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A DDP PUBLICATION Pages: 20Vol. X No. 3; March 2014

Exhibitor sales of aboutEuro 6 billion and anexhibitor satisfaction

rate of 92 per cent are evi-dence that supply and demand meet at the rightplace. In addition, one of theworld’s largest tourism conven-tion, ITB Berlin, providesunique opportunities to benefit from the leading thinktank of the global tourismindustry. The focus is onMexico, the partner country of ITB Berlin, which is organis-ing the opening ceremony of the show.

“Travel & tourismaccounts for 258 million jobsglobally. At US$6 trillion (9.1per cent of GDP), the sector isa key driver for investment andeconomic growth at a globallevel. Our key challenge in theindustry is to stimulate jobsand investment, eliminatingbarriers to travel like visarestrictions, taxation and out-moded infrastructure systems,”explained David Scowsill,

President & CEO, World Travel& Tourism Council.

“I am confident that these issues will be addressedat Europe’s premier traveltrade fair - ITB Berlin. It is the key place to learn about new trends, marketdevelopments and to deepenexisting business relations,” he added.

Royal Rose, a 5-starhotel in Abu Dhabi, announcedits participation in the annualITB Berlin with City SeasonsHotels within the Abu DhabiTourism Authority stand.Gianni Malerba, GeneralManager, Royal Rose, said,“As the world’s largest traveltrade show, ITB Berlin hasbeen recognised as the indus-try’s biggest think tank. Thewhole variety of travelling ispresent here – tour operators,booking systems, hotels, destinations and other suppliers. So it’s an excellent opportunity to meet businesspartners and present Royal Rose to participants and visi-

tors of ITB as a unique desti-nation in Abu Dhabi.”

Heading for Berlin toparticipate with Dubai

Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing at the ITB Berlin travel exhibition, management fromthe Park Regis Kris Kin

Hotel Dubai said the event would provide a platform to promote its facilities in the run-up to theExpo 2020.

According to ScottButcher, General Manager,Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel

As a driving force in the travel industry, ITB Berlin gives key indications to a constantly budding market. This year, it will take place from March 5 - 9 for the 48th time. With more than 170,000 visitors, among which are 113,000 trade visitors and 11,000 represented companies from 180 countries, ITB Berlin is the leading B2B platform the tourism industry offers. Middle East speaks to industry stakeholders on their expectations.

ME to be showcased at ITB 2014

SU S M I TA GH O S H

Contd. on page 6

ITB Berlin has beenrecognised as the travelindustry’sbiggest think tank

The keychallenge is to stimulate jobs andinvestment,eliminatingtravel barriers

David ScowsillPresident & CEOWorld Travel & Tourism Council

Gianni MalerbaGeneral ManagerRoyal Rose

This is anexcellentplatform forthe property tostrengthen itsrelationshipwith existingpartners

Dubai'shospitalitysector is nowmaking longterm planswith a view tobuilding‘Dubai Inc'

Scott ButcherGeneral ManagerPark Regis Kris Kin Hotel Dubai

Samir AroraGeneral ManagerRamada Downtown Dubai

Hotel sector soars in 2013 by 18% ........................................................................04Web In Travel enters Dubai market........................................................................13Ramada nurtures a ‘greener’ future ......................................................................16

NEWS M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 3

Based on the global bench-marking and funds raised,

the move will support the international promotion and marketing of Dubai. It willdrive growth of its tourism andtrade industries.

The minimal charge will vary between Dirhams 7 to20 per room, per night,depending on the hotel cate-gory and rating.

Sheikh Hamdan binMohammed bin Rashid AlMaktoum, Crown Prince ofDubai and Chairman of theExecutive Council, issued theCouncil’s resolution No.(2) of2014, regarding the introduc-tion of the ‘Tourism Dirham’.

Such tourism fees arecharged in several leadingtourist destinations across the

world. Such steps will helpstrengthen Dubai’s position asa leading tourist destination,bringing in line with internation-al industry standards.

According to STR Globalresearch, presently hotel

guests in Dubai pay 10 percent municipality fees in addi-tion to 10 per cent servicescharges, both based on theirdaily room rates. In December,the average daily room rate inDubai was Dhs 1,063.32. Inthe first nine months of 2013,Dubai’s hotel and hotel apart-ments generated 30.87 million

guest nights, up 13 per centfrom the same period in 2012.

Since Dubai has won thevote to host Expo 2020, theEmirate’s developers haverevived old hotel projects andannounced new ones. Dubai’s

developer Nakheel aims tobuild nine hotels in Dubai in thenext five years. The first ofNakheel’s new hotels in Dubaiis to open in Dragon Martpremises in 2014. Others arescheduled to open in the PalmJumeirah, near Ibn BattutaMall and The Dubai Mall and inInternational City as well.

Applicable from March 31, ‘Tourism Dirham’, a minimalcharge, will be applied to guests staying in all rated holidayaccommodations, including hotels, hotel apartments,guesthouses and holiday homes.

Dubai levies tourism tax

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The minimal charge will varybetween Dirhams 7 to 20 per room,per night, depending on the hotelcategory and rating

News in Brief

A step closer to no Schengen visaThe Civil Liberties

Committee of the EuropeanParliament, on February 12,2014, ratified the agreementbetween the Parliament andthe Greek Presidency of theEuropean Union, on amend-ing the regulations toexempt citizens of theUnited Arab Emirates,Colombia, Peru and 15 otherCaribbean and the PacificOcean countries from therequirement of obtaining

visa to enter into the unifiedvisa zone of ‘Schengen’. Astatement from theEuropean Parliament saidthat "This exemption shouldbe reciprocated on the basisof agreements signedbetween the EU and each ofthese countries. It will startwhen the bilateral agree-ment comes into force."Earlier, the EuropeanParliament had proposed anexemption of UAE citizens

from the requirement ofobtaining entry visa. It wasapproved by the Commissionand the Cabinet. The EU hasa positive list includingcountries, whose nationalsare allowed to enter into EUwithout visa, and the nega-tive list for countries, whose nationals must obtainprior entry visa. TheEuropean Parliament isexpected to vote for thisagreement in April.

