developingbusiness and tourismattractions.He also flagged increased co-operation with the UK in thefields of leisure, business, sports,entertainment, scientific, healthand educational tourism.Khalid Al Mansouri, Qatar’sambassador to the UK, saidQatar had achieved significantadvances in the developmentof national infrastructure andwas now seeking to boost itstourism share.Ahmed Abdallah Al Nuaimi

MARCH 6, 20104

ACCOMMODATION NEWS

Starwood International has revealed itsdevelopment plan for 2010 and beyond,flagging a new focus on developing markets.The company will open between 80 and100 hotels in 2010, with 30 of these plannedfor North America, where more than half ofStarwood’s current inventory is located.Frits van Paasschen, CEO of Starwood, saidthe company would focus on developingmarkets going forward, to ensure afavourable position as the economystabilised.“In 2010 and beyond, we will continue tofocus on opening great hotels, signing highquality new projects and conversions, andtaking critical steps to ensure Starwoodand our development partners are

positioned to own the upswing as weincreasingly see the global market turninto positive territory,” he said.Starwood will double its portfolio in Chinato 100 hotels by 2012 and increase itspresence in India by 60 percent in the sameperiod.The Aloft brand will also be introduced toIndia this year, with three hotels scheduledto launch.The company has declared plans to expandits operations South America, citing theshortage of internationally brandedproperties as a motivation.Starwood will introduce the Westin brandto Peru with two properties, and open thefirst Westin in Mexico City this year.

Marriott and Arab International Hotels Co Sign Exclusivity Agreement in JordanMarriott International and Arab International Hotels Co (AIHC) have mutually agreed to a territorialexclusivity arrangement.

The agreement has beenreached following amanagement contractsigned by ArabInternational Hotels Co

affiliate, Beaches for Hotels and Spas, todevelop the first JW Marriott property inJordan.JW Marriott Aqaba is scheduled to openin 2013, at Aqaba on the Red Sea.The exclusivity arrangement provides forthe development of future hotels inJordan in addition to currently operatingMarriott properties.Ed Fuller, president of internationallodging for Marriott International, saidthe agreements reflected the long heldrelationship between AIHC and Marriott.“It is a relationship that has gainedmomentum in the recent years andcontinues to grow in a mutually beneficialway,” he said.

“We are thrilled to be working with AIHCon this important addition to the tourisminfrastructure of Jordan and are confidentthat the hotel will be a catalyst for thefuture growth of the tourism industry inthe country.”Nadim Muasher, chairman of the board atAIHC, pointed out that his company hadbeen operating Marriott properties for

more than 30 years, and reaffirmed hiscommitment to the brand.“The Amman Marriott was one of the firstMarriott hotels to open outside the US,” hesaid.“Our relationship with Marriott is pivotalto our expansion schemes and we lookforward to many years of a successfulpartnership with Marriott International.”

Starwood Unrolls Global Development Road MapFrits vanPaasschen

(L-R) Mark Satterfield, chief operations officer for Middle East and Africa at Marriott International; EdFuller, president of international lodging at Marriott International; Nadim Muasher, chairman of AIHC; andBassam Maayeh, managing director of AIHC.

MARCH 6, 20106

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

I f passed by the US president,the act would institute a multimillion dollar public/privatepartnership to promote the USas a travel destination and better

explain travel security policies to foreigntravellers.Known as the Corporation for TourismPromotion (CTP), the body would befunded by contributions from the privatesector and a USD10 levy on foreignarrivals from countries included in the USvisa waiver programme.Once established, CTP would bemodelled on existing regional bodies andthe national tourism authorities of otherdeveloped nations.The US has previously had no nationalbody for the promotion of its tourisminterests, either domestically orinternationally.According to figures from the US TravelAssociation (USTA), the programmecould attract 1.6 million additionalinternational visitors and generate more

than USD4 billion in revenue fromconsumer spending annually.The passage of the Act drew praise from avariety of prominent travel industryfigures within the US, including JWMarriott, CEO of Marriott International;Roger Dow, CEO of USTA; andrepresentatives of various regionaltourism promotional authorities.“Travel has the potential to open mindsand hearts to other people and cultures,”Marriott said.“Not only will the Travel Promotion Actstimulate our economy and boost oureconomic recovery, it will encouragemore citizens of the world to come seewhat we are all about.”Dow said the bill was a boon to manyworkers in America, where one in eightjobs was travel related.“The United States Congress has sent aclear message that travel is a high priorityto our nation and that tangible steps mustbe taken to increase travel to and withinthe United States,” he said.

