05 04 general gcc ministers agree on …...2016/11/12 · qatar airways enhances saudi operations...
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QATAR AIRWAYS ENHANCES SAUDI OPERATIONS
LUXOR: 34,000 TOURISTS IN OCTOBER
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12 NOVEMBER 2016 ISSUE 366
GCC MINISTERS AGREE ON UNIFIED PLAN
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RendezvousTechnology
Travel Talk
TRAVEL TRADE PUBLICATIONS
12 NOVEMBER 20162
MARKET UPDATE www.traveltradeweekly.travel
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ASSISTANT EDITORRita Kasziba
JOURNALISTS Ellen Petty Natalie James CONTRIBUTORS
Ana Mladenovic Dominique Christou
SALES & SALES SUPPORT Maria Demetriadou Magda Christou Raluca Apostolescu
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0.37
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110.70
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COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=
11.11.2016as ofMENA EXCHANGE RATES
QAIA: 9.3 PERCENT PASSENGER GROWTH
JAZEERA AIRWAYS REPORTS USD39.7 MILLION NET PROFIT
Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed more than 774,000 passengers in September, marking a year-on-year surge of 9.3 percent.
Jazeera Airways carried 2.6 percent more passengers in the first nine months of the year than in the corresponding period in 2015.
While the hub recorded a two percent increase in aircraft movements compared to the same month in 2015, there was a 14.7 percent plummet in the volume of cargo handled.
The latest data brings the total number of travellers in the first nine months of the year to above 5.8 million, a year-on-year boost of 5.7 percent. Furthermore, year-to-date, both
aircraft movements and cargo traffic rose, improving 4.2 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.The five most popular routes included Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Cairo and Riyadh.
Consequently, load factor for the period under review climbed 1.8 percent. Nevertheless, the carri-er’s improved operational performance proved to be insufficient to offset to a 8.8 percent decline in operating revenue and a 9.7 percent drop in net profit to KWD12 million (USD39.7 million).
To enhance the customer experience, the Kuwaiti airline launched a major product en-hancement programme in February, called The Next Big Thing. The initiative includes a dedicated re-mote check-in and long-term parking facility, in-flight broadband service, a dedicated terminal and business class lounge at Kuwait International Airport.
The low-cost carrier is currently also looking to expand its network to include key long-haul destina-tions by partnering with an international operator.
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WEEKLY NEWS www.traveltradeweekly.travel
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D ubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) took part in this year’s Seatrade Maritime Middle East (SMME) to highlight the emir-ate’s transformation into a competitive maritime cluster.
Held at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre along-side Dubai Maritime Week 2016, the event saw DMCA promote interna-tional investment opportunities to more than 7,500 delegates.
Speaking ahead of the occasion, Amer Ali, executive director, DMCA, noted that participation in the event opens up direct channels for the exchange of knowledge and experiences between local, region-al and global organisations in order to achieve a renewed, secure and sustainable maritime sector.
Dubai Maritime Sector Showcased at SMME
Unified Plan
MINISTERS OF TOURISM AND CULTURE FROM ACROSS THE GULF REGION HAVE APPROVED A COALESCED VISION TO CONNECT THE TWO SECTORS BETWEEN 2017 – 2021, USING TOURISM AS A TOOL TO UNDERSCORE AND PRESERVE ARAB-ISLAMIC CULTURAL HERITAGE.
S audi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage prepared a six axis document which focusses on the requirement to strengthen joint action at the level of cultural tourism through the promotion of heritage institutions. Furthermore, member states need to implement collaborative initiatives,
organise events and activities as well as apply for heritage site listing. The axes cover embedding Gulf identity into citizens, the importance of the sectors to stimulating local economy and investment, training and education, the need for complementary marketing strategies and the controls for developing sites.
GCC MINISTERS AGREE ON
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WEEKLY NEWSwww.traveltradeweekly.travel
EME Demand Boosts Tourico Holidays
Revenue
During the month of October, approximately 34,000 travellers visited Luxor.More than 4,000 of these were domestic guests, with the remaining
30,000 tourists representing international markets. The positive numbers came after a five-year hiatus in the promotion of Luxor’s
tourism product which has now recommenced to revive the industry. The Upper Egyptian city is known as a premium travel destination that attracts high-spend-ers; a segment which is set to boost the local economy.
