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MICE on the rise in Turkey ......................................................................................061st Rezidor in Iraq by 2017........................................................................................09US top mkt for Gulf airlines......................................................................................12
A DDP PUBLICATION Pages: 16Vol. XI No. 10; October 2015
ITB Asia 2015 has bolsteredits strategic partnership withGlobal Business Travel
Association (GBTA), the pre-mier business association, toprovide delegates with its mostcomprehensive business-focused program to-date.
The GBTA BusinessTravel Outlook session willprovide delegates with keyinsights into the current eco-nomic conditions in theemerging markets of Brazil,Russia, India and China(BRIC) as well as an outlookon business spending overthe next two years.
As China is a keyregional market, GBTA willalso host a session dedicatedto examining the trendsemerging in the Chinese mar-ket. “As our partnership withGBTA grows year on year, ourrobust conference pro-gramme showcases our commitment to keeping ourdelegates at the forefront of the travel industry.
Providing timely insights on a wide range of topics like the current opportunitiesin BRIC economies, and the impact of traveller sentiment, this year’s
Business Travel Day will bemust-attend event for thoselooking to discover newopportunities in the region,”says Katrina Leung,Executive Director, Messe
Berlin (Singapore), the organ-isers of ITB Asia.
ITB Asia 2015 will playhost to its strongest confer-ence line-up till date, leverag-
ing partnerships from allacross the travel industry. ITBAsia is a partner event ofTravelRave, a premiere traveland tourism week organisedby the Singapore TourismBoard. Last year’s showattracted close to 750exhibitors from 76 countries,as well as 850 buyers from 62 countries.
“Asia has emerged asthe most promising outboundtourism market in the world,and it cannot be ignored bythe world’s travel and tourismindustry. ITB Asia has openeda new window to this dynamicmarket. The Asian market isof particular interest for theMiddle East tourism industryconsidering that tourists from the Asia are attracted to this region because of its rich history, culture and a range of leisure andentertainment options, includ-ing luxury hotels and facili-ties,” says H.E. Khalid JasimAl Midfa, Director General,Sharjah Commerce andTourism DevelopmentAuthority (SCTDA).
Sharjah Commerce andTourism DevelopmentAuthority (SCTDA) hasrealised the huge potentialoffered by this market and hasalways followed the exhibitionwith interest. With each pass-ing year, Sharjah has beenwitnessing sustained growthin the number of tourists fromAsian countries. Hotels inSharjah received more than313,000 Asian guests in 2014as against more than 263,000in 2013, recording a 19 percent increase in the numberof guests. The number ofAsian guests of diversenationalities in the Emirate’shotels also grew from 13.4per cent to 15.9 per cent during this period.
“SCTDA has also beenorganising and taking part inpromotional tours to variousoverseas markets, includingmajor road shows covering for the first time markets such as Bulgaria, CzechRepublic and Poland. We arealso focusing on countries inthe Commonwealth of
The 8th ITB Asia – The Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market, will take place from Oct 21-23, 2015 at the SandsExpo and Convention Centre, Singapore. brings you expert views to know what’s in store for attendees.
Focus on Asia’s outbound @ITBSU S M I TA GH O S H
Contd. on page 3
Sharjah is a key destination for the Asianmarket in view ofits modern,dynamiccommercial andtrade centres
This year’sBusiness TravelDay will be must-attend event forthose looking todiscover newopportunities in the region
Katrina LeungExecutive DirectorMesse Berlin (Singapore)
H.E. Khalid Jasim Al MidfaDirector General, Sharjah Commerceand Tourism Development Authority(SCTDA)
This partnershipwith ITB Asia willhelp shine a lighton this lucrativeindustry and createan offline platformfor buyers &exhibitors
Mark GreedyFounder and CEODestinationElite
COVER STORY O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 3
Independent States. As a keyMICE destination, Sharjah isa key destination for the Asianmarket in view of its modern,dynamic commercial andtrade centres. A number ofnew hotels with world-classMICE facilities are coming up
in Sharjah this year and in thenext,” he added.
ITB Asia, hasannounced a partnership withDestinationElite to organisethe show’s first ‘Luxury Travel& Hospitality Forum (LTHF)’.DestinationElite is an online
consumer facility for luxurytravel, accommodation andexperiences worldwide.
“DestinationElite hasbeen the go-to online platformfor the luxury travel and hos-pitality sector. I believe thispartnership with ITB Asia willhelp shine a light on this lucra-
tive industry as well as createan offline platform for buyers,exhibitors and luxury travelspecialists to engage,” saidMark Greedy, Founder andCEO, DestinationElite.
ITB Asia has announceda partnership with the China
Outbound Tourism ResearchInstitute or COTRI to jointlydevelop a conference sessionfocusing on China’s growingoutbound travel market.COTRI is the independentresearch institute for information, training, qualityassessment, research andconsulting relating to Chinese travellers.
"COTRI has been work-ing with ITB Berlin and the ITBBerlin Congress for manyyears now and partnering withITB Asia is the next step forus. We will also be launchingour second edition of the‘COTRI Market Report’ at theshow this year which will pro-vide detailed insights into theChinese outbound tourismindustry,” says Prof. Dr.Wolfgang Georg Arlt,Director, COTRI.
COTRI Market Reportprovides expert insights intothe worldwide developmentsof China’s outbound tourismmarket by offering the latestavailable data, statistics, andinformation on travellers’ pro-
files and trends. The reporthighlights the travel and con-sumption patterns across thedifferent segments of theChinese outbound market,consideration factors influenc-ing the current and future
Chinese outbound environ-ment and best practises toattract these travellers.
ITB Asia has announcedthat the CAPA - Centre forAviation, a leader in global avi-
ation knowledge, will hold anindustry outlook forum at theevent this year.
Over a 100 delegatesare expected to attend this first of its kind briefing at ITB Asia on the second day of the show, Oct 22. The session will provide a detailed industry outlook,encompassing CAPA’s financial and traffic forecastsfor the global airline industry, as well as its strate-gic outlook on the future of airline business models,hybrids and Low-CostCarriers (LCCs).
“CAPA is delighted to bepartnering with ITB Asia to deliver a high-level CAPA aviation outlook and executive round-tableforum, as part of theTravelRave week inSingapore. The airline indus-try is constantly evolving andunderstanding the drivers ofairline strategy is crucial for all travel industry players,”says Peter Harbison,Chairman, CAPA.
New opportunities @ITB Asia Contd. from page 1
We will also belaunching our 2nd
COTRI MarketReport at the showwhich will providedetailed insightsinto the Chineseoutbound tourism
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Georg ArltDirectorCOTRI
The airline industryis constantlyevolving andunderstanding thedrivers of airlinestrategy is crucialfor all travelindustry players
Peter HarbisonChairmanCAPA
ITB Asia 2015 venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore ITB Asia 2015 venue: Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
GUEST COLUMN
Singapore getsready for action
EDITORIAL
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As Singapore gets ready to host Asia’smuch talked-about travel trade show, ITB
Asia in October 2015, the travel and tourismindustry in the Gulf region continues to ride onan upbeat mood.
