Middle East and North Africa Edition

oCtober 1, 2011 issue 99 www.traveltradeweekly.travel

October 1, Issue 99

Market Update 2Weekly News 3Air Travel News 6International 10Who’s Moved 11Travel Talk 12Agents’ Corner 13Travel Channels 14Rendezvous 15Events 16 44

CzeCh airlines debutsin abu dhabiCzech airlines and abu dhabi airportsCompany in cooperation with etihadairways have launched the europeancarrier’s first service between abu dhabiand prague.

In This Issue

88Kenya airways to spreadwings to JeddahKenya airways is set to commence flightsto Jeddah, saudi arabia, effective fromoctober 18. The new service will mark thenational carrier’s 56th global destinationand the third in the Middle east.

88

Al Faisal Holding Company, through its subsidiaryAl Rayan Tourism & Investment Company, has

acquired W Hotel London.

Al Faisal Holding Company Acquires W Hotel London

denis hennequin, Ceo,accor, elaborated on thecompany’s strategy.“today we are launching alarge-scale project to establish

accor as the world reference in the hotelindustry capable of inventing the hotels of thefuture. This major initiative will involve all ourteams. to do so, we will rely on the accor brandthat we intend to make more visible to thegeneral public in particular, in order to meetdistribution challenges.” accor’s ambition is reflected through a newsignature: ‘open new Frontiers in hospitality’and through stronger identity symbols. Theobjective is to offer a new, unique hotelexperience with repositioned brands andmodern, innovative services.

The necessary changes will firstoccur on the economy segment. “with our international leader-ship, we will revolutionise our

economy brand portfolio around the ibis brand,which benefits from unrivalled worldwidenotoriety. Consequently, ibis, etap hotel and allseasons will evolve into a group of three strong,innovative, modernised brands and becomeibis, ibis styles and ibis budget. ibis is now thekeystone of our economy portfolio.”in a move to better project a self-enhancingimage, all of the group’s economy products andservices will be re-invented to transcend theirmarket segment. upon implementation by early 2013, accor isexpected to reach a critical mass in severalmarkets and boost each brand’s notoriety andgrowth potential. The ibis mega brand’s newimage will be built on the three structuringconcepts: modernity, simplicity and well-being. in a move to better correspond to new trendsand meet the expectations of tomorrow’scustomers the hotels will also be upgraded. accor currently operates 1,500 economy hotelson four continents.

oCtober 1, 20112

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLYManaging Editor

Mary Kammitsimary@traveltradeweekly.travel

Journalistsrita Kasziba

Marianna Keendominique Christou

Design & Layoutelina pericleous

Sales & MarketingMaria demetriadou

brighite essdominique tennant

Directorsandreas Constantinides

Mary Kammitsi

Headquarterst.t.w. travel trade weekly ltd.

p.o. box 25255nicosia 1308 Cyprustel: +35722820888Fax: +35722318958

Websitewww.traveltradeweekly.travel

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COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=uae (aed) dirham 3.67egypt (egp) pound 5.97saudi arabia (sar) riyal 3.75lebanon (lbp) pound 1,507.50bahrain (bhd) dinar 0.37Jordan ( Jod) dinar 0.71syria (syp) pound 48.75Kuwait (Kwd) dinar 0.28Qatar (Qar) riyal 3.64oman (oMr) rial 0.38tunisia (tnd) dinar 1.43Morocco (Mad) dirham 8.24iran (irr) riyal 10,747.00yemen (yer) rial 214.20algeria (dzd) dinar 73.67libya (lyd) dinar 1.23

MENA Exchange RatesAccurate as of 29/9/2011Currencies shown in red are fixed against the us dollar

