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17 NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE 158
Travel Trade Weekly proudly enjoys readers on average per day
9
Best Western International has continued its major Middle East expansion with the opening of its first
hotel in Bahrain.
17 NOVEMBER 2012 ISSUE 158
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11
Qatar Airways to Serve Salalah
Danat Residence to Open in Q1 2013
Qatar Airways has announced its fifth new route of 2013 with the addition of Salalah, Oman’s second largest city, effective May 22, 2013, to its growing destination network.
National Corporation for Tourism & Hotels is to add another property to its growing portfolio with Danat Residence in Abu Dhabi scheduled to welcome its first guests within months.
IN THIS ISSUERENDEZVOUS WEEKLY NEWS MARKET UPDATE WEEKLY NEWS CRUISING ACCOMMODATION AIR NEWS INTERNATIONAL WHO’S MOVED TRAVEL TALK AGENT’S CORNER TRAVEL CHANNELS RENDEZVOUS NEWS & EVENTS
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BWI Launches First Bahrain Property
Travel Trade Weekly proudly enjoys readers on average per day
2 RENDEZVOUS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Q & A with Mohab GhaliOver the past decade, Hilton Worldwide has developed a strong network of hotels in Ras Al Khaimah, making the rising emirate, as Mohab Ghali, country manager, Ras Al Khaimah, Hilton Worldwide, describes, one of the key growth markets in the company’s regional development strategy.
Travel Trade Weekly: Hilton Worldwide currently operates three hotels in Ras Al Khaimah. How have these properties performed so far this year?
Mohab Ghali: We have had a good year so far and all three of our properties, with a total of 828 keys altogether, are performing well.
Hilton Ras Al Khaimah caters mainly to the business and overnighter segment with a focused-service hotel located close to the main commercial centre, whereas Double-Tree by Hilton Ras Al Khaimah offers fami-lies and the short-stay segment an upper upscale property at cost-effective rates.
They also attracted a number of leisure weekenders, and some coming from meet-ings, conferences, and social events.
Hilton Ras Al Khaimah Resort & Spa con-tinues to draw in a large number of leisure tourists from around the GCC, UK, Germany and Scandinavia.
With three distinct brand propositions, we are able to tap into diverse travel seg-ments and maximise the potential of each of our properties.
Also, the Hilton HHonors programme has helped us draw visitors with a number of promotions targeted at various segments including the MICE and events segments.
In addition, our marketing strategy, including the early bird promotions we ran at the beginning of the year plus seasonal promotions such as the Great Getaway summer promotion, helped us build a strong booking base to sustain us throughout the year.
Hilton Ras Al Khaimah, is scheduled for renovation in 2013.
pools, among other facilities.We are also in the process of taking over
the management of the iconic Al Hamra Fort Hotel and will rebrand it as the Hil-ton Al Hamra Golf & Beach Resort, in 2013. The 266-room property will have access to world-class golfing facilities and will be in close proximity to the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah.
Earlier this year, we partnered with Mo-hamed Ruqait Real Estate for a second Dou-bleTree by Hilton hotel in Ras Al Khaimah. The DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Marjan Is-land will be one of the first hotels to open on the prestigious Marjan Island, when it launches in 2014. This 414-key hotel will feature 264 rooms and suites in the main building and 150 luxury chalets located di-rectly on the resort’s private beach, with a full service spa located on the 11th floor.
Travel Trade Weekly: What makes Ras Al Khaimah an attractive market for Hilton Worldwide?
Mohab Ghali: We identified Ras Al Khaimah as one of our key development markets in this region in 2001 with the opening of Hil-ton Ras Al Khaimah.
The emirate is swiftly becoming one of the region’s top destinations for MICE, thanks to the quality of its tourism and hospitality industry. Overall visitor num-bers are steadily increasing as the indus-try and government work in tandem to promote Ras Al Khaimah as a destination globally, attracting niche segments like ad-venture tourists, cultural tourists, and the MICE industry.
Mohab GhaliCountry manager, Ras Al Khaimah, Hilton Worldwide
Travel Trade Weekly: The company has a further three hotels in the development pipeline. When are they scheduled to open?
Mohab Ghali: We have Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, Hilton Al Hamra Golf & Beach Resort, and DoubleTree by Hilton Resort Marjan Island in the pipeline. You can see by our pipeline that we are ac-tively engaged in expanding our portfolio in Ras Al Khaimah and introduce a mix of brands to this growing market.
Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, a sprawling 346-key hotel, is inspired by an Arabian palace and will bring the Wal-dorf Astoria brand of luxury to the UAE, in 2013. The hotel will boast a 350m pri-vate beach, a world-class championship golf course and three outdoor swimming
3WEEKLY NEWS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
The Travel Attaché, a leading luxury travel specialist in the Middle East, has opened its headquarters in Dubai, marking the first of a series of offices to be unveiled across the region and Asia by 2015.
Working with a network of over 200,000 suppliers, The Travel Attaché enjoys access to some of the most desirable properties on the globe and offers a diverse portfolio of hotels, villas, chalets, yacht, cruises, and private jets.
In addition, an array of tailor-made experiences is also available ranging from kite skiing in Antarctica to private view-ings of the Northern Lights.
