TAN-Travel Arabia News June-July 2012

O n l i n e C i r c u l a t i o n : 1 7 , 3 8 1 r e a d e r t h r u e - m a i l b u r s t s a n d s o c i a l m e d i a g r o u p s

The St. Regis Doha, Qatar’s newest hotel, has officially opened. Officials said over 240 hotels will be built in the country from 2011 to 2022.

O n l i n e C i r c u l a t i o n : 1 7 , 3 8 1 r e a d e r t h r u e - m a i l b u r s t s a n d s o c i a l m e d i a g r o u p s

On trackQatar visitor arrivals post 22% Q1 growth for 2012

Monthly Edition June/July 2012 No.02 www.travel-arabia.com

Mr. Omar Hussain Alfardan, president of Resorts Development Company and Alfardan Group, and Mr. Frits van Paasschen, president and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. at the recent unveiling of St. Regis Doha’s commemorative plaque. (Story on page18)

Story on page 16

the Doha boom

2

2

w w w . t r a v e l - a r a b i a . c o m

OUR WORD

www.travel-arabia.com

Publisher-CEO Hekmat el Zein

Address Travel Arabia Head Office Office G4, Building No.1 Phase One, P.O.Box 502408 Dubai Media City, UAE Tel +971 4 391 0410/1/2/3 Fax +971 4 391 6619 E-mail [email protected] Media House KGI

General Manager Shaza Sharaffdeen

Editor Jojo Dass [email protected]

Photographer Maher Youssef

Creative Manager Karen Haroon

Designer Najeeb Hamza

Sales & Marketing Manager Syed Muhammad Arif [email protected]

Sales & Marketing Executive

Crisna De Guzman

[email protected]

Circulation Manager

Ihab Abdallah

Distributor

Jashanmal National Co. LLC

Travel Arabia Lebanon Office

Riad el solh 11072070

P.O.Box 11-1197, Beirut, Lebanon

Tel +961 3 435 780

Fax +961 7 762 104

Travel Arabia disclaimer All text and layout remains the copyright of KGI unless stated otherwise. Travel Arabia is fully independent, and its views are not those of any company mentioned herein.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.

All rights reserved.

© 2012 KGI

CONTACTS

NUMBERS SPEAK

INDUSTRY QUIZ

ExclusivEsThis year’s edition of Arabian Travel Market is, by far, the user-friendliest in terms of navigability—for media and visitors.

Back then, one has to walk far corners end to end of the venue to get to an ongoing press conference for instance and back to the stands for a scheduled interview and then back again to the press con area. Indeed, a naughty mind would even suspect the press center was placed at a far-flung area to save on coffee and munchies. TAN actually saw a neat visitor in his tuxedoes and all, carrying rollerblades just in case; now that’s for the books!

This time, on its 19th year—no, we’re not saying it took 19 years before the organizers could finally muster enough senses to realize they had all along been doing it wrong, the ground lay-out, i.e.—everything seemed to just fall into place.

Still on ATM 2012, it’s encouraging to note from the organizers—ku-dos by the way, Mr. Mark Walsh of Reed Travel Exhibitions for another successful event—that this year’s edition had a seven-percent increase in participants, hosted over 2,400 exhibitors and 82 new companies, with 54 national pavilions and 87 countries represented overall.

At the press center on Day 1, TAN chanced upon a media practi-tioner from another side of the planet talking to one of the organizers about schedules and all, “The whole world is here,” he exclaimed. “I need to get the schedules for my stories.”

Yes. The world stood still for ATM, like it always does.

1) Name at least two hotels that have recently opened in Doha. 2) How many years has Etihad been flying Beirut?3) Hotel Al Khozama, a regular fixture along Olaya Road in Riyadh, KSA is how many years old?

CLUE: The answers are all in this edition of TAN.Email your best guess at [email protected]

‘UaE pipeline projects in Egypt doing well’

Egypt’s Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abd ElNour told TAN his country has been receiv-ing sizeable investments from the United Arab Emirates, assuring that these projects “are going fairly well.”

“We get a lot of investments from the UAE. We appreciate it very, very much,” Abd ElNour said. The minister hinted that more fresh investments are under-way as the political situation in the country eases down. He did not elaborate.

Meantime Abd ElNour said he aims to raise the rates of tourism in Egypt to 2010 levels.

“During the coming months, the Ministry of Tourism of Egypt

will seek through its strategic plans to bring tourism rates to previous levels in 2010. We will focus our efforts on various global markets, particularly the Arab ones, where the rate of Arab tour-ists during the first three months of this year has witnessed a growth of about 62.9 percent compared to the overall rate of increase in visi-tors during the first quarter, which only amounted to 32 percent.”

Records show that the num-ber of Arab tourists who visited Egypt during the three months of this year was 483,834 compared to 296,980 during the same period in 2011.

In addition, the number of Emirati tourists during the first quarter of 2012 was 4,883 as com-pared to 4,232 tourists during the same period in 2011—an increase of 15.4 percent.

The number of Saudi tourists who visited Egypt during the first quarter of this year was 46,734 tourists compared to 32,718 dur-ing the same period in 2011, which shows an increase of about 42.8 percent. There were 17,256 Kuwaitis who visited Egypt during the first quarter of this year com-pared to 14,251 during the same period in 2011, which shows an increase of about 21.1 percent.

New Hotel Al Khozama to be built

Hotel Al Khozama, a regular fixture along Olaya Road in Ri-yadh, KSA for the past 35 years will be closed and replaced with a new one having the same name, according to Erich Steinbock, Rosewood Hotels regional vice president and managing director overseeing Al Khozama’s opera-tions.

“We will be building a whole new hotel to replace Al Khoza-ma,” Steinbock told TAN. He said it makes more sense constructing a new hotel than renovating the old one.

Al Khozama which means “sweet desert flower,” has 187 ac-commodations. Steinbock said the new building, the construction of which will start towards the end of this year, will have a contempo-rary appeal when it opens around the first half of 2014. He said the old building will be levelled once the new building has been com-pleted which will be right next door in the Al Khozama Center. No definite cost estimate was pro-vided.

Hotel Al Khozama is adjacent to the 267-meter high Al Faisaliah Tower, another Rosewood Hotel that Steinbock also oversees.

Fakhry Abd ElNour

Erich Steinbock

Top destinations in the Middle East. There were over 60 million tourists to the Middle East in 2010.

14.05million

1.52 million

2.17 million

1.66 million

7.43million

10.85million

Egypt

Saudi Arabia

UAE

Lebanon

Qatar

Oman

C O N T E N T S

EXCLUSIVES 02

ONE ON ONE 12

GOING GREEN 14

COVER STORY 16

NEW HOTELS 18

FLIGHTS PLUS 20

BUSINESS TALKS 21

WINNERS’ CORNER 22

AT A GLANCE 24

3

3


India’s tourism ministry has set a goal to in-crease the country’s share in international tour-ism arrivals from .6 percent to one percent by 2016 and would need approximately 430,000 new rooms to meet this, the Indian delegation to the just-concluded 2012 Arabian Travel Market said.

The team, which was composed of top officials led by Tourism Minister of State Sultan Ahmed, noted that foreign tourist arrivals to India have witnessed a steady increase over the years, reach-ing 6.29 million in 2011, a spurt of a whopping 8.9% increase over 5.78 million tourist arrivals in 2010.

Till March 2012, the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India stands at 1.98 million. The For-eign Exchange Earnings (FEE) till March 2012 stands at US$ 4,969 million

Meantime, the delegation also said there has been a consistent and positive growth of FTA fig-ures from the Middle East region to India over the last two to three years with the 2010 having registered an overall growth of around 17 percent over the previous year. Some of the countries, particularly, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen and Turkey have registered positive growth and are emerging as major tourism generating mar-kets for India from this region.

India needs 430,000 more hotel rooms to meet target

Sheikh Muhammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai (3rd, left) at the pavilion of the Indian delegation during the 2012 Arabian Travel Market.

Anantara, a high-end hotel brand also known for its themed resorts, recently opened its first hotel in China—the Anantara Sanya Resort & Spa.

Located on the southern-most island-city of China, Sanya is fast emerging as a popular tourist destination because of its unspoiled serene beauty. Several major international hotel chains

have started looking to the island to open resorts.

“We are pleased to be expand-ing in China. Sanya island is a very rapidly expanding destination,” said Michael Marshall, Anantara senior vice president for com-mercial operations.

The new resort has 19 Premier rooms, 19 Premier Ocean View rooms, 51 Deluxe Ocean View rooms, 8 suites, a royal suite, 21 different pool villas and three spa suites.

In the Middle East, Marshall said nine hotel projects are cur-rently in the pipeline. He also said Anantara is scheduled to open a hotel in Mauritius this year, one in Schezwan China and another one in Bali, Indonesia.

Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas is a luxury resort and spa operator based in Bangkok, Thai-land with a current portfolio of 14 resorts across Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

The company is part of Mi-nor international which for itself has a portfolio of high-end ho-tel brands like Four Seasons and Marriot Resort & Spa.

Anantara is unique in that pi-oneered experience-based travel as opposed opulent travel.

Anantara opens first hotel in China

Michael Marshall

‘We are pleased to be expanding there.’—Michael Marshall, Anantara senior vice president for commercial operations.

4

4


Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara, which opened on June 19, 2012, is a unique destina-tion, Michel Koopman, Anantara operations director for Middle East, matter-of-factly told Travel Arabia News.

And how might that be?“We are not people who try to

run a hotel full of policies and pro-cedures. We want to let the people tell the story,” Koopman said. “We are not coming up with buy-one-get-one- free deals. It’s very not Abu Dhabi-correct.”

The five-level hotel comprises 222 rooms and features unique

Arabian design elements in its archways, mosaics and timber as well as subtle touches of 18-carat gold. Rooms are spacious, from the entry-level Deluxe Balcony rooms to the Royal Mangroves Residence – the largest suite in the UAE with up to ten en-suite bedrooms.

The most opulent accommo-dation at the hotel is the Royal Mangroves Residence, which is ideal for dignitaries and VIPs. Of-fering a lavish but residential feel, the size of the Royal Mangroves Residence can be adapted depend-ing on guest requirements with options for three, seven or ten

en-suite bedrooms and balconies featured throughout. The suite also comes equipped with its own 10-metre rooftop swimming pool with swim-up pool bar, private gym and its own dedicated en-trance. Guests at the Royal Man-groves Residence will also have ac-cess to a limousine service, private chef, butler and a massage and beauty therapist during their stay.

Eastern Mangroves official tells it as it is:‘We are not coming up with buy-one-get-one- free deals. It’s very not Abu Dhabi-correct.’

Michel Koopman

In apparent efforts to stay abreast of the information technology age, Planet Group,

a leading travel management company, has started to fur-ther improve on its online registration system for tour operators and as well come up with a version that consumers can find to be user-friendly.