Marriott International’s omaha global reservation sales & Customer CareCentre generated usd1.3 billion in annual property level revenue in 2010, usingthe newest technology.The announcement of the centre’s annual property level revenue for managed,owned, leased and franchised hotels across Marriott’s family of brands was madeon July 27, marking the 40th anniversary of Marriott’s first reservation centre,which now supports over 3,500 properties worldwide. today the facility handlesover seven million calls a year and employs innovative web-based technology inits reservation system. The reservation Centre has evolved from solely taking hotel room reservationsto a full-service customer care centre, managing worldwide reservations,customer service and national sales. it has also been recognised twice as the‘number one, best place to work’ by the omaha Chamber of Commerce.The centre is the hub of a virtual network linking seven north american callcentres and seven international call centres. it also boasts the largest populationof the company’s innovative myplace by Marriott remote agent program,allowing more than 253 sales agents the opportunity to work from home andgenerate more than usd2.8 million in revenue.

Accor’s ibis to Become a Mega BrandAccor has inaugurated a new chapter in its history in a move to redefine itsobjective and drive its economy segment.

Marriott’s Omaha Centre Yields in Annual Property Level Revenue

oCtober 1, 20114

horst pezetta, productdirector, go Vacationindonesia, which ispart of the thirdlargest tour operator

in germany, The rewe group, elabo-rated on his faith in the deal to help thecompany reach its objectives. “as we re-ceived more information about illusions,we became even more confident that thesystem could help us achieve our key goalsof expanding our business and providingbetter services to our existing customersand tour operator partners, as well as re-ducing labour costs and becoming moreefficient.”The implemented system will automateand integrate every aspect of go Vacationindonesia’s business, including productmanagement, hotel services contracting,

packages and back-to-back series, clientprofiles, tariff rules, a booking engine,client and supplier documentation, ac-counts receivables and accounts payables,customer relationship management, logis-tics and planning modules and internetbooking engines for clients to purchasethe entire product range online.The XMl capability will allow goVacation’s client systems to connect to theillusions system for product pricing,availability and making bookings, whileillusions online’s new world traveleXchange (iwtX) system allows allillusions customers to access and sell oneanother’s content.all these functions are integrated into onecentralised online system, including bothgo Vacation indonesia and go VacationThailand.

Illusions Online Secures Dealwith Go Vacation IndonesiaLeading travel technology provider, Illusions Online, has signed anagreement with Go Vacation Indonesia. The move follows a contractwith Go Vacation Thailand and strengthens Illusions Online’s strongholdin the Asian market.

Al Faisal Holding Company, one ofQatar’s most prominent privatediversified industry groups, throughits subsidiary al rayan tourism &investment Company (artiC), hasacquired w hotel london for closeto gbp200 million (usd309.84million). The contract exchange betweenartiC and northern irish devel-oper, Mcaleer & rush, marks one ofthe most prestigious hotel transac-tions of the year. The 192-room prop-erty, launched in January this year, islocated on the corner of leicestersquare. besides the state-of-the-arthotel, the 10-storey building housesan exclusive branded apartment, fea-turing 11 luxury duplex branded wresidences. in addition, the propertyis also home to europe’s first M&M’sworld store. The acquisition of the imposing wlondon brings artiC’s hotel port-folio to 11 properties located acrossQatar, egypt, london, comprising ofseven fully operational hotels and fourunder development. Faisal bin Qassim al Thani, chairman,al Faisal holding Company, com-mented on the transaction.“we are delighted to have acquiredthis iconic landmark londondevelopment. given its one-of-a-kindarchitectural quality, attractive settingand the strength of the internationalcovenants of starwood hotels &resorts worldwide and Mars retailgroup, the addition of the w hotelto the portfolio reflects our clearinvestment focus on high qualityassets in prime locations as wecontinue to grow the business bothlocally and internationally.”