RAK appoints new official carrierThe Department of

Civil Aviation (DCA), Ras Al Khaimah (RAK)recently signed a partner-ship with Air Arabia,enabling the Airline tobecome the Emirate’s des-ignated carrier.

Describing the partner-ship as a ‘unique collabora-tion’, Sheikh Salem BinSultan Al Qasimi,Chairman, DCA, Ras AlKhaimah said, “We aredelighted to be entering into

a strategic agreement withan extremely successful air-line and are confident aboutthe benefits this partnershipwill bring to the Emirate ofRas al Khaimah.”

Adel Ali, Group CEO,Air Arabia said, “Joininghands with DCA, Ras AlKhaimah in this new part-nership aims at furtherdeveloping the aviationindustry in the northernEmirates and support RAK’sambitious economic plans.

The Emirate’s tourism sec-tor is witnessing a strongand steady growth and weare optimistic that this willcontinue to grow in theyears to come.”

Ali added, “We areextremely confident that thelaunch of Air Arabia’s oper-ations in Ras Al KhaimahAirport will further trans-form the travel and tourismsectors in the Emirate, aswell as provide value-for-money air travel.”

GUEST COLUMN

EDITORIAL

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TRAVTALK is a publication of Durga Das Publications Private Limited. All information in TRAVTALK is derived from sources, which we consider reliable and a sincere effort is made to report accurate information. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. The publisher regret that he cannot accept liability for errors and omissions contained in this publica-tion, however caused. Similarly, opinions/views expressed by thirdparties in abstract and/or in interviews are not necessarily shared by TRAVTALK. However, we wish to advice our readers that one or more recognised authorities may hold different views than those reported. Material used in this publication is intended for information purpose only. Readers are advised to seek specific

advice before acting on information contained in this publicationwhich is provided for general use, and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. Contents of this publication are copyright. No part of TRAVTALK or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system ortransmitted in any form without the permission of the publicationin writing. The same rule applies when there is a copyright or thearticle is taken from another publication. An exemption is herebygranted for the extracts used for the purpose of fair review, provided two copies of the same publication are sent to us for ourrecords. Publications reproducing material either in part or inwhole, without permission could face legal action.

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All advertisements must comply with the Indian and InternationalAdvertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any damage or loss caused by delayed publication, error or failure of an advertisement to appear.

Publisher : SanJeet Director : Sumeera Bahl Editor : Deepa Sethi Assistant Editor (ME) : Susmita Ghosh Desk Editor : Archana Sharma Sub Editor : Ramya J.S. D’Rozario Design : Nityanand MisraBusiness Development Manager : Crisna De Guzman Manager Advertising : Geetika Pathak Circulation Manager : Ashok Rana Manager Production : Anil Kharbanda

With two major international events - ITBBerlin and Gulf Incentive, Business

Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM)2014 - round-the-corner, the tourism industryis in a buoyant mood.

The outlook is exceptionally good for the48th ITB Berlin, taking place from March 5 -9, 2014. Messe Berlin expects around10,000 exhibiting companies from more than180 countries. In 2013, a total of 10,086participants from 188 countries exhibitedtheir products & services to 170,000 visitors,which included 110,000 trade visitors.

Travel technology is a key market and thepresence of eTravel World at ITB will providethe latest information. One of the pressingissues experts will be discussing is that ofsecure communications. On March 5,experts from Secusmart and Sophos willpresent papers on ‘Bug-proof mobilecommunications’ and ‘Bring Your Own Device’.

On the Incentive, Business Travel andMeetings (IBTM) front too, the scene isrobust. A major factor contributing towardsthe global spotlight on the Middle East MICEindustry in 2014 will be Dubai’s successfulWorld Expo 2020 bid.

GIBTM 2014 is set to run from March 24-26 in Abu Dhabi. Highlighting the strength ofthe Middle East meetings and incentivesmarket, the 2013 IBTM Meetings IndustryResearch Report has noted that 59 per centof Middle East buyers are forecastingincreased budgets for the next 12 monthswith a corresponding 68.5 per cent planningan increase in events in 2014.

In 2014, the organisers of GIBTM expect to welcome over 300 targetted buyers as demand continues to grow for quality interaction with leading industry suppliers.

With an estimated US$7 billion worth oftransport and tourism-related infrastructuredevelopment, the Middle East is proving tobe a perfect global meetings hub.

ITB, GIBTM upliftstourism outlook

With a plethora of islands,more than 400 km of

coastline, oases, UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites, moderncityscapes and deserts, AbuDhabi offers a diversity of visi-tor experiences. With 2013being their best year yet forhospitality, over 2.8 million peo-ple checked into our hotels andhotel apartments – of which wecurrently have 150. The per-formance was up 18 per centin 2012 and significantly beat our stated 2013 target of 2.5 million. Total revenue in 2013 climbed 18 per centalso to US$1.5 billion, whileguest nights rose Year-on-Yearto 8.8 million, which was a 26per cent uplift.

This was a very satisfyingperformance, as last year, ourhotels and hotel apartmentinventory grew by 13 proper-ties, adding 10 per cent morerooms to our stock.