Liam Wholey, CEO, The Travel Attaché, described the launch of the company as a timely and significant milestone in the re-gion’s tourism industry. “The Middle East remains one of the most dynamic parts of the world with a rapidly progressive consumer base and we are excited at the prospect of redefin-ing levels of service and expertise in the leisure and business booking sectors.”
The AED2 billion (USD554 million) Business Bay Canal extension development in Dubai is set to commence in the first quarter (Q1) of 2013 with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Al Habtoor Group collabo-rating on projects underway in the Dubai Business Bay.
The group is currently developing the Habtoor Pal-ace on Sheikh Zayed Road, which will incorporate three hotels under the St. Regis, W, and Westin brands, add-ing more than 1,600 rooms to Dubai’s hotel room in-ventory, upon opening in 2015.
RTA’s recently-announced extension plans to its Business Bay Project comprise modifications to the ex-isting roads and bridges, to extend the canal from the Sheikh Zayed Road up to the beach passing Habtoor Palace. Meanwhile, the canal, which will stretch 2.8km, is set to be completed within two years.
“The Al Habtoor Group and RTA will cooperate to ensure the projects work in unison,” emphasised Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman, Al Habtoor Group, noting that once complete, Habtoor Palace will become a new landmark for tourists and UAE residents alike.
“It is very exciting that the Canal project and Hab-toor Palace will both be completed around the same time. It will offer something very unique to the region,” he concluded.
The Travel Attaché Launches in Dubai
Dubai Business Bay Canal Project to Begin in Q1 2013
Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor and Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al Nahyan
4 MARKET UPDATE
17 NOVEMBER 2012
UAE (AED)
Egypt (EGP)
Saudi Arabia (SAR)
Lebanon (LBP)
Bahrain (BHD)
Jordan (JOD)
Syria (SYP)
Kuwait (KWD)
Qatar (QAR)
Oman (OMR)
Tunisia (TND)
Morocco (MAD)
Iran (IRR)
Yemen (YER)
Algeria (DZD)
Libya (LYD)
Dirham
Pound
Riyal
Pound
Dinar
Dinar
Pound
Dinar
Riyal
Rial
Dinar
Dirham
Riyal
Rial
Dinar
Dinar
3.67
6.10
3.75
1,505.50
0.37
0.71
70.55
0.28
3.64
0.38
1.59
8.68
12,245.00
215.32
80.36
1.27
Accurate as of
16/11/2012Currencies shown in red are fixed against the US Dollar
MENA EXCHANGE RATES
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY
MANAGING EDITOR
Mary Kammitsi [email protected]
JOURNALISTS
Stefanie Saghbini Rita Kasziba
Dominique Christou Maria Kazeli
SALES & MARKETING
Maria Demetriadou Derek Lainsbury
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Elena Stylianou
DIRECTORS
Andreas Constantinides Mary Kammitsi
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Abu Dhabi: Record Guest Numbers
Air Arabia: Passenger Traffic Soars
Jazeera Airways Group: Best EarningsJazeera Airways Group achieved a record net profit of KWD7.6 million (USD26.96 million) for the third quarter of the year, making the three-month period the company’s best quarter in history and its ninth consecutive quar-ter of profitability.
Compared with the corresponding period in 2011, the quarterly net prof-it was up 24.6 percent, pushing earnings for the first nine months of the year to KWD11.4 million (USD40.4 million), recording a year-on-year increase of 23.6 percent. The results reflect the ongoing success of the group’s Strategic Master Plan, a business plan for the 2012 – 2014 period, noted Marwan Boo-dai, chairman, Jazeera Airways Group.
With an on-time performance of 96 percent for the quarter, the airline also retained its position among the top 10 on-time performers worldwide, as measured by FlightStats.
T he figures released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) mark a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, keeping the UAE capital well on track to achieve
its annual target of 2.3 million hotel guests, as H.E. Mubarak Al Muhairi, director general, TCA Abu Dhabi, noted.
He further explained that the results are particularly encouraging given that the same
During the first nine months of the year, a total of 1,741,330 visi-tors stayed in Abu Dhabi’s 131 hotels and hotel apartments.
comparative period has seen a significant in-crease in hotel and resort inventory.
In addition, the emirate recorded almost five million hotel guests nights year-to-date, up 10 percent over the same period in 2011, and while occupancy levels dropped seven percent to 63 percent, overall revenue im-proved three percent to reach AED3.15 billion (USD857.6 million). The UK remains the desti-nation's prime source market.
A ir Arabia carried a total of 458,316 passengers in October, equilavent to a year-on-year increase of 22 percent, which led to an average seat load factor of 80 percent,
up three percent over the corresponding month in 2011.
“Combined with Eid break, which is a busy period for air travel across the region, Octo-ber has seen Air Arabia adding a set of new
routes,” noted Adel Ali, group CEO, Air Arabia. “As we continue expanding into new markets, more customers continue to take full advan-tage of Air Arabia’s affordable fares, demon-strating Air Arabia’s proven business model and product offering.”
The past few months have seen the air-line add six new routes to its expanding network, which now covers a total of 81 destinations.
5WEEKLY NEWS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Visitors to visitabudhabi.ae had increased 107 percent over Abu Dhabi’s Formula1 Grand Prix weekend, with 32,331 people from 155 countries clicking on the UAE capital’s destination website.