Planet Group’s Planet Travels & Tours, recently launched its upgraded busi-ness-to-business (B2B) online reservation, offering XML connectivity for key custom-ers. Before the bookings for 2012-2012 start coming, Plan-et will also offer a secure pay-

ment gateway for credit card transactions which will allow

agents to book online with an instant confirmation. “The B2B online reservation system will give individuals and companies convenient and immediate ac-cess to the latest rate and avail-ability with login and password access,” said George Moussa, chairman.

He added that since all rates and availability can be viewed at any time anywhere by a travel agent or by corporate cli-ents, “they can make bookings on real time basis with instant email information.”

“The system is time and cost-efficient.”

George Moussa

Planet Group launches online one-stop instant booking system

100 operational hotels by 2015Millennium & Copthorne’s MENA president bares plan

Millennium & Copthorne MENA is on track with its tar-get to have 100 hotels operating by 2015, Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi, president and CEO, told Travel Arabia News.

“We are on track in our 100-hotel target for 2015—op-erational and signed. We see our growth coming from Saudi Ara-bia and UAE. We also see growth coming from a very important market for us which we have ini-tiated: Turkey,” Alzaabi said.

Likewise Alzaabi said Millen-nium & Copthorne MENA is go-ing to sub-Saharan Africa as well as India. He said the company has managed to also add more hotels to its expansion.

“We are focusing on Saudi Arabia in a big way. We already have 10 hotels up and coming there. We are expanding also in South Africa to start our African move. We are going now to Libya for a massive number of hotels under discussion,” Alzaabi said.

Moreover, Alzaabi said focus is

also on the Commonwealth of In-dependent States (former USSR) where projects have been signed in Tajikistan and Azerbaijan. “We have more hotels coming in CIS, which we are very excited about. We are due to announce soon,” he said.

“We are in the right direction. We are expanding as we go.”

Meantime, Alzaabi said inter-Gulf tourism has been playing a key role in keeping UAE’s visitor industry abreast, noting that the country which has “everything from beaches to shopping malls” is also a safe destination.

“Families in GCC prefer to be in Dubai than in London, Paris, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand or the U.S. because first of all, it is next door, secondly it is safe and secure—people can leave their families and go back to finish a meeting or something without being worried. There are also more activities to do here for their kids and families than in any other places,” he said.

‘We are on track.’ – Ali Hamad Lakhraim Alzaabi

ExclusivEs

The recent acquisition of Air Berlin by Abu Dhabi-based Eti-had Airways has resulted to in-creased flights to Abu Dhabi from Germany, which makes the city’s hotels happy for obvious reasons.

And with golf fast becoming popular in Germany, none could

be happier than Klaus Niefer, general manager of Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa, a five-star, 176-room hotel operating a 27-hole championship golf course managed by the global Troon Golf.

“In the European market, Abu Dhabi is recognized as the num-ber one leisure destination. It has three championship golf courses and good weather,” Niefer told Travel Arabia News. “Golf is very important in bringing business.”

Germany has over 500 golf courses with some 300,000 mem-bers. Golf courses in the country have increased by 70 percent dur-ing the 1990s.

In 2008 Tourism Develop-ment & Investment Company (TDIC) appointed Westin Hotels & Resorts, part of Starwood Ho-

tels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., to manage the property, which was planned to become a golf course, hotel, residences and spa destina-tion at US $354 million (AED 1.3 billion).

Troon Golf manages 187 golf clubs worldwide.

Late last year, Etihad Airways increased its stake in Air Berlin to 29 percent in what was seen as a bailout by the UAE’s flag carrier of the airline which was then re-portedly struggling to become profitable again.

The move made Etihad the largest single shareholder in Eu-rope’s sixth largest airline. Under the agreement, Etihad will invest up to $255 million in Air Berlin over five years to support its fleet development and future network growth.

Westin Abu Dhabi hopeful on golf

Klaus Niefer

5

5


Dusit International has taken steps to further develop its brand, expanding its sales and devel-opment offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Middle East, UK and Germany, and launching hotel projects across the globe, a num-ber of which are under negotia-tion in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, India and China, according to Cath-erine McNabb, vice president for sales and marketing.

“The company is undertak-

ing major growth,” McNabb told Travel Arabia News, adding that Dusit International has embarked on a “new direction” as it focuses on development in the Middle East and India. “Projects are un-der negotiation in Saudi Arabia, India and China. The new Dusit Devarana, New Delhi, India will open in Q4, as will Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi, and two properties will open in Hainan, China in early 2013.”

Dusit International undergoes major growth

Catherine McNabb

The InterContinental Doha The City banks on FIFa for long stayers

With an estimated US$100 billion to be spent on various mega-projects in line with Qa-tar’s scheduled hosting of the FIFA 2022 World Cup, several hotels in the country’s capital, Doha, have started banking on a new market this undertaking has spawned—professionals, skilled workers and specialists who would be sent there by their home offices across the

globe to oversee these projects and thus would be needing places to stay for the long haul.

One such hotel is the Inter-Continental Hotel Doha The City, a business hotel which opened on Feb. 19, 2012 with 525 rooms and a 44-percent occupancy projection for the year.

“We are expecting these proj-ects to start in the coming months,” Renzo Cavagliotti, general man-ager, told Travel Arabia News. “We should be seeing the manag-ers, consultants, architects to start coming in,” he added.

Aside from the expatriate market, the hotel is also banking on weekend holiday makers from Saudi Arabia and UAE with 170 of its one- to four-bedroom apart-ments readied. The FIFA Executive Committee voted in a secret ballot on Dec. 2, 2010 in Zurich to have Qatar host the 2022 World Cup.

Renzo Cavagliotti

Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel is not anymore the new kid on the block.

The hotel, which opened on Nov. 2, 2010, has become a popular place owing largely to its location at the heart of the city.

“During the 2010 New Year’s Eve, the hotel filled for the first time. We’ve gradually done a pen-etration of the market. The accep-tance so far has been very good. It

takes time to establish relationship. We take several approaches,” Scott Butcher, general manager, told Travel Arabia News.

The hotel has opened sales of-fices in Frankfurt and London, noting that occupancy has been coming from UK and Germany, as well as China and India. “The pres-ence everywhere of the product has greatly improved,” Butcher said.

New kid no more

Scott Butcher

6

6


Bin Majid Group starts Slovakia charter flights

Paramount UAE?

Fraser Suite Bahrain’s guests mostly from KSA

Bin Majid Group has started its first charter flight from Slovakia, with subsequent services expected in the coming months.

In a TAN interview, Dr. Ali Kasapbashi, Bin Majid Group’s Group General Manager, said the flight, which brought close to 200 visitors to Dubai early last month, was part of Bin Majid Group’s continuing expansion of opera-

tions in that region where it al-ready has regular weekly charter flights from the Czech Republic over the last six years.

“The Slovakia charter flights will run during summer,” said Kasapbashi. “We’ll see how it goes,” he added.

Bin Majid Group, which runs its own charter flights, operates Bin Majid Beach Hotel, Bin Majid Beach Resort, Acacia, and Man-grove. Kasapbashi said occupancy rate was at 95 percent in the first quarter of the year.

The conglomerate will open a new hotel in Abu Dhabi this year, and Dubai early next year. He said the hotel group’s market are most-ly holidaymakers from Germany and other European countries.

Other companies under the Bin Majid Group are Bin Majid Tours, Impala Rent A Car, and Gulf Hotel Supplies.

Anjum Makkah Hotel, the 1,795-room Sharia-compliant flagship project of the Abdul Latif Jameel Real Estate Investment Co.’s (ALJREIC) US$2.67 billion project in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, will have over 50 percent occu-pancy in its first year of operation following a planned soft opening in 2013, said Mahmoud Mokhtar, Anjum Hotels chief operating of-ficer.

In a TAN interview, Mokhtar said the hotel’s market would primarily be Hajj and Ummrah pilgrims from member countries of the Gulf Cooperating Council, and the pre-dominantly Muslim

countries in Asia like Malaysia and Indonesia.

“We are going to have a soft opening. We see occupancy to be in the mid-50 percent in the first year which will be achieved through our introductory rates,” Mokhtar said.

The Anjum Makkah Hotel, the first phase of ALJREIC’s Jabal Al Ka’aba project, will add up to 8,500 hotel rooms in a cluster of hotels over the next few years.

Among the hotel’s main fea-tures are its 26 air-conditioned lifts with each able to accommo-date 16 people—this to address heavy traffic during prayer time.

The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh, a palace converted into a 493-room hotel with two ballrooms fit for 600 people each and royal suites bigger than a tennis court, booked nine weddings in May and is cur-rently preparing for a grand royal nuptial in October this year.

“It’s a palace. Where else would you want to get married?”

said Jean-Francois Laurent, gen-eral manager, adding that aside from weddings, The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh is also where most events are held in Riyadh. “They want to impress; they do it in our hotel.”

He did not elaborate on the royal wedding.

Forty-eight of the hotel’s rooms are royal suites measuring 450 square meters each—a stan-dard regulation tennis court is 261-square meters.

Meantime Laurent said the hotel’s main markets are the oil and gas corporations, pharma-ceuticals and automotive compa-nies. He said several Dubai-based companies have started opening offices in Riyadh in line with the Saudi Arabian government’s in-frastructure development plan meant to diversify the economy into other industries including tourism.

The chief executive officer of a global consortium, which has re-cently signed an agreement with Paramount Pictures in Los Angeles, USA to open theme resorts across the world, said they are entertain-ing the possibility of opening a Paramount Hotel in the UAE.

“We are interested of course in the UAE. It’s a greenfield develop-

ment,” Thomas Van Vliet who is at the helm of Paramount Hotels & Resorts, told TAN.

Paramount Hotels & Resorts, a hotel management company and official licensee of Paramount Pic-tures, is planning to develop hotels with casinos or theme parks in gateway capital cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi in the UAE or New York and San Francisco in the US.

Van Vliet said his company have been in talks with investors in Brazil, the Caribbean, the UK, Rus-sia, Oman, Qatar, South Africa and Indonesia as well.

“They have shown interest in dealing with us,” he said.

Van Vliet said they have been working closely with Paramount Pictures for corporate identity as each Paramount Hotels & Resorts property will be different from the other but with the same DNA, which is entertainment.

Fraser Suite Bahrain’s guests are usually from the GCC, a size-able bulk of which is from Saudi Arabia, according to Olivier Bri-and, general manager.

At the same time, Briand said he is “very optimistic” about the current situation in the country. “I am confident about the future,” he said, citing recent major events like the Bahrain Air Show, held in January this year, and the F1 Bah-

rain Grand Prix held in April. Briand said Fraser Suite Bah-

rain’s occupancy has been averag-ing 70 percent in the past several months, with around 40 percent of guests staying for a month or more. “We would like to have 75 percent,” he said. The general manager said his property “relies a lot on the Saudi Arabian market.”

Bahrain has been rocked by civil unrests that started last year.

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi, which is set to open three months from now, has projected a 65-per-cent occupancy rate for its first year of operation, Pep Lozano, the hotel’s general manager told TAN.