Mega Events NeedMore Study: UNWTOFollowing the World TravelOrganisation’s (UNWTO) inauguralsummit on tourism and mega events,the organisation has declared that theimpact of mega events remainspoorly understood.Taleb Rifai, secretary general ofUNWTO said that tourism interestsneeded to work together to help eachother manage large scale eventseffectively.“There is a clear need to continueworking to understand better theimpacts of mega events in tourismand share such knowledge in order tohelp destinations in bidding for andmanaging mega events morecompetitively,” he said.Proposals that emerged from thesummit included: greeningguidelines for mega events; aknowledge repository on themanagement of mega sportingevents; and a rethink of the way thecosts and benefits of these eventswere evaluated.

Taleb Rifai

US Establishes First NationalTourism AuthorityThe US Senate has passed the Tourism Promotion Act (TPA), with amajority vote of 78 for, to 18 against.

Roger Dow

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MARCH 6, 20108

AIR TRAVEL & CRUISING NEWS

Flydubai Flies to Muscat and Kuwait in MarchFlydubai has doubled its GCC network, launching routes to two new destinations within the region.

Emirates has opened its first luxurydeparture lounge in India, at ChhatrapatiShivaji International Airport, Mumbai.Mohammed Mattar, divisional seniorvice president of airport services forEmirates attended the launch and said

the move evidenced the airline’scommitment to the Indian market.“This lounge is part of our commitmentto provide world-class services to ourpassengers,” he said.“With the exclusive Emirates lounge in

Mumbai, combined with our trademarkchauffeur drive service, our first andbusiness class passengers will enjoygreater comfort and convenience whentravelling from their doorstep through totheir final destination.”

Emirates Opens First Departure Lounge in India

Increase in Private Jet Charter Sales Follows 40 Percent CrashA boost in charter sales across theMiddle East may foreshadow an upwardtrend in private jet sales in the nearfuture, according to industry figures.

UAE based Empire Aviation Group(EAG) recorded an 11 percent increasein global charter sales for January.The company began to see strongrecovery in the last quarter of 2009, afterbeing hit with a 40 percent decrease incharter bookings in the first half of 2009. EAG operates a fleet of 21 businessaircraft across the Middle East.According to Paras Dhamecha,executive director of EAG, charterdemand was a good indicator of the

overall health of the private aviationsector.“This segment of our business allows usto showcase our aircraft and the benefitsof business jet ownership,” saidDhamecha.“Aircraft finance is becoming easier toobtain again and so the buying option isbecoming realistic; and with aircraftvalues still depressed, there is anincreasingly attractive opportunity forthose seriously considering purchase.”

The low cost carrier willoperate twice dailyflights to both Kuwaitand Muscat, Oman, fromMarch 28 and 30

respectively.Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai, saidthe destinations had been chosen for theirstrong trade and familial ties to the UAE.“Kuwait and Oman were natural choicesto be our next two destinations,” he said.“We have worked closely with theauthorities in both countries and we arevery appreciative of the help and supportthey have given us.”Al Ghaith said the Kuwait link wasexpected to operate primarily as a servicefor business travellers, although its

tourism industry was growing quickly.“Kuwait is growing in strength – itsbusinesses are thriving and its economy isexpanding,” he said.“Infrastructure developments, urbanisationand a new port at Bubiyan Island are all signsof this – and its location on the edge of themore populous northern regions of thewider Middle East will support its future.”

Conversely, he said that Oman was primarilya leisure market, but was increasing inimportance as a business centre.“Oman has a special relationship with theUAE as a place to seek relaxation, mountainscenery and unique wildlife,” he said.“[However] from a business perspective,its position on the Indian Ocean makes itan important trading and political nation.”

flydubai aircraft

EAG’sprivate fleet

MARCH 6, 201010

New Sea Cruiser Tour Company Opens in Abu DhabiA former visitor guide at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque has launched a new marine tour business, Sea Cruiser,in Abu Dhabi.