Al Faisal Holding Company Acquires W Hotel London

oCtober 1, 20116

- Air News

execuJet europe and Middle east has added seven newaircraft to its managed fleet, and is to continue to add anaverage of one aircraft a month. execuJet Middle east continued to expand its fleet with theaddition of a new Challenger 850 which is available forcharter flights. The executive aviation group manages 150 business jetsworldwide which are covered by seven regional and civilaviation issued air operating services. paul van der blom, business development director, execuJet,Middle east, commented on the expansion. “we are very pleasedwith the new addition of the fleet. The Challenger 850, althoughnot a new aircraft for us, is the first type on our commercialregister and the owner is a repeat customer who we thank for hiscontinued trust in execuJet.”execuJet’s management service packages including crewing,dispatch, handling and in-house maintenance capabilities. Cedric Migeon, managing director, execuJet, europe,commented on the change in requirements and how customersare leaning towards more specific criteria. “we are currentlyseeing a growing demand for a varied mix of aircraft and a trendamong brokers and clients to request smaller cabin aircraft, notjust long range aircraft, when seeking charter requests.”

the airline’s winter sched-ule will include increasedflight options from sin-gapore to osaka with 11weekly flights, whereas

bangkok will be served five times a day,offering greater choice to travellers de-parting from abu dhabi internationalairport. The carrier will also increase fre-quency to auckland, Christchurch, bris-bane and perth, and will offer directconnection from abu dhabi to seoul andguangzhou. ahmad al haddabi, chief operating officer,abu dhabi airport Company (adaC),commented on the announcement. “we are delighted to see more of our air-line partners offer more choices to our

passengers. singapore airlines improvedconnectivity over Changi ties into ourbusy winter season with the abu dhabi

Formula one grand prix and the uae’speak tourism period. This is in line withadaC’s continuous commitment to pro-

viding customers with improved servicesand convenient access to increasinglypopular destinations around the world.”lee Juing young, manager, singapore air-lines abu dhabi office, highlighted abudhabi’s growing importance. “singapore airlines is pleased to provideits customers with improved connectionsbetween abu dhabi and the asia pacificregion, as abu dhabi is becoming an in-creasingly important hub for business andtourism.”starting from september 27, singaporeairlines will launch flights through its re-gional subsidiary, silkair, to Koh samui inThailand. From october 11, the airlinewill also operate services to bandung, thethird largest city in indonesia.

Singapore Airlines Upgrades Abu Dhabi ConnectionsSingapore Airlines is to strengthen its presence in the UAE by enhancing its flight schedule and connectivity fromAbu Dhabi via Singapore to several destinations within the Asia Pacific region, starting from October 30.

ExecuJet Adds New Aircraft

Singapore Airlines

oCtober 1, 20118

- Air News

the new route, which will be operated on a codeshareagreement with etihad airways, will offer passengers fourweekly flights to the Czech capital. ahmad al haddabi, chief operating officer, adaC,elaborated on the new route.

“adaC is pleased to welcome Czech airlines into abu dhabi internationalairport airlines’ portfolio, which is a direct result of its successful airlinedevelopment strategy in attracting new airlines and expanding the airport’snetwork. This strategy relies mainly on the quality of services and facilitiesmade available to all of the airport’s airlines through adaC’s commitment tocontinuously upgrade the infrastructure of abu dhabi international airport.”The partnership brings great benefits for both nations, emphasised Miroslavdvořák, president, Czech airlines. “Thanks to the perfect harmonisation of departure and arrival times at abudhabi, destinations in the Middle east, africa, the indian subcontinent, asiaand australia have never been as accessible from prague as they are now.”peter baumgartner, chief operating officer, etihad airways, commented on thepartnership. “as the world’s leading airline, this new strategic relationshipwhich includes but is not limited to just a codeshare agreement, illustratesetihad’s growing ambitions in the central and eastern europe region. it opensup the beautiful city of prague that we have been eager to offer our guestsfor such a long time, and we are certain these new connections and theseamless flight experience offered jointly by etihad and Czech airlines, willappeal to both business and leisure travellers alike.”

Kenya Airways is set to commence flights toJeddah, saudi arabia, effective from october 18. The new service will mark the national carrier’s56th global destination and the third in theMiddle east. The airline will deploy a boeing737-800 on the route, which will be operatedtwice a week on tuesdays and saturdays. The latest addition to Kenya airways’ growingnetwork reinforces the carrier’s ambition tospread its wings further than the borders of thecontinent.