“We have very clear strategic plans. We have developed sales offices in different countries. We have a very ambitious plan,” Loza-no said. He said The Ritz-Carlton, which features luxury hotels across the globe, is also “working closely with key markets like the UK and Germany.

Broken down to segments, Lozano said 30 percent of their market will be coming from the emirate’s public sector; another 30 percent from private corporations and 20 percent from leisure holi-daymakers. He said they are also looking at having at least 20 per-cent of their guests from the wed-ding market.

Dr. Ali Kasapbashi

Ritz-Carlton Riyadh courts weddings

The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi eyes 65% occupancy in first year

Anjum Makkah Hotel sees over 50% occupancy also in first year

Jean Francois Laurent

Thomas Van Vliet

Pep Lozano

Bullish with Petra

Jordan’s tourism sector is bull-ish with the upcoming celebrations on the 200th anniversary of Petra’s rediscovery by Swiss explorer Jo-hann Ludwig Burckhardt as in-bound visitor traffic is expected to go back to 2010 levels when a total of 860,000 tourists spent time in this UNESCO World Heritage site.

“We will be celebrating the 200th year of the event,” said Sa’ed S. Zawaideh of the Jordan Tourism Board.

The anniversary falls on Aug. 22, 2012. Figures made available to TAN showed that Petra had 860,000 visitors in 2010 though this dropped to 630,000 last year due to the unrest in the region.

Fully booked Royal CaribbeanRoyal Caribbean International, a luxury cruise liner, brought

approximately 40,000 guests from Europe, South Africa and China during its various recent port calls in the region, according to Helen Beck, regional director.

“The sailings attracted large numbers of group bookings,” Beck said. “With nearly every sailing booked, we brought around 40,000 guests to the region…,” She added. After the last 12-night voyage to India, which left on April 7, 2012 and visited Cochin, New Manga-lore, Goa, Bombay and Muscat, the cruise liner’s Brilliance of the Seas started a 15-night repositioning cruise through the Suez Canal back to Rome on April 19, 2012. Along the way, Brilliance of the Seas called port at Muscat, Aqaba, Safaga, Sharm el Sheikh and Alexandria.

ExclusivEs

7

7


Jumeirah Group looks to Saudi Arabia for new hotels

Apparently capitalizing on the Saudi Arabia’s push to develop the country’s tourism industry, a top official of Jumeirah Group, a Dubai-based international hotel chain owned by the Dubai gov-ernment, told Travel Arabia News the hospitality company is look-ing at opening hotels there.

“Saudi Arabia is an impor-tant market to us. We’ve seen huge growth in incoming tourists from Saudi Arabia to Dubai in 2011 and 2012. We are exploring possibilities of opening across all (major) cities in Saudi Arabia,” Marwan Al Ali, Jumeirah Group senior vice president for Middle East, Africa and South Asia op-erations said.

Al Ali at the same time said Jumeirah Group will open a hotel in Kuwait later this year even as the company looks to China and India.

“We are very much concen-trating on the China and India markets. We have signed for an-other hotel in Guangzhou, China. India, we are exploring possibili-

ties. We are very close to signing a deal. India is a growing market. It is also a source market for Dubai,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion of the four-day 2012 Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment, Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tour-ism and Antiquities (SCTA) said the private sector can contrib-ute in the government’s tourism boost by providing consultancy for the projects.

The SCTA-organized event was held March 26 – 29, 2012 at the Riyadh International Con-vention and Exhibition Center.

SCTA has updated its com-prehensive overall strategy for the development of national tourism and approved an operational plan for the next three years. Part of the master plan is the ongoing construction of the kilometer-high Kingdom Tower in Jeddah, the centrepiece attraction which is set to become the world’s tall-est building upon completion in 2017. The structure, built at an

initial cost of US$1.23 billion, is the highlight of a US$20-billion development project entitled, “Kingdom City” along the Red Sea.

Jumeirah Group’s portfolio includes the Burj Al Arab, Jumei-rah Emirates Towers, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Madinat Jumeirah, Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai and Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.

Jumeriah hotels abroad in-clude Jumeirah Dhevanafushi and Jumeirah Vittaveli in Mal-dives, Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai, Jumeirah Frankfurt in Germany, Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto in Rome, Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah in Istan-bul, Jumeirah Carlton Tower and Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel in Lon-don and Jumeirah Essex House in New York.

Marwan Al Ali

Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche, which opened on March 18, 2012, had a 20 percent occupan-cy in its first month and sees 50 percent by yearend, banking on its identity as a business hotel, its location in the city, 48 suites, 800-square-meter ballroom that sits 900 people, 2,600-square-meter conference centre fit for up to 1,000 people, and French brand name.

“How are we different? The

experience with the hotel. That’s the difference. We are Sofitel. Hotels have different personali-ties. We offer the best of French blended with the local culture,” Jean-Philippe Bittencourt, gen-eral manager told Travel Arabia News.

He said the 20-percent oc-cupancy for the first month af-ter opening was on target. Top months for the hotel, according to him, are September, October

and December. Bittencourt de-scribed Sofitel Abu Dhabi Cor-niche as an individualized busi-ness executive hotel.

The hotel’s 2,600-square-meter conference centre has independent access—from the ballroom to board meeting rooms and business centre, a va-riety of configurations that can accommodate from 15 to 1000 people thus make any event pos-sible.

Auris expands to SharjahThe company which recently opened its first five-star hotel —Auris Plaza— sets goal for more

‘It will be a landmark hotel and suite.’ Hatem Gasmi, managing director, on the Sharjah project.

Apparently buoyed by the suc-cess of their new five-star hotel’s recent opening behind Mall of the Emirates, Auris Hotels, which al-ready has six properties in opera-tion across UAE, has signed for a seventh one—this time, in Shar-jah—with goals to go overseas and set up in Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, according to Hatem Gasmi, man-aging director.

“It will be on the Khalid La-goon. It will be a landmark ho-tel and suite,” Gasmi told Travel Arabia News, referring to the new Auris project, which, he said is a 34-storey, 330-room hotel sched-uled to open next year.

Khalid Lagoon is Sharjah’s hotel and amusement row high-lighted by a five-kilometer cornice and a spectacular 100-meter high water fountain.

Auris has a property in Deira, three in Al Barsha, Dubai includ-ing the five-star hotel that offi-cially opened on April 11, 2012 next to MOE —Auris Plaza— and two in the Tecom area also in Al Barsha.

Meantime, Gasmi also dis-closed plans for the company to operate abroad with a number of countries lined-up—Morocco, Tunisia, Oman. Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“Being in Dubai gives us inter-national appeal,” said Gasmi. “We are getting somewhere,” he added, referring to status of the ongo-ing efforts for new Auris hotels abroad.

Auris Hotels has an average occupancy of 85 percent.

Russians, Germans at Ramada Ajman

Iftikhar Hamdani

Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman had a “very big growth” in visits by tour-ists from Germany and the Commonwealth of Inde-pendent States, comprising 69 percent of the 336-room hotel’s occupancy in the first quarter of the year, according to Iftikhar Hamdani, general

manager.“It’s a very big growth,”

Hamdani told Travel Arabia News, attributing this to an “aggressive sales” campaign that the hotel has embarked on.

Hamdani said Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman had a 95-percent occupancy in the

first quarter of which 49 per-cent were from Germany and 20 percent from CIS.

In line with its market-ing campaign, Hamdani said the hotel has added 60 more rooms and will be opening an Indian restaurant in Sep-tember this year—this on top of a new spa project.

GM eyes 50% occupancy by yearendNewly opened Sofitel abu Dhabi corniche attracts MICE

Jean-Philippe Bittencourt

8

8


Ritz-Carlton to open 25 hotels

ExclusivEs

The Ritz-Carlton, a luxury ho-tel and resort chain which already has 77 properties across major cities in 25 countries, will open 25 more in the next three years, Bob Kharazmi, global officer for op-erations, told Travel Arabia News.

“Majority of them will be in

Asia while a good number will be in the Middle East,” he said, adding that in the last two years, 10 Ritz-Carlton hotels have also been opened.

The 25 new hotels are seen to create some 10,000 new jobs to be added to Ritz-Carlton’s cur-

rent 40,000 employees, Kharazmi said.

Among the hotels that have just recently opened is the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh in the AlHada area along Mekkah Road—a sprawling 52 hectares of palatial accommo-dation for royalties, visiting dig-nitaries and heads of state.

The Ritz-Carlton Riyadh was inline with the company’s thrust towards localization, said Kharaz-mi. “We listen to our guests and so…the hotel was built to reflect the local design,” he said.

Ritz-Carlton Riyadh has 49 lavish and exquisitely appointed two-bedroom Royal Suites and 50 one-bedroom, opulent Execu-tive Suites. It also has over 5,800 square meters (62,000 square feet) of conference space combined, including two colossal ballrooms in a separate wing.

Meantime, Kharazmi said Ritz-Carlton has also consider-ably invested in providing the lat-est IT technology in its hotels to befit today’s digital-savvy travel-ers.

“We are using the digital world to communicate with our cus-tomers. There will be a time when our guests will dining and using their mobile devices to order,” he said, adding that Asia by far has the most digital-savvy customers.

Globally, around 20 percent of Ritz-Carlton bookings are done online, Kharazmi said.

Bob Kharazmi

Fraser Suites expands

Two years after it opened on Sheikh Zayed Road, Fraser Suites is now in the thick of expansion projects, two of which are slated to open late next year, with other proposals currently under re-view elsewhere in the region, ac-cording to David Brown, general manager.

“We have been very active in working with project developers with a view to identifying more sites in the UAE as well,” Brown told Travel Arabia News.

Fraser Suites Dubai on Sheikh Zayed Road was the company’s first and only branch in the UAE. Fraser Suites is part of Frasers Hospitality, which operates ser-viced apartments and luxury residences worldwide from Sin-gapore to London and Istanbul. It’s portfolio in the Middle East includes Bahrain and Doha which have also just opened in the past few years.

Meantime Brown said Fraser Suites Dubai, doing a 91-percent occupancy in the first quarter of the year which, according to him, was about 16 percent increase over the same period last year.

Twenty percent of Fraser Suites Dubai’s market were from Saudi Arabia. Other strong mar-kets, Brown said, include U.K., U.S.A., western European coun-

tries and southeast Asia.Longstayers—mostly busi-

ness executives and highly-skilled professionals sent by their home-base to oversee projects in the region—account for 50 percent of Fraser Suites Dubai’s market, the rest coming from transients or those who stay for from one to seven nights, not to mention those staying from seven to 28 nights—mostly people needing temporary accommodations till they get permanent lodging.

Brown said in some cases “people prefer to stay with us because of the lifestyle solutions that we provide.”

Brown explained that such is the case for Fraser Suites because “we work with multinational cor-porations.

“Frasers is a provider of 80 percent of Fortune 500 compa-nies around the world so we got very, very strong global corporate presence. We are able to lever-age on that relationship in other countries.”

He said this is “one of the strengths of the Frasers brand.

