Your Mountain Escape awaits

at Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort.

10 MARCH 2018 ISSUE 435

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DUBAI HOSTS SILVERSEA'S SILVER SPIRIT BEFORE IT GETS AN OVERHAUL

ROTANA INCREASE DUBAI PORTFOLIO05 06

10 MARCH 2018 ISSUE 435

AIR08

Qatar Airways Announce London as First A350-1000 Service

10 MARCH 20182

www.traveltradeweekly.travelMARKET UPDATE

TRAVEL TRADE PUBLICATIONS

MANAGING EDITOR

Mary Kammitsi mary@traveltradeweekly.travel

EDITOR

Mario Hajiloizis

PRESS Efi Rousi Maria Angelica Constantinou Athena Karsera Yiazou

CONTRIBUTORDominique Christou

DESIGN & LAYOUTElena Stylianou

WEB & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Savvas Kammitsis

DIRECTORS Andreas Constantinides Mary Kammitsi

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UAE AND SAUDI ARABIA LEADING GCC LUXURY MARKET

The UAE will continue to lead the GCC’s luxury hospitality segment up to at least 2022, with 73 percent of existing luxury hotel stock and 61 percent of the region’s current luxury pipeline located within the country, according to data released prior to this year’s Arabian Travel Market (ATM).

Despite taking the lead position, the UAE will face strong competition from Saudi Arabia, which is expected to witness the most significant luxury hotel supply increase to 2022, with an 18 percent CAGR from this year on-wards, according to ATM.

Additional CAGRs across the GCC stand at the following; 11 percent for Oman and Kuwait, and nine percent for Bahrain.

The global luxury market, including travel, is set to increase at a 6.5 percent CAGR to 2022, reaching a total USD1.154 billion value.

DUBAI TOURISM FORECASTS HOSPITALITY OCCUPANCY GROWTH

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) revealed that the emirate’s hospitality sector is forecast to experience strong growth over the coming years.

Occupied room nights are set to reach 35.5 million annually during 2019, representing a robust 10.2 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over the next two years.

According to a comprehensive market study by Dubai Tourism, occupancy levels are forecast to remain at an ex-tremely healthy 76 – 78 percent despite capacity growth and maintaining the sector’s attractiveness to hotel investors and developers.

Strong sector competitiveness is set to continue to be fuelled by international overnight visitation rising and target-ed hotel stay duration increases, supported further by recent and upcoming tourism attractions and experiences.

Dubai room supply is set to reach 132,000

ATM will take place at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22 – 25

10 MARCH 2018 3

www.traveltradeweekly.travel TECHNOLOGY

Travelport, a travel commerce plat-form, announced it has partnered with ACI Worldwide, an electronic

banking and payment solutions provid-er, to deliver an intelligent fraud control and settlement solution for its airline customers.

Travelport Authorize Plus will enhance the platform’s existing Card Payment Gateway by integrating with ACI’s award-winning ReD Shield plat-form. Part of the UP Payments Risk Management solution, ReD Shield delivers real-time, cloud-based multi-tiered fraud prevention for eCommerce merchants of the UP Payments Risk Management solution.

Travelport can provide its airline customers with the ability to seamlessly track ticketing purchase processes right through to the journey’s completion.

Dubai Tourism to Launch Encrypted Virtual Market Ecosystem

Dubai will be the first city which will attempt to democratise travel through emerging technologies as it adds an additional distribution channel for hotels during its first phase, as its recently announced 10X initiative.

Launched at World Government Summit by H. H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, crown prince, Dubai, Dubai Tourism is set to implement this ground-breaking programme within the next 24 months, enabling Dubai to enhance distributing its tourism inventory through a future-proofed virtual B2B marketplace for the travel industry.

“Success of governments is determined by their ability and flexibility to re-invent themselves, and upgrade their services to cater to the evolving needs of the community,” remarked Al Maktoum.

Guided by this principle, the tourism initiative goes beyond providing broader access to the global consumer, and opens up the domestic travel industry to new participants and innovative start-ups into the ecosystem.

Travelport Add Intelligent Payment Fraud Control

Amadeus Create NDC-X Programme

Amadeus has created a dedicated programme to drive New Distribution Capability (NDC) industrialisation.

Created by IATA, NDC is an XML-based data transmission standard that is antici-pated to enable travel companies – from airlines to travel agencies – to evolve travel distribution and merchandising.

The NDC-X programme will bring together experts from across Amadeus’ business, and focus on practical use cases of the standard, adopting a test and

learn approach to deliver improved capabilities for the industry.The NDC-X programme is a continuation of the IT provider’s previous work towards digi-

talising the industry and creating commercial possibilities to build on NDC.Gianni Pisanello, who has various leadership roles within Amadeus’ airlines business,

both on IT and distribution, will lead the new NDC-X programme.“At Amadeus, we recognise that we have a responsibility to make NDC work for all travel

players, and that’s what we will be doing through our NDC-X programme,” noted Pisanello.

The initiative aims to deliver higher and faster visitor conversion

10 MARCH 20184

www.traveltradeweekly.travelTECHNOLOGY

TIME Hotels Release 3D Animation Fire Safety Video

TIME Hotels is aiming to ensure guest safety following its release of a new fire safety video.

The 3D animation video, which was made by Do Digital, explains general fire safety in-structions and the steps they should take in the event of a fire.

It is in English with Arabic subtitles and also incorporates on-screen sign language.