The vibrant mood of the industry has beensubstantiated by the International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) figures which show that theMiddle East aviation market achieved a 5.2 percent share of the global market in 2014, withpassenger numbers growing by 10 per cent to173 million. Though the Middle East was thefifth largest market behind Asia-Pacific, Europe,North America and Latin America and theCaribbean, it was the only region to see double-digit percentage growth, according to IATA.
Back in Singapore, the industry excitementis high as ITB Asia has bolstered its strategicpartnership with Global Business TravelAssociation (GBTA) to provide delegates withits most comprehensive business-focusedprogram to-date.
Interestingly, another highlight of this year’sshow is the 2016 Global Travel Price Outlook,which will provide an in-depth understandingof the evolving travel landscape, offering travelbuyers the information they need tosuccessfully budget for and negotiate theirupcoming travel programs.
Participants will be able to witness a newelement at the ITB show: the Global TravelProfessional (GTP) examinations. GTP is thefirst and only certification for dedicatedbusiness travel professionals, which wasdesigned to raise industry standards, enhancework performance and recognise individualswho demonstrate core competencies essentialto business travel management.
With exhibitors from every sector of theindustry, including destinations, aviation, hotelsand resorts, theme parks and attractions,inbound tour operators, inbound DMCs, cruiselines, spas, venues, other meeting facilities andtravel technology companies expected toattend, the event holds huge promise for theindustry and the eager visitors.
In short, Singapore beckons.
Our platform is a service,where multiple players,
be it air or non-air, can onboard be a supplier or a cus-tomer. Our objective is to com-plement the travel supplier bytaking their content to the enduser through a seamlessprocess giving them a bestuser experience. We offer asingle window to address theneeds of the travel agencyallowing the administrators/consultants and key decision-makers to have complete con-trol of their business.
The core engine offersplatform services to multipleopportunities that exist in mar-ket place, consisting of TravelAgents (B2B) solution,Corporate Business Tools(CBT), Business Associates(B2E) and Self booking tool(SBT). Business on Agent(BoA) is a fully integrated ERPsolution, GSA, Sub-Agent andReseller model. Our platformwill address the present dayneeds from a small tourismagent to a large multi-nationaltravel agency.
This advancement intechnology, content buyingand selling across the bound-aries has become more viablegiving the end consumermuch more options. Thisenabler opened the windowfor the travel suppliers toshowcase their products andmake it attractive for the buyer.Consumer has the choice
now, where the process oftransacting with the supplierneeds to be simplified, atTravRays we have made iteasier for the suppliers to sell.
In sales it’s all about vol-umes, more customers onboard will give a better outlookfor suppliers. This in turnopens the door for more con-tent selling opportunities. Asthe content increases, effi-ciency of the system comesinto play, where the search
needs to be faster and theselling needs to be simpler. Inour core engine, we have inte-grated the customer andfinancial management withinthe fulfilment process, thisincreases the speed to com-plete the transaction. All ourtransactions are recorded forfinancial systems, which cancollaborate with any backoffice system giving the cus-tomer the advantage for errorfree accounting.
Decision making is keyto success for any manage-ment, which can only beachieved through goodreports. Our report manage-
ment tool enables the deci-sion makers to slice and dicethe data to get the informationneeded. Since this is an inde-pendent application, we havedeveloped a browser andmobile version, giving thedecision makers to learnabout their business perform-ance round the clock througha simple flip. With this empow-erment, customers will beable to better negotiate oncontent buying for a betteryield. Business planning into
the future will be much easierthan before.
Content, which is ourdriver in this journey, is gearedup to give the best of air andnon-air making the user expe-rience seamless. If this expe-rience has to be great, thenone can imagine the amountof effort which goes behind indeveloping this platform. Witha team of over 175 profession-als from Airline, GDS,Information Technology andTravel Agency managing thisplatform in UAE & India hasmade this dream come true,its geared up to provide solu-tions and manage business
requirements to meet therequirements of the customer.
At TravRays we believein building our own products,even for our internal businessmanagement. To manage thecustomer platform we have our internal businesssystems from sales force tosupport centre management,to back office addressing our end to end requirements.This has given the ability for us to look into marketexpansion across Middle East and Africa.
Travel is one domain,which will continue to evolve.We understand the change ofthe future and we are focusedin delivering the products offuture, today. We are commit-ted to our customers, in mak-ing this journey a successfulone and give them the best ofthe user experience.
With the present economic conditions, where price is the principle factor indecision making, meeting this demand is a challenge for agents. Understandingthe need of the hour, TravRays has built a platform where content is the driver.
Simplifying travel tech
Hari Kumar ManivannanGeneral Manager
TravRays Travel Technology
We offer a single window to address theneeds of the travel agency allowing theadministrators /consultants and keydecision-makers to have complete controlof their business
Turkish Airlines honours agencies Turkish Airlines recorded a positive growth of 6.1% in passenger traffic from the UAE in H1 2015, compared to the same period in the previous year. To celebrate the achievement, the airline hosted their Annual Travel Agencies Appreciation Awards and gala dinner event at the Raffles Hotel Dubai to honour travel agents in Dubai. Emre Ismailoglu, General Manager, Turkish Airlines, in Dubai, said, “We are delighted to honour the travel industry for their continual support and contribution to the airline’s robust expansion in the Emirate.” Plaques of appreciation were awarded to the top 20 best performing agents for Turkish Airlines.
HOTELS O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 5
The business graph in Q1and Q2 2014 was higher
by 40 per cent compared withthe same tenure in 2015 buthopes to be better in Q3 and Q4 2015.
“We receive guests fromall over the world but they areall seasonal guest segments.Each and every season hasits own target guest and it’sgenerally from Europe Eastand West. Few are from Asianmarkets and from GCC areour daily and around the yearguests which is our mainpotential market,” saysAhmad Hashem, CorporateGeneral Manager, SparksResidence Hotel Apartment.
Spark ResidenceDeluxe Hotel Apartment &Spark Group is always upbeatabout participating in eventsand exhibitions.
Discussing the travelagents role and DMCs guid-ance in promoting the proper-ty, Hashem believes, “Many of
the successful tour operatorsare doing great job here. Theiruseful guidance helps us toimprove more and more interms of guest’s requirementsand we can anticipate theirneeds. They work alwaysclosely with us to achieve thebest goals and results, mak-ing massive efforts in promot-ing UAE. Generated businessfrom the tour operators in2014 was almost 60 per centwhile in 2015 only 25 per cent till date.”
The Spark Group hasseven companies under itsumbrella—Spark ResidenceDeluxe Hotel Apartments,Spark Security, SparkEstablishments (Oilfield), FourSeasons Travel Agency(Holiday packages) and Spark Trading (Sanitary ware-house import and Export), 5 continents industry, Al Mulla car rental (Luxury &commercial cars).
In addition to its constant expansion plans, the Spark Group isfocusing this year on its existing companies and to build longterm commitments with new clients and business partners.
Working closely with trade
TT BU R E AU
We work closelywith the trade toachieve the bestgoals and results,making massiveefforts in promoting UAE
Ahmad HashemCorporate General Manager, SparksResidence Hotel Apartment
From families to businesstravellers, an all-inclusive
concept like breakfast andfree Wi-Fi for each guest isone of the key essences of the upscale brand in the 3-star category.