Groundbreaking: Kleindienst Makes Progress on World Piece

Y aser Al Hamiri openedthe company withfinancial assistance fromthe Khalifa Fund, whichassists Emirati

enterpreneurs to contribute to AbuDhabi’s economic diversification.“Before I started Sea Cruiser I had myown small boats, which I would take outfor fishing, and friends would constantlyask me to take them out and show themaround the small islands that surroundAbu Dhabi city,” said Al Hamiri.

“I couldn’t keep up with the demand, soit was logical for me to take the next stepand start up a dedicated business withlarger boats.”Sea Cruiser operates two sightseeingboats, each capable of holding 18passengers and two crew. Tours are nowsailing daily from Abu Dhabi, offering arange of packages, including two hour citytours, fishing trips and all day cruises.

Al Hamiri said swimming andsnorkelling trips near Saadiyat Islandwere particularly popular with families.“I’m looking forward to all the newmarinas opening up and the possibilityof picking guests up from the cornicheand taking them for a tour through thecity’s waterways to the fine-diningrestaurant of their choice – from Reemto Saadiyat and Yas Islands,” he said.

The first development on Nakheel’sThe World Islands project has begunconstruction, with Kleindienst Group’scommencement of its Heart of Europeproject.Josef Kleindienst, CEO of theKleindienst Group, said the movereflected his faith in The World as adevelopment.“The World project is very real, it istaking shape as we speak and I firmlybelieve that when complete it willbecome the most expensive property inthe emirate of Dubai,” he said.“By the end of this year you will start tosee the first villas on The World, one ofwhich will be my own home.”He said that construction was

proceeding on schedule and insisted thatthe logistics of construction on theislands would not delay the project.“Exactly two months ago we launched

Germany Island with a clear promise tostart construction in Q1 of 2010,” he said.“I am very proud to say we are deliveringon that promise.”

Yaser Al Hamiri

Nakheel’s The World project

Sea Cruiser

11MARCH 6, 2010

Yemen and Saudi Detail Tourism Co-operation PlanSaudi Arabia and Yemen have finalised the activation schedule for a tourism co-operation agreement betweenthe two countries.

The activation agreement,signed on February 27,detailed an executiveschedule for mutualprojects in the fields of

archeology and museums.Other areas of co-operation include theexchange of statistics and tourismstudies, as well as research publications

related to ecotourism.According to the Saudi Commission forTourism and Antiquities (SCTA), theagreement also required Yemen to outlineits experience in the field ofenvironmental conservation.The agreement provides for co-ordinationbetween the parties in tourism activities,including cultural events and exhibitions

held in both countries, and both partieshave committed to increase theirparticipation in conferences andexhibitions held by the other.Yemeni archaeological specialists will alsobe invited to participate in excavations inSaudi Arabia, as part of the scheme’semphasis on developing historical andheritage tourism.

Abu Dhabi Releases Visitor ProfilesAbu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)recently concluded a study whichindicated that the majority ofinternational arrivals to the emirate werefirst time visitors.Based on interviews conducted in the lastquarter of 2009, the study showed that 60percent of respondents were visiting AbuDhabi for the first time and 87 percentwould consider a second visit.The survey was undertaken as part of ayear-long visitor profiling exercise byADTA, which also sought to assess whichattractions international tourists hadvisited.Abu Dhabi Corniche was the mostcommon stop (visited by 77 percent ofarrivals), followed by shopping malls (73percent); Emirates Palace Hotel (72percent) and Sheikh Zayed GrandMosque (46 percent).Lawrence Franklin, strategy and policydirector for ADTA, said feedback hadbeen overwhelmingly positive.“One of the most important results wasthat 86 percent enjoyed their stay, ratingtheir overall experience as very good orexcellent; a massive 92 percent said theywould definitely, or probably, recommendAbu Dhabi to others,” he said.