All TIME Hotels throughout the UAE are expected to feature the video in every room – a total of 859 rooms across its TIME Oak Hotel and Suites; TIME Grand Plaza Hotel; TIME Crystal Hotel Apartments; TIME Topaz Hotel Apart-ments and TIME Ruby Hotel Apartments.

Mohamed Awadalla, CEO, TIME Hotels, said, “Ensuring everyone at all of our hotels is safe and secure is our number one priority.”

Sabre Believe Airline Complexity Harming Percentages

Sabre announced that it believes airline complexity has long served as an enemy to on-time percentages and disrupted sched-

ules for carriers large and small, regional and global. The global distribution system believes that

answers to airline operational problems lie hid-den within departmental silos which should be harnessed to create a real-time situational aware-ness for operations leaders.

It is believed that departmental silos would

enhance smooth operations across the networks.Commenting on the theory that silos could be

the solution to airline operations, Michael Baiada, consultant, ATH Group, Evergreen, Colorado, said, “Airlines can control their destinies operationally, but they don’t realise it. Each silo in an airline ap-proaches operations with its own interests above others, and it turns into this ‘Whack-a-Mole’ where leaders just hit the next problem that pops up on their radars.”

Abu Dhabi Ports announced it has launched its first Port Digital Innovation Lab.

The lab is located at Maqta Gateway, an Abu Dhabi Ports subsidiary, the developer and operator of the UAE capital’s first port community system.

By providing a platform for creative minds, Port Digital Innova-tion Lab is designed to focus on developing innovative solutions and technological applications to meet trade and industry needs.

Commenting on the lab launch, Noura Al Dhaheri, general manager, Maqta Gateway, said, “This is the Middle East’s first Port Digital Innovation Lab, and it promises to fulfill the need for stud-ying emerging technologies and developing new solutions by young, inspired creators and innovators that can then be practi-cally applied to real-life trade and market situations.”

In addition, Abu Dhabi Ports also revealed its long-term innovation strategy to its stakeholders. The strategy will focus on developing initiatives around four key themes; smart technol-ogy, Ports-Emirates duality, future trade and logistics and space logistics.

Abu Dhabi Ports Reveals Port Digital Innovation Lab

The Lab will be the region’s first

The 3D animation video lasts for two minutes and seven seconds

The Silo Mentality is a mindset present when certain departments or sectors do not want to share information with others

10 MARCH 2018 5

www.traveltradeweekly.travel WEEKLY NEWS

Dubai has improved its innovation performance climbing one spot to rank

14th among 30 global cities on the third Dubai Innovation In-dex, outperforming major inter-national business destinations.

The findings were released by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dubai Chamber).

The Index measures innova-tion output on a city and indus-try level and provides analysis on key challenge areas as well as strengths.

Top-performing cities were Hong Kong, followed by; New York, London, Singapore and Seoul.

Dubai Among World’s Top Innovation Cities

The ship recently visited Dubai prior to en-tering a March 05 – May 01 dry dock at the industry-leading Fincantieri shipyard located at Palermo, Italy.

She will undergo large-scale refurbish-ment works, which will include the insertion of a prebuilt 15 m segment into the ship's midsection.

The project is anticipated to dramatically enhance each of the ship's public spaces. However, while some areas will grow in size, evoking the feel of spaciousness, special measures have also been made to retain the ship's bijoux feel.

Silver Spirit called at Dubai prior to its final destination, Palermo

Dubai Hosts Silversea's Silver Spirit Before it gets an Overhaul

Silversea’s Silver Spirit is set to become the first luxury ship to be lengthened using a prebuilt insertion technique.

10 MARCH 20186

www.traveltradeweekly.travelACCOMMODATION

Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa Hosts Iraq’s ‘Caesar’Zabeel House Brings New Hotel Experience to Dubai

Zabeel House by Jumeirah is due to come to Al Seef this spring, creating a new hotel experience

on Dubai Creek.The hotel is being designed to

feature 200 rooms. Guests can also look forward to choosing from four restaurants and bars, pop-up events, a rooftop infinity pool with elevated views over Al Seef and Dubai Creek, and a private gym.

In addition a smaller version is also opening next door, Zabeel House MINI by Jumeirah, with a lower price point. The MINI version will boast 150 pocket rooms, a courtyard space designed for pop-up events and outdoor film screenings, and two street-food inspired restaurants.

Al Seef is the newest destination by Meraas; a busy two km promenade, fea-turing shops, cafés and pop-ups on the Creek’s south bank.

Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa recently hosted Iraqi celebrity singer Kadim Al Sahir for what was described as one of Jordan’s biggest ever

concerts events.The event attracted more than 1,200 fans who

came to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the ‘Caesar of Arabic Music’ who is also known as ‘Iraq’s Ambassa-dor to the World’, and is famous for performing with massive orchestras featuring Iraqi folk music.

Elias Moukarzel, general manager, Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa, commented, “[...] Al Sahir is a leg-end and we are proud to be his venue of choice when it comes to holding concerts in Jordan. Our guests were wowed by the event and the ‘Caesar’s’ performance, and we promise them many more events to come.”

Hilton Dead Sea Resort & Spa is also set to cel-ebrate its first anniversary this month.