The second largest city in saudi arabia holdsgreat potential due to its instrumental role intrading as well as being the gateway to the holycity of Mecca, noted titus naikuni, Ceo, Kenya airways. “Kenya airways is pleased to launch this service,our third to the Middle eastern region. it istestament to our efforts to grow our networkinternationally so as to offer connectivity not justacross africa, but from africa to the rest of theworld through our nairobi hub.”apart from opening new doors for business, theservice will also boost tourism between the two countries.“The Middle east offers great potential fortourists from Kenya and we are confident thatthe new service from Kenya airways will makeit easier for our partners in the industry to bringin visitors to explore what Kenya has to offer,”explained naikuni.The airline is to rev-up its expansion and improveits existing routes by adding new aircraft andestablishing additional frequencies on the hightraffic routes to ensure the ariline offers moreflights to customers.

Kenya Airways to SpreadWings to Jeddah

Czech Airlines Debuts in Abu DhabiCzech Airlines and Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) incooperation with Etihad Airways have launched the Europeancarrier’s first service between Abu Dhabi and Prague.

Kenya Airways

oCtober 1, 201110

- International

the all-suite hotel,previously operatedas hawthorne suitesby wyndham, in-vested usd1.3 mil-

lion in the conversion to better caterto business and leisure travellersseeking a comfortable extended-stayexperience. The four-storey property, conve-niently located near orlando inter-national airport and within closeproximity to medical facilities as wellas entertainment and business com-plexes, boasts exceptional guestamenities and services, noted ginalabarre, vice president for americasbrand management, ihg.

“we are very pleased to welcome thisproperty to our growing family ofupscale extended-stay hotels. Thisnew staybridge suites in orlandooffers our upscale extended-stayamenities, such as full kitchens,comfortable living areas, house-keeping and meal services and willappeal to guests whether they are inorlando for business or leisure.”besides 135 rooms, classified in threesuite options, staybridge suitesorlando airport hotel features aswimming pool, a fitness centre, anoutdoor living room to unwind, agreat room for evening reception, abusiness centre and a meeting roomfor smaller gatherings.

Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport OpensFollowing a brand change, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has opened Staybridge Suites OrlandoAirport, its latest property in the US.

Banyan Tree Bangkok Caters to anIncrease of Middle Eastern GuestsA 15 percent increase has been reported by banyan treebangkok from Middle east visitors this year, incomparison to the same period in 2010.bangkok is one of the most desired holiday destinationsfor Middle eastern travellers. Visitors to the country areexpected to rise by eight percent for this year, accordingto the tourism authority of Thailand. banyan tree bangkok is ideally located in the centralbusiness and embassy district, just a 40 minute drive fromsuvarnabhumi international airport. The hotel offers an array of packages including differentroom packages, luxurious spa services and exclusivedining outlets. along with the exquisite banyan treeservice, the hotel offers Middle eastern guests a Muslimfriendly menu with food prepared in a certified halalkitchen.sriram Kailasam, general manager, banyan tree bangkok,commented on the product. “as part of banyan tree’sphilosophy, we are continually innovating so as to offerproducts and experiences that better cater to our guest’sspecific needs.”

Staybridge Suites Orlando Airport

11oCtober 1, 2011

Fahad Mohammed wali Karmostaji has been appointedvice president of commercial at royal Jet, the abu dhabi-based international luxury flight services company. Theformer director of sales has been tasked with further en-hancing service excellence delivery and global reach. hisfirst move has been to streamline and reinforce the depart-

ment through a numberof new appointments.Karmostaji aims to fulfilthe ambitious commer-cial plans of royal Jet,achieve higher growthand provide better valuefor the company’s cus-tomers. he will be in-strumental in increasingthe size and flexibility ofroyal Jet’s fleet to 20 air-craft by 2015 and furtherexpand its operationacross the globe.