“The number of visitors more than doubled, compared to the previous weekend, with hotels, airlines, and restaurants being the most popular searches,” explained Khaled Al Hashemi, chairman, digital committee, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, add-ing that overall, 89,315 page views had been registered during the event.
To stay abreast of the latest news and happenings in Abu Dha-bi, visitors from 27 countries throughout Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Scandinavia, the Far East, and Australia, also signed up for the site’s monthly newsletter, with the most prominent age range coming from the 31-40 age group, over two-thirds of which were male.
The website is currently available in eight languages including Eng-lish, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese.
With sustainable solutions and green initiatives becoming higher priorities in the industry, Budget Car & Van Rental UAE is keen to set an example and adopt innovative practices.
The company, which operates 22 branches across the UAE, is currently working on an agree-ment with a vendor for the supply of bio-diesel green petrol, revealed Salim Damji, senior general manager, Budget Car & Van Rental UAE. “Also, Lib-erty Automobiles Company, our sister company, is the authorised dealer for hybrid and electric buses, which Budget is promoting. We also have environmentally friendly small buses in our fleet which conform to Euro 4 emission standards,” ex-plained Damji, adding that the company’s new service centre in Dubai Investment Park has been built to be environmentally friendly.
Abu Dhabi’s Website Hits Surges 107 Percent
Budget Car & Van Rental UAE Pushes Green Initiatives
6 WEEKLY NEWS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
AIDA Cruises: 14 Cruises in the Arabian GulfAIDA Cruises, which has been operating in the region since 2006, will offer a total of 14 cruises across the Arabian Gulf throughout the current season.
Following the recent arrival of AIDAblu, the ship will go on weekly round-trip voyages around the Gulf using Dubai as its homeport.
The company has also announced that it will return to the re-gion in November 2013 with AIDAdiva, which will travel the Ara-bian Gulf on a weekly basis until March 2014.
Royal Caribbean Introduces Weddings at Sea
Couples wishing to share their special moment with friends and family are now able to get married or renew their wed-ding vows on Royal Caribbean International’s cruise ships.
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas has cleared the cruise line to conduct legal weddings aboard its ships while out at sea, offering couples the option to organise a ‘multi-destination’ wedding.
Couples choosing any of the customisable ‘Royal Romance’ package options will be married in a manner which is recog-nised by The Bahamas through the newly-passed Marriage Act. The actual location of the ship when the marriage takes place is then recorded in the Marriage Record book of The Bahamas.
Silversea Cruises has been experiencing increasing de-mand from both travel professionals and individual cus-tomers in the MENA region, according to Thomas Harrison, director of sales, Nordic, Benelux, South Africa, and Middle East, Silversea Cruises.
“I have recently taken over the management of this region and am happy with the progress we are making,” Harrison explained, further noting that the company has recently embarked on simplifying its rates and rolling out a new ‘fare guarantee’ programme.
“We are about to launch our 2014 voyages including the recently purchased vessel Galapagos Explorer II in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Silversea will start sailing as Silver Galapagos in October 2013. This is our second expe-dition ship and we are delighted to be able to offer these exciting destinations with the hallmark product Silversea has become renowned for,” Harrison added.
Silversea Cruises: Growing Demand in the Region
Cruising
7WEEKLY NEWSCruising
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Mövenpick Adds Five Cruisers on the River Nile
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has become the largest inter-national operator on Egypt’s River Nile following the addi-tion of five new cruise vessels to its fleet.
Built in the UK nearly a century ago, SS Misr, considered the fleet’s flagship, is said to be the only internationally-managed steamship in the country today, whose décor still recreates classic iconic eras for each of its individually-de-signed suites.
In addition, SB Feddya, the boutique sail boat, redefines the ‘dahabeya’, the traditional Egyptian sailing boat, with a fresh and unique concept, while the long cruise voyages between Cairo - Luxor - Aswan will begin operations as of April 2013 aboard MS Hamees, after a gap of 18 years, and MS Sun Ray and MS Dakarum will also be joining the fleet.
Saudi Arabia Plans USD914 Million Ports Development
Saudi Arabia’s ambitious maritime investment pro-gramme is to be showcased at the upcoming Seatrade Middle East Maritime (SMEM) 2012 on November 27 - 29 as Saudi Ports Authority and King Abdul Aziz Port together intend to spend USD914 million on port development in the Kingdom.
More than USD750 million is being invested into the growth of King Abdul Aziz Port, Dammam, with USD535 mil-lion set aside for a container terminal capacity expansion, fol-lowing a 10 percent increase, over 2011 figures, in container handling in the first half of the year, and USD213 million for other facilities including a USD51 million power plant.
Saudi Ports Authority has also outlined a USD164 mil-lion development plan which includes a new container terminal in Dhiba Port and two additional container termi-nals at King Fahd Industrial Port, Jubail, due for completion by 2014.
Orient Queen II Ends Successful Season
Abou Merhi Cruises’ Orient Queen II cruise vessel ended the season on a high note and will continue its journeys on the Mediterranean Sea from April 2013 onward.
The company’s second cruise vessel, named after its first, started its first voyage on July 9 and ended the sea-son on October 1.