From Left: Al Sahir and Moukarzel

Rotana Increase Dubai Portfolio

Rotana Hotel Management Corporation has announced that it has expanded its Dubai presence after opening the five-star Al Bandar Rotana, and fully-furnished serviced apartments, Al Bandar Arjaan by Rotana, at Dubai Creek. D

esigned with numerous modern amenities, and situated on a waterside location on Baniyas Road, the new properties offer Creek and Burj Khalifa views.

The hotels are situated away from traffic and close to Dubai International and Dubai World Trade Centre.

Al Bandar Rotana and Al Bandar Arjaan by Rotana, feature state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities and dining lounges, making them an ideal destination for both business and leisure travellers.

http://www.bbc.com/

10 MARCH 20188

www.traveltradeweekly.travelAIR

EgyptAir, during the summer peak season, announced it is expanding the operational frequency for its Cairo to Geneva route.

The route will now service a fifth weekly flight to the Swiss city.

From June 29 to August 21, the additional flight will be added using a Boeing B737-800 aircraft, pro-viding 144 seats, including 24 business class and 120 economy class seats.

In December 2017 and January this year, a fifth

weekly flight was also operated on the route.According to the airline’s official website,

EgyptAir aims to deliver competitive customer ser-vice with true Egyptian spirit.

Describing Geneva as a destination, EgyptAir say that everything about the place exudes luxury, quality, elegance and a cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Additionally, Egypt’s flagship carrier writes that Geneva has excellent restaurants, shops, beautiful parks, a vibrant cultural life and interesting museums.

EgyptAir to Increase Geneva Service

T he carrier is the global launch customer for the state-of-the-art-aircraft.The world’s first A350-1000 XWB embarked upon its first commercial service to the

UK capital on February 24. The A350-1000 will operate a daily non-stop service between Doha and London.

H.E. Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways, remarked, “We have chosen London as the inaugural destination for this remarkable aircraft because at seven m longer than the A350-900, it is able to provide a significant increase in capacity on one of our most popular routes, offering enhanced levels of comfort for our passengers.”

Qatar Airways offers six flights a day between Doha and London, providing a fast and frequent connection between the two capital cities.

Emirates to Launch Auckland via Bali Service

Emirates plans to launch a new daily service from Dubai to Auckland, New Zealand via the Bali, Indonesia, starting from June 14.

The new Dubai-Bali-Auckland flight will provide the only year-round non-stop daily service between Auckland and Bali.

Travellers using Emirates will now be able to choose from three daily services to New Zealand. It complements the airline’s existing non-stop daily service between Dubai and Auckland and its current daily Airbus A380 service between Dubai and Christchurch via Sydney, Australia.

The carrier will operate a Boeing B777-300ER on the route.

Travellers can select from three daily services between Dubai and Bali from this summer

Geneva is among Europe’s most visited cities

Qatar Airways Announce London as First A350-1000 ServiceQatar Airways has announced that London is the first route for the world’s first commercial Airbus A350-1000 service.

The A350-1000 XWB will offer 327 seats across two cabins, with 46 Qsuite business class seats and 281 economy class seats

10 MARCH 2018 9

www.traveltradeweekly.travel AIR

Etihad Adds Second Daily Flight to Rome

Etihad Airways added a second daily direct flight from its Abu Dhabi hub to Rome, Italy, effective from March 25.

This is also the date Etihad’s codeshare partner, Alitalia, announced it will discontinue its operation on the same route.

The additional frequencies are scheduled to commence from March 25, with five extra weekly

flights, rising to a twice-a-day service from May 01.Early morning departure from Abu Dhabi and

midday return service from Rome will also offer links to Australia, China, Japan and Korea.

With the additional service, Etihad’s frequency between Abu Dhabi and its two Italian gateways, Rome and Milan, will increase from two to three flights daily.

Emirates Increases Capacity to Lisbon

Emirates announced it will resume a second daily service to Portu-gal’s capital, Lisbon, from June 01.

The flight will be operated by a Boeing B777-300ER aircraft.

As a result, customers travelling from Lisbon can also access over 90 destinations under the Emirates and flydubai network partnership. Connec-tions will be formed through Dubai, especially for flights to and from desti-nations such as Kathmandu, Zanzibar, Kilimanjaro, Sylhet and Chittagong.

Emirates’ multinational cabin crew also includes Portuguese nationals.

“The second daily service between Dubai and Lisbon will meet growing demand for seats on the route,” said Hubert Frach, divisional senior vice president, commercial operations, west, Emirates.

The new service will see Etihad operate 14 flights per week on the route

10 MARCH 201810

www.traveltradeweekly.travelAIR

Emirates Test Beirut’s First A380 Service

RJ Invites Passengers to Re-name Frequent Flyer Programme

Royal Jordanian (RJ) invited its Jordanian fans, customers and frequent flyers to take part in renaming the airline’s loyalty programme, by

submitting their suggestions through RJ’s social me-dia channels. The renaming campaign will last until February 27.

Rebranding the name of the frequent flyer programme comes in line with RJ’s business plan to restructure and strengthen its offerings, make it more rewarding, engaging and member friendly.

RJ announced that the new name should follow certain criteria, such as using a name that would work for both Arabic and English natives and should relate to RJ and flying.

“We care about our customers’ opinion and feed-back, and that is what keeps us constantly looking to improve the services we offer to our guests,” said Stefan Pichler, CEO, RJ.