“We are tapping majormarkets like the UK, CIS,GCC, India, Iran, China,
Pakistan, Latin America andexpect not only FIT businessbut group business as well as30 per cent of our room inven-tories are having twin beds,”comments MuhammadMujtaba Haider, Hotel
Manager, Ibis Styles Dubai, Jumeirah.
Discussing travel agentsand the DMCs guidance inpromoting the new property,Haider informs, “The key trav-
el agents and DMCs are wellaware that Ibis StylesJumeirah is the only 3-starhotel in the vicinity like on AlMina Road. Hence they havea good option of promotingthe hotel because of the flex-ible rates and availability, sizeof the rooms, color full themeand design, indoor gym andpool facility which none of thehotels are offering in the areaof Al Mina.”
Ibis Styles Dubai,Jumeirah has a very simpledevelopment strategy. Themaximum exposure in the keymarkets will use all majoronline and off line channels topromote Ibis Styles Jumeirah,cross selling by the sisterhotels and Accor Hotel willsupport to explore new mar-kets. Entire benefits of thehotel location and servicestandards are to be encashedfor which it’s known in thiscompetitive market.
Being the first operational Ibis Styles in the UAE, Ibis StylesDubai, Jumeirah hotel has a stylish product to offer for all agegroups. By 2017 it aims to develop three more hotels.
Only 3 star in Al Mina Road
TT BU R E AU
Muhammad Mujtaba HaiderHotel ManagerIbis Styles Dubai, Jumeirah
The key travel agents and DMCs have a good option of promoting the hotel becauseof the flexible rates and availability, etcwhich none of the hotels are offering in the area of Al Mina
NEWS6 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
The Arab Center forTourism Media through
this initiative is highlighting theactivities and individual effortsand workers in the tourismsector throughout the Arabworld, with the aim to attractthe limelight to the Arab coun-tries’ touristic sites includingthe cultural ones and heritage.
Christian Palacin,General Manager, CitySeasons Muscat, said, “We arevery proud to be awarded sucha prestigious title. At City
Seasons we have alwaysstrived to offer a comfortablestay to all our travellers, espe-cially to family vacationerswhich have acknowledged usas a sure and friendly choice inOman as well as in the UAE.”
The criteria for the titleincluded facilities for familywith young children likesecured play area, pool andswimming accessories, moth-er and child corners, specialkids meals in room service,
cribs, baby monitors and avariety of items to make thestay secure and comfortable.
Sheikh AhmedMusallam Bin Ham, Vice-President and founder,
City Seasons Hotels, was presented at the sameceremony with an award for his continuing contributionto the hospitality sector.
Sheikh Ahmed said,“We are thankful andpleased with this award; City Seasons Hotels have won-derful properties in Omanand the UAE to cater to international travellers but mainly to Arab families with world-class service,while providing unwaveringlevel of comfort, service and leisure.”
City Seasons Muscat has been awarded ‘Best Family-Oriented Hotel’ by the Arab Center for Tourism Media. The annual event,in its 5th edition, was held in Muscat under the patronage of H.E. Ahmed Bin Nasser Al Mehrzi, Omani Minister of Tourism.
City Seasons ‘Best Family-Oriented Hotel’
TT BUREAU
Christian PalacinGeneral ManagerCity Seasons Muscat
Sheikh Ahmed Musallam Bin HamVice President and FounderCity Seasons Hotels
QWhat kind ofparticipation are
you expecting at the2016 exhibition?
We had 269 Exhibitors,656 Hosted Buyers and11,687 Visitors at AME 2015.For the next year we are stillin contact with conventionbureaus and MICE compa-nies all over the world in orderto increase this number. Weexpect 330 Exhibitors, 300International Buyers and morethan 300 local Hosted Buyersfrom associations and corpo-rate companies.
QWhat is thefocus of the
exhibition?Our aim is to bring
together MICE industry fromTurkey and the world. Wewould like to show the MICEpotential in Turkey to the inter-national market as ACE ofMICE Exhibition is a uniqueevent in our country.
QTell us about theMICE market in
Turkey? There are 1,300 hotels
with meeting facilities andevent venues, 1,130 eventmanagement companies,1,890 service providers in
Turkey for now. According toTurkish MICE Industry Survey,which was released at AME2015 in February by TourismMedia Group, 29.3 per cent ofthe attendees from Meeting
and Event Management com-panies said their annual MICEendorsement is between oneto five million euros and 20per cent of the companieshave five million eurosendorsement. About 3.8 percent of the companies haveless than ¤ 50,000 endorse-ment. On the other hand, 22per cent of the attendees fromhotels and venues have MICEendorsement of ¤ 100,000 – ¤500,000 and 21 per cent haveendorsement of ¤ 10,00,000 –¤ 30,00,000. About 7.2 percent of the companies have ¤10 million of endorsement. Allthese numbers show that
the growing potential of MICE industry in Turkey is still in progress.
QWhat are thelatest trends in
MICE market?Mobile social event net-
working, multi-event App platforms, technologicaloptions for live events and hybrid meetings are so popular nowadays. Interms of sustainabilty trends,the green meetings are sopreferable. Regarding destina-tions I can mention aboutIstanbul which became anexcellent choice for events in recent years.Istanbul offers an uniqueopportunity to the attendeeswith direct flights, congresscenters, event venues, hotelcapacities which make it more attractive.
QWhat kind ofsteps is the
Turkish Govt takingto encourage MICEtourism into thecountry?
Turkish governmentsupports convention bureas inTurkey such as Istanbul,Ankara, Izmir and Antalya to make Turkey a well-known destination throughmarketing activities.
Growing MICE endorsements by companies in Turkeymakes it an ideal destination to host ACE of MICE Exhibition2016. Exhibition Director Beyza Aksit tells about thepreparations for the event to be held from March 16-18.
MICE on the rise in Turkey
TT BU R E AU
The international CruiseAbu Dhabi promotional
push coincides with the open-ing of the capital’s new perma-nent cruise terminal which willdeliver both tactical andstrategic benefits to the emi-rate. This demonstrates thatAbu Dhabi is well placed toadd value to cruise operatoritineraries through compelling
shore excursion opportunitiesand state-of-the-art port andair facilities, anchoring theemirate’s reputation as one ofthe world’s fastest growingregional cruise destinations.
Presenting a unifieddestination approach, a five-member delegation of organ-isations spearheaded by AbuDhabi Tourism & CultureAuthority (TCA Abu Dhabi),including Abu Dhabi Ports,Etihad Airways and a number
of private sector shore excur-sion providers and ship han-dling agents, set out to assertthe Emirate’s commitment toregional cruise developmentas part of a coordinatedCruise Arabia stand.
“Our presence inHamburg will launch a seriesof international cruise pro-motional marketing activitiesto build on our successes,celebrate the forthcomingterminal facility at Zayed Port
and press the emirate’s caseas a leading winter-suncruise destination,” saysSultan Al Dhaheri, actingExecutive Director ofTourism, TCA Abu Dhabi. Alandmark partnership co-operation agreement forgedwith MSC Cruises will be apriority for the emirate’spresence in Hamburg. From December, the UAEcapital is set to host the luxury MSC Musica vessel atits Arabian Gulf home portfor the 2015-16 season,becoming the first cruise line to choose Abu Dhabiand the new Abu DhabiCruise Terminal.