Luxor: 34,000 Tourists in October
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With now over 10,000 hotel partners in Europe and Mid-dle East (EME), wholesale
travel brokerage company, Tourico Holi-days, reported a 300 percent revenue increase for the past five years in the region.
The US and UK each account for 11 percent of the total travel market in EME, while India and Germany each make up less than five percent of the overall fig-ure, with both growing by more than 10 percent year-on-year.
Mark Redmond, vice president, Eu-rope, Tourico Holidays, said, “The Euro-pean and Middle Eastern travel market is one of the most stable in the world and many of its biggest source markets […] are actually increasing their demand.”
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WEEKLY NEWS TECHNOLOGY www.traveltradeweekly.travel
Air Canada Teams Up with Sabre
T his comes as the carrier launches the sale of more offerings through agencies, travel man-agement companies and online sales sites that are connected via Sabre’s travel market-place.
In addition to paid seats, the recent release of branded fares through the Sabre Red plat-form allows the airline to strategically highlight attributes that differentiate the products, support brand continuity and drive customer loyalty.
Air Canada has further extended its market reach and customers now have easier access to preferred seats and upgraded
amenities.
Travellers Eager to Personalise Experiences
N ew research from global travel tech-nology expert, Sabre, has found that passengers would drop USD100 on
airline ancillaries to customise their journey.The company surveyed people from 20
countries about how much are they willing to invest, with results showing that 80 percent purchased air extras on their last trip. The analy-sis also found differences between what peo-ple from different regions would splash out on.
Dino Gelmetti, vice president, Europe, Middle East and Africa, airline solutions, Sa-bre, said, “By leveraging the latest technol-ogy, airlines can unlock [past purchases] data and show they know their travellers by offering the right products at the right time and tailoring a personalised experience that will improve customer loyalty and generate much needed revenue.”
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WEEKLY NEWS AIR www.traveltradeweekly.travel
Qatar Airways Enhances Saudi Operations
The airline added eight extra frequencies a week to the capital and one further daily flight to Dammam.
Ehab Amin, senior vice president, commercial, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Qatar Airways, said, “There has been significant demand for our services in the Kingdom [in 2015], and we have stepped up our services to provide our passengers […]. By adding more flights, we are offering our travellers more choice to connect to our extensive network.”
Qatar Airways has increased services to Dammam and Riyadh, connecting travellers from Saudi Arabia to more than 150 worldwide
destinations through Hamad International Airport in Doha.
Turkish Airlines Expands in Africa
Turkish Airlines is continuing to strengthen its presence in Africa and is set to soon serve 50 destina-
tions in 31 countries, making it one of the leading carriers to the continent.
Zanzibar, the most prominent tourism destination of Tanzania, will be the third gateway of the airline in the country, with existing services to Dar es Salaam and Kili-manjaro.
Beginning December 12, flights to and from Zanzibar will be operated three times per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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WEEKLY NEWS AIR www.traveltradeweekly.travel
SriLankan Airlines Returns to Bahrain
Etihad: USD3.6 billion Impact in Africa
Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) and its equity airline part-ners will support almost 425,000 jobs and are expected to generate USD3.6 billion GDP for the African economy
this year.According to Oxford Economics Group’s report, EAG and
its partners make a substantial contribution to the continent’s economic prosperity by providing vital connections between leading commercial centers and emerging markets.
James Hogan, president, EAG, said, “Many jobs across the supply chain in hotels, ground transport companies, freight for-warders, catering, manufacturing, and throughout the tourism industry, all benefit from the presence of the EAG, with suppli-ers in these sectors creating tremendous employment opportu-nities for emerging markets such as Africa.”
Bahrain Airport Company recently welcomed back SriLan-kan Airlines’ operations in a ceremony at Bahrain Interna-tional Airport.
The relaunch of the Asian carrier’s services to the Middle East-ern country is a reflection of its growing operations in the region, suggested Suren Ratwatte, CEO, SriLankan Airlines.
“We consider this a great opportunity in strengthening our relationship with the Kingdom, in order to fulfill both countries aspirations of becoming a travel hub for their respective regions. In this regard, we at SriLankan consider this an important step in our new strategy that is focussed on expanding operations throughout the Middle East and Asia […].”