Oman Air Announces Moscow, Casablanca, Istanbul Routes

Casablanca will join Oman Air’s growing North Africa network

RJ’s frequent flyer programme encourages customer loyalty

Oman Air is to launch three new routes this year to Istanbul, Turkey this June, Casablanca, Morocco (July), and Moscow,

Russia (October).While Istanbul and Moscow will be served

by Oman Air’s Boeing B737-800, Casablanca will be served by a Boeing B787-8.

From trading to sharing information, Oman has strong bilateral relations with Turkey, Morocco and Russia, and the new flights will help strengthen relations even further. The new routes will also enable Oman Air’s passengers to explore three new destinations.

Istanbul flights are expected to launch on June 01, while services to Casablanca, the only

non-stop service, are due to commence on July 01.Moscow will be launched during the

Winter 2018 schedule, with the daily flight being the only non-stop operation between Oman and Russia.

In addition, Oman Air is currently undergo-ing a fleet and network expansion programme, which will see the airline operate up to 62 aircraft to around 60 destinations by 2022.

The airline aims to constantly improve its services, whilst undergoing its dynamic fleet and network expansion, developing its brand and offering its guests an unrivalled experience as part of its mission to become among the region’s best carriers.

For the first time in Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport’s history, Emirates announced it is to operate a special

one-off Airbus A380 service to Lebanon’s cap-ital on March 29.

The airline’s flagship double-decker will become the first-ever scheduled A380 service to Beirut as Emirates works with the airport to test its operations and necessary infrastruc-ture to accommodate an A380 service.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, divisional senior vice president, commercial operations centre, Emirates, remarked, “We are proud to fly our A380 for a one-off test service to Beirut, which continues to be an important destination for us in the region.

“Bringing this popular aircraft to Lebanon represents a significant milestone in our operations to Beirut after 27 years of serving the country.”

10 MARCH 2018 11

www.traveltradeweekly.travel AIR

Gulf Air revealed its strategy and plans for the future during an event held on February 25.

Krešimir Kučko, CEO, Gulf Air, rolled out the new carrier’s new corporate strategy, network expansion plans, which includes eight new routes, and details surrounding its fleet expansion and new in-class products and services, among other positive developments.

Bahrain’s national carrier recently carried out a strategic 360 degree business assessment, which included looking into how the airline can best nurture and develop its network, fleet, product, workforce, customers and more.

In the coming months, Gulf Air’s highly anticipated 39 new Boeing and Airbus aircraft will commence delivery. In total, seven new aircraft, featuring five Boeing B787-9 Dreamliners and two Air-bus A320neo aircraft, will enter the airline’s fleet this year.

Additionally, Kučko rolled out the airline’s new 2018 network expansion plans to eight new routes, namely; Bangalore and Cali-cut (India), Abha and Tubuk (Saudi Arabia), Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Casablanca (Morocco).

Alongside this, Gulf Air will also increase its flights during the peak summer period by 200 more weekly flights compared to 2017.

Kučko also spoke of upcoming plans to rollout a new brand identity very soon. “2018 represents the beginning of a new era for Gulf Air,” concluded Kučko.

Emirates announced it is set to re-sume its Dubai – Tunis route on March 25.

Services to Tunis had initially been banned for three months following the Tunisian government’s decision to prohibit Emirates from landing there on December 25, 2017 due to an

earlier travel ban imposed by the UAE on Tunisian women boarding its aircraft for security reasons.

The restriction was lifted on Janu-ary 09 and since March this year, the airline is due to operate the service daily with Boeing B777-300ER and Boeing B777-200LR aircraft.

Emirates Resumes Services to Tunisia's CapitalGulf Air Unveils its Future

Strategy and Plans

Emirates is the sole operator between Tunisia and the UAE

www.traveltradeweekly.travelINTERNATIONAL AFRICA

UNWTO Sign Cooperation Agreement with Nigeria

Popular TV Lion Camp to Reopen its Doors

In an effort to better measure tourism growth and development across Africa, UNWTO signed a cooperation agreement with Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation to strengthen Nigeria’s National Tourism Statistical System, while also developing a Tourism Satellite Account.

UNWTO aims to develop the tourism measurement to further expand the sector’s knowl-edge, monitor progress, evaluate impact, promote results-focused management, and highlight

strategic issues for policy objectives.Following a meeting between Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general, UNWTO, and Lai Moham-

med, minister, information and culture, Nigeria, an agreement to host the 61st UNWTO Commission for Africa gathering and a seminar on Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development was signed.

The Abuja-based seminar is scheduled to take place from June 04 – 06.

A lodge that was the setting of popular ITV documentary, Lion Country, Zambia's Lion Camp is set to reopen in May, following a complete renovation.

Situated in a wide rift valley within South Luangwa National Park, it is flanked by the Muchinga escarpment to the west and the meandering Luangwa River to the east.

Wildlife at the Park, include; elephant and buffalo herds, crocodiles, hippos. Im-pala, puku Thornicroft’s giraffe.

Cookson’s wildebeest, Crawshay’s ze-bra, waterbuck, bushbuck, grysbok and oribi can also be found.

Predator species, meanwhile, include the lion, spotted hyena, and leopard, among others.

From Left: Mohammed and Pololikashvili

New Lounge at Maputo Airport

First National Bank Mozambique (FNB) and National Aviation Ser-vices (NAS) recently inaugurated an exclusive, contemporary lounge at Maputo International Airport.

Operated by NAS Pearl Assist, the FNB lounge is located on the departures termi-nal first floor and caters to FNB and First Rand Platinum and Black Card Limited customers.