“Globally, we have that reach. We have that relationship in place. So, instead of bidding on one property, we bid on multiple properties to provide solutions to many, many top companies.”

Meantime Brown said India “is a growing market for us,” add-ing that the country “is a market with enormous potential.”

In China, Brown said Frasers Hospitality is “certainly explor-ing opportunities” having “a very, very strong brand presence” there.

“However,” he said, “it is iden-tifying the right customers. You have a massive market, a lot of it is either extremely high-end or budget-conscious and we are nei-ther so we are trying to identify.”

David Brown

Dubai gets the Spanish flairMelia plans to have 5 GCC hotels in 3 years

Melia Hotels & Resorts, market leader in Spain’s resort and urban ho-tels which operates some 300 hotels in 27 countries, has landed in Dubai, opening its first hotel in the region and eyeing five more across GCC, according to Susanna Mander, vice president for marketing and brand development.

“Ties between Spain and the Ara-bians go back hundreds of years. We feel very much connected to the local culture,” said Mander when asked why Melia has decided to expand to the Middle East.

Also asked why Dubai and not

elsewhere, Mander replied: “We have to be here. Dubai is the centre of ev-erything. The tallest, the grandest, the biggest. Dubai is very international. It’s the hub.

“We are looking also to expand to Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Right now, we think Dubai is the place. If you’re already here, it is easier (to ex-pand elsewhere in the region).”

Melia Hotel in Bur Dubai opened on April 29, 2012.

“We plan to have five hotels in the GCC in the next three years,” Mander said, adding that the company moved to open its first Middle East hotel in

Bur Dubai because the place is “al-ready accepted in the region histori-cally.

“It’s really where Dubai was born.”Mander said the company expects

“very high” occupancy, around 80 per-cent by yearend, she said. “We put the Spanish flair.”

Spain was part of the Iberian Pen-insula, which was also composed of Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibral-tar. In 711 AD, North African Muslims invaded the peninsula and placed it under Islamic rule from the 8th to the 15th centuries.

‘Majority of them will be in Asia while a good number will be in the Middle East.’

Susanna Mander

Thailand Indonesia Vietnam Maldives United Arab Emirates

Call +971 (0)2 656 1000 or email [email protected] for enquiries and reservations

*Subject to 10% service charge and 6% tourism fee. Other terms and conditions apply.

Book your Anantara experience now atanantara.com

Step into the new Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara and discover an oasis of tranquility. Indulge in a selection of exceptional dining experiences, or be pampered at the luxurious Anantara Spa with an authentic Hammam.

Enjoy a night’s stay worth AED 1,200* and receive credit worth the same value, which can be redeemed for dining or spa experiences.

A night’s stay worth AED 1,200 rewards you with spa and dining experiences

to the same value

10

10


So your boss needs to travel pronto?

And you have to make hotel ar-rangements ASAP.

It pays to know that there is a quick and easy booking system now available in the market pre-pared by Lama Desert Tourism—the Lama Connect.

“It’s a global reservation net-work with 70,000 hotels,” said Kul-want Singh, Lama Desert Tourism managing director. “I think this could be the busiest online res-ervation available on desktop for secretaries to book their managers or executives for any online ser-vices, like airline tickets, anywhere around the world,” he added.

The online booking engine is also connected directly to the back-end systems of individual hotels, enabling users to receive live avail-ability.

Al Rais Travel & Shipping Agencies plans to sign up with a German company that will repre-sent it in Germany, Holland and Scandinavia to boost traffic by 25 percent, according to Mohammed

Jassim Al Rais, director.“It will be our representative

company that will bring clients to Dubai,” Al Rais said.

Al Rais Travel recently held a travel and tours exhibition at Dubai Mall participated in by 12 tourism boards. This year’s event was joined by representatives from the Philippines, Jordan and Oman.

“This year, we made it bigger. We have a total of 12 participating tourism boards. Eighteen had ac-tually requested but space would not allow. Tourism boards at the event were from Germany, Malay-sia, Cyprus, Queensland, Korea, Austria, Thailand, and Ireland. Hong Kong also participated.

Mohammed Jassim Al Rais

Al Rais Travel & Shipping eyes services of a German firm

Stefan Buchs

Five presidential villas at Banyan Tree to be built

ExclusivEs

Buoyed by what was described as the resort’s success story, Banyan Tree Al Wadi in Ras Al Khaimah will be building five presidential villas for visiting heads of state.

“It’s really a success story so far, a remarkable performance,” Stefan Buchs, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts vice president for Eu-rope, Middle East and Africa, told Travel Arabia News.

Buchs at the same time said Banyan Tree has projects currently in the pipeline for the Middle East, including two in Muscat that in-volves around 140 villas. Another project in the region is the Banyan Tree Tamouda Bay in Tetouan, Morocco.

Anders Dimblad, Banyan Tree Al Wadi general manager, mean-time said five presidential villas

will be constructed linked sepa-rately to the resort by a private road. “This will be for the tip of the top,” he said, adding that the new villas are scheduled to open early next year.

“The presidential villas will be larger. We are doing it one step further. It would be so unique that everybody would want to be there,” he said.

The project is still in its design phase, and would befit royal fami-lies as well as heads of state.

Dimblad said Banyan Tree Al

Wadi, which had its soft opening on Jan. 1, 2010, is very popular among locals and GCC tourists because said “it has “a lot of pri-vacy.”

Anders Dimblad

Oliver J. Key

Abu Dhabi gets butler service

Miramar Al Aqah Beach Re-sort, a Moroccan-style property in the heart of Fujairah, is look-ing at a 74-percent occupancy for the year, according to Ashraf Helmy, general manager who also is the company’s area busi-ness development manager.

“Occupancy for the first quarter was 85 percent. We be-lieve that it’s going to be a little bit higher in the summer. In 2011, we closed at 68 percent. For 2012, we are looking at 74 percent,” Helmy told Travel Ara-bia News.

Helmy said the resort has been undergoing upgrades to keep up with occupancy, the most recent of which was that on the water-sport center. Helmy said a diving

center has as well been built to be operated by Divers Down. Bahari Bar, the resort’s food and bever-age outlet, has been renovated too and converted into a restau-rant fit for up to 80 people.

Ashraf Helmy

74% occupancy for 2012 atMiramar Al Aqah Beach Resort

The Address Dubai Mall has been averaging 90-percent oc-cupancy in the early part of this year with 70 percent of the guests coming from GCC and the remaining 30 percent from

the U.S., Europe and Australia, according to Stefan Viard, hotel manager.

In an interview, Viard said GCC visitors were mostly from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and “a little bit of Bahrain.” He said China “has started doing good.”

Viard meantime said the ho-tel has been working on a loy-alty program. A summer promo-tional offer, he said, will also be released including a Six Nights Seven Days Package.

The Address Dubai Mall is a five-star, 37-floor hotel directly connected to the Dubai Mall. It opened on Sept. 9, 2009 and has since been having a yearly aver-age occupancy of 85 percent, ac-cording to Viard.

Stefan Viard

The Address Dubai Mallaveraging 90% occupancy

Abu Dhabi will soon have another world class—this time, private butler service by St. Regis Hotel which is scheduled to have a soft opening in September this year.

“St. Regis, as a brand, is re-nowned for its butler service. We offer our guests a private butler. The service level is among the best in the world,” said Oliver J. Key, general manager.

Envisioned to be the new busi-ness and social hub of the city, St. Regis features 283 rooms and suites from its 33rd to 49th floors.

The St. Regis Butler Service has been the hotel’s hallmark for over 100 years.

Kulwant Singh

Mustapha Henin

Preparations for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has been keeping the 138-apartment Fraser Suite Doha busy, posting and overall 85-per-cent occupancy, mostly long-stay-ers from Europe and the GCC, since opening in September last year, according to Mustapha He-nini, general manager.

Situated on the Corniche Road, Doha’s business centre, Fraser Suite also registered a 90-percent

occupancy in the first quarter of this year, Henini said.

“We have been operating with great results,” Henini said. “There is a big demand at the moment and the supply is low,” he added, referring to rooms to which pro-fessionals involved in the various FIFA-related undertakings can stay for the duration of the projects.

Fifty percent of Fraser Suite Doha’s guests are Europeans most-ly engaged in these projects; the other half are from GCC, accord-ing to Henini, who also said that 60 percent are long-stayers. “Some of them come for a two months’ or three months’ stay with us,” he said. Moreover, Henini said that around 85 percent of Fraser Suite Doha’s clients are from private corporations. The FIFA Executive Committee voted in a secret ballot on Dec. 2, 2010 in Zurich to have Qatar host the 2022 World Cup.

Fraser Doha fits up for FiFA

11

11


‘ME market doing well in India’

The Middle East market is “performing well in India for the last two years,” Vikas Rustagi, In-dia Tourism regional director for Asia and Africa told Travel Ara-bia News.

“Last year, there was a growth of 17 percent compared to 2010,” Rustagi said.

According to him, there were 258,000 visitors from the Middle East to India last year with UAE ranking first in terms of volume at 60,000 followed by Saudi Ara-bia.

Rustagi said growth projec-tions for 2012 is at 20 percent.

Reasons why Middle East holidaymakers go to India in-clude wellness and leisure. India is popular for its luxury trains, dubbed “Palace on Wheels.”

India has 18 official languag-es and 252 dialects. Each place in India is a destination of its own so much so that one Indian of-ficial had been quoted as saying a lifetime of travel is not enough to experience the whole of India.

More UAE travelers going to Thailand

There was a five-percent in-

crease in the number of UAE tourists who went to Thailand last year compared to 2010, said Wisoot Buachoom, Tourism Au-thority of Thailand’s director for its Dubai and Middle East office.

In an interview, Buachoom said there were 526,763 visitors to Thailand from the Middle East in 2011 of which 149,873 were from UAE.

Three main reasons for trav-eling to Thailand, he said, were leisure, medical purposes and business.

“The number one place in Thailand that UAE guests want to see is Bangkok because of the shopping centers, amusement parks and temples,” Buachoom said.

Second to Bangkok is Phuket, he said, because of the beaches and related activities; third is Chiang Mai which is north of country—the area, according to Buachoom is preferred by UAE tourists for its verdant environ-ment and sceneries.

“UAE tourists go to Thailand because there they feel relaxed and at-home,” he said.

Meantime, Buachoom said TAT will be focusing on promot-ing three niché markets: medi-

cal tourism; honeymooners to Koh Samui Island where Etihad and Bangkok Airways, a Thai re-gional airline, has flight arrange-ments for; and golf through a Thai Airways promotion offer-ing attractive rates.

GCC tourist arrivals to Korea increases

Tourist arrivals from GCC to Korea in 2011 have increased by 49 percent from 2010, accord-ing to Hwang Seunghyun Korea Tourism Organization regional director.

At the same time, KTO said

visitor arrivals from UAE to Ko-rea also went up by 21.5 in 2011 compared to 2010 figures.

The total tourism arrivals in Korea touched 9.79 million in 2011, up from 8.79 million in 2010.