Etihad Airways Flies Dreamliner to Riyadh
An official welcome ceremony marked the launch of Etihad Airways’ latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner route with the state-of-the art
aircraft touching down in Riyadh.The upgraded schedule provides optimal tim-
ings for passengers in Abu Dhabi and the Saudi capital, and convenient connections to and from destinations across key markets globally.
Since its launch in 2004, Etihad Airways has car-ried more than 2.5 million travellers on the route.
Swissport Collaborates with Gulf Air
Gulf Air signed a new contract with Swissport Saudi Arabia.
The agreement will see the subsidiary of Swis-sport International provide ground handling services for the airline’s Saudi operations at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah as well as King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
The company will be assisting the carrier in passenger and ramp handling, baggage services, operations coordination and load control.
Etihad Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner
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WEEKLY NEWS AIRwww.traveltradeweekly.travel
HIA Debuts Dual Passenger Trains
H amad International Airport’s (HIA) dual passenger train ser-vice is now available to pas-
sengers at the state-of-the-art facility. The two new additions are de-
signed to shuttle between the south and north nodes of the terminal, sig-nificantly reducing travel time through the airport for both arriving and de-parting travellers. Each train has five carriages allowing the transportation of 38 persons per unit, meaning 190 passengers in total.
Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways, said, “The continued invest-ment in HIA, our home and hub, will en-sure that it remains one of the world’s most advanced airports, a destination on its own, and meeting the growing needs of more than 30 million travellers who choose to fly across HIA.”
W ith an agenda designed to embed the group policy that safety and security is the highest pri-ority, Qatar Airways held its first annual confer-
ence on safety and security for its staff.The one-day event was attended by over 600 execu-
tive leaders, managers and supervisory staff. In his open-ing speech, Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways, said, “The primary commitment we ask of each of our staff is to put safety and security as their number one priority every day, and we encourage our team members to constantly seek ways to share best practices and innovative safety methods with their colleagues.”
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WEEKLY NEWS AIR www.traveltradeweekly.travel
Emirates has signed an agreement with Thales to equip its Boeing 777X fleet with Thales AVANT inflight entertain-ment system.
The upgraded offering will be utilised on the airline’s new Boeing 777X aircraft, due for delivery from mid-2020 onwards.
“The new Boeing 777X aircraft will herald a new era for the Emirates fleet, and we want to ensure that our product offer-ing on these fuel-efficient planes will be a benchmark for the industry, including the inflight entertainment experience,” com-mented Adel Al Redha, chief operations officer, Emirates.
Oman Air is launching two new initiatives; paid seat upgrades and extra legroom options for economy tickets.
The enhancements underline the national carrier’s ongoing commitment to augmenting the travel experi-ence and increasing in-flight comfort levels even further.
As Aboudy Nasser, senior vice president, Oman Air, explained, “These two new on-board initiatives that un-derline our dedication to providing the highest quality of service for all as we continue to set industry standards when it comes to product and on-board experience.” O
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Emirates Teams Up with Thales
Oman Air to Improve Comfort
Qatar Airways has published its 2015/2016 sus-tainability report, showing that the company delivered a 1.4 percent improvement in fuel
efficiency as compared to 2014/2015. Hailed as one of the most efficient airlines, Qatar
Airways’ lower carbon emissions support the industry’s endeavours aimed at enhancing 2005’s results by at least 25 percent by 2020.
“We lead by example in sustainability matters such as the management of our greenhouse gas emissions, through to the protection of wildlife and endangered species,” said Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways. “We will continue our progress and help lead our in-dustry to achieve carbon-neutral growth from 2020.”
Qatar Airways Pushes Carbon-neutral Growth
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WEEKLY NEWS AIRwww.traveltradeweekly.travel
Gulf Air Begins Country Manager
Training
I n an effort to better equip coun-try managers with the tools and skills needed to fulfill their roles,
Gulf Air has instigated a compre-hensive five-month training pro-gramme in Bahrain.
The syllabus was created in partnership with Arab Air Carriers Organization to cover a range of topics, such as competency-based development, airport route devel-opment and commercial manage-ment, as well as International Air Transport Association airlines’ sales strategies and strategic marketing planning. The course aims to en-rich soft skills and technical knowl-edge to improve competency in their home markets.