“The selection of AbuDhabi for MSC Musica’sregional Arabian Gulf rota-tions validates our efforts toelevate Abu Dhabi’s standingas one of the world’s must-experience cruise destina-tions,” added Al Dhaheri.
The next port of call forAbu Dhabi’s international pro-motional drive is a two-citycruise roadshow in India inOctober, followed by a presence at November’sWorld Travel Market in London and participation atCruise Shipping Miami inMarch 2016.
Major developments in Abu Dhabi’s cruise sector and aninternational marketing and promotional campaign wererolled out at Europe’s leading B2B cruise event, SeatradeEurope 2015 in Hamburg, Germany.
Dual push for A’Dhabi cruise
TT BU R E AU
Beyza Aksit Exhibition DirectorACE of MICE Exhibition
Sultan Al DhaheriActing Executive Director of Tourism,TCA Abu Dhabi
Our presence in Hamburg will launch a seriesof international cruise promotional marketingactivities to build on our successes, celebratethe forthcoming terminal at Zayed Port and press the emirate’s case as a leadingwinter-sun cruise destination
City Seasons Muscat
TECHNOLOGY O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 7
Through this partnership,independent hotels in the
US and Europe will haveaccess to an all-in-one plat-form to centrally manage theirmarketing and online distribu-tion, front desk operations,rates and inventory and guestcommunication. FrontdeskAnywhere is a web-basedhotel management softwarecompany that was born withthe mission to provide hotelierswith a first-class PMS solution.It helps them to run their oper-ations in a more accurate andefficient way. Based in theheart of the Silicon Valley, inSan Francisco, FrontdeskAnywhere serves more than 1,000 hotels in over 45 countries.
“We set out to create withGuestCentric a unique solutionto not only improve hotel oper-ational efficiency, but also to
make a lot easier the difficulttask of marketing and sellingindependent hotel rooms,”says Thomas Lyle, Co-founder, Frontdesk Anywhere.“GuestCentric and FrontdeskAnywhere bring the hospitalityindustry finally on a single plat-form to manage market anddistribute independent hotels.”
“The beauty of this part-nership with FrontdeskAnywhere is its simplicity. Wecan now provide hotels world-
wide, a single cloud-basedplatform that will allow themnot only run their properties inan effortless way but also toimprove brand exposure,”says Pedro Colaco, CEO,GuestCentric. “This partner-ship between GuestCentricand Frontdesk Anywhere willallow independent hoteliersworldwide to finally focus onproviding guests a memorableexperience,” he added.
GuestCentric leads inboth design and innovation. Itsinnovative digital marketingsoftware provides featuresneeded for hotel digital mar-keting success. It includessales-oriented and responsivewebsites, user-friendly book-ing engine mobile-optimisedfor hundreds of devices, achannel manager with accessto over 400 integrations, socialmarketing, SEO optimisationand extensive reporting and analytics.
GuestCentric, the provider of cloud-based digital marketingsoftware for hotels, has partnered with Frontdesk Anywhere tooffer a hotel management and marketing platform on the cloud.
Cloud-based marketing
TT BU R E AU
Pedro ColacoCEOGuestCentric
RezLive.com already has asolid base in the Asia
Pacific region and with its newoffice in Thailand, that will fur-ther strengthen its reach andscope of operations in this partof the world. Through theThailand office, RezLive.comteam will satisfy the growingtravel-related needs of the localtravel partners, and also willexpand and establish directcontracts with hotels across theKingdom. The company offershotels, sightseeing and trans-fers under one window inter-face to its travel partners. Thesystem is empowered bydirect inventories of multiplesuppliers and our own con-tracts with price comparisonfilters which provides the trav-el partners a larger pool ofinventory with competitiverates. A part of TravelDesigner Group, RezLive.comis backed by travel
expertise, innovation and cutting edge technology.
Through offices in India,UAE, Qatar, Thailand, Kuwait,Jordan, Bangladesh, Pakistan,Mauritius, Philippines, SaudiArabia, Australia, Nepal,Malaysia, South Africa, Algeria,Romania and Morocco,RezLive.com is empowering11,000+ satisfied travel part-ners in over 18 countries in fourcontinents. Travel DesignerGroup also offers products like
designer packages, designerIndya and product offerings forQatar, with its arm namedTravel Designer. In less than 15years, the group has made amark on the sector and hasgrown at a whopping 50 percent every year for the last fiveyears. Today it is a 250+ mem-ber team with self-ownedoffices in four countries andGSA offices in 14 countries.
Jaal Shah, Group MD,RezLive.com, says, “Thailandwill act as a potential marketfor us and we would like tocapitalise on the same byoffering better inventory atbest net rates to our travelpartners, complemented byworld class support. We areconfident that we will be ableto create a buzz aboutRezLive.com in this regionand will replicate the samesuccess story that we have inthe Middle East and AsiaPacific region.”
RezLive.com is expanding its reach further in Asiaby opening a new office in Bangkok. Jaal Shah,Group Managing Director, RezLive.com, tells more.
RezLive taps Thailand market
TT BU R E AU
Jaal ShahGroup Managing DirectorRezLive.com
HOTELS8 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
The management agree-ment between RP Global
and the Jumeirah Group wassigned by Dr. Ravi Pillai,Chairman, RP Group ofCompanies, and GeraldLawless, President and GroupCEO, Jumeirah Group at a cer-emony held at the JumeirahGroup’s flagship property, theBurj Al Arab Jumeirah.
Lawless mentioned, “RPGlobal is a company committedto excellence, and we look for-ward to working together andoperating this outstanding property. As Dubai movestowards its tourism vision ofreceiving 20 million visitors ayear by 2020, we are proud tobe strengthening our Jumeirahportfolio in Dubai.”
Dr. Pillai said, “We areinvesting close to $1 billion ofour own resources into Dubai’s
real estate sector to develop aworld-class tower that will beoperated by the esteemed lux-ury hospitality brand, JumeirahGroup. RP Global is committedto superior quality and timelydelivery and like the JumeirahGroup, we strive to create well-designed, innovative lifestyleconcepts for our buyers.”
The Jumeirah BusinessBay will include a 200-room lux-ury Jumeirah hotel as well as350 serviced apartments and290 luxurious residences man-aged under the Jumeirah brand.
The super-tall tower will havea built-up area of over 3 millionsquare feet. A luxury urbanresort destination, the towerwill include extensive food andbeverage outlets, an awardwinning Talise Spa and Health Club, conference andbanquet facilities and adynamic open air, rooftop Skybar. Located in the heart ofBusiness Bay, the tower isdesigned by world renownedfirm, Atkins Global, and isexpected to be completedbefore the opening of Expo 2020.
Jumeirah Group has been appointed by leading propertyinvestment company, RP Global, to operate a mixed-usedevelopment within RP Global’s $1 billion iconic tower.
Taking it a level higher
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Achange in managementhas, however, helped in
attracting more visitors fromdifferent parts of the world asBest Western is the largesthotel chain in the world withover 4,200 properties world-
wide. “We have retained all thegood things from the previousbrand, right from the personaltouch to the homely atmos-phere. So when the Americanspirit of hospitality combineswith the Asian traditional roots,we have the best product tooffer to visitors to Dubai,”informs Raju Kesavan,
Managing Director, BestWestern Premier, Deira Hotel.