KTO has set three visions for 2020; taking the top spot as the most competitive tourism in-dustry in Asia, attracting 20-mil-lion tourists and increasing the period of domestic travel to 30 days per person.

To achieve these goals, the KTO has not only improved travel infrastructure to accom-modate foreign tourists but has also performed overseas pro-motional activities to attract the attention of people around the world.

In addition, the KTO has formed various plans to boost domestic trips like the refreshing vacation campaign.

Korea will hold the 2012 Yeosu Expo, 2014 Incheon Asian Games and the 2018 Pyeo-ngchang Winter Olympics. We expect the Korean tourism in-dustry to make a considerable growth along with such mega events as well as an improvement in infrastructures.Wisoot Buachoom

Hwang Seunghyun

Vikas Rustagi

ALRAIS ONLINEONLINE B2B BOOKING SYSTEM

BOOK HOTELS ANYWHEREIN THE WORLD

INSTANTLY [email protected]@04 3519135

12

12


It has been three years since Australia started providing on-line visas to GCC nationals. No trips to embassies, no fear of los-ing passports, no hassle of taking time off to cart the family for finger-prints, almost no waiting time, perfect for impromptu va-cations. Much to the envy of all other nationalities who reside in the Middle East, GCC nation-als get an e676 visa, a two-year, multiple-entry visa that allows up to one year of constant stay – all for the very reasonable sum of AU$110 (Dh 410) per applicant.

The Department of Immigra-tion and Citizenship (DIAC) also has an eVisa Agent Gateway that allows registered travel agents to apply on behalf of their clients, do a bulk lodgement, make a single-transaction payment and also be able to get updates and help from the immigration desk.

“We start by applying for vi-sas,” says Lincoln Edwin, Travel Manager for New RAK Leisure Travel. “When local families trav-el, they are usually large groups and it is a big advantage when we can assure our clients of vi-sas usually being granted within two days. In case there is a delay, we know we can follow up with the immigration desk and always stay updated on changes. Once we get the visas done, the rest of the trip automatically follows,”

says Edwin. All an agency needs to do to

get registered is write to [email protected] and express interest in doing so. For some reason, however, agency uptake at the portal has been slow. “I believe agents are simply not aware of the special advan-tages of registering at the Agent Gateway,” says Andrew Oldfield of OMG! a specialist destination marketing agency that handles marketing for Tourism Queen-sland in the GCC. “In the current

market environment, a tool like this is perfect for offering a valu-able extra to our customers and should be used to an advantage,” adds Oldfield.

How is The Address Dubai Marina different from other hotels ?

Travel Arabia News: Twenty-five years you’ve worked as an hotelier starting out as rooms manager in a career that has so far spanned half your life to cov-er five countries and eight hotels. How do you find your current post as general manager of The Address Dubai Marina? What is the appeal?

Antony Francis Treston: The Address Dubai Marina is a key hospitality asset in The Address Hotels + Resorts portfolio of Emaar Hospitality Group. Like all The Address hotels, the property is distinguished by three key char-acteristics – a unique location, su-perior service standards and our commitment to deliver tangible guest benefits. I find the responsi-bility of managing the hotel a true honour.

TAN: Is the property any different from the other hotels you’ve touched? If so, how?

AFT: I believe the key dif-ferential of The Address Dubai Marina are the values and opera-tional ethos it upholds. “Where Life Happens” defines the hotel’s philosophy—and a commitment to deliver tangible guest benefits means our valued clients are as-sured of a truly rewarding lifestyle experience. The hotel’s unique lo-cation in Dubai Marina is another added attraction.

There are very few hotels in

Dubai that have been able to bal-ance its outlook as a leisure-cum-business hotel, and The Address Dubai Marina has successfully carved its niche in both.

TAN: What are the chal-lenges? How are you addressing them?

AFT: All hotels in Dubai face the challenge of staying competi-tive given the strong growth in the number of hotel projects. We address this through our three-

pronged approach: One, offering our guests the advantage of being part of a vibrant neighbourhood in close proximity to a lifestyle mall—Dubai Marina Mall; two, the service standards we uphold; and three, ensuring that our guests receive tangible benefits in-stead of being provided standard hotel features that add little to the overall guest experience.

TAN: The Address Dubai Ma-rina is at the heart of what is now being hyped as the “New Dubai.” What’s in the hotel that’s not in other properties thereabouts?

AFT: With 200 luxurious rooms, five superb restaurants and lounges, a relaxing spa, spectacu-lar infinity pool and state-of-the-

art meeting and event facilities, the hotel ensures that guests are constantly refreshed and inspired.

The hotel has also demon-strated its excellence, winning a number of industry awards in-cluding “Dubai’s Leading Meet-ings & Conference Hotel” at World Travel Awards 2011, and the hotel’s spa being adjudged as the first runner-up for “Best Spa Design” at the Middle East Spa Awards 2011.

TAN: The hotel’s local appeal. Other properties have something they are popular for. What would it be for The Address Dubai Marina?

AFT: In addition to its creden-tials as a five-star premium hotel, The Address Dubai Marina has two aspects that are extremely popular. The first is its award-winning Spa, offering an assortment of treat-ments to ensure total relaxation of the body and mind.

The other is the extensive con-ference facilities at the hotel. The 900-square-metre Constellation Ballroom with floor-to-ceiling win-dows benefits from extensive natu-ral light and can accommodate up to 1,000 guests in reception style, and is the largest ballroom in Dubai Marina.

veteran hotelier Antony Francis Treston, who also is the property’s general manager, says his piece.

ONE ON ONEHave visa, will travel Down underAustralian multiple-visit visas are granted online within two days without need for Biometrics and create a convenient income stream – yet few agents are using the facility

HOW TO rEgIsTEr

• Writetotheimmigrationdeskat [email protected] expressing interest in register-ing for the Agent Gateway • You will get two forms back:One for the agency to fill up and one for every employee who will be accessing the system• Oncetheapplicationhasbeenauthenticated, portal access will be given• Allregisteredusersreceivereg-ular updates of procedures, can check progress of their applica-tions and can also communicate with the immigration desk in case they need assistance

VIsA UpDATEs

Andrew Oldfield

Lincoln Edwin

Wildlife Park Port Douglas

Morocco, a place of fun for the entire family.

MOSA

IK

travel for real

Welcome to Morocco, the land of contrasts. Vibrant and enchanting, where shadows meld with sunlight, and sky and sea kiss at the horizon. A land that for centuries has been romanticized by storytellers in their books. Weaving tales about its natural beauty, the warm hearts of its people and the elegance of its architecture. Not to mention its lazy beaches crawling on the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, its snow-covered peaks, water springs and thick forests, as well as the stunning beauty of its old cities. Come, discover Morocco today.

101, Green Tower, Baniyas Street • PO Box : 64 109, Deira, Dubai • Emirates Arabes Unis • Tel : 042292394www.visitmorocco.com

14

14


GREENG O i N G

Coral Boutique Hotel Apartments – Al Barsha -DubaiAdopts ‘Go Green’ strategy

Jumeirah Emirates Towers, part of Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, has been awarded the internation-ally renowned Green Globe Certi-fication (GGC) following a recent sustainability audit.

The five-star Jumeirah Emir-ates Towers has been consistently developing its green policies in line with its Corporate Social Re-sponsibility (CSR) programme and is the first of the Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts to be accredited with Green Globe Certification.

GGC is the premier world-wide sustainability stamp for the tourism industry and more than 800 businesses in 50 countries have so far met the 349 exact-ing standards. Under the super-vision of Farnek Avireal, which currently has the exclusive rights to utilize the Green Globe brand covering hotels in 20 different countries throughout the Middle East, Jumeirah Emirates Towers achieved a compliance score of 85 percent against the Green Globe Standard for Sustainable Travel & Tourism. Actions taken to improve sustainability performance already resulted in substantial cost savings for the hotel. The hotel now has an ambitious goal for 2012: to reduce energy use by five percent through initiatives such as LED light im-plementation and energy-efficient coolers.

In addition to the recent GGC certification, Jumeirah Emirates

Towers is also recognised for its broad CSR programme which in-cludes an extensive list of green initiatives, such as energy and water reductions throughout the hotel.

Meantime, Desert Islands Re-sort & Spa by Anantara has also become one of only a few hotels in the GCC to gain Green Globe accreditation—an environmental sustainability standard specially developed for the travel and tour-

ism industry. Of the 39 criteria the resort was

required to meet, it well-exceeded its score in areas such as employee training, communications strat-egy, community development, conserving water/energy resources and protecting surrounding eco-systems.

The resort is located on Abu Dhabi’s Sir Bani Yas Island and has been developed by the Tour-

ism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

“We are actively engaged in our adherence to the Green Globe Cer-tification standards. This recogni-tion highlights Anantara’s sincere commitment to operating in an environmentally, socially and cul-turally responsible manner.’’ says Christian Zunk, General Manager, Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara.

The Resort conducts regular awareness trainings on activities that increase its environmental impact, and on its own respon-sibilities towards environmental conservation and sustainability. It also supports local environmental campaigns.

Zunk said that without re-stricting their comfort in any way, Anantara’s environmental culture also extends to communication on sustainability issues with the guests.

First originated in 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Green Globe standard now oper-ates across 83 countries. Green Globe Summits are conducted in different locations throughout the year to share the latest best prac-tices, training and development initiatives.

“The fact that Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara is one of very few hotels in the region to achieve this accolade is testament to the wider scale of ecological ini-tiatives that Abu Dhabi has devel-oped over recent years,” said Zunk.

Coral Boutique Hotel Apart-ments – Al Barsha – Dubai has announced a “Go Green” strat-egy, which includes a series of environmentally friendly prac-tices that it plans to implement in stages to promote sustainable hospitality.

The hotel has implemented waste segregation and has al-ready installed recycling bins for the purpose. It will also urge its guests to support its water and energy saving policy by simple practices like reusing towels, turning off taps and switching off lights when not needed.

“Dubai is a tourism hotspot with a growing energy and car-bon footprint, so it is for the hos-pitality sector, which is an impor-tant stakeholder in the tourism industry, to collectively look for

ways to encourage sustainability and green initiatives,” said Salim-Touma, general manager.

According to Salim, the hotel’s programme supports the “Green Tourism” initiatives of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), which include encouraging the hotel sector to be conscious about the use of natural resources and energy conservation.

Coral Boutique Hotel Apart-ments is a business-friendly hotel located in central Dubai in close proximity to major shopping and entertainment destinations with a business centre and a range of dining, health & fitness, and en-tertainment options.

About the boutique hotel on http://www.coral-boutiquehotel.com

Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort has kick-started two new environmental initia-tives called “Tree Planting for Regular Guests” and “Kids Gar-dening Program.”

The first to plant a tree was Dr. Ralf Corsten, VIP guest who was at the resort last February for his birthday. The tree-plant-ing activity for guests was initi-ated to attract hotel guests to return to the property and see how their tree grows, enabling them to contribute to the natu-

ral beauty of the resort.The Kids Gardening Pro-

gram, for its part, is being held every Saturday at 5pm. Children of hotel guests are invited to a dedicated area called Kids Green Corner to engage in several gar-dening activities.