The role of travel tradepartners is most important forus, as they help to generatemore business. Hence, we runmany orientation programmes,sales tools and familiarisationtrips for them.

In November 2012, webegan the Access Abu Dhabiprogramme and over 2013 wereceived 66 proposals fromprospective travel trade part-ners across number of mar-kets. Of this, 38 proposals were

approved by 11 markets(Australia, Austria, Germany,UK, Russia, India, SaudiArabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrainand Kuwait), and all beganimplementation in 2013, withsome spreading over to 2014.

The 14 proposals that were notapproved did not truly meet theAccess criteria of raisingawareness and deliveringsales. Amongst the approvedpartners are some of theworld’s biggest travel industry– Sun Island Tours, Webjet andAbercrombie & Kent inAustralia, L’Tur Tourismus,Schauinsland Reisen, TUI,DER Touristik, FTI and airberlinholidays of Germany,Lastminute.com, Hayes &Jarvis, Ebookers and BAHolidays in the UK and ITLWorld Travel in Saudi Arabia.

The Australian propos-als were all centred aroundawareness building, while theothers were direct marketingto increase sales. Many salestools were used, including

direct mailing, billboardadvertising, point-of-sale promotion, print and online advertising. We alsoworked with our partners ontrade familiarisation trips of the destination.

For instance, TUI andAirtours produced packagesincluding six nights andseven days beach & desertcombinations and six nightsand seven days Abu Dhabicity and Al Ain combina-tions. TUI delivered 6,250passengers and Air toursdelivered 2,000 passengers,during the year.

In all, we target 84,893passengers through AccessAbu Dhabi in 2013, and arestill collating the final actualreturns. But in some cases,Germany, for instance, ourpartners have exceededexpectations by 7 per centdelivering 47,758 passen-gers. Length-of-stay alsoincreased due to the 6/7 daypackaging options.

We intend to continuebuilding relationships with ourexisting partners and lookingto build our partnership net-work and therefore targets aswell. We have had seriousmeetings with 13 major playersin India and anticipate receiv-ing proposals shortly.

During 2014, we alsoanticipate expanding theAccess Abu Dhabi programmeto Italy, France, Switzerland,the USA, particularly LosAngeles and New York, Brazil,Korea and Japan.

Originally, we had set our2014 hotel guest target at 2.8million – but given that weachieved that last year, we nowhave a new stretch target forthis year of 3.1 million.

Sultan Al DhaheriActing Executive Director

Tourism, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority

(TCA Abu Dhabi)

More carriers than ever are now flying to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Interms of hotel guests, which is their prime tracking mechanism, 2013 was theirbest year yet. Travellers can tour palaces, forts, one of the world's largestmosques and experience falconry, camel trekking and Arabia's famed hospitality.

Hotel sector soars in 2013 by 18%

RwandAir resumes flights to Juba

Originally, we had set our 2014 hotel guest target at 2.8 million – but given that weachieved that last year, we nowhave a new stretch target for thisyear of 3.1 million

RwandAir resumed allflights to Juba from March 1,2014. The schedule willremain as it was with threeweekly flights on Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays. Thedecision to resume flightscame on the heels of the newsreceived from the SouthSudan government that theyhad signed a ceasefire dealwith the rebels. This confir-mation of peace talks reas-sured the airline of the safety

of their passengers.RwandAir, the national carrierof the Republic of Rwanda,launched flights to Juba lastyear on September 21, 2013,with attractive fares whichraised their number of

passen-

gers in one week. Juba’s des-tination marked the final milestone for RwandAir in 2013 as its 15th destination.The two months wait for oper-ations to commence is finallyover as the airline is ready and

eager to serve their cus-

tomers on the Juba route. Stillrelatively small in size, the air-port and airline are able toprovide seamless transfersand a much more personalisedservice to Entebbe, Nairobi,Dubai, Johannesburg, Dar esSalaam, Bujumbura, and others. The airline also plans to expand its networkfurther into the sub-Saharanregion, and will soon unveilDouala in Cameroon on March30, 2014.

COVER STORY6 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

Dubai, the entire hospitalitysector in the Emirate is nowmaking long-term plans witha view to building ‘Dubai Inc.’,and cater to increased visitorfigures. “We all are working tomeet the 20 million visitor tar-get set for 2020. A globalshow like ITB enables us tomeet major players in thetourism industry to set out ourbrand of hotels for futuregrowth." He further added,“With Emirates and flydubai on a growth trajectory, Dubai can now offer bothaccess and accommodationoptions, and these factors areof enormous interest to theglobal travel trade."

Ramada DowntownDubai will attend this year’sITB Berlin as a trade visitor.“This is an excellent platformfor us to strengthen relation-ship with our existing partnersand seek new business ties,”asserted Samir Arora,General Manager, RamadaDowntown Dubai.

Dubai has started toestablish its mark as one of thetop tourist and business desti-nations in the world. “Its strate-gic location at the heart of thecity, backed by Dubai’s recentwin to host World Expo 2020 adds value to RamadaDowntown, and we would liketo make the most of this opportunity to promote thehotel,” he further said.

“The travel trade exhibi-tion is a priority on the calendarof every tour operator and trav-el agent in Northern Europe,”said Jean-Pierre Simon,Regional General Manager,Northern Emirates, CoralHotels & Resorts. “In additionto renewing contacts and con-tracts, ITB Berlin provides anideal opportunity to convey tothe trade about new develop-ments in Sharjah, which is theCapital of Islamic Culture 2014as well as the Capital of ArabTourism for 2015.”

Inbound tourism intoSharjah continued double-digitgrowth through 2013, withnearly 1.4 million arrivals in thefirst nine months. Europeanvisitors made up one-third ofthe total compared to 37 percent from the GCC. “Thehealthy mix of visitors reflects

the range of attractions inSharjah, which are set toincrease with the Emirate’sredevelopment, he added.