“At first, we were having an average of 300 passengers, which means 100 percent occupancy of this cruise vessel,” explained Hana Abou Merhi, general manager, Abou Mer-hi Cruises, adding that despite demand having gradually softened due to the political situation, the last two voy-ages achieved 98 percent occupancy.
Orient Queen II departed every Monday from the Port of Beirut to sail seven-day cruises calling at the ports of Antalya, Rhodes, Mykonos, Marmaris, and Bodrum.
SS Misr
9WEEKLY NEWSAccommodation
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Danat Residence to Open in Q1 2013
National Corporation for Tourism & Hotels (NCT&H) is to add another property to its growing portfolio with Danat Residence in Abu Dhabi scheduled to welcome its first guests within months.
Work is well underway on the deluxe residence, which is due to open in the first quarter (Q1) of 2013, as Rima Ra-wass, group marketing manager, NCT&H, explained.
Strategically located minutes away from Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Danat Residence will feature 189 furnished apartments, and will provide business and leisure guests alike with an ideal setting for both long and short stays.
“NCT&H is always looking for ownership or manage-ment of new hotels under its division of Danat Hotels & Resorts,” emphasised Rawass, adding that the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority has been working hard to
promote the UAE capital as a touristic and business destina-tion locally and inter-nationally.
“Abu Dhabi now has new hotels un-der many different brands that can ac-commodate both the leisure and corporate segments,” Ra wass concluded.
Danat Residence
Hala Group Enterprises and Vichy Spa Interna-tional, a partner company of cosmetic giant L’Oreal, have signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a medical spa hotel and resort in Qatar in 2013.
Located on the outskirts of Doha near Aqua Park, the group’s other mega project in the country, the new development is set to bring a unique experi-ence to the country, as Ijaz Malik, general manager, Hala Group Enterprises, highlighted. “The resort is el-oquently designed by experts to offer the customers a tranquil experience by examining the aesthetics.”
Similarly, Peter van de Bunt, hotel advisor, Hala Group Enterprises, described the project as an en-tirely new hospitality and medical spa concept to Qatar and the region, and one which combines hos-pitality and healthcare.
Best Western International (BWI) has continued its ma-jor Middle East expansion with the launch of its first hotel in Bahrain.
The opening of the upscale 250-room Best Western Plus The Olive is the latest in a series of ‘firsts’ for BWI in the region this year. Following the company’s debut in Saudi Arabia and the launch of its first Best Western Plus hotel in the Middle East, located in Al Khobar, at the start of the year, the hotel giant has since opened its first ever proper-ties in Kuwait, Muscat, and Riyadh.
Hala Group Enterprises Brings Vichy to Qatar
BWI Launches First Bahrain Property
10 WEEKLY NEWS Accommodation
17 NOVEMBER 2012
The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Re-sort & Spa: Steady Occupancy Increase
The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa continues to record improving occupancy levels, leading to a year-to-date average figure of 45 percent, as Jonathan Hallmark, marketing manag-er, The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa, has revealed.
“The increase in occupancies is a result of a stronger client base that we managed to build up, as well as strong MICE business [driven by] events such as the Arabian World Construction Summit in May,” he explained, adding that the UAE and the GCC represent the resort’s largest source mar-kets, while with reference to international clientele, North-ern and Western Europe, as well as the US, are also among
the property’s top clientele.Hallmark also emphasised
the potentials of the South American segment; one which he believes has long been a missing link for the capital and is an emerging economy which will bring in more opportunities for leisure and corporate travel.
Al Hamra Village Continues to Develop
Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa: Steady Growth
Katara Hospitality Reveals Expansion Strategy
Al Hamra Village, located on the south-ern tip of Ras Al Khaimah, has witnessed an increase in occupancy levels and visi-tor numbers as it continues to enhance its position as an attractive destination.
According to Mark Hawkes, group chief financial officer, Al Hamra Group, Al Hamra Village aims to further develop its leisure facilities with Al Hamra Marina’s recent signing of a partnership for the launch of a new sailing academy, which is set to develop local talent and promote Ras Al Khaimah as a sailing destination, while the village is set to welcome the a Waldorf Astoria hotel in 2013, and in-clude activities for children and a cinema complex.
Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa has re-corded encouraging performance results over the past months and aims to main-tain the positive growth trend by attract-ing new markets.
The resort’s dynamic sales strategies have paid rich dividends, Hossam Kamal, general manager, Fujairah Rotana Resort & Spa, explained, adding that the hotel ex-pects higher growth of volume from East-ern Europe as well as from Italy and China.
“As for Fujairah’s tourism sector, we also expect increases from the Eastern and West-ern European markets as they shift from similar resort destinations such as Sharm El Sheikh, Syria, or Beirut,” he continued.
Katara Hospitality, the Qatar-based hospitality giant, has revealed its ambi-tious expansion plans.
During the past year, the company has doubled its portfolio by acquiring iconic hotels in key markets in Europe, Africa, and Asia, as Hamad Abdulla Al Mulla, CEO, Katara Hospitality, noted, adding that the strategic plans for in-ternational expansion will help the company become one of the leading hospitality organisations in the world. Keen on preserving the industry heritage, acquiring iconic properties and turning them into thriving businesses forms a ma-jor part in the company’s growth strategy.