During an event celebrating the return of Lufthansa flights to Cairo Interna-tional Airport, Hani El-Adawi, chairman, Civil Aviation Authority, Egypt, noted that the ministry and its affiliate companies are seeking opportunities to ex-
change views and discuss initiatives with professionals in the global aviation sector.Highlighting the importance of the industry to Egypt’s development, El-Adawi
noted that the field of civil aviation is one of the main foundations of the world econ-omy. He marked his appreciation for Lufthansa’s decision to reinstate its schedule, an indication of the close relations between Egypt and Germany which is based on mutual confidence.
Egypt Welcomes Proposals for Supporting Tourism
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J azeera Airways has launched its WhatsApp phone number for passengers and interested customers.
The service is available from all over the globe and the Kuwaiti airline aims to respond to questions within three minutes of receiving the message.
Travellers can use the WhatsApp number to submit travel enquiries, find flight schedules and frequencies, confirm arrival times, reserve seats, manage bookings or initiate changes in a faster and easier manner.
A fter a break of a few years, it will once again be possible to fly directly from Helsinki Airport to Jordan’s popular Red Sea destination.
Starting February 2017, Royal Wings will commence services between the destinations, offering travellers the chance to explore Aqaba’s attractions, the desert of Wadi Rum as well as the historical Petra.
The new route between the Finnish capital and the Middle Eastern location will be operated once a week on Mondays.
Jazeera Airways Introduces WhatsApp Help Center
New Route to Aqaba from Helsinki
Jord
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TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: How satisfied are you with your results so far this year?
AHMED BADAWY: Jood Palace Hotel Dubai’s year-to-date performance is al-most similar to [the corresponding period in 2015] in terms of occupancy but at lower average room rates. After one year since our brand identity being defined as Be our guest of honour and identified as the hospitality wing of UAE-based conglomerate Juma Al Majid Group, managed by the owning family, we can say that Jood Palace Hotel Dubai has strategically positioned itself in the market and is well-known under the new brand name.
AHMED BADAWY
Q & A
with
GENERAL MANAGER, JOOD PALACE HOTEL, DUBAI
JOOD PALACE HOTEL PROMISES TO OPEN UP NEW DIMENSIONS IN HOSPITALITY,
AND OFFERING A DISTINGUISHED PRODUCT IS, ACCORDING TO AHMED BADAWY, GENERAL MANAGER, JOOD PALACE HOTEL, DUBAI, CRUCIAL IN A
MARKETPLACE LIKE DUBAI.
to maintain high level of product and service. There are also regular checks from Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing to ensure the consistency of expected level of prod-uct and service delivery according to the classification of the product.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: With such ambitious goals, is there still room for growth at all?
AHMED BADAWY: The vision of Dubai Tourism – as outlined by the leadership of Dubai – is the strength with which we move forward. Dubai is one of the top travel destinations acknowledged by global tourists. With more expansion and development plans in the anvil, Dubai will continue to be an attractive destination.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: What are the priorities on your agenda?
AHMED BADAWY: Our priorities for the coming months are to maintain our business growth and to tap into all the opportunities to develop new business avenues. We look forward to welcome tourists from new markets into Jood Palace Hotel Dubai. We would love to see more interest in leisure, incentive and MICE. Our property is ready to re-ceive all categories of inbound tourism.
Dubai will remain popular as a vi-brant tourism destination with new leisure attractions such as IMG Adven-tures and Dubai Parks and Resorts. The opening of the Global Village will sup-port the tourist traffic into Dubai over the last quarter of the year.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: By 2020, Dubai is expected to welcome 20 mil-lion visitors. How will this develop-ment shape the emirate’s hotel sec-tor in the coming years?
AHMED BADAWY: Currently, Dubai has around 100,000 keys which is ex-pected to be increased to 120,000 keys by 2020, which should be sufficient for 20 million visitors per year. Hotels and furnished apartments will support this demand and from our side, providing an excellent product and service to our guests will help in achieving the desired results for such development.
TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY: What are the most pressing issues that need to be addressed in order to ensure that despite the growth, guests’ ex-perience in Dubai lives up to their expectations?
