Middle East and North Africa Edition

JuNE 25, 2011 issuE 85 www.traveltradeweekly.travel

June 25, Issue 85

Market Update 2Weekly News 3Accommodation News 5Air Travel News 7International 8Who’s Moved 11Travel Talk 12Agents’ Corner 13Travel Channels 14Rendezvous 15Events 16

22Hilton to Manage RAK HotelHilton to Manage RAK Hotel

The government of Ras Al Khaimah has awarded AlHamra Fort Hotel and Beach Resort’s management

agreement to Hilton Hotels & Resorts. sulaymaNiyah WElcomEs thE First iNtErNatioNal hotElThe iraqi city of sulaymaniyah is set towelcome its first international four-starhotel with the launch of Faruk groupholding’s copthorne hotel Baranan, dueto open in the fourth quarter of the year.

In This Issue

55EmiratEs to Fly toBaghdadEmirates is set to make its debut inBaghdad with the launch of scheduledflights to the airline’s second destinationin iraq, effective from November 13.

88

the property is located 25kmfrom ras al Khaimah (raK)and a 45-minute drive fromdubai international airport.h.h. sheikh mohammed bin

saud bin saqr al Qasimi, crown prince of raK,commented that the partnership will furtherimprove the emirate’s hospitality industry.“as a leading international hotel management groupoperating several successful brands, hilton has thetrack-record and the global infrastructure tomaximise the value of our investment. We believethis property will emerge as one of raK’s topresorts and will contribute to attracting leisuretravellers to the emirate. al hamra Fort hotel andBeach resort is a unique and visually stunningresort without pretence that welcomed guest fromaround the world. Now we are thrilled to bepartnering with hilton because their recogniseddedication to excellence, unparalleled service andexquisite taste is complimented with their strong

commitment towards raK in thepast. This new founded partnershipwill only further cement our

position as leaders in hospitality and tourismdevelopment.”The property, consists of 266 rooms, including183 villas, overlooking the gulf, with its privatebeach stretching 1.5km along the coast. otheramenities include 11 dining outlets, a spa, afitness centre, tennis courts, a mini golf, a kids’club, a golf academy and a convention centre. itwill shortly undergo intensive renovation, notedVictor louis, chief operating officer, raKhotels and tourism development authority.“right now hilton is carrying out theimplementation of the brand and the company’ssoPs, connecting the property to the centralisedsystem of reservation and sales. constructioncontracts for the resort renovation are beingawarded now and work will commence shortly.”The government of raK, which has intensivelyworked to upgrade the emirate’s hospitality industryis to plunge usd100’s of millions into further hoteland tourism projects in a bid to quadruple its visitorcount and achieve its long-term goal of tourismrelated revenues to account for 20 percent of theincome by 2021.

JuNE 25, 20112

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLY

Managing Editormary Kammitsi

mary@traveltradeweekly.travelJournalistsrita Kasziba

duncan macraemarianna Keen

Design & LayoutElina Pericleous

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Directorsandreas constantinides

mary Kammitsi

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COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=uaE (aEd) dirham 3.67Egypt (EgP) Pound 5.96saudi arabia (sar) riyal 3.75lebanon (lBP) Pound 1,514.5Bahrain (Bhd) dinar 0.37Jordan ( Jod) dinar 0.71syria (syP) Pound 47.45Kuwait (KWd) dinar 0.27Qatar (Qar) riyal 3.64oman (omr) rial 0.38tunisia (tNd) dinar 1.38morocco (mad) dirham 7.94iran (irr) riyal 11,075yemen (yEr) rial 216.75algeria (dZd) dinar 72.24libya (lyd) dinar 1.22

MENA Exchange RatesAccurate as of 24/6/2011currencies shown in red are fixed against the us dollar

Hilton to Manage RAK HotelThe government of Ras Al Khaimah has awarded Al Hamra Fort Hotel and BeachResort’s management agreement to Hilton Hotels & Resorts.