Best Western is ahousehold name at manyother places and hence theintroduction of the brand tothe UAE market was not hard.Each Best Western property
has a set of guidelines andidentity created by its ownindividual management. Thus,the character of the hotel hasbeen the same, if only betterwith the transition.
On introducing new ini-tiatives for the travel trade topromote this new brand he
says, “We have become moreproactive to get the brand intothe masses. As the brand isnew to the UAE market, it tookus collective effort from theentire team to popularise thename. Right from meeting thecity taxi drivers personally,engaging the media, we haveset our base here in Dubai.”
“We have introducedamazing offers as part of thelaunch and will be effective tillthe end of the year. From June1, onwards when the brandofficially started operational tillDec 31, the celebration isalways there, either as specialoffers for our esteemedguests or a surprise menuthat our team crafts speciallyfor our guests. We have intro-duced more relaxed check inand check out timings to makeit easier for our guests who have late flights or earlyflights the Australian market,”he adds.
Sun and Sky Hotels partnered with Best Western Internationalfor a franchise, and rebranded the Traders Hotel to BestWestern Premier Deira Hotel.
New name, same ethos
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We have retained all the good things fromthe previous brand, right from the personaltouch to the homely atmosphere
Raju KesavanMD, Best Western Premier Deira Hotel
With the arrival in Iraq, Rezidor is now pres-ent in 81 countries across Europe, the
Middle East & Africa. “Our long-term strategytargets asset-light and sustainable growth witha specific focus on emerging markets.Kurdistan is one of the most interest-ing emerging markets in the MiddleEast: this prospering oil-rich region
is not affected by instabilities in Iraq and offers considerable busi-ness potential. We carefully monitor safety and security inKurdistan and are confident that the region will experience a furtherpositive development,” saidWolfgang M. Neumann, President& CEO, Rezidor.
The Radisson Blu Hotel, Erbilwill be located in the Western sub-urbs of Erbil, the capital ofKurdistan – only 2.5 kilometresfrom the Iraq Kurdistan parliamentand 3 kilometres from ErbilInternational Airport which is themain gateway to the region. Theupper upscale hotel will offer 260guest rooms, an all day-diningrestaurant, a specialty restaurant,a lobby bar, meeting rooms, and aballroom, a gym and a spa.
Erbil is an attractive hub forinternational companies; it attracts agrowing number of leading interna-tional investors and shows a higherGDP growth than other parts of Iraq.The regional government is activelydriving the area development, sup-
porting travel & tourism in Erbil and Kurdistantogether with the partners. Besides an increas-ing number of business travellers, Erbil alsoattracts tourists. The city is famous for itsarchaeological citadel. It has been claimed thatthe site is the oldest continuously inhabitedtown in the world.
Carlson Rezidor has announced its first hotel in Iraq—the Radisson Blu Hotel, Erbil. Located in the Kurdistanregion, the hotel is under construction and is scheduledto open in 2017.
1st Rezidor in Iraq by 2017
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HOTELS O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 9
Kurdistan is one ofthe mostinterestingemerging marketsin the Middle East:this prospering oil-rich region is notaffected byinstabilities in Iraq
Wolfgang M. NeumannPresident & CEORezidor
Donate soaps for a cause
The housekeeping team at Jumeirah at Etihad Towers recently took part in a novelgreen initiative called ‘Soap for Hope.’ The scheme organised by the Sealed AirCorporation encourages hotels to donate discarded soaps which are recycled andmade into new soap bars for impoverished communities in Cambodia. The hotelhas donated over 73 kg of soap to the project. The ‘Soap for Hope’ cause aims to reduce illness and rates of infection in slum communities, it also provides a source of income for the local families responsible for producing the soap bars.
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Air Arabia’s turnover for the first sixmonths of 2015 reached AED
1.75 billion, in line with the correspon-ding period of 2014. In H1 2015, AirArabia flew 3.6 million passengers,up 9 per cent on the correspondingperiod of 2014. Net profit during H12015 reached AED 237 million, while,for the three months ending June 30,2015, it stood at AED 152 million.
Sheikh Abdullah BinMohammad Al Thani, Chairman,Air Arabia, said, “Air Arabia contin-ues to deliver healthy profit levelsand strong passenger growth
against a backdrop of challenging
market conditions. The first half2015 have seen Air Arabia takingmajor steps in investing in its growth.We have launched ‘Air ArabiaJordan’ following the completion ofa strategic acquisition as well asinvested in new routes and capacityincrease across the group’s operat-ing hubs, which today provides ourcustomer with access to over 115routes across the world.”
‘Air Arabia Jordan’ waslaunched in the first half of 2015,located at Queen Alia InternationalAirport in Amman, Jordan. 'Air ArabiaJordan' was formed following theacquisition of a 49 per cent stake byAir Arabia in Petra Airlines. Its inau-gural flight took off in May to Kuwaitand it has since added services toJeddah in Saudi Arabia, Erbil in theKurdistan Region of Iraq, and
Sharam El Sheikh in Egypt. In total,Air Arabia has added 15 new routesto its network in first half 2015, includ-ing becoming the first LCC from theMiddle East and Africa to enter theChinese market when it launchednon-stop services to Urumqi, thelargest city in Western China.
The first half of 2015 also wit-nessed the launch of “Airewards”, thefirst ever Low Cost Carrier rewardsprogram in the MENA region. It isdesigned to offer the same simple,transparent and value-packed experience that customers associate with Air Arabia, with pointsbased on money spent rather thandistance flown, and able to be earnedon any product or service purchasedfrom the airline.
The carrier’s fleet is fully com-prised of the A320, which is recog-nised as the benchmark for single-aisle aircraft. All aircraft cabin interi-ors are fitted with world-class comfortseats, offering the highest seat pitch
of any Economy cabin. Air Arabia hasgrown to become a leading regionalairline with a fleet of 41 aircraft. By2016, it will double the size of its fleet,bringing its total operating fleet toover 50 aircraft.
Air Arabia is dedicated to uplift-ing the lives of those who are lessfortunate. To that end, the airlineintroduced sustainable CSRinitia¬tives such as the ‘CharityCloud.’ Launched in collaborationwith Sharjah Charity International in2005, the initiative aims to raisefunds for community developmentthrough on-board passengerdo¬nations. To date, the programmehas seen the establishments of afully equipped clinic in Sudan, twoschools in Sri Lanka, a school eachin Nepal and India, vaccination cam-paign for children in Sudan, and acampaign in Sri Lanka for the treat-ment of blind children.
Air Arabia has added 15 new routes to its network in H1 2015, including becoming the first LCC fromthe Middle East and Africa to enter the Chinese market. They registered a net profit of AED 237 mnduring H1 and are undergoing aggressive route expansion to serve all Arab countries and beyond.
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Aggressive route expansion Sheikh Abdullah Bin MohammadAl ThaniChairman, Air ArabiaAir Arabia continues to deliver healthy profit levels and
strong passenger growth against a backdrop ofchallenging market conditions. In H1 2015, Air Arabiataking major steps in investing in its growth
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The event showcased awide range of tourist activ-
ities that Oman has to offer tothe people of Qatar toenhance strategic ties with thecountry’s travel sector.