“We, at Ramada Hoteland Suites Ajman will partici-pate in ITB Berlin, along withAjman Tourism DevelopmentDepartment to promote theEmirate as a rising tourist des-tination in the UAE. We will alsotake the opportunity to meetour business partners in theregion and generate new busi-ness,” elucidated IftikharHamdani, GM, Ramada Hotel and Suites Ajman.“Germans are one of the prop-erty’s top nationality mix, andwe would like to strengthen ourpresence in this market

through our participation,” hefurther mentioned.

HMH – HospitalityManagement Holdings will beparticipating in ITB Berlinunder the umbrella of DubaiDepartment of Tourism &Commerce Marketing.

Laurent A. Voivenel,CEO, HMH – HospitalityManagement Holdings, pro-nounced, “ITB Berlin is notonly the world’s largest traveltrade show welcoming morethan 11,163 exhibitors andover 170,000 visitors, but isalso the ideal B2B platformthat gives us an excellentopportunity to showcase ourbrands and products in aninternational market. With asuperb mix of brands, namelyThe Ajman Palace, CoralHotels & Resorts, Corp Hotels and EWA HotelApartments, catering to various segments, we offer agreat choice in terms of properties and destinations, be it idyllic beach resorts or

world-class business hotelsand serviced apartments located in some of the most sought-after destinationsin the MENA region.”

He further stated, “Whilereinforcing our existing rela-tions with the global travel

trade, ITB is the perfect plat-form to network and connectwith new business partners.Most of the destinations we are in enjoyed excellentgrowth in recent months, out-pacing the increase in capacitythat resulted in better occupan-cy for our hotels. And we areeager to capitalise on it.”

The team of GoldenSands Hotel Apartments willexhibit with the DubaiDepartment of TourismCommerce & Marketing(DTCM). They will meet thekey partners in Germany todiscuss the next winter seasonand receive feedback on rates,as well as ways to improvebusiness levels.

Nives Deininger,Director of Sales, GoldenSands Hotel Apartments(GSHA), informed, “ITBshowcases the world’s bestdestinations for business andleisure guests, so it is a must-attend event for GoldenSands Hotel Apartments. The

show provides businesseswith an opportunity to net-work and develop new con-nections particularly in theGerman market, one ofDubai’s leading contributorsto leisure and businesstourism. The number of ourguests from this marketincrease every year, so thereis a great potential to attractthem to our property andDubai in general.”

She added, “We wouldlike to inform all the partici-pants that GSHA has alwaysproved to be a hotel apartmentof choice for those visitors to Dubai looking for budgethotel apartments at good value for money.”

Germans areone of theproperty’s topnationality mix,and we wouldlike tostrengthen ourpresence here

ITB Berlinprovides an idealopportunity toconvey to thetrade about newdevelopmentsin Sharjah

Jean-Pierre SimonRegional General Manager, NorthernEmirates, Coral Hotels & Resorts

Iftikhar HamdaniGeneral ManagerRamada Hotel and Suites Ajman

ITB Berlinholds greatpotential toattract moreguests toGoldenSand’s hotel

Most of thedestinations inwhich we havea presence,enjoyedexcellentgrowth inrecent months

Laurent A. VoivenelCEO, HMH – HospitalityManagement Holdings

Nives DeiningerDirector of SalesGolden Sands Hotel Apartments

ITB: An impetus to a growing marketContd. from page 1

Recently releasedstatistics published bythe National Centre forStatistics andInformation (NCSI)revealed 11 per centincrease in the revenuefor 4 and 5 star hotelsacross the Sultanate ofOman in 2013 against2012 figures.

The combined 2013revenues of the 31hotels included in thestatistics registered149.3 OMR million(387.8 USD million)compared to 134.5 OMRmillion (349.3 USD mil-lion) in 2012, registeringa Year-on-Year growthrate of 11 per cent. Fivestar hotels registered thebigger portion of therevenue split with 102.2OMR million, while thefour star hotels recordedrevenue of 47.1 OMRmillion in 2013.

The NCSI report alsorevealed that the totalnumber of 4 & 5 starhotel guests increased by10.8 per cent in 2013,with guest numberstotaling 614,000 againstthe 2012 figure of554,000. Breaking downthe guest profiles byregion, European nation-alities topped the listwith 202,000 guests in2013, recording an annu-al growth rate of 16.7 percent when compared tothe previous year's173,000 guests whoarrived from Europe.After European national-ities, Omani guests camein the second place, with186,000 Omanis stayingat 4 & 5 star hotels ver-sus 158,000 guests in2012, registering anannual growth rate of17.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, GCC cit-izens came in third placeand their numbersrecorded a growth of14.6 per cent from79,000 guests in 2012 tostand at 90,000 guestsin 2013.

Oman’s hotelguest numbersgrow by 10.8%

HIGHLIGHTS M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 7

With the opening of severalmajor retail outlets at the

Airport throughout 2013, theretail revenue at Abu DhabiDuty Free reached AED 912.7million (US $248 million).According to Abu DhabiAirports, it’s an increase of 13per cent compared to 2012.

Mohammed Al Bulooki,Chief Commercial Officer, AbuDhabi Airports, stated, "Thelevel of commercial perform-ance in duty free in 2013 andthe 13 per cent rise in revenue,were extremely positive resultsfor our company. Abu DhabiDuty Free increased the choiceof luxury brands and productofferings for customers, together with some inspiringpromotional campaigns.Hence, it has seen the moneyspent on duty free productsincrease throughout the year."