The 250 m2 FNB lounge, designed by NAS, incorporates world-class design and state-of-the art entertainment facilities. The lounge can seat 55 guests at full capacity.

With hot and cold food and drink options available, free Wi-Fi, a business centre, read-ing material, shower facilities and a separate entertainment area for kids, the FNB Lounge is designed to cater to all guests.

RwandAir's New Abuja – Cape Town Routes

RwandAir has announced that it is set to launch new routes to Abuja, Nigeria and Cape Town, South Africa, raising its destina-tions to 26.

Rwanda’s national carrier will service four weekly flights from its Kigali hub to Cape Town with a stopover in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Also operating four times a week, the Abuja service will be tagged on to the ex-isting Accra, Ghana route with the flight making a stop in Abuja along the way.

Chance Ndagano, acting CEO, RwandAir, commented, “Our aim is to provide to our customers seamless and better connections. Abuja and Cape Town come in as a boost to the different economies in terms of tourism and trade and enhance bilateral partnership between our countries.”

Uganda Debuts First Sightseeing Bus

Residents and international visi-tors to Kampala, Uganda have embraced the country’s first sightseeing bus.

The 69-seat, double-decker, open-roof bus was introduced by pri-vate tour firm, Promote Uganda Safari, to give passengers the opportunity to view Kampala’s sights with two daily trips.

Margaret Kaffero, spokesperson, min-istry, foreign affairs, Uganda, commented, “We have visitors who are only here for two days and probably have a morning conference and the whole afternoon free. There is so much to learn within the seven hills of Kampala.”

Customer response to the bus has been very positive, with morning and afternoon rides often fully booked.

Lion prides are among the Park’s top attractions

10 MARCH 201812

AMERICASwww.traveltradeweekly.travel INTERNATIONAL

10 MARCH 2018 13

Hampton by Hilton Expand US and China Portfolio

Hampton by Hilton, Hilton's up-per-midscale brand, has start-ed this year on a positive note after announcing that seven new hotels have been added

to its portfolio, which presently includes more than 2,330 properties worldwide.

The new hotels include; Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Knightdale Raleigh (North Carolina) and Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Sacramento, California.

Additionally, the brand continued its global expansion with Hampton by Hilton Qingyuan, Qingxin District, China. Overall, Hampton is expected to open nearly 50 additional hotels across China this year.

Hampton also grew its overall global

Carnival Paradise Undergoing Refurbishment

Carnival Paradise is undergoing an exten-sive, multimillion- dollar refurbishment that will add a new spaces and innova-tions to its facility offerings.

The new features will include Guy’s Burger Joint, RedFrog Rum Bar, BlueIguana Cantina, Camp Ocean, a marine-inspired play area; 38 new cabins and 98 balconies to existing staterooms, Wa-terWorks Aqua Park, a miniature golf course, retail and photo enhancements, with additional food and beverage concepts.

The ship’s retail shops are being completely re-imagined with a new design and product offerings.

The printed photo gallery is being replaced with a digital Pixels-branded platform that allows guests to identify and purchase images via their mobile phones or at a nearby kiosk.

pipeline to include more than 580 planned hotels, a 17.7 percent year-over-year increase.

Hampton by Hilton properties are being introduced globally

www.traveltradeweekly.travelINTERNATIONAL AMERICAS

LEGOLAND Water Park Announces Opening Dates

UK Visitors still Costa Rica’s main Source Market

IHG Introduces avid Brand to Mexico

Festive Cruise Aboard American Constitution

LEGOLAND Water Park has announced that beginning March 10 it will be open on selected dates up until October 28, with daily op-eration set for April, May, June, July and August.

It will be the Park’s biggest operating dates since its 2012 opening.

New amenities have also been added this year, including cantina-style tacos at a brand-new dining facility, Beach Street Tacos, located exclusively inside LEGOLAND Water Park.

Additionally, the Park offers various attractions for every family mem-ber, including; a water play area with shorter slides and interactive animals, a Build-A-Boat attraction, Lego-themed wave pool and a giant water play structure complete with winding slides and water spouts.

InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) announced that avid hotels, its new high-quality midscale brand, is available for Mexico franchising.

The brand’s Mexico launch closely follows its US and Canada intro-duction, where the company has already signed 75 franchise agreements.

The avid brand has been designed for travellers who want a hotel stay that meets their expectations at a price point expected to be about 10-15 per-cent less than IHG’s industry-leading Holiday Inn Express brand.

Jorge Apaez, chief operating officer, Mexico, Latin America, Caribbean, IHG, noted, “The company currently has 140 hotels open in Mexico and an additional 31 in the pipeline, and with the launch of avid hotels, IHG is further demonstrating its commitment to continued growth in Mexico alongside our franchisees.”

American Cruise Lines has announced a new Colonial Holiday cruise aboard American Constitution.

A round-trip from Baltimore, departing on December 23 only, the celebratory 11-day cruise will highlight both Christmas and New Year’s as it travels along the Line’s popular

American Revolution Chesapeake Bay itinerary.American Constitution will transport guests to the quaint towns and

historic cities that shaped the US and continue to inspire visitors today.Throughout the Colonial Holiday cruise, guests can expect to be

dazzled by fireworks displays, light festivals, illuminated boat parades, and joyful Christmas carolling.

The cruise will also feature a memorable New Year’s Eve gala onboard.