AHMED BADAWY: The market is com-petitive and every hotel is doing its best
Jood Palace Hotel, Dubai
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Jood Palace Hotel, Dubai
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DIRECTOR, MAZAGAN BEACH & GOLF RESORT, MOROCCO
GENERAL MANAGER, DUNES HOTEL APARTMENTS, DUBAI
“We have seen, since the opening of the resort, an in-creased inflow of GCC fami-lies, who prefer Arabian style environment against the sce-nario of European destina-tions. In addition, GCC visitors can enjoy the highest stand-ards of hospitality like those offered by the finest resorts around the world. […] The resort strengthens commu-nication with incoming Gulf families.”
“At Dunes two things are paramount: continuous im-provement and adding a hu-man and personal touch to all ofour services and guest interactions. These interna-tional [Haute Grandeur Glob-al Hotel Awards] are a true recognition from the hotel in-dustry at large and all credit goes to our team for their dedication and hard work. […] We promise to continue to delight you and will strive to remain your preferred home away from home”
GCC visitors can enjoy the highest standards of hospitality
[We] will strive to remain your preferred home away from home
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DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, ORYX ROTANA DOHA
“By winning top honours across a broad range of cat-egories, the Oryx Rotana team demonstrated the diversity of our restaurant menus where guests can enjoy superb din-ing from around the world. This is also a great achieve-ment for our chefs at Oryx Rotana. [...] The Salon Culinaire [competition at Hospitality Qa-tar 2016] was a great opportu-nity for our chefs to show their abilities and practical skills. To be recognised by interna-tional judges is a tremendous achievement and we believe it will serve to inspire them to do better.”
[Our] team demonstrat-ed the diversity of our restaurant menus
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TRAVEL TALK IS YOUR SPACE – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hear from you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to
CHAIRMAN, PALAZZO VERSACE DUBAI
“The Global Excellence Award for best new hotel opening this year is an acknowledge-ment of our team’s hard work and passion. This award would not be possible with-out their contribution, and it is a testament to their dedica-tion in providing our guests with an unforgettable experi-ence.”
The [award] is an acknowledgement of our team’s hard work
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When and how did you get involved in the tourism industry? I have worked in the tourism industry since 1991, starting with Epcot at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida as a cul-tural representative in the Moroccan pa-vilion before coming back to my coun-try and continuing with a few travel agencies. [I have been] a sales manager at Destination Services Morocco [part of Destination Services Worldwide] for 20 years.
What are the most important attrib-utes of a good travel agent/tour op-erator? Good services, understanding custom-ers’ expectation, creativity as well as providing original and personalised products.
What is the most frequently asked question that your company receives from customers? Asking for a competitive price, whether the country is safe and what we can provide that the others cannot.
What are the must-visits and must-dos in Morocco that nobody should miss? Marrakech, Fez, Meknes, Rabat, Casa-blanca, Merzouga Dunes, Kasbahs, Ait Benhaddou and Agadir.
Which destination is on your bucket-list? My ideal destination to go for a holiday is the Maldives and then Bali.
AGENT’S INSIGHT
Marouane Noussairi
Sales manager
Destination Services Morocco
Marrakech and Agadir, Morocco
www.destinationservices.com
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AGENT CORNER www.traveltradeweekly.travel
Travelport and BidTravel Renew Partnership
Building on 20 years of collaboration, Travelport and BidTravel, a division of Bidvest, have signed a new long-term agreement allowing the South African
company access to the travel commerce platform.Hailed as Africa’s largest travel group, BidTravel compris-
es of a number of organisations, including Carlson Wagonlit, Travelwise and World Travel, amongst other, all of which will utilise the platform as well as Travelport Smartwise to book travel, work smarter and boost revenues.
Commenting on the renewed contract, Allan Lunz, man-aging director, BidTravel, noted, “We strongly believe Travel-port’s edge in technological innovation is paving the way for us to secure more growth, especially in our online business.”
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Flight diversions and network disruptions due to unauthorised drone activity in the airspace around Dubai International cost Emirates a large sum of money on each oc-casion, and also impact thousands of pas-
sengers.There have been three separate incidents since
June involving the closure of airspace at the airport due to such incidents.