Moreover, Abu DhabiDuty Free launched a newbrand identity in October 2013with a new logo to reflect theiconic architectural design ofthe new Midfield TerminalBuilding, set to open in 2017.The commercial retail area inthe new terminal will total28,000 sqm, and bids fromquality retailers from aroundthe world are anticipated. AlBulooki added,

"The new Midfield Terminal Building will offer once-in-a-lifetimeopportunities for ambitiousretailers, and will have acapacity of morethan 30 millionpassengers a year."

Abu Dhabi Duty Free hasexpansion plans ahead aspresently the multi-billion dollar re-development andexpansion of Abu DhabiInternational Airport is under-way. With the increased overallcapacity of the airport, newoutlets will be introduced,thereby improving the shopping experience of the travellers passing throughthe Airport.

December 2013 proved to be the busiest month of theyear, thereby ending the year on a high note. The salesfigure reached AED 92 million (US $25 million) at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Record numbers in 2013 Discovering Hong Kong

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Mohammed Al BulookiChief Commercial OfficerAbu Dhabi Airports

Hosted by Hong Kong Tourism Board, Cathay Pacific Airlines and HongKong Shangri-La Hotels, the travel trade FAM trip was organisedto educate the agents on Hong Kong. Sharaf Travel, Al RaisHolidays, ITL World, Al Naboodah Holidays, Al Tayer Traveland Across Borders wereamong the participants.

EXHIBITIONS8 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

GIBTM connects theregion's inbound and out-

bound MICE and businesstravel industry through face-to-face meetings, pre-scheduled appointments,knowledge and networking. Itallows the participants to cap-italise on the GCC nations’ consistently ris-ing ratio of travel for businessto travel for leisure.

The event, now in its 8th

edition, is slated to be evenmore successful with first-timeexhibitors from Spain, theUnited States of America,Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Czech Republic, the UAE, Korea, UnitedKingdom, Uganda, SouthAfrica and Morocco.

It indicates an interna-tional interest in the benefit ofthe expo that provides potentialbusiness setups in the region.

Lois Hall, ExhibitionManager, GIBTM said,“Meetings and incentivesarrivals accounted for almost50 per cent of all businessarrivals in 2012. New andexisting hotels across thecountry, and indeed the region, are now payingincreased attention to theirmeetings product and packaged group rates to cap-ture additional market share.”Furthermore, Hall assured that the exhibitors this year can expect to interact with over 300 regional and international buyers from corporate, association andgovernmental organisations.

The conference will alsohighlight topics like the growingtrend of doubling up destina-tions. In this case, a combina-tion of Dubai and Oman, apackage that contrasts Oman’snatural beauty and adventuretourism to Dubai’s sleekMetropolitan allure.

“With improvedcorporateperformance,incentives arefirmly back on the agenda. The feedback fromour businesspartners hasrevealed thatincentiveorganisers arekeen to get extrabang from theirbuck by visitingmore than onedestination in one trip.

Obviously, the benefit for the destinations, groundhandlers and hotels is that the average spending per capita on incentive trips is one of the highest yieldingsegments in the industry,”informed Hall.

Dubai’s successful bid forthe 2020 World Expo is expect-ed to bring an estimated 25million visitors, 71 per cent ofwhich will be overseas crowd.The MICE sector presentlygenerates AED 2.4 billion(US$653 million) per annum forthe UAE capital alone. Withannual growth of at least 7 percent predicted for the industryby 2020, taking its contributionto more than AED 5.1 billion(US$1.39 billion) by the timethe Expo takes place.

The Gulf Incentives Business Travel & Meetings (GIBTM) Expo is the ‘MiddleEast's dedicated business platform. Taking place in Abu Dhabi from March24 - 26, the event brings together the biggest names in travel and business.

Incentives back on the agenda

Lois HallExhibition ManagerGIBTM

TT BU R E AU

Abu Dhabi looks East A staggering high per-

formance has been wit-nessed in Abu Dhabi’s hos-pitality industry, as 13more hotels and hotelapartments opened in2013. This resulted in 10per cent more hotel rooms,totaling over 26,000, ascompared to 2012.

Since Abu Dhabi hasachieved the original hotelguest targets set for 2014,they increased their targetby more than 10 per cent.

Abu Dhabi is now look-ing to achieve 3.1 millionhotel guests this year witha 10 per cent Year-on-Yearcompounded growth in theshort-term. Now guestshave begun to stay longer inthe Emirate with the aver-age-length-of-stay, edgingup 7 per cent to 3.13 nightsand with occupancy rising 9per cent to 71 per cent.

With intensive jointefforts from Abu DhabiTourism and CultureAuthority and constant con-tact with the giant Indiantour-operators marketingAbu Dhabi as a future des-tination for the Indiantourism, the Emirate is nowlooking East. Indiabecame Abu Dhabi's largest

overseas source market forhotel guests, attracting near175,929 guests - a 27 percent rise on 2012. The UKwas the second largestoverseas producer, with162,973 Britons checkinginto the Emirate's hotelslast year - a 16 per cent lifton 2012.

“We are highly opti-mistic about 2014 results,especially with applying thesame strategy with theChinese, with an enormousflow of tourists in the regionexpected in 2014/2015 along with varioustouristic source destinationapproaches, Abu Dhabi can continue its upwardmomentum,” said KhaledKhedr, Director of Sales & Marketing, Sands HotelAbu Dhabi.

Khaled KhedrDirector of Sales & Marketing,Sands Hotel Abu Dhabi

HOTELS M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 9

The group participated inITB 2013, which proved

among other aspects, an ideal platform for head huntingtop German professionals for leadership positions withinthe company.