Hyatt Sells Three Hotels for USD1 Billion

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with Host Hotels & Resorts to sell three US-based properties for approximately USD1 billion.

The agreement includes the 301-room Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, the 668-room Grand Hyatt San Francisco and 454-room Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa.

Hyatt will continue to manage the three hotels under long-term management agreements.

Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort and Grand Hyatt San Francisco reflect a combined attributed sale value amounting to ap-proximately USD800 million, and form part of Hyatt’s ongoing USD1.5 billion permanent sell-down programme.

Mark Hoplamazian, president, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, remarked, “This agreement demonstrates the value of our owned and leased hotels and strengthens our longstanding and valued business relationship with Host.”

The transaction between Hyatt and Host is expected to close this coming March

The latest figures from Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) revealed that 76,173 visitors from the UK travelled to Costa Rica in 2017, a 6.7 percent increase.

Following the UK, Germany recorded 70,960 visitors, France 69,803 and Spain 69,782.

The UK was also the biggest source market to Costa Rica in 2016 (71,392), one year after British Airways launched direct flights between London Gatwick and San Jose.

Rob Wilson, UK representative, ICT, remarked, “The green Central American country is truly making a space for those in-terested in unique wildlife and stunning landscapes. With these natural assets, we expect this growth to continue in the future.”

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ASIA PACIFICwww.traveltradeweekly.travel INTERNATIONAL

Bangkok Airways Positive Outlook

Sydney Supply and Demand Growthing

Bangkok Airways has re-vealed the company’s planned business out-look for this year.

During the event, Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, presi-dent, Bangkok Airways, highlighted that the airline’s total 2017 revenue increased by an impressive 6.5 per-cent from 2016.

Total 2017 passenger numbers was revealed as 5.994 million, rep-resenting a five percent increase from the previous year.

In 2018, total revenue is ex-pected to grow by 10 percent, with passenger numbers anticipated to increase by seven percent, while the passenger load factor this year is forecast to be at 70 percent.

STR’s preliminary January data for hotels in Sydney, Australia, has indicated a significant growth in both supply and demand.

Based on daily data from January, STR analysts reported that Sydney’s 4.2 percent supply lift (room nights available) caused the market’s first year-over-year decline since 2013.

Demand still grew by 3.2 percent without repeat business from Amway China and the Chinese New Year.

Regardless, the absolute oc-cupancy level was a negative 0.9 percent to 81.2 percent, and ADR showed a growth of AUD222.2 (USD174.7), representing a 1.5 per-cent growth.

Finally, RevPAR recorded a 0.6 per-cent increase resulting to AUD180.43 (USD141.9) for the month.

Chinese Outbound Travellers Increase During New Year Celebrations

Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth to call Australia Home

Ctrip’s 2018 Spring Festival Travel Forecast Report has revealed that the number of China’s outbound travellers during Chinese New Year is expected to reach 6.5 million.

The report also predicted that the number of domestic visitors during the seven-day holiday pe-riod would reach 385 million people, up 12 percent.

Domestic tourism revenue is expected to reach USD3 billion, a 12.5 percent increase year-on-year. In addition to visiting relatives and friends, island tours, cruises and family tours remain top travel themes.

According to the travel services provider’s data, more Chinese are choosing DIY options as opposed to traditional sightseeing tours, with 48 percent choosing DIY products. Meanwhile, fami-lies expressing interest for customised tours and private tours is also on the rise.

Cunard announced that its famous ship Queen Elizabeth will be Australia-based for 101 days between the sum-mer 2019 – 2020 period.

Queen Elizabeth will sail on six roundtrip cruises from Melbourne and two from Sydney, featuring itineraries to South Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea between December 2019 and March 2020.

Simon Palethorpe, senior vice president, Cunard, said, “Over the past few years we have seen unprecedented growth in demand for the Cunard experience in Australia so it made sense for us to invest further in the market and extend the sailing season of Queen Elizabeth even more in 2020."

The new 2020 Australian deployment will almost double the length of Queen Elizabeth's scheduled 54-day season Down Under.

Ctrip outbound order data indicates that Thailand and Japan are popular destinations

1510 MARCH 2018

Travellers will be able to sail on six roundtrip cruises from Melbourne

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www.traveltradeweekly.travelRENDEZVOUS

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: What do you believe are some the reasons behind Dubai’s popularity as a MICE destination?

SIDH N C: H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler, Dubai said, “The race for excellence has no finish line.” This quote is a living inspiration for all and one that encompasses the vision of His Highness to drive continuous growth for Dubai.

Dubai is the top location for MICE, not only regionally, but also globally. The facts speak for themselves, tourist arrivals increased 7.5 percent to 11.58 million in the first half of 2017 and were set to surpass 2016 statistics of 14.9 million overnight visitors, according to Dubai Tourism data.

Dubai is always developing existing spectacular services, with amazing new attractions, luxury and mid-range hotels, jaw dropping venues and infra-structure projects. It has unrivalled connectivity to key industry points across the world, while within the city, assured agile-connectivity and mobility enables for a world-class public transport system.

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: How does QnA Interna-tional build on this quality infrastructure?

SIDH N C: Organising B2B events form a core part of QNA. We endeavour to promote Dubai by launching events that play an important role in the develop-ment and growth of the business events industry.

Dubai is home to some of the world’s most luxu-rious hotels and is leading the region by going big with the latest emerging technologies, from robotic police forces to autonomous taxis, to name a few.