Ashraf Helmy, general man-ager and area business develop-ment manager, said the new en-vironmental programs were put in place as part of continuing efforts to keep Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah a green resort.

Plant your tree at Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort

Grant Ruddiman, General Manager and Area General Manager, Jumeirah Emirates Towers (left) being awarded the Green Globe Certification by Markus Oberlin, General Manager, Farnek Avireal.

A typical tree-planting day for the kids at Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort

Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Desert Islands Resort & Spa byAnantara awarded Green Globe Certification

‘This recognition highlights Anantara’s sincere commitment to operating in an environmentally, socially and culturally responsible manner.’ —Christian Zunk, General Manager, Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara.

15

15


Accor, a global hotel compa-ny that has under its wings iconic brands like Sofitel, Pullman, Mer-cure and Ibis among others with a total workforce of about 145,000 in 90 countries, has come up with a no-nonsense approach to sustainable development, embarking on a pro-gram that by itself was a result of two unprecedented international surveys all encapsulated into one strategy called Planet 21.

“We started abut 20 years ago.We had a program called earth guest which finished in December of 2010. The new program, Planet 21 has taken on board all the…that we have with earth guest to move further,” said Christophe Landais managing director, Accor Middle East.

“The commitment we have in Planet 21 within the next five years is to reduce utilities and energy con-sumption by 15 percent across all Ac-cor hotels in the region.”

PLANET 21 consists of 21 com-mitments and the same number of quantified goals adopted by Accor. For these reasons, the new PLANET 21 strategy includes a program for informing customers and encourag-ing them to contribute to the hotels’ actions and achievements. From booking to room stay and restaurant service, customers will discover a rich and diverse array of educational mes-sages encouraging them to contrib-ute actively to the hotel’s action by means of a few simple gestures. The tone of the messages will be friendly and thoughtful, aimed at encourag-ing customers to participate without ever making them feel guilty.

To guarantee the credibility of this program, hotels can only use the PLANET 21 messages if they comply with a certain level of performance in terms of sustainable development, assessed according to a list of 65 check points or recognized external certification.

accor aims for 15% reduction in energy use

The 24-storey Pullman Dubai Mall, an Accor hotel.

Christophe Landais

16

16


Qatar’s travel industry is showing stronger pulse rates, posting a 22-percent visitor ar-

rival growth in the first quarter of the year, according to a tourism report, as a five-year investment totalling almost US$17 billion be-gins to infuse vibrancy into a busi-ness sector seen as the crowning glory of an oil-and-gas-rich coun-try where estimated gross domes-tic product per capita is $88,222.

Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, chair-man of the Qatar Tourism Author-ity, said the report, released by his office, confirmed that the sector was growing to meet the demands

placed on it.The strategy, as it now becomes

clearer, is that on developing at full speed a business and lifestyle destination that will make Qatar perfect for international conven-

tions and exhibitions as well as sporting events, among other high profile activities.

“These statistics show that Qa-tar’s tourism and hospitality sector is going from strength to strength,” Mr. Al. Nuaimi said. “Qatar has established itself as a unique tour-ism destination…playing to our strengths as a business and sports tourism. The strong showing for our hotel sector shows how it is maturing ahead of the challenges we face in the next decade.”

Landmark Landmark projects include

The Qatar National Convention

Centre NCC, an ambitious $1.2 billion project developed by the Qatar Foundation, which opened in December last year.

The 40,000-square metre QNCC, which is 20 minutes away from the city’s business district, has been described as an unpar-alleled convention facility for the Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) market.

It has an unprecedented de-sign and cutting edge facilities in a world-first green-technology ven-ue with a conference hall for 4,000 people, a 2,300 seat lyric-style, three additional tiered auditori-ums, theatre-style seating, ban-quet space for up to 10,000 people in exhibition halls, and 52 meeting rooms, among other features.

Master plan

Qatar’s tourism master plan calls for the construction of over 60,000 new rooms in 240 hotels by the time the country hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2022. This means constructing 174 new ho-tels in 11 years from 2011 when the total number of hotels was at a mere 66. This means opening 16 new hotels each year during the period. Travel experts said this has not been done in other countries before.

Keeping up with the pace, Qa-tar government officials said 19 hotels and 5,544 hotel rooms are now either under construction or in different planning stages, mak-ing the country a huge, steaming pipeline of hotel projects in the region.

‘The strong showing for our hotel sector shows it is maturing ahead of the challenges we face in the next decade.’

—Mr. Ahmed Al Nuaimi, chairman, Qatar Tourism Authority

On track

cOvERsTORy

The Qatari government has embarked on a plan to diversify the economy and transform the coun-try into a major hub for MICE (Meetings, Incen-tives, Conferences and Exhibitions) tourism.

In line with this, invest-ments have been made to develop infrastructure including new hotels and the state-of-the-art Qa-tar National Convention Centre.

Abroad, the Qatari gov-ernment has embarked on an aggressive market-ing strategy to encourage inbound tourism, having opened an impressive office in Cannes, France for instance, and embla-zoned London cabs with Qatari colours to show-case Qatar’s landmarks, officials said.

In Brief

A typical day at Souq Waqif in Doha Qatar

File photo of the emerging Doha skyline

Officials said half of Qatar’s GDP is derived from its oil and natural gas industry. According to economists, the country has enough oil reserves for the next 37 years.

Revenues of Four Star Hotels

Jan 5,240,374.60 60,736,678.59

Feb 48,252,119.15 60,478,905.38

Mar 51,901,605.29 61,615,211.58

Total 155,394,099.04 182,830,795.55

2011 2012

Revenues of Five Star Hotels

Jan 204,873,990.35 166,383,525.65

Feb 181,994,679.65 190,179,309.42

Mar 192,086,798.60 227,436,194.86

Total 578,955,468.60 583,999,029.93

2011 2012

Comparative data on GCC Visitors to Qatar(January-March) 2011 2012UAE 30,787 29,017BAHRAIN 22,959 25,273SAUDI ARABIA 117,894 161,549KUWAIT 18,249 16,200

Month 2011 2012

Jan 74% 61%

Feb 67% 66%

Mar 63% 64%

Average 68% 64%

Hotel Occupancy Rates During the First Quarter 2011-2012

Source: Qatar Tourism Authority

17

17


Sri Lankan president visits The Pearl-Qatar

Qatar Tourism hits the roadSix stops across key GCC cities to promote the country

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa recently led a delegation of senior officials and business leaders to Pearl-Qatar, a multi-billion dollar offshore island by United Development Company (UDC) and one of the largest real estate developments in the coun-try, to see the ongoing project for himself, officials said.

UDC Chief Executive Offi-cer Ebrahim Al-Sulaiti, who wel-

comed the delegation, said the visit highlights The Pearl-Qatar’s positioning as a first-class inter-national urban development and provides a golden opportunity for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to venture into the Qatari market in general.”

President Rajapaksa expressed pleasure with the visit, which in-cluded a yacht tour around the island. “It was important to get a

real hands-on perspective of this spectacular development. The boardwalk and yacht tours were particularly impressive, provid-ing an opportunity for us to view some of the wonderful areas of this Island.”

Spanning over four million square meters of land, The Pearl-Qatar is an upscale residential community and a secure island re-treat located 350 meters offshore

of Doha’s West Bay district. It is Qatar’s first international real es-tate venture offering true freehold investment opportunities to inter-national buyers. Officials said that upon completion, there will be a total of 13 islands the biggest of which will feature a range of lux-ury villas, apartments, three 5-star hotels and over two million square meters of international retail, res-taurants, cafes and entertainment.

Mahinda Rajapaksa

Apparently buoyed by a sat-isfactory showing on visitor ar-rivals, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has embarked on a pro-motional road show spanning six cities across the Gulf to endorse Qatar as the ideal destination for Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Road Show 2012 started in the eastern province of the King-dom of Saudi Arabia, Al Khobar on May 26, 2012, before moving on to Riyadh, Kuwait, Muscat, Abu Dhabi and concluding in Dubai on 31 May 31, 2012.

The plan is to capitalize on Qatar’s authentic heritage and rich past while highlighting future thrusts—meetings, sports, culture, leisure and education tourism.

QTA plans to grow the tour-ism industry by 20 percent in the next five years.

“This Roadshow was an ini-tiative we launched by specifi-cally targeting professionals in the MICE (meetings, incentive, con-vention, exhibitions) industry,” said Abdulla Malalla Al Bader, Di-rector of Tourism at Qatar Tour-ism Authority. “The tour was very successful- we built new relation-ships and strengthened existing ones in these cities, which are all important markets for Qatar,”Al Bader said.

Qatar has made significant strides domestically and interna-tionally to develop its tourism in-dustry, investing on a major infra-structure program that includes the construction of new hotels, re-sorts and other tourism facilities, and hosting international sport-ing championships.

18

18


N E WHOTEls

thailand’s Amari Hua Hin unveils new look

The St. Regis Doha officially inaugurates

Kingsgate Hotel DohaAmari Hua Hin, the latest

addition to Amari’s portfolio of properties in Thailand will open in June 2012. Guests visiting the resort will be the first to experi-ence the new look and feel of Amari since it introduced its new brand concept.

Ideally located just two and a half hours from Bangkok and next to Khao Takiab, a popular stretch of beach, the resort offers easy access to the city’s shopping and entertainment venues. The 223-room Amari Hua Hin will offer refined comfort and elegant

resort-style accommodation combined with exclusive services and facilities that will define the new Amari guest experience.

The wide selection of restau-rants and eateries will indulge ev-ery taste bud.

Choose from family-sized sharing baguettes at Reef Deli, a modern twist on Thai street food and international favourites at Aqua Pool Bar, or share signature XL cocktails or a personal BBQ grill station at Shoreline Beach Club.

In addition to the extensive

dining options, the resort also boasts; conference facilities, in-cluding a 450sqm ballroom, fit-ness centre, kids club and kids pool, an oversized 38 metre out-door pool surrounded by land-scaped tropical gardens, a vast sundeck, and a Breeze Spa and Salon. The Breeze Spa and Salon will also be the first for Amari since the concept was introduced in 2011. At Breeze, the treatments will be both smart and fun, focus-ing on boosting energy, allowing guests to simply enjoy the spa ex-perience.

The St. Regis Doha has been officially inaugurated with the recent unveiling of a commem-orative plaque by Mr. Omar Hussain Alfardan, President of Resorts Development Company and Alfardan Group and Mr. Frits van Paasschen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

The luxury hotel opened its doors to its first guests on March 31 and has since hosted lead-ing diplomats and government officials, sporting luminaries, business executives and fans of luxury from around the world.

As one of the first St. Regis Hotels to open in the Middle East, it has already sparked local interest with the premiere of two new restaurants associated with world-renowned chef and res-taurateur Gordon Ramsay, along

with the upcoming opening of Jazz at Lincoln Centre, the first-ever venue associated with the New York City-based jazz centre outside of America.