MARCH 6, 201012

Travel Talk is your space – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hear from you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to editorial@traveltradeweekly.travel

The family tourism aspect of Sharjah isn’t thatwell known on the international tourism scene

China is expected to be one of the world’slargest outbound tourism markets by 2020

Environmentalresponsibility is

good for business

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al QassimiChairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA)"The ITB exhibition sets the stage for discussingand exchanging the latest trends and technologiesin tourism, opening up numerous opportunitiesfor commercial trade and tourism investmentsbetween participating countries. So, we haveensured that this year Sharjah is represented byestablishments from both the government andprivate sectors from the emirate in order to drawthe full picture of the tourism industry andinvestments in the emirate. Sharjah's suite at theexhibition is a great stage to promote the familytourism aspect of Sharjah, which isn’t that wellknown on the international tourism scene.”

Noel MassoudCEO, Jinan Hotels and Resorts“It is easy to shout about a company’sgreen credentials, but harder to followwords through with actions. Bydesigning our offices according toLeadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design (LEED)principles, we want to reaffirm ourcommitment to environmentalsustainability. We also want todemonstrate that environmentalresponsibility is good for business – itsaves money, enhances efficiency anddemonstrates good citizenship. At theend of the day, minimising thenegative impact on the environmentand the community is what allcompanies should strive for.”

Simon TurnerPresident of Global Development, Starwood“When you take a look at India and China combined, you have 40 percent of theworld’s population and between them, they are averaging eight percent growth inGDP. By working to further establish relationships with travellers in these critical,high-growth markets today, we are ensuring the success of Starwood tomorrow.China is expected to be one of the world’s largest outbound tourism markets by2020, with a predicted 100 million outbound trips per year. As the Chinese travel,they are going to stay with the brands they know from home, which will have ameaningful effect on our business globally and underscores our focus there.

Noel Massoud

Sheikh Sultan binAhmed Al Qassimi

SCTDA’s exhibition stand

13MARCH 6, 2010

Tips and tricks from industry experts, bringing you the latest in emerging destinations,technology, marketing and travel trends.

Certified Certainty – Why Official Accreditation Pays Off

Environmentallyconscious travellersare a major travel

trend today

A range of environmentalaccreditation programmesare taking off in the MiddleEast, with companies keento prove their green claims

are backed up by international standards. Abdul-Quddus Sheikh, director ofengineering at The Palace – The Old Townin Dubai, is currently spearheading hishotel’s certification process with GreenGlobe Certification (GGC). He explains why it’s good to be green(officially);“There are three main advantages ofattaining certification,” he said.“First of all, it gives us a competitive edge,

especially when we are trying to attractenvironmentally conscious travellers, whichis a major travel trend today.“Secondly, after the initial investment,sustainability starts to pay back straightaway,whether it’s the solar panels on the roof, orenergy-saving lightbulbs.“Finally and most importantly, it is our dutyto save energy and natural resources for thenext generation.”Miramar Resort in Fujairah has also signedup for GGC, which is a worldwidesustainability certification for the tourismindustry. More than 800 businesses in 50 countrieshave met the 248 standards set by GGC.

Abdul-Quddus Sheikh

MARCH 6, 201014

Accor Executive CouncilAccor has appointed an executivecommittee to oversee its hotel interestsfollowing the impending demergerfrom its services wing. Yann Caillére,Michael Isenberg and Michael Flaxmanhave been named as chief operatingofficers for Accor’s three regionaldivisions. Caillére will be handling Europe, theMiddle East and Africa, plus SofitelWorldwide; Isenberg will beresponsible for the Asia Pacific region;and Flaxman will be in charge of theAmericas.Jean-Luc Chrétien has been named asexecutive vice president of hotelmarketing and distribution. The role ofchief financial officer will be held byOlivier Poirot. Patrick Olliver willbecome executive vice president of globalhuman resources and Sophie Goldblum-Flak will operate as executive vicepresident for business transformation,innovation, technologies, and sustainabledevelopment. Pascal Quint will serve ascorporate secretary and secretary to theboard of directors in charge of legal affairs,insurance and risk management.