By organising our events here, we are able to

Director QnA International

Q&A with Sidh N C

THE CRUCIAL LINK BETWEEN AN EVENT’S SUCCESS AND FAILURE IS HUGELY DEPENDENT ON ITS VENUE AND HOST CITY. SIDH N C, DIRECTOR, QNA INTERNATIONAL EXPLAINS HOW THE COMPANY IS HELPING DUBAI MAINTAIN ITS POSITION AS A TOP MICE DESTINATION.

capitalise on the luxurious amenities and deliver the best to our discerning tech savvy global clients. Some of our flagship events are held in Dubai; the sixth Annual MICE Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress which provides an annual platform for MICE influencers; and the fourth Annual HR Tech MENA Summit which is the only HR Tech Confex across the MENA region.

We also launched the 2017 PX Show, Dubai at Palazzo Versace with the aim to promote Dubai as a destination for planners to the stars, celebrities, roy-als and HNWIs. It was an overwhelming success and showcased the destination to over 120 prequalified planners from over 30 countries for the first time.

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: What are QnA Interna-tional’s strengths when it comes to attracting overseas business?

SIDH N C: The crucial link between an event’s suc-cess and failure is hugely dependent on the event

venue and host city. We handpick our event venues and locations. We have hosted our events at Palazzo Versace, Rixos Premium, Ritz Carlton DIFC, Emirates Palace, St Regis And Westin Dubai, to name a few.

QNA events provide a unique opportunity for knowledge sharing and exploring commercial op-portunities through high-profile discussions, which are delivered through state-of-the-art A/V technol-ogy from our partners such as Showtech at the high tech event venues.

With participations from around the world, the venue and city infrastructure plays a very important part, not to mention that global clientele are super impressed with the smooth travel through Dubai's integrated travel options and luxurious malls.

Dubai is among the world’s safest destinations, geographically it is strategically located between the East and West with over two-thirds of the world's population living within eight hours flight from Dubai.

Our organisation puts emphasis on efficient infrastructure, connectivity and facilities for our business clients that helps us boost our global and regional positioning as a prominent event organiser. TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: Are there any areas for Dubai that you believe require further develop-ment or improvement?

SIDH N C: MICE is a highly promising niche within tourism, it is the core for business tourism strategy pursued by UAE policymakers. Constructing new convention centres which offer additional confer-ence and meeting space is a continuous process, hence it’s already in progress.

Dubai is a leading MICE destination

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www.traveltradeweekly.travel WHO’S MOVED

Leonardo Baiocchi

Lara Abou Harb

LEONARDO BAIOCCHI has been promoted to regional vice president, Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach.Baiocchi is vastly experienced with the Group’s properties, having previously worked at Four Seasons Resort Chi-ang Mai, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, Four Seasons Ho-tel London at Canary Wharf, Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh, Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace Budapest and Four Seasons Hotel Firenze.Effective from March 01, Baiocchi will continue to over-see his Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach, as well as extending his regional responsibilities to supervis-ing hotels across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Cairo at The First Residence.

LARA ABOU HARB has assumed the position of revenue manager at Salalah Rotana Resort.Harb joins Salalah Rotana Resort from Raouche Arjaan by Rotana where she occupied the position of reservations manager. Harb’s keen eye for strategy led her to be chosen for a short stint at Salalah Rotana Resort in 2016 as task force, assisting the de-partment in time of need.In her new role, Harb will over-see managing the revenue and inventory of the resort, while working closely with her team to drive business.

Harb will oversee managing the revenue

and inventory

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www.traveltradeweekly.travelTRAVEL CHANNELS

Dubai Duty Free management and staff, including families and Kids Enviro Club members, partici-pated at a recent Walk for Education organised by philanthropic organisation Dubai Cares.

Joining several thousand other UAE residents and organisations on February 16, the 200-strong Dubai Duty Free team participated to contribute to its corporate social responsibility goals, and specifically those aimed at benefiting children.

Dubai Cares works to improve access to quali-ty primary education for children from developing countries. For the past nine years, it has engaged residents and organisations to support children who cover long distances on foot to get to school. Dubai Duty Free is a long-time Dubai Cares sup-porter and has been an active Walk for Education participant since 2014.

City Centre Rotana Doha, within its com-munity social responsibility framework, recently hosted 20 children from Shafal-lah Center for Persons with Disabilities.

The children’s visit fell within City Centre Rotana Doha’s efforts to empower and integrate orphans and children with autism and special needs into Qatari so-ciety, and spread awareness concerning their rights and role within the commu-nity through activities and events.

During their visit, the children learned how to bake cookies during a cookie mak-ing class from the hotel’s team members at Teatro restaurant.

“Such initiatives create bridges of communication and integration between autistic children on the one hand and society on the other,” remarked Martin Kendall, general manager, City Centre Rotana Doha.

Dubai Duty Free Supports Child Education

Rotana Doha Empow-ering Children with Disabilities

The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi has signed a memorandum of understanding with Paris Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (PSUAD) to boost the tourism and cultural sectors, in addition to Emiratisation.

The two entities will co-ordinate sharing knowledge and expertise covering various areas, and help identify and nurture any potential young cultural talent.

Under the agreement, initiatives will include arranging and funding workshops for PSUAD students on archaeology, heritage studies and museum studies, as well as art management and information and communication studies.