The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa
11WEEKLY NEWS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Gulf Air Introduces Mobile Check-in
In its continuous efforts towards easing passengers’ travel experience, Gulf Air has launches mobile check-in.
With just a few clicks, using their Internet-enabled mobiles, customers can check-in from 24 hours to 90 minutes prior to their flight’s departure. This new appli-cation allows passengers to choose their seats through the airline’s website whereby a barcode will appear upon confirmation, which can be shown at the board-ing gate after completing immigration procedures, and is only valid after travel documents have been checked, verified, and stamped at designated immigration counters.
The mobile check-in facility is currently available in airports in Bahrain, Copenhagen, Doha, Dubai, Frank-furt, London, Larnaca, and Paris, with more stations to be added as soon as permissions are received from re-spective airport authorities.
Qatar Airways to Serve Salalah
Emirates Flies Daily to Yemen
Qatar Airways has announced its fifth new route of 2013 with the addition of Salalah, Oman’s second larg-est city, effective May 22, 2013, to its growing destination network.
The new four-weekly service comes as the air-line implements a new codeshare agreement with Oman Air on flights between Doha and Muscat, and, according to Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways, is indicative of the expansion into a large variety of at-tractive tourism destinations served by the carrier.
“Salalah offers passengers travelling from our global network with yet another unique holiday op-tion to experience and at the same time provides the convenience of two gateways within the same coun-try. With this new route, passengers wishing to ex-plore Oman at length will also be able to take advan-tage of different travel options, booking flights into Muscat, and returning from Salalah or vice versa,” Al Baker added.
Commemorating the 16th anniversary since the launch of its twice-weekly services to Sana’a on October 28, 1996, Emirates has introduced an additional weekly flight to the Yemeni capital, now serving the city with daily operations.
“It is with great pride that we are strengthening our commitment to Yemen at the same time as we celebrate our 16th anniversary,” said Husain Bani Hashem, country manager, Yemen, Emirates, indicating that the daily ser-vice will further stimulate trade and tourism between destinations on the airline’s vast network via Dubai.
Additionally, the frequency, which is currently be-ing supported with a three-class configuration Airbus
A330-200, will provide flexibility for passengers travelling from Yemen to Dubai and onwards, to popular destinations such as China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, France, UK, and US, and will enable Emirates Sky-Cargo to offer additional capacity.
Air News
Sana'a
12 WEEKLY NEWS Air News
Emirates Departs for AdelaideEmirates’ first commercial flight to Adelaide, South Australia, recently departed from Dubai, significantly boosting the city’s international flight capacity and connecting the region to the airline’s global network of more than 120 destinations.
Initially, the service, which marks South Australia’s first non-stop flight link with the Middle East, will op-erate four times weekly, increasing to daily services as of February 1, 2013, with an annual capacity of 200,000 passengers.
According to Salem Obaidalla, senior vice president, commercial operations, Far East and Australasia, Emir-ates, the team has long held ambitions to operate flights to Adelaide, and once the service becomes daily, nearly 5,000 international seats per week will be added on the route, representing a 30 percent increase for the mar-ket, boosting jobs and investment in South Australia’s AUD5.3 billion (USD5.5 billion) tourism sector, and add-ing 14 tonnes of commercial cargo space on each flight. RJ Suspends Amman - Muscat
Services Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) has decided to suspend its opera-tions between Amman and Muscat, Oman, as of November 17.
Amer Hadidi, president, RJ, said that the decision to suspend operations is due to commercial reasons, further pointing out that Jordan’s flag carrier and Oman Air are currently working on concluding a codeshare agreement allowing customers to travel between the two cities under the RJ code.
He added that Oman Air will keep running its seven weekly flights between Muscat and Amman.
Etihad Airways Launches Flights to Ahmedabad
Etihad Airways has introduced flights between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad, India’s fifth largest city and former capital of the Indian state of Gujarat.
With the addition of Ahmedabad, Etihad Airways now flies to nine Indian destinations including the cities of New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Kochi, with a total of 59 flights to the country per week.
James Hogan, president, Etihad Airways, said, “Etihad Airways is committed to serving the Indian market and people, whether in India or the diaspora. We are delighted to launch this new ser-vice and are committed to serving our customers in Guajarat.”
THAI Lands in SapporoTHAI, the national carrier of Thailand, has celebrated its inau-gural flight to Sapporo, Japan, with a ceremony which was pre-sided over by Sorajak Kasemsuvan, president, Thai Airways Inter-national Public Company Limited, and attended by THAI’s and Tourism Authority of Thailand’s officials.
Sapporo, Hokkaido’s capital and Japan’s largest city, is the carri-er’s sixth destination in the country, following flights to Tokyo’s Nar-ita International Airport and Haneda Airport International Terminal.
The city, which is famous for its annual Sapporo Snow Festi-val, was the first city in Asia to host the Winter Olympics, in 1972, and will be served three times a week onboard an Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
17 NOVEMBER 2012
14 WEEKLY NEWS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Name Change for Protea Hotel Waterfront Centurion
Hilton Worldwide East Africa Agreement
Protea Hotels, a hospitality group boasting more than 120 properties in South Africa and seven other African countries, has announced the name change for Protea Hotel Waterfront Centurion into Protea Hotel Centu-rion.