Salim Bin Adey AlMamari, Director General ofTourism Promotion, OmanMinistry of Tourism, said,“We hold this interactiveevent to effectively promoteOman as a leading touristdestination across theregion. We know for sure thatthe GCC is an importantmarket for us. We aim tostrengthen our partnershipswith our neighboring coun-tries through events that cel-ebrate the authentic experi-ence that Oman has to offer.”
“We also plan to improveour business relations withQatar’s travel agencies to
boost the number of Qatarivisitors to Oman,” he added.
In the past few months,Oman has witnessed an
increase in the influx of visi-tors from across the Gulfregion as well as internationalcountries. The Ministry aimsto raise more awarenessamong Qatari residents byproviding an interactive envi-ronment which will providevisitors with a full authenticOmani experience.
A special booth high-lighted the Sultanate’s richculture and colorful history byexhibiting several ancient arti-facts, playing classic Omanimusic and providing visitorswith a sampling of genuineOmani culinary treats.
As part of the Ministry’s efforts to strengthen Oman’sposition as a premiere destination in the GCC and beyond,the Oman Ministry of Tourism organised an interactive event.
Oman engages Qatar agents
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We also plan toimprove our businessrelations with Qatar’stravel agents to boostthe number of Qatarivisitors to Oman
Salim Bin Adey Al MamariDirector General of Tourism Promotion,Oman Ministry of Tourism
A special booth at theevent played classicOmani music andprovided visitors with asampling of genuineOmani culinary treats
The best of Oman
Abu Dhabi has taken its pro-motional message to
South African as 12 local andSouth African-based entitiesjoin Abu Dhabi Tourism &Culture Authority (TCA AbuDhabi) on its inaugural traveltrade roadshow to the threemain centres of Johannesburg,Durban and Cape Town.
“This inaugural AbuDhabi roadshow is one of themost important initiatives onour annual South Africa pro-motional calendar as it givesus the opportunity to interactand engage our valued traveltrade partners who remainhighly influential in stimulatingconsumer bookings,” saidMubarak Al Nuaimi, Directorof Promotions and OverseasOffices, TCA Abu Dhabi.
“The growth in guestarrivals witnessed since
launching our promotionalpresence earlier 2015 is testament to the support ourdedicated trade and MICE
team have already received.This roadshow allows us toconcentrate on harnessingthe MICE and travel trade sec-tors to stimulate furthergrowth,” added Al Nuaimi.
The delegation of AbuDhabi stakeholders and South African travel tradepartners ranging from accommodation establish-ments to ground handlers,have joined by Etihad Airwaysand its partner South African Airways.
For Sharaf Tours, theinbound division of SharafTravels, a priority is to gain trac-tion from the South Africantrade to boost business on theleisure and MICE fronts follow-ing the addition of SouthAfrican Airways services inMarch to increase EtihadAirways capacity with double daily flights fromJohannesburg.
The three-city roadshow is one of the initiatives which TCAAbu Dhabi South Africa has undertaken in 2015 to positionthe Emirate as a preferred destination in South Africa.
Abu Dhabi enters S. Africa
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This roadshowgives us theopportunity tointeract andengage our valuedtravel tradepartners
Mubarak Al NuaimiDirector of Promotions and OverseasOffices, TCA Abu Dhabi
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Jens Bischof, Member ofthe Lufthansa German
Airlines Executive Board andChief Commercial Officer,Lufthansa Group, is delightedto receive the awards. “Fromthis year onward our passen-gers can enjoy the full benefitfrom our multi-billion invest-ments in quality, equipmentand services. This enables usto continue to expand ourleading position in the groupof international premium air-lines,” he said.
“It is an honour to recog-nise Lufthansa as Europe’sLeading Airline once again thisyear. During our 22-year histo-ry, the carrier has consistentlybeen one of the most innova-tive airlines in European avia-tion, and it is no surprise ourvoters have recognised their achievements once again this evening,” said
Graham E. Cooke, Presidentand Founder, World TravelAwards, during the gala event in Sardinia.
Swiss International AirLines were also named“Europe’s Leading AirlineBusiness Class” which
includes both short-haul andlong-haul flights.
Recently, Lufthansa hasbeen presented with otherimportant awards as well.During the World AirlineAwards in June, they were
number on in the categories–Best Airline Transatlantic andBest Airline in WesternEurope. The airline alsoreceived the award for“World’s Best First ClassAirline Lounge”. BusinessTravel Awards 2015 honouredLufthansa with the title of
“Best short-haul Airline”. Withinnovations like the PremiumEconomy Class and the new Restaurant-Service inBusiness Class, Lufthansahas taken further importantsteps to becoming a five-star airline.
Lufthansa has been named “Europe’s Leading Airline” for thefifth time at the World Travel Awards. It also won the “Europe’sLeading Airline Lounge” for the lounges at Frankfurt Airport.
Lufthansa rules Europe skies
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The signing ceremony tookplace at RJ’s headquar-
ters in Amman. RoyalJordanian President & CEOCaptain Haitham Misto andTurkish Airlines DeputyChairman and CEO TemelKotil, signed the deal in thepresence of officials from bothsides. The agreement becameeffective from Sept 21, 2015.
This new code-shareagreement is bound to broad-en the commercial partnershipbetween the two companies.At the same time, passengersof both the airlines will begiven more travel optionsbetween Jordan and Turkey.
Captain Mistoexpressed satisfaction withthis commercial partnershipwith Turkish Airlines, whichenjoys a broad route network.“Several worldwide points thatTurkish Airlines serves will be
open to Royal Jordanian pas-sengers flying from Ammanand Aqaba to Istanbul andfrom there to vari-ous airports on theTurkish Airlines’ net-work,” he informed.
Misto stressedthat travellers ofboth airlines willexperience astreamlined level ofservices to the des-tinations covered bythe agreementonboard two modern fleets of aircraft. He also expressedhope that the step will further enhancing relationsbetween the two airlines in the future.
Kotil said, “We arepleased to sign this codeshareagreement with RoyalJordanian and aim to improveour partnership to maximisethe travel opportunities offeredto our passengers through the
networks of both airlines.Additionally, we believe thatthis partnership with Royal
Jordanian will bring enormousbenefit to both airlines from acommercial perspective inrapidly growing relationsbetween our countries.” Underthe terms of the agreement,Royal Jordanian and TurkishAirlines will place their carriercodes on each other’s flightsbetween Amman and Istanbul.Royal Jordanian will place itscarrier code on TurkishAirlines’ flights between Aqabaand Istanbul.
Royal Jordanian (RJ) and Turkish Airlines (TK) havesigned a code-share agreement on routes betweenJordan and Turkey.
RJ, TK enter code-share
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Captain Misto and Captain Haitham Misto fromRoyal Jordanian and Turkish Airlines
James Wilson, GeneralManager of the Hotel says,
“We are deeply privileged to receive this certificate
which we worked very hard to achieve. This is extremely gratifying for us all and brings addedresponsibilities to further spur both my team and myself to greater efforts and
scale new heights in the days to come.