Adagio to Acquire Citéa and Become EuropeanLeader in Extended Stay SegmentIn a two stage agreement, Pierre & Vacances/center Parcs group will acquire 100percent participation in citéa, the extended stay brand, which will then be sold to adagio.Pierre & Vacances/center Parcs and lamy (Nexity group) have signed anagreement to purchase 50 percent of citéa, which will also include other third partyinvestors. The acquisition will bring the participation of Pierre & Vacances/centerParcs in citéa to 100 percent.in a second stage, Pierre & Vacances/center Parcs group will sell 100 percent ofcitéa to adagio. By the end of this operation, which will be finalised at the end ofJune, adagio will manage 84 aparthotels in Europe. today, adagio has 35 properties located in the centres of main cities in France,Belgium, germany, austria, italy and switzerland. after the acquisition, it willbecome the European leader in the aparthotel sector, with almost 10,000apartments, generating a business volume of around Eur160 million. Both adagio and citéa properties will be covered under the brand adagio, but anew brand label will differentiate the properties and positioning of citéa.adagio’s development plan will be focused in Europe, russia and the middle East.By 2015, the company plans to manage around 130 aparthotels.

3JuNE 25, 2011

Controversial Bahrain Grand Prix Cancelled

the sakhir race wasoriginally scheduled as amarch season-opener,but was postponed dueto the ongoing turmoil in

the Kingdom. The organisers’ finaldecision follows Fia World motor sportcouncil’s suggestion to reinstate thegrand Prix on october 30, which sparkedcriticism from various parties aboutsafety, stability and the prolonged season.in response to concerns, Bahrain hasofficially confirmed that the race will notgo ahead this year, cited Zayed alzayani,chairman, Bahrain international circuit. “Whilst Bahrain would have beendelighted to see the grand Prix progresson october 30 in-line with the worldmotor sport council’s decision, it hasbeen made clear that this fixture cannotprogress and we fully respect thatdecision. Bahrain has always sought toplay a positive role in the continued

development of Formula one. Bahrainhas absolutely no desire to see a racewhich further extends the calendar seasondetract from the enjoyment of Formulaone for drivers, teams and supporters. Wewant our role in Formula one to continueto be as positive and constructive as it hasalways been. Therefore, in the best interest

of the sport, we will not pursue therescheduling of the race this season.”Bahrain grand Prix has long played a vitalrole in the Kingdom’s tourism industry, byattracting 100,000 visitors, supporting3,000 jobs and generating aroundusd500 million, some 2.5 percent of theKingdom’s gdP.

An event which aims to provide abusiness-to-business networkingplatform that supports public and privateinvestment initiatives in the meccaregion took place on June 19-21,attended by key stakeholders of ongoingdevelopment activities.Future makkah, which was held at theJeddah centre for Forums and Events,featured an exhibition, the Futuremakkah development Forum, and an in-depth workshop. it responds to saudiarabia’s recently unveiled makkahdevelopment Plan that will allocate oversar100 billion (usd2.1 billion) toprojects encompassing the infrastructure,utilities, investment, financing, real estateand tourism sectors.

Prior to the event, hussain al harithy,co-owner, National Exhibitionscompany, which organised the eventalong with iir middle East, commentedon the snowballing economy in meccaand the potential to learn from suchexhibitions. “The government’s development strategyfor the mecca region is expected to gainmore momentum moving forward andFuture makkah will certainly be acritically important vehicle to gainstrategic insight and have a betterunderstanding of the unique demandsand emerging opportunities within theregion’s business and investmentlandscape.”The event’s exhibition segment included

more than 5,000 local, regional andinternational investors, high net-worthindividuals, government andmunicipality companies, andconstruction, infrastructure and utilitycompanies.abdul rahman a. Fakieh, chairman ofboard, Jabal omar development, one ofthe platinum sponsors of the event,commented on ongoing work that isexpected to provide a wide choice tomecca’s visitors. “We are now pursuingdevelopment projects that consist of six-star, five-star, four-star and three-starhotels, residential villas, and multi-storeycommercial facilities that will cater to theincreasing number of pilgrims and umraperformers coming to mecca.”