Meanwhile, the group has informed that the hotel’s global distribution system codes will remain the same.
The four-star hotel, located between Johannesburg and Pretoria in the province of Gauteng, is within walk-ing distance of the Centurion Gautrain Station, the Cen-turion Mall, and the SuperSport Park cricket stadium.
It features a total of 177 rooms including suites and the VIP presidential suite, as well as a conference centre, secure parking space, and a restaurant.
Hilton Worldwide has announced the signing of a licensing agree-ment with long-standing fran-chisee, Opulent Hotel Group, for the conversion of a 130-room hotel in the capital city of Bujumbura, Bu-rundi, East Africa.
The DoubleTree by Hilton Bu-jumbura, slated for completion in early 2014, will undergo a 18-month improvement and rebranding pro-gramme before officially launching under the DoubleTree by Hilton ban-ner converting from Novotel, Accor.
Property renovation plans are already underway and will cover all key areas of the hotel including full refurbishment of the hotel lobby and renovation of all guest and meeting rooms. As part of the programme, a new business centre and fitness facility will also be introduced into the hotel for the first time.
“Hilton Worldwide’s famous pioneering spirit is very much alive and well as we continue to explore exciting new markets in Africa and expand our presence into new coun-tries,” commented Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, development, Hilton Worldwide Europe and Africa, adding that East Africa is attracting an increasing numbers of travellers.
International
WHO'S MOVED
17 NOVEMBER 2012
15
Chetan Sethi
Helen McCabe-Young
Raul Salcido
Chetan Sethi has been ap-pointed general manager at easyHotel Dubai, Jebel Ali, owned by Istithmar World, a premier investment company. Sethi brings with him a suc-cessful track record of 19 years in the hospitality industry.Prior to his appointment, he worked for Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces in India, holding
various management positions for 10 years. In 2004, he moved to the UK and became the gen-eral manager of Cairn Hotel Group with responsibilities for the company’s hotels in Edin-burgh, York, and Carlisle. In his new post, Sethi will focus on growing the brand pres-ence of easyHotel with a crea-tive twist.
Helen McCabe-Young has returned to Kerzner Interna-tional as executive vice presi-dent of sales and marketing for One&Only Resorts. A marketing veteran, McCabe-Young first joined the com-pany in 2003 as senior vice president of sales and market-ing for One&Only Resorts with responsibilities for developing
worldwide sales, marketing, and public relations platforms for the brand. In her new role, she is in charge of the strategic development and oversight of the company’s global corporate communi-cations as well as the world-wide sales and marketing for One&Only, inlcuding retail and spa business development.
Raul Salcido has joined The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai, as gen-eral manager. A graduate of the Univer-sity of Puebla, Mexico, who also holds a master’s degree in hospitality management from the Cornell University, Salcido began his career at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancun in Mexico in 1993, and worked his way up to senior manage-ment level before becoming the general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Istanbul. Bringing over 19 years of in-
ternational and brand expe-rience to the hotel, Salcido moves to the UAE from a three-year stint as general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco. New to the Gulf region, he joins the hotel ahead of the unveiling of the property’s new inventory in early 2013.
Salcido moves to the UAE from a three-year stint as
general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco
16 TRAVEL TALK
17 NOVEMBER 2012
David Thomson
“The diverse spread of locations has made Dubai a ‘crossroads’ for international air travel. Airline ex-pansion has helped Dubai tremendously as a des-tination in the past years and will continue to grow. New air routes provide accesses to new markets; Brazil and China being good examples. With the UAE’s major expansion project, such as its interna-tional airport, it is set to welcome greater passenger traffic than any other time in history.”
Chief operating officer, JA Resorts & Hotels.
Cluster general manager, Al Bustan Rotana Dubai & Al Murooj Rotana Dubai.
“Both Al Bustan and Al Murooj Rotana Dubai […] have showcased positive performance in the first nine months of the year. I must say we have done well across the different aspects of the business, in-cluding rooms, meetings and events, as well as food and beverage. GCC countries remain on the top of the list when it comes to our main source markets. However, the was also an increase in the number of business and leisure travellers coming from Europe.”
Hussein Hachem
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17AGENT'S CORNER
17 NOVEMBER 2012
AGENT’S INSIGHT Travellers Taking More Advantage of Travel Deals
New research from Associa-tion for British Travel Agents (ABTA) suggests that con-sumers are becoming savvier when it comes to choosing ‘when’ to book their holidays.
Six in 10 people said they had changed ‘when’ they booked their holiday in the past 12 months so as to take advantage of deals and greater availability. A third of consumers booked their holiday further in advance this year, a quarter booked closer to the departure date, and four in 10 booked at the same time.
The top reasons cited
for booking in advance were better deals/cheaper prices; better availability; better choice; to get time off work; and the weather in the UK.
Those leaving it to the last minute also did so pri-marily because they believed they could get a bargain. Bet-ter deals and cheaper prices was the number one reason for leaving it late, with six in 10 people stating that this was the reason for their de-lay. Other reasons included better choice, the weather in the UK, and worry about money and job security.