Yann Caillére

Benno GeruschkatBenno Geruschkat, general manager of Grand Hyatt Amman, has been appointedarea director of Egypt and Jordan. In addition to maintaining his current position,Geruschkat will now oversee three additional Hyatt properties in Egypt – GrandHyatt Cairo, Hyatt Regency Sharm El Sheikh and Hyatt Regency Taba Heights.Geruschkat joined Hyatt in 1988 in Cologne and has since worked at various Hyattproperties around the world, including Montreux, Casablanca, Macau, Paris andMainz. He began working at Grand Hyatt Amman in 2007. He graduated from theInternational School of Hotel Management in Germany and later completed anMBA by distance education.

Ko Van den HilStarwood Hotels and Resorts hasappointed Ko Van den Hil as the newgeneral manager for Sheraton MiramarResort in El Gouna, Egypt. Van den Hilhas 18 years of experience in thehospitality industry. He joined Starwoodin 2001 as financial controller forSheraton Luxembourg Aerogolf Hotel.He later worked in various roles forseveral other Starwood properties,before being appointed to his previousposition - hotel manager for The WestinDubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort.

Ko Van den Hil

Etihad AirwaysFive Emirati graduate managers have commenced training at Etihad Airways’headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The group will undertake a 21 month graduate managementdevelopment programme, including a nine month workplace orientation in key Etihaddepartments, followed by a six month placement with a specific team. Work placementsinclude outstation airport operations, customer service, sales and marketing, reservations,pricing and ticketing, network and schedule planning, finance and human resources. Thefive group members are Mariam Hasan Al Marzouqi; Mohammed Ahmed Al Nuaimi;Omar Saeed Al Mamari; Shaima Jaffar; and Mohamed Mansoor Mohamed.

(L-R) Mariam Hasan Al Marzouqi;Omar Saeed Al Mamari; andMohamed Mansoor Mohamed

15MARCH 6, 2010

Q&A with Thomas Tapken

Travel Trade Weekly: Please outlineCity Season’s new developments.Thomas Tapken: We have four existingproperties: two in Dubai, one in Abu Dhabiand one in Al Ain. The next to open will bein Muscat, with 350 rooms in the diplomaticarea – a great location. This property willeither be a five star or a very up-market fourstar property – it depends on themunicipality requirements. The City Seasons Royal in Abu Dhabi is nexton our development list; it will be a five star,500 room property in a very traditionalArabic style.We also have another Abu Dhabi property,City Season Park, with 155 rooms. This willbe a very modern four star hotel and willopen in two to three years. Lastly, at this present stage, is a hotel inBur Dubai, which will be connected to theBurjuman shopping mall. It will also be avery contemporary property and isscheduled to open in three years.

Travel Trade Weekly: You recentlyannounced that the group was interestedin creating a management company.Can you expand on that?Thomas Tapken:All our currentproperties and the upcoming hotels areowned by the Bin Ham Group. We are alsolooking at properties that we can manage. We are currently in negotiations for the firstof these properties and will hopefully haveour first agreement signed within the nextthree months. At the moment, we are looking atproperties in Switzerland and Germanythat we could acquire; we are talking to afreehold hotel in Switzerland and aGerman hotel management companywhere we could potentially take over their

entire portfolio of hotels.Let’s face it – it’s the right time to buy.We want to go global and the only way to gointernational is to have a base in Europe. Weare very strong in the Middle East and wewill be even stronger with our new hoteldevelopments. Now, we would like to go international.

Travel Trade Weekly: What is the mainclient focus for City Seasons?Thomas Tapken: Our existing propertiesare city hotels in central locations, whichmakes them popular with the short termleisure market. There is a very strong leisure market fromwithin the GCC and they favour CitySeasons because we have non-alcohol hotels.The Muslim market is very strong – I haveless concern operating a dry [alcohol free]hotel during the summer months than Iwould operating one that sells alcohol,because the majority of our market comesfrom GCC families. Corporate clients also like our centrallocations and we are concentrating oncorporate services, such as fast check-insystems.

Travel Trade Weekly: How is CitySeasons performing in its variousmarkets and how do you plan topromote your hotels throughout theyear?Thomas Tapken: Abu Dhabi is anincredibly strong market and rates are stayinghigh. In Dubai, January and February were bothgood months; we met our budgetexpectations and attracted a strong GCCmarket as well as many internationalcorporate guests.