The affected Emirates flights diverted to other air-ports in the UAE, resulting in major delays. The knock-on effect of the airspace closure impacted two later itineraries of the airline which also had to be diverted while the world’s busiest international airport worked to restore normal schedules.
The first European Challenge Tour event, organised by Ras Al Khaimah Tourism De-velopment Authority (RAKTDA), was completed with positive results.
The tournament took place at Al Hamra Golf Club, where 105 professionals and guests joined the event.
Referencing extraordinary feedback, Haitham Mattar, CEO, RAKTDA, said, “We are already looking forward to delivering an even stronger event in 2017. With the experi-ences of this year under our belts, we are intent on engaging our industry partners to ensure Ras Al Khaimah delivers an emirate-wide festival of golf in 2017.”
In line with its strategic goal to sustain environmental conservation and community service, Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) carried out, in collaboration with the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), a can collection campaign in the emirate.
The initiative, which was supported by hotels, schools as well as individuals, aimed to collect aluminum cans and recycle them, using the highest environmental standards,
with the end goal of raising community awareness of the importance of environmental pro-tection.
Researchers from 11 countries visited Egypt for The Alexandria International Confer-ence for Maritime and Underwater Ar-chaeology, sponsored by the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology and
Centre for Alexandrian Studies.Commemorating Central Department for Under-
water Antiquities’ (CDUA) 20th anniversary, Mohamed Mostafa Abdel Magid, head, CDUA, Egypt, under-scored the department’s achievements in this field as well as future challenges that it faces.
During the three-day event, some 25 scientists dis-cussed studies of recent archaeological excavations in addition to topics such as submerged monument sites, building ships in the past, ancient ports and more.
EMIRATES AFFECTED BY
DRONESRAS AL KHAIMAH GOLF CHALLENGE PROVES A
SUCCESS
AJMAN ENGAGES IN ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES
SUBMERGED MONUMENTS CONFERENCE HELD IN
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Tilal Liwa Hotel and Al Gharbia Hospital organised a breast cancer awareness campaign
Jannah Hotels & Resorts is the official hotel sponsor for Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club Season 2016/17
Akbar Al Baker, group CEO, Qatar Airways was presented with the airline
of the year distinction at the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence
Emirates Melbourne Cup was once again a success in AustraliaEtihad Airways celebrated UAE Flag Day
Abu Dhabi’s Al Seef Resort & Spa by Andalus marked UAE Flag Day
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Bahrain Stages First Sea Festival
Luxor Hosts UNWTO Council
Bahrain Tourism and Exhi-bitions Authority (BTEA) held its first Sea Festival, showcasing several wa-
ter related traditions and cultural activities with the latest technol-ogy.
Visitors had the opportunity to explore the deep with a 3D un-derwater simulator, learn about the history of pearl diving and traditional sea related handicrafts and enjoy various shows.
Commenting on BTEA’s ef-forts to highlight the Kingdom as a touristic destination, Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, industry, com-merce and tourism minister, Bah-rain, noted, “We look forward to more events that will attract visi-tors and contribute to the growth of the Kingdom’s tourism sector which will in return add to the country’s GDP [...].”
The 104th meeting of the executive council of the World Tourism Organiza-tion (UNWTO) was held in
Luxor.The event, which was attended
by 170 representatives from 40 countries, threw the spotlight on UNWTO’s three current priorities, including safe, secure and seamless travel, the impact of technology in the tourism sector and sustainability.
Mohamed Yehia Rashed, Minis-ter of Tourism, Egypt, said, “In many our nations, tourism employs a large part of our labour force and helps to create immense benefits to our com-munities. [This] is a unique opportu-nity to work together in maximising the contribution of our sector to pro-tect the environment and cultural heritage.”
HOTELIER SUMMIT
December 07 – 09Dubai, UAEwww.ide-global.comHoteliers from across the UAE and Saudi Arabia will share knowledge and ideas.
CULTURAL TOURISM MIDDLE EAST
November 14 – 15Dubai, UAEwww.culturaltourismme.comHigh-level officials from the tourism, cultural development and antiquities, heritage and arts, cultural activities and architectural heritage community will convene in the UAE.
EVENTS
ITB BERLIN
March 08 – 12Berlin, Germanywww.itb-berlin.deOne of the most important annual events where leading industry stakeholders meet, network and conduct business.