Who are you?I am Omar Sabella and I have been involved in the field of tourism for the last five years, which made me realise a gap in the local mar-ket of the travel business in Jordan and the Middle East in general.
In this modern world, the industry is shifting towards online travel portals where 60 percent of travellers are buying their tours online from international travel portals that are not specialised in the certain market.
HistoriaME is a local travel portal that is specialised in the Mid-dle East local market. We started with Jordan and the UAE with a plan to add Egypt and Oman to our travel portal in the near future.
What is your favourite thing about working in the travel industry?Working during the high-season, or what we call the season-rush, where everybody is trying to find a hotel room, transportation, and a plane seat. At such times, you feel good about yourself for achieving these requirements and the demands of your custom-ers. Also, meeting the majority who arrive from different places makes you feel even better.
When is the best time to visit Jordan?Jordan is a unique country that you can visit almost all year round, apart from January and February.
Where would you like to travel to for your next holiday?I always go to Dubai for business but now I need to try it as a lei-sure destination and am sure it will meet my expectations.
Why should people come to you for travel advice? Simply because HistoriaME is local and travellers are always look-ing for a local travel agent to deal with rather than dealing with an agent who has not been to the destination. We put all prices in front of our visitors and they get not only to book but also to cus-tomise their own packages before buying them online, a feature that no other travel portal has.
NAME: Omar Sabella
POSITION: Managing Director
COMPANY: HistoriaME
LOCATION: Jordan
WEB: www.historiame.com
18 TRAVEL CHANNELS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
New UNWTO Campaign Calls Tourists to Make a Difference
The new World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) campaign, One Billion Tourists: One Billion Opportunities, is asking tourists
to vote for what they believe is the most beneficial travel tip.
W ith one billion tourists travelling the world this year, trans-forming these one billion tourists into one billion oppor-tunities is at the heart of the online campaign, which was launched at the World Travel Market, London, by Taleb Rifai, secretary general, UNWTO.
One Billion Tourists: One Billion Opportunities is set to culminate on December 13, a symbolic date chosen for the arrival of the one billionth tourist, despite the impossibility of knowing exactly when and where the lucky visitor will arrive.
On this day, the most popular tip will be revealed, publicised to millions through social media, and celebrated in Spain, home to the UNWTO head-quarters.
UAE Visitors to the Seychelles Leap
Over 10,000 Mark
Sharjah’s Economy to Grow Significantly
Seychelles’ National Bureau of Statistics has re-vealed that from the start of this year until the week ending October 21, the islands welcomed a total of 10,052 visitors from the UAE, marking a 58 percent in-crease over 2011 figures.
Following France, Germany, Italy, and Russia, which occupy the first four places respectively, the UAE is now Seychelles’ fifth leading market.
The same source revealed that the number of visitors from other Middle East countries is also grow-ing mainly due to the good air connectivity and Julie Muirhead, regional director, Middle East, Seychelles Tourism Board, also attributed the growth to the or-ganisation’s increased presence and activities in the region which has become a primary source market for the country.
Travel and tourism is one of the four key sectors which has been chosen by Sharjah to catalyse the emirate’s eco-nomic growth over the next four years.
Transport and logistics, healthcare, and environment, in addition to other sectors, are among the main sectors that are projected to offer the most significant invest-ment potential in the emirate, as a recent study, released by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), has revealed.
Commenting on the emirate’s business potential and future prospects, H.E. Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO, Shurooq, noted, “Sharjah is capitalising now on four key sectors to drive its economy towards a brighter and more prosperous future, especially after it managed to weather the global financial crisis relatively successfully due to its well-diversified economy, which is ranked as one of the most diversified economies in the region.”
Al Sarkal further attributed Sharjah’s unique character-istics and competitive advantages to its position as an ideal business destination for investors.
19RENDEZVOUS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
Q & A with Ayman AshorLocated on the edge of Rub Al Khali, one of the biggest deserts in the world, Tilal Liwa Hotel offers an ideal, secluded getaway for weekend escapes and honeymoons, and Ayman Ashor, general manager, Tilal Liwa Hotel, reveals all the other factors and trends driving the business.
Travel Trade Weekly: Which were the main trends driving your business so far this year?
Ayman Ashor: Compared to 2011, the oc-cupancy and business mix was different and opposite. The hotel has had more business on weekends than on weekdays. This is due to the attractive step-in price and added values offered to guests. There has been growth in overall revenue compared to 2011 in the on-line, weekend, and leisure business segments.
Occupancy increased comparatively and, year-to-date, we achieved 72 percent. Room rev-enue rose five percent, food and beverage reve-nues grew 21 percent, and other revenue depart-ments experienced an increase of 14 percent.
Travel Trade Weekly: Which markets are you focusing on?
Ayman Ashor: Our main feeder markets are the UAE residents and leisure travellers com-ing from the German market.
The local UAE market is then further divid-ed into two: expats and locals coming for lei-sure from Dubai and Abu Dhabi for the week-ends, and then coming for business purposes during the weekdays.
For the leisure market, the resort at-tracts also the overseas international mar-ket through ‘desert and beach’ combination three-night packages with our sister hotels in Abu Dhabi, such as Al Raha Beach Hotel and Danat Jebel Dhanna Resort.