Additionally, both entities will look at identify-ing students with potential, and identifying future potential projects that could enhance Abu Dhabi’s cultural standing.

Abu Dhabi Signs MoU to Promote Cultural Sectors

The workshops will provide volunteer opportunities to PSUAD students

Hamdani believes that the smallest contribution can make a massive difference

Dubai Duty Free supports Dubai Cares initiatives

Children enjoyed learning how to make cookies during their visit

Ramada Ajman GM Receives CSR Accolade

Iftikhar Hamdani, general manager, Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman, won the CSR Professional of the Year accolade at the Gulf Sustainability and CSR Awards.

On picking up the distinction, Hamdani, noted, “I am truly honoured to be named as the CSR Professional of the Year by a highly reputable body. Our team believes every contribution, however small, can make a great impact if done collectively and with this, we will fortify our CSR efforts and engage our community. We aim to reach out to more people and continue to inspire companies, especially in the field of hos-pitality and tourism to join our causes.”

In 2017, Ramada Ajman also bagged the Waste Management Award at Gulf Sus-tainability and CSR Awards for its efficient and effective waste management scheme.

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10 MARCH 2018 19

Etihad Aviation Group marked World Wildlife Day with a series of events in Abu Dhabi

A memorial ceremony was held in Abu Dhabi, to honour Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's memory

Capital Centre Arjaan by Rotana organised a laughter yoga workshop Bawadi Mall organised its third Baby Race season

In celebration of reaching one million Facebook fans, Atlantis, The Palm is set to reward followers with the launch of the world’s first social media suite on March 18

PHOTO ALBUM

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www.traveltradeweekly.travelNEWS & EVENTS

EVENTS

IMEX

Frankfurt, GermanyMay 15 –17 www.imex-frankfurt.comIMEX opens its doors to 5,200 global decision makers with qualified buying power, including the valuable German outbound market.

ILTM - ASIA PACIFIC

SingaporeMay 21 – 24www.iltm.com/asiapacificTargeting the Asia outbound market, ILTM Asia Pacific will bring international suppliers face-to-face with the very best regional buyers and key international agents.

ATM

Dubai, UAEApril 22 – 25arabiantravelmarket.wtm.comB2B exhibition showcasing over 2,800 products and destinations from around the world to over 28,000 travel trade visitors.

ILTM – AFRICA

Cape Town, South AfricaApril 15 – 17 www.iltm.com/africaILTM- Africa is an invitation-only event, where international travel agents and advisors meet Africa’s luxury travel experience providers.

BTEA Launch 3rd Bahrain Food Festival

Dubai Tourism Entices Indian Travellers at SATTE

TUI and GIZ Aim to Maximise Egypt’s Tourism Potential

BIPEX Industry Forums Returning to Bahrain

H.E. Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, minister, In-dustry, Commerce and Tourism, launched the third Bahrain Food Festival on February

22. The event, running until March 10, will be held at The Park, The Avenues.

More than 70 outlets are participating at this year’s festival, including; local businesses and con-cepts related to the food industry such as restau-rants, cafes, nutrition and culinary equipment.

Bahrain Food Festival will offer visitors varied cuisines including Middle Eastern, Western, Asian,

Indian, organic, and healthy options.Hosting this event falls within Bahrain’s Tourism

and Exhibition Authority (BTEA) long-term strategy to further develop its tourism sector on a regional and international level under the slogan Ours.Yours., which contributes towards Economic Vision 2030.

H.E. Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, CEO, BTEA, outlined: “[Bahrain Food Festival] serves as a platform that provides restaurants and outlets the opportunity to showcase their concepts, positioning the Kingdom as a regional gastronomy destination.”

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) participated in the 25th SATTE 2018 exhibition, labelled as being South Asia’s largest travel and tourism event.

The New Delhi-based exhibition took place from January 31 to February 02, giving Dubai Tourism the opportunity to engage with India’s biggest and most influential B2B and B2C partners.

Dubai Tourism, along with 23 partners representing the emirate’s hotel, tourism attractions and destina-tion management companies, highlighted Dubai’s growing tourism portfolio that will appeal to all Indian travellers, whether they are travelling for business or leisure.

Specialists from both TUI and German Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit's (GIZ) met local stakeholders at Egypt’s TUI Magic Life Resort, between February 05 – 08, to develop a sustainable business-driven strategy.

The event aimed to create better opportunities for young people within the country’s thriving tourism industry.TUI revealed that it believes, with the right approach, challenges can be met to maximise the industry’s

full potential. The Lab of Tomorrow, an initiative by GIZ to solve problems through a cooperative approach, was also discussed during the event.

Other possible solutions discussed, include enhancing Egypt’s dual educational system, more practical educational and exchange programmes, targeted training, as well as various collaborative strategies between the public and private sectors.

Bahrain International Property Exhibition (BI-PEX) quarterly industry forums have returned, creating a platform for real estate insiders to

discuss, debate and explore relevant topics. The 2018 BIPEX Forums are set to centre around

the Building Communities, Developing Bahrain theme and focus on key sectors under education, health-care, housing and transport.

The first event, on February 27, focussed on the

components and role of good transportation links across a developing a community.

The key-note address was given by H.E. Mariam Jumaan, undersecretary, Land Transportation and Post, Bahrain. Jumaan is considered to have played a pivotal role when developing Bahrain's infrastruc-ture. In her key-note address, she discussed progress made by Bahrain’s Transportation and Telecommuni-cations Ministry.