Event Focuses on Investment in Mecca

Following months of strain, Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have decided to withdraw from staging a roundof the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

ZayedAlzayani

l ocated in the tourist districtof sulaymaniyah, withinproximity to some of themost favoured sights, thehotel’s built-up area covers

9,198m2. Besides 72 guest rooms, theseven-storey property features sixsuites, eight service rooms andseven elevators, as well as an allday dining restaurant, cigar bar, aduplex entertainment centre andmeeting rooms.

Faruk mustafa rasool, chairman, Farukgroup holding, which has invested morethan usd400 million in the hospitalityindustry, commented on the new additionto the company’s portfolio. “Thedevelopment of the hospitality sector is an

important factor as Faruk group holdinghas always been in the forefront of ourcountry’s development. launchingcopthorne hotel is another step in ourstrategic expansion plans as iraq’s largestand most respected private company.”

5JuNE 25, 2011

- Accommodation

Mercure CementsPresence in Abu DhabiAccor has strengthened thepresence of its mercure brand inabu dhabi by rebranding Novotelabu dhabi city centre tomercure abu dhabi city centre. The rebranding, effective June1, marks another step in accor’sstrategy of streamlining andharmonising the company’sbrand portfolio. The 215-roomhotel portrays the corecharacteristics of the uppermidscale brand, notedchristophe landais, managingdirector, middle East, accor.“The mercure abu dhabi citycentre is the latest addition toaccor’s current network of 18mercure properties in themiddle East and offers a warmatmosphere with a classical spiritand comfortable living spaces allat great value for money.”mercure’s portfolio iscomprised of 700 hotels in 49countries, of which middleEastern properties account for18 with 3,187 rooms.

Sulaymaniyah Welcomes the First International HotelThe Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah is set to welcome its first international four-star hotel with the launch of FarukGroup Holding’s Copthorne Hotel Baranan, due to open in the fourth quarter of the year.

oachim hunold, cEo, airberlin,remarked on the importance ofinternational alliances toadvancement in the industry.“international networking offers a

huge opportunity for growth.Therefore, we have alreadyconcluded codeshare agreementswith american airlines, Finnairand s7. The contracts with iberiaand British airways will followshortly.” on June 20, airberlin'smost recent transatlantic flight –between Berlin and New yorkcodeshared with american

airlines. “although the cost of becoming amember of the oneworld alliance will run inthe lower two-digit millions, in the long term,under normal circumstances, we areexpecting clear annual additional returns that

exceed this one-time cost,” added hunold.airberlin passengers will be able to earnbonus miles on all flights operated by the 13oneworld partners, and will be able to checkthrough to 900 airports in 150 countries.

7JuNE 25, 2011

- Air Travel

Bahrain-LebanonRoute Re-openedGulf Air, the state-runnational carrier of theKingdom of Bahrain, hasresumed its flights betweenBahrain and lebanon.The flights restarted operationon June 12 after beingsuspended in late march overstatements made by hezbollahagainst authorities.The carrier now flies a dailyflight from Bahrain to lebanonand could increase thefrequency of flights dependingon passenger demand.samer majali, cEo, gulf air,was thrilled to reintroduce theservice between the countries.“We are delighted to be able toresume our flights to Beirut; thisis great news for our customers,Beirut has always been a populardestination on our network.”

airberlin Increases Codeshare Agreement with oneworld Associatesairberlin has expanded its codeshare agreement with oneworld partners, which has been described as the mostimportant decision the airline has made since its public offering, initiated in 2006.

J

JuNE 25, 20118

- Air News

Emirates to Fly to BaghdadEmirates is set to make its debut in Baghdad with the launch of scheduled flights to the airline’s seconddestination in Iraq, effective from November 13.