Michael MoeckingMichael Moecking has been named general manager of Fair-mont dubai. with a career spanning over 25 years, he brings awealth of experience and strong strategic vision to the role, inwhich he will be responsible for the performance and day-to-day operations of the recently refurbished property. prior tojoining Fairmont dubai, Moecking held progressive positionswith leading hospitality companies, including Kempinski ho-tels, interContinental hotels & resorts and swissôtel hotels

& resorts, part ofFairmont raffles ho-tels international. aspre-opening general manager, he was in-strumental in thelaunch of swissôtelsharm el sheikh.Most recently heworked as generalmanager of swissôtelberlin and area gen-eral manager, ger-many.

Cornelia ErhardtCornelia erhardt has beenappointed general managerof radisson blu resort, Fu-jairah. erhardt first joinedthe hotel company in 1978as director of housekeepingat radisson sas scandi-navia hotel. over the lastthree decades, she hasgained experience in variouspositions around the world,including denmark, lithua-nia, uae and Jordan. er-hardt first moved to theMiddle east in 2007 to takeon the role of general manager for the pre-opening ofradisson blu residence, dubai Marina. two years later,she continued as general manager of radisson blu tala bayresort in aqaba, Jordan. in her new role, erhardt will leadher team to establish radisson blu resort, Fujairah as aleading resort in uae.

Fahad Mohammed Wali Karmostaji

Michael Moecking

Cornelia Erhardt

Fahad Mohammed Wali Karmostaji

oCtober 1, 201112

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

“achieving international environmentalstandards is non-negotiable for everyMövenpick hotel and our stakeholdersexpect us to demonstrate a long-termcommitment to actions that run thegamut of the sustainability agenda,from practical energy-saving initia-tives to employee education and com-munity awareness. The obvious and immediate paybackof having green globe Certification is

improved financial performance through operational costsavings. The intellectual investment in reaching certificationhas also engendered a new culture of commitment to positiveenvironmental action among our employees. This has far-reaching long term benefits for both Mövenpick hotel deiraand the wider hospitality industry with a new generation ofeco-activists walking the sustainability talk.”

“i look back on 35 fantastic and in-credibly diversified years – and for-ward to more than three equallyexciting years. i still love what i amdoing and feel that i can still movethings.i will further focus on revenue gen-eration, and on rezidor’s profitablegrowth in emerging markets like

russia/Cis and africa. we were pioneers in these regionsand are today among the leading international players, a po-sition which we want to keep and extend. on the worldwidemarket, we aim to globally align our brands together withCarlson, owner of the radisson and park inn brands andour majority shareholder. we are definitely ready for thenext level.”

Michael Nugentgeneral manager, Mövenpick Hotel Deira.

Kurt Ritter, CEO, Rezidor. (The longest serving president and CEO of the hospital-ity industry)

Michael NugentKurt Ritter

Travelport, the business services provider to the global travelindustry, has embarked on the Middle east roll-out of smartpoint,a new add-on application for its galileo desktop. The newtechnology is set to evolutionise the way galileo-connected agentsbook travel. The innovative application accelerates the reservationprocess by reducing call handling times and overall keystrokes. in the first phase of the roll-out selected galileo users across theregion’s six countries, namely the uae, saudi arabia, Kuwait,lebanon, oman and egypt, will benefit from the advancementof the new technology, while the fourth quarter of the year willsee the deployment of smartpoint to a wider commercial basis. The application leverages dynamic and interactive technology toimprove productivity and customer service, noted rahib saab,president, Middle east and africa, travelport. “This is innovation at its very best. i foresee travelportsmartpoint app being quickly adopted by travel agencies in theregion, as it is easy to install and supports different gdslanguages. by building on how agents already work, smartpointwill strengthen a travel agency’s most valuable assets, theirinvestments in people and technology.”

13oCtober 1, 2011

Name: Adam JebrinPosition: Managing directorCompany: Alwaseilah ToursLocation: Iraq

Agent’s Insight

Who are you?My name is adam Jebrin and i am the managing directorof alwaseliah tours, iraq. we are a limited companybased in the north west of england also with offices iniraq. our service is to offer group tours of iraq’s religiousand historical sites.