“The hotel sees themajority of its business fromGermany, CIS market, EastEurope, Latin America andGCC countries. It has seen asteady increase in occupancyover the past 3 years tuned to 23 per cent in 2012-2013,and a projected gain of 32 per cent in 2014,” assertedElia Timani, ManagingDirector, Five ContinentsHotels and Resorts.

He further informed,“Despite the rise of onlinebookings, travel agents andclassic tour operators domi-

nate the majority of the traveltrade. Hence, Five ContinentsGroup plans to pursue a trans-parent and strong partnershipwith classical tour operatorand travel agencies by protect-ing their interests and helpmaintaining their upper hand.At the same time, investing ona hi -tech platform enables thecustomer to have clear and themost transparent opinionabout the property.” He added,

“Our selectedtravel tradepartners put ourhotel company atan advantage edgecompared to ourrespectful,classicalcompetitors fromthe hotelmanagementcompanies.”

The challenge faced bythe group stems from theircomplex and rigorous recruit-ment system to maintain qual-ity that absorbs a large quantityof time and resource. Anotherchallenge they face is the del-icate balance between price and quality, wherein highly qualitative services stillneed to exist within what wouldbe considered a reasonableprice point.

Five Continents Hotels & Resorts prides itself on beingadaptive, delivering exactly what the guest requires. Beit business or leisure, the hotel strives to deliver in themost impressive yet understated fashion.

Occupancy on the rise

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Elia TimaniManaging DirectorFive Continents Hotels and Resorts

The first ‘urban lifestyle hub’ in the Vida Hotels

and Resorts portfolio of Emaar Hospitality Group, Vida Downtown Dubai hasopened doors, offering 156rooms, located in close proximity to Burj Khalifa andThe Dubai Mall.

According to the ITBWorld Travel Trends Report2012/2013, more than a thirdof travellers are aged 15-34.Dubai serves as the hub for a vast youthful demographyof over 2 billion people below the age of 25 yearsacross the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Vida, which means ‘life’ inSpanish, embraces the idea ofyouthful vitality and as suchhas been designed for this tar-get audience.

The hotel group recentlyannounced their partnershipwith InnSpire Intelligent Hotel Solution, with the aim of enhancing guest experience with the use of tel-evisions and hand-helddevices. The service, however,is not simply limited to provision of entertainment.Stefan Viard, GeneralManager, Vida DowntownDubai informed,

“The opportunityto integrateInnSpire presented itselfand was a perfect fit for the Vida Hotelsand Resort’s concept.

We are delighted to partner with such a dynamiccompany that offers state-of-the-art solutions and is assisting us in revolutionisingthe way we interact with our guests.” Guests can use the system from anywhere within the hotel ontheir hand-held devices or television screens withoutany additional app download,allowing them to order theirroom service by using the on-screen menu, book theirlaundry or even buy gifts witha few clicks.

Tailor-made for the new generation of businessexecutives, entrepreneurs and leisure travellers seekinghi-tech travel experiences, Emaar Hospitality Grouprecently launched Vida Hotels and Resorts.

Offering a hi-tech product

SU S M I TA GH O S H

Stefan ViardGeneral ManagerVida Downtown Dubai

HOTELS1 0 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

With GIBTM (GulfIncentive Business

Travel and Meetings) exhibitionjust around the corner, FreddyFarid, Area General Manager,Gloria Hotels and Resorts dis-cusses future plans and pastexperiences. “In GIBTM 2013,the hospitality group did notpartake as an exhibitor, butthey did participate as visitorsconsolidating relations withtravel buyers in the UAE andacross the world. In 2014, thegroup is visiting GIBTM withthe intention of strengtheningrelations,” he informed.

With the larger part oftheir market coming in fromGCC countries as well as fromAsia and Europe, the groupconstantly organises bothmedium and large conferencestargetted at the aforemen-tioned group.

Speaking on travelagents and their current andfuture role in their businessmodels, he mentioned,

“Travel agents arethe substantialpart of ourbusiness,generating morethan 35 per cent of our totalbusiness mix.

We are expecting toretain the same share in 2014and improve our industry rela-tions.” While the company hasseen a rise of 11 per cent inoccupancy over the year inDubai branch, Farid is notcomplacent. “In the hospitalityindustry challenges occur daily,whether we are prepared for them or not. The key to our success is to turn challenges into our drivingforce instead of trying to over-come them,” he confided.

Gloria Hotels & ResortsGroup opened Yassat Gloria Hotel Apartments in Dubai in December 2012, adding 1000 hotels,suites and apartments to their inventory expanding it as one of the largest in the UAE. The group further plans to introduce acustomer loyalty programme inthe near future.

In their 2014 plan schedule, Gloria Hotels and Resortsare set to enter the upscale Chinese and African markets.The Group is also planning expansion within the Emirateswith the opening of a property in downtown Abu Dhabi.

Future plans on the move

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Freddy FaridArea General ManagerGloria Hotels and Resorts

The Golden Tulip Group willattend ITB 2014, through

international company ofGolden Tulip Louvre Hotelwhich has a substantial pres-ence in the exhibition. The hotel has recently been awarded as the ‘Hotel of the Year 2013’ by the Louvre Hotel group, and hasseen a revenue increase of 35per cent in 2013. With already49 properties in the UAE, including 11 in Dubai, the brand opts for expansion in the region.

“Our guests arrive from all over the world,mostly Europe andSaudi Arabia aswe have presencein nearly 30 hotelsin Saudi Arabia,

and also from other GCCcountries,” informed TarekLotfy, General Manager,Golden Tulip Al Barsha, Dubai.