Guests who wish to experi-ence the hotel and sample some of the enticing flavours can ben-efit from the ongoing opening offer, which is valid until June 30, 2012. Rates start at 1,900 QR per night for a superior room, including a 30-minute spa treat-ment, a St. Regis afternoon tea in Sarab Lounge, Wi-Fi internet ac-cess and a Jazz at Lincoln Center welcome gift.

For more information about The St. Regis Doha or to make a reservation, guests can contact the hotel directly at telephone (974) 4446 0000, via email at [email protected] or online at www.stregisdoha.com.

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has announced opening of the new Kingsgate Hotel Doha in Al Ghanim old city. This is the group’s first Kingsgate hotel in Qatar, and only the second in the Middle East. The new three-star property, a sister hotel to the five-star Millennium Hotel Doha, of-fers quality hassle free accommo-dation and great value in the ideal location close to the city’s key administrative, business and lei-sure attractions, including Souk

Wakif and the National Islamic Museum.

Kingsgate Hotel Doha offers 140 guest rooms and suites along with a wide range of amenities and services to make the stay an unforgettable experience The hotel also has an all-day dining restaurant, corporate and leisure facilities for guests, including an indoor pool, a fitness room with state of the art machines for work-out, a sauna, a steam room and a massage and treatment room.

Omar Hussain Alfardan and Frits van Paasschen

19

19


Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa launches with 125 rooms, 49 suites

Sofitel Luxury Hotels has opened Sofitel Agadir Thalassa Sea & Spa, reputedly the new lo-cation for thalassotherapy and well-being in Morocco. The hotel is a three-hour’s flight away from the main European capitals and is the ideal place for a relaxing and revitalising break.

The hotel has 125 rooms and 49 suites (37 Prestige suites, 10 Ju-nior suites and 2 Opera suites) are an invitation to relax. Each one

has its own private patio over-looking the sea, offering a superb view of the bay of Agadir and the remains of its ancient Kasbah.

On the edge of the Atlantic, separated only by a stretch of fine sandy beach, the thalassotherapy institute is an integral part of the hotel. With its elegant, pure white decor, this area is devoted to rest-ing and replenishing both mind and body in a healthy detox at-mosphere.

Sofitel debuts with first property in Abu Dhabi

Sofitel Luxury Hotels has opened its first property in Abu Dhabi and the group’s second property in the United Arab Emir-ates.

Located on the eastern tip of Abu Dhabi’s Corniche, the hotel, which is part of the new Capital Plaza Complex, is situated within walking distance of the seafront and close to the business and fi-nancial centre.

All of the hotel’s 282 rooms and suites elegantly blend modern design with authentic French “art de recevoir” combined with Ara-bic hospitality.

Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche de-buts with six bars and restaurants

and features 10 conference and meeting rooms, which have nearly 2,600square meters of conference facilities. From the ballroom to board meeting rooms and busi-ness centre, a variety of configura-tions can host up to 1,000 people.

Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche is also the first property within the GCC to host Sofitel’s signature So SPA and will be accompanied by Sofitel’s So FIT concept, both of which feature a full range of the latest equipment and facilities.

Sofitel is the only French luxu-ry hotel brand with a presence on five continents with 120 addresses, in almost 40 countries (more than 30,000 rooms).

anantara opens first city-based Middle East hotelAbu Dhabi finally has an Anan-

tara in the city.Eastern Mangroves Hotel &

Spa by Anantara, developed by Tourism Development & Invest-ment Company (TDIC), which officially opened recently, is Anan-tara’s first city-based hotel in the Middle East.

Situated along a 1.2-km. stretch of protected mangrove reserves, Eastern Mangroves Ho-tel & Spa will appeal to corporate and leisure travellers, as well as UAE residents, serving as an ur-ban sanctuary in the heart of the city. Combining stylish comfort with natural beauty, the property blends renowned Anantara Thai hospitality with traditional Arabic culture and warmth, to offer each guest a memorable destination ex-perience.

The five-star luxury hotel is situated 20 minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport, seven minutes from Al Bateen Executive

Airport and 10 minutes from key business centres such as down-town Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Com-pany (ADNEC).

The resort is Anantara’s third property in the UAE, alongside the award-winning Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara, which is located in the legendary Liwa Desert in the Empty Quarter, and Desert Islands Resort & Spa by Anantara on Sir Bani Yas Island.

In keeping with Anantara’s brand ethos of incorporating the indigenous local culture, hospital-ity expertise, grounded service and a discovery experience for every guest, Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa calls upon Emirati influences throughout the hotel from the traditional coffee culture to the Emirati staff. A new landmark in Abu Dhabi offering a destination experience for the corporate and leisure market, guests can discover the ancient rituals of a traditional

Turkish Hammam at the Anantara Spa or relax by the pool soaking up the unique views and tranquillity.

The five-level luxury hotel comprises 222 spacious rooms all triple glazed- from the entry-level Deluxe Balcony rooms, to the Royal Mangroves Residence – the largest suite in the UAE with up to ten bedrooms. Opening /sum-mer rates start from AED 1,200++ per night where guests who enjoy a night’s stay will receive credit worth the same value, which can be redeemed for dining or spa ex-periences.

The Royal Mangroves Resi-dence is the most opulent of the hotel’s accommodation, and is ide-ally suited to dignitaries and VIPs seeking the ultimate in luxury and exclusivity. Offering a lavish but residential feel, the suite comes equipped with its own 10 metre rooftop swimming pool with a swim-up pool bar, plus dedicated entrance.

Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa by Anantara. For bookings and further information contact: 971 (2) 656 1000 or email: [email protected](R) J02523 ihg ic doha tcty launch ad 28x22.ai 1 4/23/12 4:54 PM

20

20


Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has

entered into a new marketing alli-

ance with Jet Airways, India’s pre-

mier international airline wherein

guests and members of the luxury

hotel brand’s guest recognition

program, Fairmont President’s

Club, can have the option of earn-

ing airline miles in Jet Airways’ fre-

quent flyer program, JetPrivilege.

With an eye on international

growth, Fairmont is working on a

number of exciting developments,

including many in Asia and South-

east Asia, such as the soon-to-open

Fairmont Jaipur, a 199-room city

center hotel, located in Rajasthan

in the northwest of India. Other

hotel openings in Asia include

Fairmont Makati, Manila, Philip-

pines (2012), Fairmont Nanjing,

China (2013), Fairmont Taiyu-

an, China (2014) and Fairmont

Chengdu, China (2014).

Based in Mumbai, Jet Airways

operates flights to 24 international

and 52 domestic destinations and

the carrier’s commitment to de-

livering exceptional service has garnered the airline many awards and accolades, making it a natural partner for Fairmont. The airline also services a number of inter-nationalmarkets which Fairmont calls home including London, where The Savoy has reopened fol-lowing one of the most ambitious restorations in British history, and New York City, which lays claim to one of the world’s most legendary hotels, The Plaza.

Jet Airways becomes the latest addition to Fairmont’s collection of airline partners, a group that includes other top carriers such as United Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Air China, Qa-tar Airways and Alaska Airlines.

Etihad Airways has marked eight years of flights to Beirut, the airline’s first commercial destina-tion.

Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said Beirut holds a very special place in the history of Eti-had Airways “and I am delighted to be able to celebrate this impor-tant milestone today.”

The UAE flag carrier has car-ried more than 820,000 passen-gers and 700,000 tons of cargo between the Lebanese and UAE capitals since the historic first flight on November 12, 2003.

Etihad now operates 18 flights a week with a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft in Beirut.

Meantime, Etihad Airways will add the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to its network in November 2012.

The airline will also start fly-ing to the Indian city of Ahmeda-bad in the same month. The two new cities will expand the airline’s reach to 86 passenger and cargo destinations around the world.

Etihad marks 8 years of Beirut commercial flights

Fairmont guests can now earn miles withJet airways

With an eye on international growth, Fairmont is working on a number of exciting developments as well.

Emirates Airlines keen on Madrid triple dailyOpens direct Lisbon to boost inbound tourist traffic from UAE

Emirates Airlines will open a direct flight to Lisbon and in-crease flights to Madrid as a com-plimentary measure with plans to add one more flight to the Spanish capital should the need arise. Bar-celona direct will also be imple-mented.

The Lisbon direct, which was scheduled to start on July 9, 2012, is seen to increase inbound tour-ist traffic to the UAE significantly with estimates pegging the num-

ber at 100,000, officials said.The twice daily Madrid flight

will start on July 1, 2012, accord-ing to Salem Obaidalla, Emirates Airlines senior vice president for commercial operations in Europe and the Russian Federation.

He said the airline will also open direct Barcelona flights starting July 3, 2012

“We decided to do it because of the good business we saw as coming by Madrid. There’s a

good demand from the network,” Obaidalla told Travel Arabia News in an interview during a press con-ference held with Cecilia Meireles Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism June 13, 2012. The event was specifically held to announce the new route.

“There is inbound from Lis-bon to Dubai via Madrid. Our study showed that if we have a direct flight we can triple our business to Dubai. We started the

Madrid route two years ago. Now on the first of July, we are going to double daily to Madrid. If this succeeds we are going to triple the daily Madrid flights,” Obaidalla said.

“It depends on the market, on how the market is going to re-spond.”

For her part Meireles said the direct Lisbon flight is an opportu-nity for UAE residents to experi-ence Portugal.

“There are lots of things in Lisbon. It is a European city. It is a good place for shopping.

We are all friendly people so despite the cultural differences. We have a lot in common.

I believe people from here will find that the place has a unique service, a very exclusive custom-ized service that I think matches well with what they want,” Meire-les said.

“The next step actually would depend on the flight. I think the flight is going to be a huge success. I think that’s a hope we both share. With the increase in the number of tourists (resulting from this), we can figure out what we want to do next,” she added.

NEW ROUTE. From left, Portuguese Ambassador Jaime Leitao, Cecilia Meireles Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism and Salem Obaidalla, Emirates Airlines senior vice president for commercial operations in Europe and the Russian Federation, pose for posterity following announcement of the new flight service.

FliGHTsPlus

21

21


If you’re in the hotel business and you don’t have a hotel in Dubai, you’re not in business at all.

Apparently with this rule of thumb in mind, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts has embarked on a project to open one on a 4.45 hectare natural waterfront at the northern end of Jumeirah

Beach Road which will have 237 rooms, including 49 suites; three restaurants, poolside dining, a 600-square-metre ballroom and five meeting rooms.

In keeping with its resort po-sitioning, the property will also be home to a world class spa, indoor and outdoor pools, tennis courts

and private beach club.

This will be the luxury hotel

chain’s first in Dubai.

“Being the Middle East’s big-gest tourism hub with a highly ma-ture hospitality industry, it was im-portant for us to be in Dubai with a strong product that can serve as one of the company flagships in this region,” said Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

“As with all markets across the globe in which Four Seasons oper-ates, it was important for us to take the time to find our niche here as well as identify a partner that first and foremost shares our service and business values. We are con-fident that we not only have an unparalleled location, but also an excellent development partner – two key factors that will allow us

to offer what guests travelling to Dubai on business or pleasure de-sire and have come to expect from Four Seasons.”

Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach has been designed by world renowned architect WATG, with interior design by San Fransisco based BAMO.

The resort project, which is expected to open mid-2014, was made in collaboration with UAE-based holding company Bright Start L.L.C. which will be devel-oping the new property and has appointed H&H Investment and Development as the development manager.

No specific amount has been disclosed about the cost.

Starwood to open 40 new MENA hotels

Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel Dubai serves as pilot hotel for Quality Management Programme

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. which already has an existing portfolio of near-ly 70 hotels in the region and a pipeline of 40 new hotels, has debuted six new hotels through-out the Middle East and North Africa in the past 18 months and has recently inked deals for 10 ad-ditional hotels, a company state-ment stated.

This growth, primarily in the luxury and upper-upscale seg-ments, represents an increase of nearly 60% over the next five years.

Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Re-sorts, said MENA is key to Star-wood’s global expansion strategy, representing the company’s sec-ond largest growth market after China. “When you consider that the region has 35 metropolitan areas with a population of over one million, and many with a wealthy middle class, there’s huge long-term potential for interna-tionally-branded luxury and up-per-upscale hotels,” he said

With the openings of six new hotels under five of the company’s brands, Starwood has marked a number of key milestones in MENA over the past 18 months.

BusiNEssTAlKs‘It’s important for us to be in Dubai’

—Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Kathleen Taylor, president and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (left) and Talha Al Hashimi, CEO, Bright Start L.L.C. (right) signed a formal agreement announcing plans for a new resort property set to be developed in the heart of Jumeirah Beach. The new Four Seasons Resort at Jumeirah Beach is expected to open in 2014.

Scott Butcher, General Manag-er of the Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel Dubai, a brand of the Australian StayWell Hospitality Group, will be heading off to Sydney to make a special presentation on the suc-cessful implementation of the Quality Management Programme in the hotel at a group conference being held on June 21-22, 2012.

The Park Regis Kris Kin Ho-tel Dubai served as the pilot hotel for the programme that StayWell Hospitality Group is now looking to roll out across its other hotels.

“Being chosen to pilot a Qual-ity Management Programme for the entire group is an enormous achievement for our hotel,” said Butcher.

“It isn’t easy to run a qual-ity management programme in a multi-cultural society like Dubai since it is quite subjective and judgmental based on different guest expectations and assess-ments.

For more information about the hotel visit: http://www.parkregisdubai.com.

22

22


c O R N E RWiNNERs’

Etihad Airways ‘fastest growing airlines in the Middle East’

Park Inn by radisson Al Khobar is “Best 4-star Hotel”

Park Inn by Radisson Al Kho-bar was recently awarded “Best 4-Star Hotel” at the second Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards gala ceremony.

Nearly 100,000 votes were cast in the 2012 Saudi Excellence in Tourism Awards, with the nomi-nees with the most number of votes deciding the initial shortlist. It then became the responsibility of the panel of nine international judges to review and choose the final winners.

Mohammed Benamar, Dis-trict Director of the Rezidor Hospitality Group which man-ages Radisson Blu, Park Inn by

Radisson and Missoni Hotels, said the award will “substantiate our presence in the Kingdom and will further position Park Inn by Radisson as a pioneer in mid-market hotel brands in Saudi Arabia.”

The Saudi Excellence in Tour-ism Awards recognises organisa-tions and individuals within the travel trade that have made a sig-nificant contribution to the King-dom’s growing tourism industry.

Park Inn currently has almost 140 hotels in operation and un-der development with more than 26,000 rooms across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

‘Team work makes for a winner’

Madinat Jumeirah advocates arts Madinat Jumeirah has received

the “Distinguished Patron of the Arts” accolade for 2012.

For the third year in a row, Jumeirah Group was recognised for its continuous support of arts and culture in Dubai and around the world, this time by receiving

the highest level of the Sheikh Mo-hammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards 2012. This prestigious prize, launched in 2010, honours organisations and individuals who have contributed towards the growth of the cultural scene in Dubai.

Etihad Airways, the nation-al airline of the United Arab Emirates, has won the award for “Fastest Growing Airline in the Middle East” at the 2012 Ath-ens International Airport (AIA) Airline Marketing Workshop.

In its 12th year, the annual AIA workshop presents awards to airlines that have demon-strated rapid and successful development over the past 12 months.

More than 150 travel man-agers, human resource direc-tors, facility managers, and travel buyers of medium and large companies involved in the

Greek travel management field voted for the award, which was presented at a gala event held in the Athens Music Hall.

The workshop has become an important point of reference for all the sectors of the Greek transport and travel industry, including airlines, hotel chains, car rental companies and global distribution systems.

The main topics of this year’s workshop were the chal-lenging 2011 market conditions

and the positioning of Athens and Greece given the country’s recent economic difficulties.

Accepting the award on behalf of the airline, Etihad Airways Country Manager for Greece, Dimitrios Karagkioules, said: “The airline is growing rapidly, and we are delighted to see our major investment in Greece paying off, as we link this historic and ancient city with the rest of our global net-work.”

He said Etihad Airways will continue to set new bench-marks in the months ahead “as we inaugurate routes and roll

out more and more innovative ways to further improve our of-fering in Greece and elsewhere on our network.”

The award comes on top of other accolades recently be-stowed on the airline, includ-ing: World’s Best First Class, as judged by over 18 million air travellers worldwide in the annual Skytrax survey, and World’s Leading Airline for the third consecutive year at the World Travel Awards.

(From right to left) Etihad Airways Country Manager for Greece, Dimitrios Karagkioules receiving the award from Loakeim Tsimpidis, Senior Specialist Press Office, Athens International Airport and Loannis Metsovitis, Director Aviation Unit, Athens International Airport.

Coral Beach Resort -- Sharjah won the Best HMH Hotel Award 2011 at a recent ceremony held during the just-concluded 2012 Arabian Travel Market. Jean-Pierre Simon, Regional General Man-ager, Northern Emirates, Coral Hotels & Resorts, said this would not have been so had it not for the hotel’s dedicated staff.

“Quality and delivery of the finest resort service is a hallmark of the Coral Beach Resort - Shar-jah, and I must extend my thanks to the team there who consistently performed over and above the parametres of their job descrip-tions, ensuring every guest enjoys their stay and frequently returns again and again,” he said.

“While we enjoy an excellent location on one of Sharjah’s finest beaches, it is the warmth of wel-come and genuine enjoyment of their work displayed by our team that is often noted in guest re-views, as well as their commitment to guest satisfaction whether it is in the restaurants, at the kids’ club or at one of our regular cultural activities and festivals.”

People from over 40 countries work at the Coral Beach Hotel – Sharjah,

Other Contenders for the coveted Best HMH Hotel award included Corp Executive Hotel Apartments Al Barsha Dubai, Cor-al Al Khoory Hotel Apartments Al Barsha – Dubai and Coral Bou-tique Hotel Apartments, Al Barsha – Dubai.

Coral Beach Hotel – Shar-jah won alongside Corp Execu-tive Hotel Apartments Al Barsha Dubai.

A hotel’s performance is judged based on a range of criteria including financial results, opera-tional standards, guest satisfaction surveys, consistency in marketing, staff training and development, and quality management and ser-vice.” A detailed business review and audit is carried out by HMH every quarter across all its proper-ties to evaluate each hotel’s perfor-mance.

The Coral Beach Resort – Shar-jah features 156 spacious rooms as well as a range of leisure activities for all ages, including two Rimal Club outdoor swimming pools, children’s pool, indoor playroom and complimentary Kid’s Club as well as tennis, badminton and vol-leyball.

23

23


Iberotel Miramar al aqah Beach resort bags multiple culinary awards

Iberotel Miramar Al Aqah Beach Resort, a Moroccan-style property in the heart of Fujairah, has been recognised with multiple awards at the prestigious Emirates Salon Culinaire recently held at the World Trade Center as part of this year’s Gulf Food and Equip-ment Exhibition.

The culinary team led by Chef K.A.C. Prasad succeeded in bring-ing home two gold medals, four silver medals, three bronze med-als, a trophy and a certificate and 10 merits. The highlight of the competition included winning the gold medals in the Wedding Cakes Three Tier and Bread Loaves & Showpiece classes by Chef Alwis Weerasinghe. He also received a trophy in the Bread Loaves & Showpiece class with a tour for training to Germany sponsored by Master Baker and a bronze medal

for live pastry cake and a certifi-cate of merit for the Four Plates of Dessert – Practical class.

The recipients of the silver medals were Chef Galuge F. Sa-mantha for the Open Showpiece, Chef Harshana K. Vithana for Fruit & Vegetable Carving Show-piece and Chef Ahmad Al Fakier for the Arabic Mezzeh Practical Cookery. The bronze medals were received by Chef Sakhtivel Kumar

for the Lamb Practical and Chef Alwis for the Cake Practical class-es Chef Chamara Segera for the Dressed Lamb Practical Butchery

Ashraf Helmy, General Man-ager & Area Business Develop-ment Manager, said the awards “reflect the expertise of our culi-nary team so guests can be assured that dining at our outlets will give them an enjoyable dining experi-ence.”

The winning team.

The Address Dubai Marina scoops laurels at ME awards

The Address Dubai Marina, the five-star premium hotel adjoining Dubai Marina Mall and located in one of Dubai’s most popular life-style districts, scooped up multiple awards at the Middle East Hotel Awards and the Middle East Spa Awards 2012 recently.

The Address Dubai Marina bagged the “Best Outdoor Area” Award for Shades, the outdoor dining restaurant with a terrace, at the Middle East Hotel Awards. The property’s fitness centre, hotel

reception, and lobby, were runners’ up in their respective categories. The hotel also won the “Best Spa Marketing Award” at the Middle East Spa Awards 2012.

In addition to Shades, the ho-tel features three restaurants and lounges: Mazina, the all-day dining restaurant; Kambaa, the chic lobby lounge and Blends which has a cocktail area and a cosy lounge.

The Spa features a collection of treatments to ensure total relax-ation of the body and mind.

The Address Dubai Marina officials pose for posterity. From left, Carl Stockenstrom, Director of F & B, Aamir Khan, Hotel Manager, Antony Treston, General Manager, Ms. Brinda Hora, Marketing & Communications Manager, Mr. Taha Selim, Director of Front Office Operations, and Michael Monsod, Cluster Spa & Recreation Manager.

24

24


AT AGlANcE

The 2012 Arabian Travel Market, held April 30, 2012 to May 3, 2012 at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center, was four busy days of networking, media coverage and, of course, a reunion of sort among professionals in the local and international hospitality industry who got a chance to catch up after a year of email correspondence and all.

TAN Specs W28.5x40h.ai 5/8/12 7:08:46 PM

TAN-Travel Arabia News June-July 2012

Documents

Transcript of TAN-Travel Arabia News June-July 2012