What is your favourite thing about working in thetravel industry?i truly enjoy offering good travelling services to mycustomers. Furthermore, as i was born in iraq, i wouldlike the world to come and see 7000 years of history inthe making.

When is the best time to visit Iraq?iraq is a destination you can visit all year round, however,avoid July and august if you cannot handle the heat.

Where would you like to travel to for your nextholiday?i would like to visit Kenya.

Why should people come to you for travel advice?For the first 17 years of my life i lived in iraq and i havetravelled the world. i treat all of my clients as if it wereme travelling.

Travelport Brings Smartpoint to theMiddle East

Al Nayaf, Iraq

oCtober 1, 201114

Disney Brings Avatar into LifeWalt Disney Parks & Resorts Worldwide has joined forces withfilmmaker James Cameron and Fox Filmed Entertainment to createAvatar-inspired lands at Disney parks.

disney is to start the con-struction of the firstavatar inspired landwithin the animal King-dom park of walt dis-

ney world in orlando by 2013. upon launching attractions, guest will begiven the opportunity to explore the fan-tasy world of the movie, commentedrobert iger, Ceo, The walt disney Com-pany.“James Cameron is a groundbreaking film-maker and gifted storyteller who sharesour passion for creativity, technological in-novation and delivering the best experi-ence possible. with this agreement, we have the extraor-dinary opportunity to combine James' tal-ent and vision with the imagination andexpertise of disney.”The re-creation of the mysterious universeof avatar is to provide fans with a truly

spectacular experience, added JamesCameron. “avatar created a world whichaudiences can discover again and again andnow, through this incredible partnershipwith disney, we will be able to bring pan-dora to life like never before.”with the sealing of the agreement, Thewalt disney Company obtained exclusiveglobal theme park rights to the avatar fran-chise, which has proved to be popular allaround the world, noted Thomas staggs,chairman, walt disney parks & resorts. “avatar is a uniquely powerful franchisethat has global appeal with audiences of allages. its spectacular settings, intriguingcharacters, imaginative creatures, andstrong themes of family and loyalty makeit a perfect fit for disney. we cannot wait to give our guests the abil-ity to journey to pandora and explore theincredible immersive world of avatar inperson.”

Qatar tourism authority (Qta) haslaunched a mobile friendly version ofits website. The site providestravellers with access to Qatar’s mainportal wherever they are in the world.The site offers users Qatar news,upcoming events and attractionsalong with travel information.Qta indicated that the new site givesvisitors to Qatar, as well as thoseliving there, access to all the latestinformation about the country. Thewebsite can be easily navigated froma smartphone, iphone or blackberry.The site is convenient for people onthe go who want information onQatar. it can be accessed from allaround the globe, in a simple, easy toread format. it also gives viewers the tools theyneed to plan their trip or adventurewithin Qatar as well as informationabout the country.

Qatar on the Go

The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Travel Trade Weekly: How did thetourism board’s work help to developthe industry and create a strongerbrand image for the country?John Gunter: The Canadian tourismCommission (CtC) has worked hard tohave Canada's tourism brand recognisedas the top in the world. in 2010,Futurebrand ranked Canada's brand asthe top country brand in the world. CtChas also created the signature experienceCollection (se) and Frontiers north'stundra buggy adventure was selected asone of the very few Canadian signatureexperiences.

Travel Trade Weekly: What makesFrontiers North’s Signature Expe-rience stand out?John Gunter: nowhere else on earth doguests have the opportunity to experiencevolumes of polar bears in a safe andintimate natural setting. Frontiers northis a professional tourism business, solocking your gaze with a wild polar bear isan important part of a much more in-depth tourism experience. we are veryproud that our organisation manages thequality of our guests' experience from thetype of airplane used to travel to ourremote destinations, highway coachesused for transfers, friendly and courteousstaff at our hotel properties, uniquelyCanadian cuisine and, of course, expertguiding we provide all of our valuedguests.

Travel Trade Weekly: How can thetourist attractions involved in theSignature Experiences Collection playa part in helping to attract morevisitors to Canada?