When questioned on therole travel agents play inattracting potential revenue forthe group, Lotfy asserted, “TheGroup works in tandem withthe travel agents in roadshows.The travel trade remains animportant business source for

the hotel due to sightseeing,city tours and all other touristicprogrammes offered by them.”

Golden Tulip Al Barshagenerated 39 per cent of busi-ness in 2013 from travel trade,around 6 per cent more than in2012. This is also due to thequality of services, cleanlinessand the trust of the travel tradefor the hotel and the brand.

The brand’s endeavour tostay up-to-date with guests’expectations has not alwaysbeen easy. “We have faced twomajor challenges, one beingdue to the fast development intechnology and devices. Thedemand on Wi-Fi in the roomwas increasing from all trav-ellers. We invested aroundAED 150,000 in implementingfree Wi-Fi service to all ourguests in-house, as well asadding more services in thehotel,” elaborated Lotfy.

Golden Tulip, a well - known international brand inhospitality for 52 years, plans to add two more hotels byfirst quarter of 2014, with a further possibility of moreproperties to be announced as the year progresses.

Spreading out in UAE

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Tarek LotfyGeneral ManagerGolden Tulip Al Barsha, Dubai

FAMILY ALBUM M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 1

Melia hosts a Spanish themed eveningMelia Hotel Dubai’s top corporate clients were treated to a glamorous Spanish themed evening of diningand dancing. The event was the official launch of the Business Travel by Melia Exclusive Bookers’ Club.The evening included a fascinating Flamenco performance and raffle prizes were given away. The nightended with the ‘Best Dressed of the Night’ taking home an exclusive YHI Spa gift bag by Melia.

AGENTS1 2 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

In addition to the aforemen-tioned travel group, dnata

also acquired Online TravelAgent (OTA) Netflights.comand the high-end travel brand‘Pure Luxury’.

With regards to thisacquisition, Iain Andrew,Divisional Senior VicePresident, dnata - TravelBusiness said, “dnata’s growthstrategy aligns well with GoldMedal Travel Group. Its com-prehensive travel servicescomplement dnata’s estab-lished international travel offer-ing. It will further enhance theproposition we offer our cus-tomers, be it to trade, corporateor individuals.”

Based in Preston,Lancashire in Britain, GoldMedal Travel Group handles275,000 travel bookings

in a year, and is one of the largest tour operators to Dubai. This, combined with dnata’s established dominance in the UAE’s travel market, will serve tostrengthen the companies’inbound travel services.

“Netflights.comand Pure Luxury furtherposition dnata as an internationalleader in travelservices.”

“Having the combinedstrength of guaranteed distribution through our independent agents, OTAs,wholesalers and Thomas Cook UK, allows us to sourcethe very best product and offers from our closeindustry partners,” Andrew fur-ther added.

The acquisition hascome into effect on February11, 2014, and will not result inany interruption of services bythe Gold Medal Travel Group.Post this transaction, GoldMedal Travel Group will continue as the exclusiveprovider of scheduled air traveland car rental products toThomas Cook UK and looksahead to combine forces withdnata to expand offerings tothe customers.

dnata recently acquired Gold Medal Travel Group(GMTG), a UK-based travel business from Thomas CookGroup, in a deal totalling £45 million. GMTG is a distributorof long-haul scheduled flights, hotels and car hire.

On an expansion spree

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Iain AndrewDivisional Senior Vice Presidentdnata - Travel Business

As part of the group’sreshuffling, Elegant

Resorts in the UK wasreserved for sale in March 2013.

The agreement betweenthe two parties was signedrecently in London in the presence of Deloitte Chartered Accountants &Consultants for Al Tayyar TravelGroup and financial adviser‘Thomas Cook’ company,along with Simon OaksChartered Accountants.

Dr. Nasser Al Tayyar,Deputy Chairman of the Boardof Directors and President, AlTayyar Travel Group comment-ed, “We are proud of this acqui-sition and the new addition toour ATG family. We hope to

strengthen our presence in theUK with this new acquisition,providing our customers withsmooth global services andoperations.” The value of thedeal is estimated at 14.3 millionpound sterling (SR 88 million).This acquisition represents apositive step forward in favourof Al Tayyar Group, taking into

consideration that ElegantResorts is a pioneering compa-ny in the UK in the field of exe-cuting tour packages and holi-day programmes as well.

Saudi Arabia - based Al Tayyar Travel Group (ATG) hasmarked another major landmark. It recently obtainedThomas Cook - owned tour operator, Elegant Resorts forSAR 88 million (14.3 million pounds).

Major milestone marked

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Dr. Nasser Al TayyarDeputy Chairman of the Board of Directors andPresident, Al Tayyar Travel Group

We hope to strengthen ourpresence in the UK with this newacquisition, providing ourcustomers with smooth globalservices and operations

� The value of the deal isestimated at 14.3million pound sterling(SR 88 million)

Investment

EXHIBITIONS M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 3

The Web In Travel confer-ence, which has been held

for the past nine years inSingapore, will now be organ-ised in the Middle East for thefirst time. The conference willbe held in Sofitel Dubai, ThePalm Resort and Spa onMarch 26 and 27, 2014.

Among those assem-bling for the event are some ofthe top online travel compa-nies, like Rolf Schromgens,Co-Founder and CEO,Trivago; Keyur Joshi, Co-Founder, MakeMyTrip;Stephan Ekbergh, Founder,South Africa-basedTravelstart’s, and Kei Shibata,Co-Founder & CEO,Travel.jp’s. Travel affiliatedbrands like Google, Expedia,Skyscanner, Accor, andSingapore’s Wego will also bein attendance. In a list of thoseslated to speak at the confer-ence is Fritz Demopolous, Co-

Founder, Qunar, China’s lead-ing travel search engine andone of Asia’s biggest start-upsuccess stories.