“This certificate is like aroadmap in our journeytowards quality and excel-
lence where we will use it asa practical tool for areas ofcontinual improvement as wellas to enhance our points ofstrength and quality control. Itwill act as a guide in our dayto day operation and our con-
tinuing drive for outstandingservice experiences. It willalso offer our clients andguests a international inde-pendent assurance of thequality hygienic control in our
food operation, whileenhancing andadding to AbuDhabi’s hospitalitysector continualstrive for internation-al excellence anindustry sector whichis witnessing a rapid growth in theworld of tourism,”says Wilson.
ISO 22000 isan international stan-dard intended to beused by organisa-
tions within the food chain.The purpose of ISO 22000 isto provide a practicalapproach to ensure the reduc-tion and elimination of foodsafety risks as a means toprotect consumers.
The Millennium Corniche Hotel Abu Dhabi is the firstMillennium Hotel in the Middle East and North Africa toachieve ISO 22000: 2005 HACCP.
ISO 22000 for Millennium
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The US is the largest growth market for the three Gulfairlines, Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, in 2H 2015.This is followed by the UK, India, Thailand, and Pakistanmarkets. Italy is the 6th largest growth market for them.
US top mkt for Gulf airlines
Top 10 growth markets for Emirates, Etihad and Qatar on net additional seats: 2H 2015
Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation and OAG
During our 22-year history, the carrier hasconsistently been one of the mostinnovative airlines in European aviation
Jens BischofMember-Lufthansa German Airlines Executive Board
and CCO, Lufthansa Group
TECHNOLOGY O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 1 3
Through ‘Amadeus FareFamilies’ tool, Etihad
Airways will brand and differ-entiate its products and serv-ices by showing the full valueof each packaged fare on all itsretailing interfaces for all cus-tomer segments and world-wide points of sale. With cleardescriptions on service char-acteristics and terms and con-ditions, both travellers and trav-el agents benefit from greatertransparency in the shoppingprocess. In doing so, travelagents will be better equippedto advise their customers andproactively upsell from onefare family to the other.
Peter Baumgartner,Chief Commercial Officer,Etihad Airways, said, “We aredelighted to extend our ‘FareChoices’ to the Amadeus trav-el community, thereby ensur-ing that our customers can
always enjoy our full range ofinnovative services, irrespec-tive of which channel theychoose to shop on. EtihadAirways’ offering, which com-bines air and non-air servicesto deliver the very best travelexperiences, is a source ofgreat pride for us.
Maher Koubaa, VP,MENA region, AmadeusAirline Distribution and IT,said, “We are excited to sup-port Etihad’s marketing andgrowth objectives in the indi-rect channel. This demon-strates the expertise we bringto the industry, generatinghigher revenues by deployingmerchandising strategiesacross channels. Throughgreater product transparencyand the full end-to-end inte-gration of the solution, ourtravel agency community willbe able to guide and servicecustomers more comprehen-sively and efficiently.”
Etihad Airways will implement the ‘Amadeus Fare Families’tool in the indirect channel, to support its innovativemerchandising strategy.
Amadeus tool on Etihad
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Peter BaumgartnerChief Commercial OfficerEtihad Airways
It includes an advancedbooking engine using multi-
ple sources of air and non-aircontent, combined with customer profiling, compre-hensive reporting and management capabilities.Hence, it addresses the needof travel industry and e-retail products for distribution network.
Hari KumarManivannan, GeneralManager, TravRays, says, “Thesystems act as a platformwhere travel agents, travel sup-pliers like airlines, car rentalsand hotels can be both a sup-plier and a customer at thesame time.With our profession-al experience of 20 plus years inthe industry, we understand theimportance of delivery and cus-tomer satisfaction. Our team andthe core engine are committedto service round the clock.
TravRays platform is ready tointegrate with any travel supplierwithin the UAE and beyond. Wehave beta-tested with over 75travel agents and our clientelebase is increasing day by day.”
Following its officiallaunch very recently in Dubai,a two-day workshop has beenplanned with five sessions of90 minutes each withTravRays team briefing theindustry stakeholders aboutthe concept and its benefits.
TravRays has been under testphase since the past fewmonths and has been cus-tomized to meet the needs ofthe customers in the UAE.
R Sankaranarayanan,founder of this technology, said,“TravRays offers a single win-dow to address the needs ofthe travel agency allowing the administrators/consultants and key decision-makers tohave complete control of their business.”
There have seen significant changes happening in terms oftechnology advancement by airline systems. TravRays, aDubai-based firm, has launched an end-to-end platform.
B2B tech platform launched
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We are excited to support Etihad’smarketing and growth objectives in the indirect channel
Maher KoubaaVP, MENA region, Amadeus Airline Distribution and IT
FAMILY ALBUM1 4 TRAVTALK O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5
Moscow hosts leisure & luxury eventThe 20-year history of Luxury Leisure Moscow, thelarge-scale event, has proved to be a well-establishedexhibition in the tourism industry. Its the traditionalmeeting place of tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers,national tourism offices from different countries andRussia’s regions.
MOVEMENTS O C T O B E R 2 0 1 5 TRAVTALK 1 5
SydneyLindsay White has joined Etihad Airways as Vice President forAustralia and Asia Pacific. In this role, White will assume respon-
sibility for the entire Asia Pacific region,adding China, Japan, Korea and Thailandto his current portfolio of Australia, NewZealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,Singapore and Vietnam. He brings more than 30 years of aviation industry experience to the role, having
held various senior management positionsat British Airways before joining Gulf
Air in 2005 as its generalmanager in Malaysia
and Brunei.
Abu DhabiSajida Ismail has been appointed as Etihad Airways' VicePresident Service and Hospitality. She will be responsible for
the design of Etihad Airways’ signatureservice at all customer touch points.
Ismail will also be responsible forthe development of training stan-dards for all staff working
inflight, and at airports,lounges, and crew trainingcentres. She moves to thenew role from her previousposition as Etihad Airways’
Head of Product andService Standards.
Abu Dhabi National Hotels Abu Dhabi Rutger Smits has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer byAbu Dhabi National Hotels. Prior to joining ADNH, he was CEO of
Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company(ARTIC). Smits held a series of executivepositions in hospitality and real estate
companies, including Cushman &Wakefield Hospitality, Deloitte, HVS andArthur Andersen as well as operational
roles with InterContinental Hotels.
TIME Hotels Management DubaiTIME Hotels Management has announced the appointment of Nabil Kamel as Vice President, Human Resources. Egyptian nationalKamel joins the team with a focus onexpanding the group’s international talent base and overseeing employeedevelopment. He has almost 30 years ofexperience in the hospitality sector. Kamelhas worked with leading hotel chainssuch as Accor Hotels, Hyatt Internationaland Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Prior to joining the TIME Hotels’ team,he was VP Human Resourcesfor Dubai headquarteredDamac Hospitality.
Waldorf Astoria Dubai PalmJumeirah DubaiWaldorf Astoria Dubai Palm Jumeirah hasappointed David Wilson as GeneralManager. Wilson, an accomplished hos-pitality executive with over 30 years ofexperience, will direct and oversee theday-to-day operations of the resort. Mostrecently, he served as the MD of Ritz-Carlton Beijing and JW Marriott Beijing.Previously, he held leadershippositions at The RitzCarlton Bali Resort &Spa, Shangri-La Hotelsand Hyatt Hotels.