Travel Trade Weekly: As Internet penetra-tion continues to grow across the region, developing interactive corporate and social media websites to attract and engage poten-
With very low margins, increasing competi-tion and constantly rising costs, hotels now need every advantage they can get to win customers and keep them.
Social media has increasingly become part of hotel Internet marketing strategy as we see the way that guest interact online has changed drastically which, of course, offers the hotel new online channels to get business and interact with them.
Travel Trade Weekly: What are your expecta-tions and plans for the remainder of the year?
Ayman Ashor: The occupancy forecast is expected above 75 percent as the key per-formance indicators show a positive increase in guest numbers, revenues, guest nights, as well as the average length of stay.
Tilal Liwa Hotel is now portrayed as an ideal destination for a weekend desert escape and a secluded hideaway leisure resort. This season, the hotel is preparing more adventure activities to offer for the guests like archery, desert volleyball or desert walks to the oasis; outdoor events are also being planned for en-tertainment and sports in the desert.
Ayman AshorGeneral manager, Tilal Liwa Hotel
tial guests is crucial. How do you think the growing significance on online marketing will shape the industry’s future?
Ayman Ashor: We have experienced a shift in business trends from customers using dif-ferent booking tools like booking websites, mobile and iPad applications, as well as so-cial group buying sites.
Mobile devices have actually outsold desktop PCs for over a year, so this is an is-sue that is going to become more prevalent. It is not enough to just monitor for keywords on your established platforms; conversations about your brand can happen across many platforms such as consumer review sites, as well as media sharing sites, and many others.
The hotel industry, like much of the ser-vice industries, is very dependent on know-ing just what the consumer wants, hopefully before the customers know it themselves.
It is not enough to just monitor for keywords on your estab-lished platforms; conversa-tions about your brand can happen across many platforms
20 NEWS & EVENTS
17 NOVEMBER 2012
EVENTSChina International Travel Mart (CITM)Shanghai, China, November 15 –18, 2012(www.citm.com.cn)The largest professional travel show in Asia with participants from all sectors of the travel industry.
The Hotel Show Saudi ArabiaJeddah, Saudi Arabia, November 17– 19, 2012(www.thehotelshowsaudiarabia.com)A full spectrum hospitality catering and supplies event for the region, bringing leading manufacturers and qualified buyers together.
INTURValladolid, Spain, November 22 – 25, 2012(www.feriavalladolid.com)A show offering professionals and companies the opportunity to make business and generate innovation.
EIBTMBarcelona, Spain, November 27 – 29, 2012(www.eibtm.com)A leading global event for the meetings, incentives, events, and business travel industry, held in a vibrant business and tourism destination.
India International Travel Mart HyderabadHyderabad, India, November 30 – December 2, 2012(www.iitmindia.com)India’s premier exhibition for travel, tourism, hospitality, leisure and other related sectors.
Monte Carlo Travel Market (MCTM)Monte Carlo, France, December 2, 2012(www.monte-carlo-travel-market.com)An event, enabling participants to make a maximum number of con-tacts in a minimum amount of time.
Food & Hotel OmanMuscat, Oman, December 3 – 5, 2012(www.foodandhoteloman.com)Formerly known as Food Expo, the event has been re-branded to reflect the emerging hospitality and tourism market in the Sultanate and the region.
Travel Turkey Izmir Tourism Fair & ConferenceIzmir, Turkey, December 6 – 9, 2012(www.travelturkey-expo.com)One of the leading tourism shows in Turkey, focusing on all kinds of services, destinations, holidays and on transportation and accommodation.
Jordan to Host the 32nd International Academy of Pathology Conference in 2018
International Golf Travel Market Reveals Trends in European Golf Tourism
The International Academy of Pathology recently selected Jordan as the destination for its 32nd conference in 2018.
The conference, which is expected to attract around 5,000 international delegates, will be taking place at King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre Managed by Hilton (KHBTCC).
Ismail Matalka, president elect, Arab division, International Academy of Pathology, praised the collaborative efforts of Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) and KHBTCC, in preparing an attractive proposal following years of combined professional collaborative efforts.
In addition, Abdel Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director, JTB, is positive that the conference will place Jordan as a first-choice MICE destination and will have a major impact on the local economy. “This victory is only the beginning. I am confident that the joint efforts, persuasive proposals, and KHBTCC’s experience in delivering high profile international conferences will definitely help us attract many more major events and conferences to Jordan,” he asserted.
A survey commissioned by Reed Travel Exhibitions, organ-isers of the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) and car-ried out by SPORTS MARKETING SURVEYS INC., has revealed that golfers from Germany and Scandinavia are most likely to have taken an international golf holiday in the last 12 months, and that German golfers tend to stay the longest, averaging 7.5 days for golf breaks.
The research, which focused on the four largest Europe-an golf markets namely the UK, Scandinavia, Germany, and France, also indicated that golfers generally tend to travel in groups of two to eight people, with British and Scandina-vian golfers travelling in the largest groups.
Despite the fact that UK and Ireland has the largest number of golfers in Europe, German golfers’ tendency to take international golf breaks and stay for more than a week, makes Germany a vital target market for golf travel destinations, emphasised Peter Grimster, exhibition man-ager, IGTM.