Cyprus Airways to Codeshare with Virgin Atlantic Cyprus Airways has signed a codeshare agreement withVirgin atlantic that will enable the airlines to offer simplertravel and greater choice on routings between the uK, us andcyprus.as of July 25, c ustomers will be able to purchase singleitineraries to connect between larnaca airport in cyprus anda variety of Virgin atlantic’s us destinations.

the capital city of iraq willbe served with four-flights-a-week from thecarrier’s dubai hub onWednesdays, Fridays,

saturdays and sundays. The new route, which will be operated byan airbus 330 in a three classconfiguration, will bridge the gap ofservices to the largest city of iraq and willprovide passengers with seamlessconnectivity to the airline’s expandingroute map, noted h. h. sheikh ahmed binsaeed al maktoum, chairman and chiefexecutive, Emirates airline and group. “Baghdad is a strategically importantdestination for Emirates. its geographical

location, coupled with the fact that fewinternational carriers operate there, makesit the perfect destination for us to tap intoand drive revenue from. With more thanfive million residents in Baghdad, and itssurrounding districts, this new service willprovide them with direct access to ourvast global network.”The new destination will mark Emirates’second route to iraq. The carriercommenced four-flights-a-week to Basraearlier this year and operates offices inboth Basra and Baghdad. “our launch into Basra, iraq in Februarythis year has been a resounding successwith flights operating in both directions atcapacity. in the four months since we began

operations in iraq thousands of passengershave flown with Emirates between Basraand dubai seeing the route perform wellabove expectations,” al maktoum added.The route will further respond to growingdemand for services between the twocountries with the traffic expected tocome from a wide variety of sources,including industry and governmentpersonnel from Baghdad and nationalsresiding outside of iraq. Baghdad will represent Emirates’ fifthinternational destination to launch this year,with Basra and geneva already operationaland copenhagen and st. Petersburg joiningthe carrier’s global network on august 1and November 1 respectively.

Bus Service Makes Dubai International Airport More Accessibleflydubai has announced the launch of a dedicated bus servicefor customers wishing to travel from abu dhabi and al ainto dubai international airport’s terminal 2. The service, which began on June 15, will operate four timesa day to abu dhabi and three times a day to al ain.ghaith al ghaith, cEo, flydubai, expressed that this is a firststep in making the airline’s hub in terminal 2 more accessibleto passengers across the uaE.

the latest addition to thebrand’s portfolio bringscontemporary style alongwith affordable prices tothe city’s scene,

emphasised Brian mcguinness, senior vicepresident, specialty select brands, starwood.

“With its creative style and energetic vibe,Brooklyn will make a perfect home for aloft,and we’re excited to expand our New yorkfootprint with our debut property in theborough. For the gen y-minded aloft guest,who brings a real appreciation of what’s nextin design and tech, a Brooklyn location

makes an ideal home base for exploring Newyork, and we’re eager to share it with them.”With its two-storey lobby atrium, with barand scenic views of the manhattan andBrooklyn skylines, the 176-room hotelreflects the city’s vibrant atmosphere,commented rick day, chief operating

officer, real hospitality group,the property’s service provider.“We are excited to open our secondstarwood hotel in Brooklyn. Thealoft brand is a great match for theexplosive growth in this area.”

JuNE 25, 201110

- International

Aloft Launches Second NYC HotelStarwood Hotels & Resorts has unveiled its second Aloft branded property in New York City (NYC) withthe opening of Aloft New York Brooklyn.

First Midscale Extended -Stay HotelOpens in New Orleans

InterContinental HotelsGroup (IHG) opened thecandlewood suites avondale-New orleans on June 16,marking the first midscaleextended-stay hotel in theWestbank of the area.The 83-room, three-storeyproperty is situated close tolouis armstrong New orleansinternational airport, Ernest N.morial convention centre anddowntown New orleans. Thehotel caters for a wide rangingclientele, commented ginalaBarre, vice president,americas Brand management,ihg. “The amenities that acandlewood suites offers, suchas full kitchens, comfortableliving areas and free laundry andhousekeeping services, willappeal to guests whether they'revisiting for business or leisure.”The new hotel is the seventhcandlewood suites in louisianaand the second in the Neworleans area.

11JuNE 25, 2011

Mouna Moussimouna moussi has joinedtravelport’s middle East andafrica management team.moussi is taking on the role ofsenior business manager at theglobal distribution system(gds) provider’s airline servicesgroup. Based in Beirut, she hasbeen tasked to handle key airlinerelationships across the middleEast and North africa, withparticular focus on the levantand maghreb countries. she will be responsible for managingexisting airline relationships and indentifying new commercialand partnership opportunities with carriers operating in theregion. having worked with various airline-related organisationsfor more than 12 years, moussi brings in-depth knowledge and awealth of experience to her new role. Previously she wasexecutive director of sabre airline solutions and helped to raisethe international profile of the arab air carriers organisation(aaco) and its member airlines.