John Gunter: by identifying Canada'ssignature experiences and CtC sendingthese experiences to the frontline of ourtourism communications, we are leadingwith what differentiates our country fromall the rest and i think that helps guestsrealise what exactly we are up to inCanada. we have a very large country, andthe CtC’s signature experienceCollection helps guests get beyond themajor centres with international airports.

Travel Trade Weekly: How importantwill tourists from the MENA region befor your business and Canada’stourism and what is being done toattract more visitors from this region?John Gunter: i think it is important thatwe work to host guests from every regionin the world, and i can share with you thatwe do host guests from countries from theMiddle east and north africa regardlessof our marketing efforts. i think if guestsare looking for the best polar bear tourismexperience in the world, they come to us.That being said, Frontiers north relies on

the Canadian tourism Commission tohelp us enter new markets and at thispoint the Middle east and north africaare not identified by the CtC as core- oremerging-markets.

15oCtober 1, 2011

Q & A with John GunterStanding out in a marketplace requires creativity and innovation. Canada therefore built a collection of uniquetravel experiences. John Gunter, general manager, Frontiers North Adventures, one of the tourism businessesinvited to deliver these engaging experiences, talks about the flourishing Canadian tourism industry.

John Gunter

oCtober 1, 201116

EventsCIS Travel MarketSt. Petersburg, Russia, October 12-14, 2011(www.restec.ru)an event focusing on Cis countries, attended by airlines, touroperators, travel agencies, accommodation providers andtourist associations.

ITB AsiaSingapore, October 19-21, 2011(www.itb-asia.com)an event where international exhibitors, asia pacific’s leadingcompanies and emerging enterprises meet top buyers.

World Travel MarketLondon, UK, November 7-10, 2011(www.wtmlondon.com)leading global event for the travel industry, presenting adiverse range of destination and industry sectors, providingan opportunity to meet, network, negotiate and conductbusiness.

Dubai AirshowDubai, UAE, November 13-17, 2011(www.dubaiairshow.aero)The foremost aerospace event in the Middle east, whichconsistently delivers key buyers and decision makers.

International Golf Travel Market Antalya, Turkey, November 14-17, 2011(www.igtm.co.uk)The premier event for the golf travel industry with pre-scheduledappointments, networking opportunities and industry updates.

PhiloxeniaThessaloniki, Greece, November 18-21, 2011(www.philoxenia.travel)The expo, now in its 27th year, aims at promoting tourism insoutheastern europe and the Mediterranean. it acts as aninternational meeting point for professionals activated indifferent sectors of the tourism industry.

EIBTMBarcelona, Spain, November 29 – December 1, 2011(www.eibtm.com)leading global event for the meetings and events industry, whichgathers more than 14,200 professionals for three days.

World Green TourismAbu Dhabi, UAE, December 5-7, 2011(www.worldgreentourism.com)a three-day event that is supported by adta and ead, and theonly one in the region dedicated to the promotion of sustainabletourism.

World Travel Market (WTM) hasconfirmed that south african tourism isnow an exclusive partner for Meridian Club.south africa’s tourism increased after thehosting of FiFa world Cup in 2010 andthe tourism board and Meridian Club willaim to keep south africa’s sport tourismdominant. roshene singh, chief marketing officer,south african tourism, commented onthe sponsorship.

“we are strengthening our relationshipwith Meridian Club because it gives usaccess to the buyers who can put ourproduct directly in front of the traveller.The world Cup was a resounding successfor our tourism industry. The hard workcomes in the years afterwards, ensuringthat our profile is maintained and adaptedto suit a different type of traveller.” wtM sports tourism programme focuseson how destinations have kept their

tourism industry stable after a prestigioussports event has taken place. simon press, exhibition director, wtM,commented on the newly formed partnership. “south africa tourism’s renewedsponsorship of the Meridian Club showsnot only the value of getting access tobuyers but also the country’s long-termcommitment to tourism following theworld Cup.”

South African Tourism Becomes Exclusive Partner for Meridian Club