We have restructured our management andsales department in Dubai, which gave us anew wind to perform well in the market. Oman’s short stay and group markets havereduced over the past year, but there is stillhigh demand. The corporate andgovernment market is strong in Oman. We will be running several promotions forthe summer months – we’ve signed withEmirates for their children stay freecampaign. By April at the latest, everybody will have toput their cards on the table in terms of rates,so that they can sell for the summer. Reputation plays a big part in success – weare strong in the GCC market and we focuson that. But I will also be in Berlin and London,promoting the hotel to an internationalaudience. Until now, we’ve had a very strong localorientation. Over the next 12 to 18 months,we want to bring City Seasons into theinternational market and I think we can easilycompete on a global level.

Thomas Tapken joined City Seasons Group as group general manager in late 2009, just in time to announcea year of major growth for the company. City Seasons has finalised a development pipeline that will doubleits current offering over the next three years. Thomas Tapken discusses the upcoming properties, as well as thegroup’s hotel management and acquisition plans.

Let’s face it – now isthe right time to buy

Thomas Tapken

MARCH 6, 201016

EventsChina Outbound Travel and Tourism MarketBeijing, PRC, April 28-30 (www.cottm.com)A business to business platform for international destinationsand companies to introduce their products to the Chineseoutbound travel industry.

Arabian Hotel Investment ConferenceDubai, UAE, May 1-3 (www.arabianconference.com)Interviews with hoteliers, forecasts from economists, paneldiscussions on the latest developments, trends and bestpractice in the hotel and investment industry.

Arabian Travel MarketDubai, UAE, May 4-7 (www.arabiantravelmarket.com)Travel and tourism event for inbound and outboundtourism professionals, featuring destinations,accommodation, tourism attractions and airlines.

HOTEC Middle EastMuscat, Oman, May 7-10 (www.mcleaneventsinternational.com/events/HotecMiddleEast2010)Business to business meetings forum for hotel owners,developers and operators to meet with suppliers.

The Hotel ShowDubai, UAE, May 18-20 (www.thehotelshow.com)Exhibition for hoteliers and suppliers to the hotel industry.

ITB BerlinBerlin, Germany, March 10-14 (www.itb-berlin.com)A combination of trade exhibition, public exhibition andprofessional convention for the travel trade industry.

Britain and Ireland Marketplace 2010London, UK, March 16 (www.bim.travel)Workshop for tour operators, wholesalers and intermediaries tomeet suppliers from the UK and Ireland’s hotels, attractions,ground handlers and other tourism services

Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition Moscow, Russia, March 17-20 (www.mitt.ru/en)International trade exhibition for trade and consumer visitors, with 157participating destinations and more than 3,000 companies.

GIBTMAbu Dhabi, UAE, March 29-31 (www.gibtm.com)International event for the business travel and meetings industryin the Gulf and Middle East region.

Meeting LuxuryLugano, Switzerland, April 8-10 (www.meetingluxury.com/en)Exhibition for top end travel products.

World Holiday and Travel FairJohannesburg, South Africa, April 16-18 (www.worldtravelfair.co.za)Split between a business to business exhibition and public access,with the opportunity for on the spot selling to consumers.

To book contact us at sales@traveltradeweekly.travel

The US based National Business TravelAssociation (NBTA) has finalised thedates for its inaugural Europeanconference: NBTA Europe.The conference will be held onSeptember 7 and 8, 2010, in Lisbon,Portugal.According to NBTA, the event will bebuyer oriented and is aimed at senior

and middle managers with pan-European responsibility; approximately250 delegates are expected toparticipate.The conference will be divided into fourcontent streams, including the stimulusstream, designed to foster the exchangeof new thinking between differentelements of the business travel industry;

and the European 100 Stream, intendedto facilitate the exchange of best practiceprocedures between buyers fromEurope’s top 100 companies.NBTA Europe will also include a mini-MBA programme, operated by theWharton business school, which willrun from September 8 to 10, and will beopen to 20 delegates.

NBTA Announces Dates for European Conference