Bert PlasBert Plas has been appointedas general manager of the newsofitel Bahrain ZallaqThalassa sea & spa. havingworked in various placesaround the globe, includingswitzerland, canada, turkey,the caribbean, southamerica and Egypt, Plasbrings solid expertise to hisnew role. Previously he waswith intercontinental hotelsgroup, delta hotel andresorts and le meridien hotels and resorts before joiningsofitel in 2009. Besides speaking four languages, he is also anactive member in several associations and social clubs and takespart in corporate social programmes.

Luigi Romanielloluigi romaniello has been appointed as managing director ofrosewood abu dhabi. he will be responsible for theoperation of the new hotel and its signature restaurants andspa. romaniello began his career at grand Kempinski hotelin dallas, us, before joining stouffer hotels in austin. hethen moved to michigan to amway hotel corporation’sflagship amway grand Plaza hotel. later he was promoted toexecutive assistant manager of Peter island resort in theBritish Virgin islands. romaniello has joined rosewood in1999 as resident manager of caneel Bay, us Virgin islands,before moving to rosewood crescent hotel, dallas, to takeon the role of hotel manager. in 2007, he was promoted tomanaging director of mansion on Peachtree, a rosewood

hotel and residence inatlanta, georgia. he hasmore than 20 years ofexperience in thehospitality industry, andhas played a major role inthe successful launch of anumber of properties.rosewood abu dhabi,located on sowwah island,the core of the emirate’snew central Businessdistrict, is due to open insummer 2012.

Mouna Moussi

Luigi Romaniello

Bert Plas

JuNE 25, 201112

Travel Talk is your space – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hearfrom you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to editorial@traveltradeweekly.travel

Abdulrazaq Al RaisiChief CommercialOfficer, Oman Air"oman air's firstclass service offersunprecedentedlevels of luxury andthe addition of ourlounge-to-aircraftlimousine servicewill provide evengreater comfort andconvenience.

Albert PozoVice president multinational business and corporate travel, Amadeus “The middle East market is based mainly upon air travel due to the largeexpatriate populations. although the internet penetration in the region ishigher than world average, its impact on booking generations has been lowdue to various reasons – one being the large labour force that still requiresface-to-face dealings at travel agencies and non-credit card payment options,and the fact that customers prefer face to face interactions whilst bookingtheir travel.”

The Middle Eastmarket is basedmainly upon airtravel due to thelarge expatriate

populations

Oman Air's first class service offers unprecedented

levels of luxuryAlbert Pozo

Abdulrazaq Al Raisi

13JuNE 25, 2011

Who are you?my name is ibrahim abu Zannad and i am the marketingmanager at al Jazeerah travel & tourism, which is consideredto be the number one tour operator in Jordan specialising inboth inbound and outbound travel.

What is your favourite thing about working in the travelindustry?discovering new destinations. This job gives me theopportunity to travel a lot and meet new people from manydifferent cultures.

When is the best time to visit Jordan?i would suggest scheduling a trip between april andseptember.

Where would you like to travel to for your next holiday?The maldives is my most desired destination at the moment.

Why should people come to you for travel advice?as our slogan states, ‘we create memories’ and that is a fact.We are truly committed to our job and provide high-levelservices to make sure that our customers will recommend theagency to their friends and colleagues.

Name: Ibrahim Abu ZannadPosition: Marketing ManagerCompany: Al Jazeerah Travel & TourismLocation: Jordan