Grand Millennium Dubai DubaiThe Grand Millennium Dubai has appointed Hassan Dana asDirector of Revenue to ensure a continued focus on revenue management and hotel profitability. Hassanwill be monitoring demand trends, bookingpace, and market trends, which will betranslated into total hotel revenue management strategies to achieve revenue goals and increase the marketshare respectively. Before joining theGrand Millennium Dubai, Hassan wasworking with Hospitality MarketingConcepts, Dubai, as Directorof Sales Operations for Middle East.
Etihad Airways
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Middle East’s leading travelmanagement company,
Ajman National Travel Agency(ANTA) is aiming to be amongthe top five DMCs in India byfocusing on corporate, MICEand leisure travel over the nextfive years. Established in 1976and headquartered in Dubaifor over two decades, ANTA
has been offering extraordi-nary itineraries for discerningtravellers; for the UAE and Oman; with its represen-tative offices in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, USA,Canada and India.
Talking about the com-pany’s performance in India,Kumar Jagadeesan, GeneralManager, UAE & Oman,ANTA Travel Group states,“We do significant inboundbusiness. Dubai is spending alot on marketing and promot-ing itself as an internationaldestination. We want to cashin on this trend. Thus, it isobvious that the India marketbecomes vital for our growth.Not only are the Indian out-
bound travellers willing tospend more but the holidayitself is veering towardsevolved travel with a focus onstays based on their sophisti-cated tastes and interests.Thus, we drive about 45-50per cent of our business fromthis country. We started con-centrating on India about 10years ago. And, it has grownsignificantly in the last seven
years.” The reason for thesame is the growth of theexisting business and theadvent of new business.Going forward, the companyintends to further explore theIndian market, he added.“ANTA currently is looking atgarnering more business fromthe northern and westernmarket. Going forward, it willtap the potential from thesouth and east markets aswell,” he revealed.
At the luxury end, ultrahigh-net worth travellers fromIndia continue to find Dubai anattractive destination, espe-cially due to its shoppingmalls, tax-free incentives andits connectivity to Europe.
Dubai is gaining a reputationfor being an attractive wed-ding destination as it offerseverything for the Indian dias-pora, he pointed out.
Regarding the USP ofANTA, he revealed, “Ourexpertise lies in sourcing, sup-plying, distributing and pro-moting the best in travel prod-ucts in Dubai making themeasily accessible. Cutting-edge technology coupled withskilled and professional staffthat can deliver travel-relatedproducts and services to inter-national standards are whatset us apart from our competi-tors in India. We put an extraeffort to understand why FreeIndependent Travellers (FITs)are coming on holidays. Thereis always a reason to travel forleisure. We ask the FIT groupsthat one extra question. Wegive them the same price butbook an extra dinner aroundthat one special day. Thus, our
services are our differentiator.”FIT business has been thegrowth driver from India forANTA. The group is now look-ing at tapping more corporateand MICE travellers intoDubai, he added.
According toMohammad Fareesuddin,Manager-Leisure, ANTA, thecompany is a part of the $7billion ETA/ASCON/Al Ghurairconglomerate based in Dubai.ANTA is also the GSA ofmajor online carriers. “As weare also in the airline busi-ness, we are able to get betterdeals by being in the volumegame. We have also realisedthat every industry needs acutting-edge and cost-effec-tive marketing tool and there-fore, vacation and travelincentives is one of the mostpowerful methods of attractingbusiness. We help our clientsin India to achieve the same.The company is helping out-bound traveller from India toachieve organisational goalswith customised solutions forcorporate travel, leisure holi-days, meetings, event plan-ning, incentive travel, confer-ence, car hire, coach, train,hotels, service apartmentsand cruise holidays, etc,”Fareesuddin affirmed.Bollywood has also enhancedthe visibility of Dubai with blockbusters being filmed in Dubai and that asso-
ciation elevates relevance, he opined.
To grow its footprintsand increase the brand pres-ence in India, the group hasalso recently appointed
Representation World as itsrepresentation company inIndia. Vineet Gopal, IndiaHead, ANTA and Director,Representation World opined,“ANTA is not new to the Indianmarket. We are aggressivelylooking at promoting the DMC
in India now. India is our sec-ond largest market after GCC.Our key role will be toincrease the number of out-bound travellers to Dubai. Wealso offer extremely competi-tive rates on hotel pricing. This
is another key USPs of thegroup that will drive businessfrom our country as India isalso a price-sensitive market.The group recently hostedspecialized MICE agents inDubai to showcase the pletho-ra of offerings in Dubai.”
Part of the $7 billion ETA/ASCON/Al Ghurair conglomerate based in Dubai, ANTA is betting big on evolved travellers from India who continue to find Dubai an attractive destination, especially due its shopping malls, tax-free incentives and its connectivity to Europe.
Dubai still a favourite with Indians
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Kumar JagadeesanGeneral Manager, UAE & OmanANTA Travel Group
Dubai is spending a lot on marketing andpromoting itself as an internationaldestination. We want to cash in on this trend
The company ishelping outboundtraveller from Indiato achieveorganisationalgoals withcustomisedsolutions
Mohammad FareesuddinManager-LeisureANTA
Our key role will beto increase thenumber of outboundtravellers to Dubai.We also offerextremelycompetitive rates onhotel pricing
Vineet GopalIndia HeadANTA
The opening of Vistara'sfirst overseas sales office
in Dubai will ensure that cus-tomers from the Gulf regioncan enjoy the same level ofservice from the airline asthose provided in India.
Sharaf Travels will repre-sent Vistara in the GCC terri-tories of the UAE, Oman,Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabiaand Kuwait. With its strong
presence in these markets,residents and tourists in theGCC region will have directaccess to Vistara’s servicesand information on its growingnetwork in India. This physicalpresence will also ensure thatVistara’s imperatives of serv-ice and operational excellenceis marketed appropriately inthe region.
Making the announce-ment, Giam Ming Toh, ChiefCommercial Officer, Vistara
emphasized the significanceof the initiative, stating, “Weare thrilled to set up our firstoverseas Sales office inDubai. The appointment ofSharaf Travels as our GSAand the opening of the newoffice underlines the impor-tance of the Gulf region for us.We are delighted to haveSharaf Travels as our partnerto lead our sales and servic-ing activities in the GCC.Sharaf Travel’s strong pres-ence in the region will ensure
that our travel agent partnersand customers are equallywell served. Vistara hasbrought a qualitative changein the way flying is perceivedin India. With this enhancedpresence, we hope more residents from the GCC will get to fly the new feelingwith Vistara.”
Vistara offers 321 week-ly flights to 12 destinations inIndia, including Delhi,Mumbai, Bengaluru,
Hyderabad, Pune,Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Goa,Guwahati, Bagdogra,Bhubaneswar (from Oct
2015), Varanasi (from Oct 21,2015) and increased frequen-cies between Delhi andMumbai (from Nov 2015).
Vistara establishes its presence in the Gulf region with the inauguration of its salesoffice in Dubai and the appointment of Sharaf Travels as its General Sales Agent.
Marhaba Dubai, says VistaraTT BUREAU
(L-R): Salah Sharaf, Sharaf Travels, Phee Teik Yeoh CEO Vistara, IbrahimSharaf, Sharaf travels, Giam Ming Toh, CCO ,Vistara