Agent’s Insight Foras Tourism Debuts in DubaiForas International Investment, the investment arm of theorganisation of the islamic conference (oic), has launched itslatest initiative, Foras tourism. headquartered in dubai, Forastourism is to act as the main wholesaler of the 57 oic membercountries, which, with a massive community of nearly 1.5 billion,compose 21.4 percent of the world population, located in majorareas. The name, Foras, which in arabic means ‘opportunities’,alludes to the company’s straightforward vision to become theprimary tourism services supplier in the region for travellers, travelagents, dmc’s and tour operators, insurance companies and groundhandler and services providers, to further intensify the sector’sproductivity and the brotherhood among oic member countries. in the first phase of its operation, Foras tourism’s scope of work willfocus on the uaE, indonesia, iran, Kuwait, malaysia, morocco, Qatar,saudi arabia, turkey, Jordan, lebanon and Egypt, before tapping intoother key markets as part of the company’s vast expansion strategy. in august, Foras tourism will launch an integrated configurable,complex and dynamic virtual online travel platform to providereal time information and transaction capabilities via the internet,with flexible payment methods and high personal informationand privacy protection. The personalised services aim to facilitatebrowsing, requesting and booking and will enable users to accessvarious travel offerings, contents and application, while, at thesame time saving cost and time.

As our slogan states, ‘we create memories’

and that is a fact

Jordan

JuNE 25, 201114

UNWTO Offers Tunisia Tourism BoostThe Tunisian government and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have signed a partnershipagreement under which UNWTO will support the country’s tourism development.

uNWto will providetunisia with up-to-datemarket intelligence ontourism movements andtrends as well as

guidance on tourism policy. local officialswill be trained on the latest marketing tools.uNWto will also asses the country’stourism education and training needs,linking tunisian tourism institutions withuNWto certified universities aroundthe world. mehdi houas, minister of tourism,tunisia, highlighted the importance ofsupport from the internationalcommunity to his country and

particularly its tourism industry. “tourism in tunisia is fully operationaland open for business, and we need thesupport of the international communityto communicate this reality. Thisagreement is an important step towardsthe reinforcement of tourism in tunisia inkey areas such as marketing, quality andhuman resource development.”taleb rifai, secretary-general, uNWto,commented that the partnership will helpaccelerate the return of internationaltourists to tunisia in the short-term.“international tourists are graduallyreturning to tunisia. as they do so,uNWto will be providing tunisia with

technical support and assistance tosustainably reinforce this tourismrecovery, one of the country’s principalsources of income, jobs and development.”

Travel Trade Weekly: Austrian Airlinesreturned to Baghdad after 21 years,reincorporating the Vienna-Baghdadroute into its scheduled flightprogramme from June 8 onwards. Whatfactors inclined the airline to resumeservices there?Karim El Sanadily: We have already beenflying successfully to Erbil for many years.Baghdad is now the second destination weopened in iraq. Why we did this is easy toexplain: Baghdad is an importantdestination in the middle East which is animportant market for austrian airlines. Wefly to a total of 12 destinations in this region,including Baghdad. We put a strong focuson the middle East and see potential forfuture growth.

Travel Trade Weekly: What otherservices to the Middle East or to NorthAfrica will be added in the near futureand what is the strategy behind decisions?Karim El Sanadily: as an airline, we arealways evaluating destinations. at themoment our focus is on observing thecurrent situation and the currentdevelopments in the middle East.

Travel Trade Weekly: Which of yourservices do you think most appeal toconsumers from the MENA region?Karim El Sanadily: one is our hub inVienna. We offer flights from Viennaonwards to around 130 destinationsworldwide. Vienna is in a geographicallyideal position for passengers travelling fromand to Europe. We have a very strongpresence in the East European markets with46 destinations. Then second: transferringin Vienna is really easy because there is aminimum connection time of only 25

minutes. Third: we have a very high standardof service onboard our flights withdo&co catering. We have won severalairline awards that prove the high quality wehave on board. i think that people in themENa region particularly appreciate ourservice on board. Finally: the miles & moreProgramme. With miles & more we havethe biggest frequent flyer programme inEurope with more than 20 millionsmembers worldwide and more than 400airline and non-airline-partners.

Travel Trade Weekly: What changein demand have Austrian Airlinesoperations to the MENA regionexperienced due to widespread unrestacross the region?Karim El Sanadily: We reducedapproximately one third of our flights to themiddle East in this summer flight period.This means about 15 flights less per weekdue to the political instability in somecountries which lead to the drop indemand.

Travel Trade Weekly: How do youbelieve that the rapid growth of Gulfcarriers impacts the industry? If youperceive any threats, how do you thinkthese are best overcome?Karim El Sanadily: We havecompetition all over the world on all ourdestinations. This is part of the airlinebusiness. in the middle East region thecommercial growth and potential in theaviation industry are positively growing,which can accommodate all carriers andbring about healthy competition.

15JuNE 25, 2011

Q & A with Karim El SanadilyIn light of turbulence in the MENA region, trends have altered and airlines are adapting their strategies toexploit the best opportunities and areas with potential. Karim El Sanadily, general manager GCC, Lebanon,Pakistan, Austrian Airlines, tells travel trade Weekly how the airline has responded to changes in the marketand what efforts it has taken to ensure quality that will keep broad ranging customers satisfied.

Karim El Sanadily

Ourfocus is on

observ-ing thecurrentsitua-tion

JuNE 25, 201116

EventsSports and Events Tourism ExchangeCape Town, South Africa, July 27 - 29, 2011(www.sportsandevents.co.za)an event that focuses on south africa’s facilities and servicesfor all top level international events and the exchange betweensports tourism and the events industry.

China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings ExhibitionBeijing, China, August 30-September 1, 2011 (www.cibtm.com)a leading event for the meetings, incentives, business traveland events industry in china and asia.

PATA Travel MartNew Delhi, India, September 6-9, 2011 (www.pata.org)asia Pacific’s premier travel trade show with networking andcontracting opportunities.

Top Resa, International French Travel MarketParis, France, September 20-23, 2011 (www.iftm.fr)an international travel and tourism trade fair for networking, doingbusiness, innovating and keeping abreast of market developments. Cityscape Dubai

Dubai, UAE, September 26-29, 2011 (www.cityscape.ae)a business-to-business networking exhibition and conferencefor emerging real estate markets globally.

CIS Travel MarketSt. Petersburg, Russia, October 12-14, 2011(www.restec.ru)an event focusing on the cis countries with airlines, tour operators,travel agencies, accommodation providers and tourist associations

Increased Attendance at The Hotel Show More than 14,800 people attended The hotel show 2011, whichtook place at the dubai World trade centre on may 17-19.The unaudited figures, which have just been released, represent a40 percent increase in visitor numbers year-on-year.Frederique maurell, exhibition director, The hotel show, notedthat a substantial amount of business took place at the event.“importantly, 38 percent of visitors were looking for new suppliersthis year and more than 28 percent of those surveyed placed ordersin excess of one million dollars.”industry analysts estimate that usd6 billion worth of hotel-relatedprojects, mainly in saudi arabia, Qatar and the uaE, are due forcompletion within the next two years, in a concerted effort todiversify their economies away from hydrocarbon receipts.companies representing 420 brands from more than 45 countriesoccupied 20,000m2 of exhibition space, covering operatingequipment and supplies, interiors and design, outdoor and resortexperience and security and technology.roberto garcia, sales area manager, andreu World, spain,commented that the event provided an ideal opportunity meetbusiness people face-to-face. “This is the perfect platform to talk toprofessionals from the area who are too busy to travel to Europe. it’sa good place to come and source materials for middle East projects.”

Indonesia Expects More Middle EasternTouristsIndonesia’s tourism board has set its sights on a furtherboost in tourist interest after its successful exhibition at thearabian travel market, which took place this may.The country, made up of more than 17,500 islands, expectsthe middle East, particularly the uaE, to be an increasinglyimportant growth area for its tourism sector.The number of uaE visitors to indonesia increased by morethan 30 percent between 2009 and 2010, climbing to morethan 4,900 from 3,760, according to data from the Nationalstatistical Bureau.sapta Nirwandar, director general of tourism marketing, ministryof culture and tourism, indonesia, anticipates that visitornumbers from the middle East will continue to rise. “Even thoughvisitor numbers from the uaE are still relatively low whencompared with other markets, we believe that through furtherongoing cooperation between both the public and private sectorsof indonesia and the uaE, visitors from the Emirates and otherparts of the region will continue to increase year to year.”overall, indonesia’s international visitor arrivals by the endof 2010 reached more than seven million, an increase ofalmost nine percent from 2009.