Paul Kenny, Founder andCEO, Cobone (e-Commercewebsite) and Triperna (travel website) and AryaBolurfrushan, who recently setup Emerge Ventures, an early stage investment fund will also be present. Albert Dias, Co-Founder,Marketing & TechnologyDirector, Musafir.com, GirmaWossenseged, ManagingDirector, EmiratesYoo.com byKuoni Travel and PieterSleeboom, Co-Founder andCOO, Triperna.com will also beon the panel.

VisitBritain, TourismQueensland and the SingaporeTourism Board shall have representation in a session on‘The Outbound Promise:Understanding the Middle East traveler’. Alongside in attendance will be localexperts including NasiruddinMohammed Shafiq, GeneralManager, Regency Travel andTours; Francis Dharmai,

Head of Tourism, Al TayyarTravel Group and MohamedJassim Al Rais, DeputyManaging Director, Al RaisTours and Holidays.

To complement theexchange of ideas brandswith ‘specialist’ understandingof the region like TrustInternational, a leading namein hotel distribution and CircosBrand Karma, social mediaanalytics and digital market-ing firm will bring forth theirown insights. Lastly, with avia-tion being an obvious cog inthe travel mechanizations, air-lines and airports will be a keypart of the agenda.

Yeoh Siew Hoon, Editorand Founder of WIT was quot-ed as saying, “A key signatureof WIT events is the blending of global knowledge and local insights to create a true exchange of learning for both overseas and local delegates.”

Web In Travel (WIT) describes itself as a community for those passionate about two things, travel and technology, and are interested in knowing how their amalgamation works. The WITconference will be held on March 26 & 27.

Web In Travel enters Dubai market

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A key signatureof WIT events isthe blending ofglobalknowledge andlocal insights

Yeoh Siew HoonEditor and FounderWIT

With a robust increase of 18 per cent exhibitors

compared to that held in 2013, the annual event will be held from April 15 – 18,2014. New participating national tourism organisationswill be introduced for the first time in 2014, includingQatar, Mauritius, Sri Lanka andthe Maldives.

Bander Algryni,General Manager, ASASExhibitions (organisers of RTF)commented, “2014 will be thebiggest Riyadh Travel Fair tilldate, extending our promi-nence as the leading travel andtourism exhibition in theKingdom. Saudi nationals areincreasingly travelling over-seas at a greater numberYear–on–Year.” The 2013 edi-tion of RTF saw a total record-

ed number of visitors reach13,678. Total visitor numbersfor the 2014 edition are expect-ed to increase with a projectednumber of 15,000 – 20,000 vis-itors targetted.

“Visitors to the2014 edition willbe able to interactdirectly withvarious tourismauthorities, hotels, airlines and travel agentsfrom around the world.”

Exhibitors from Asia,Oceania, Europe and NorthAfrica will also be present.Riyadh Travel Fair will be heldin the Kingdom of SaudiArabia’s capital at the FourSeason Hotel Riyadh.

Riyadh Travel Fair (RTF) is in its 6th

year now, and this edition is slated tobe Saudi Arabia’s largest travel andtourism exhibition till date.

TT BU R E AU

RTF 2014 to bebigger & better

NTO1 4 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

The foreign arrivals throughNovember 2013 saw 2.97

million visitors to the provincesurpassing the total for any tourist year in Bali’s history, recording a growth of13.55 per cent during the sameperiod in 2012.

VITO Middle East pro-motes Indonesia in the region through trade showsand FAM trips and in-houseworkshops for the travelagencies to create aware-ness and interest amongthem for the country. “Wehave participated in ATM andGIBTM 2013 as always, andorganised FAM trips witharound 10 travel agents,each in partnership withSingapore Airlines andEtihad Airways,” informedNour Aridi, CountryManager, Visit IndonesiaTourist Office (VITO) MiddleEast Representative.

The arrivals from the top15 global markets for tourismin Bali have all shown growththis past year, with the excep-tion of business from Australiawhich has seen stagnation at 25.31 per cent market share. Nonetheless, this stillputs the island continent as thenumber one source feeder forBali tourism.

China holds second posi-tion with 12.31 per cent marketshare, a position it gained by

nudging the Japanese to 3rd place in 2012.

The Japanese markethas, however, shown a growth of 10.62 per cent,reversing a commonly heldtrend of declining numbers inthe past years.

France has shown anincrease of 18.35 per centwhich brings it to the 8th posi-tion, and Germany which hasshown an increase of 17.31per cent stands at number 11 in the rankings.

“Wrapping up the list areIndia, Taiwan,Netherlands and Singaporewith a growth of 43.34, 35.56,15.97 and 15.10 per cent respectively.”

In a recent report, Visit Indonesia Tourist Office (VITO)Middle East confirmed that Bali, by the end of 2014, willsee over 3.2 million tourists.

Bali expects 3.2mn tourists

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Nour AridiCountry Manager, Visit Indonesia Tourist Office(VITO) Middle East Representative

The MICE sector in AbuDhabi is expected to see a

rise of 7 per cent by 2020, andBahrain is set to bank itstourism revitalisation on thisswell of demand for MICEtourism. In its many endeav-ours to affect the prominenceof Bahrain on MICE tourism,the country is taking part in theupcoming Gulf Incentives,Business, Travel and Meetings(GIBTM) in Abu Dhabi fromMarch 24-26, 2014.

The Bahrain Ministry ofCulture and Tourism in con-junction with two other NationalTourism Offices is supportinga brand new post-show famil-iarisation trip programme.

To this effect, theKingdom has confirmed to playhost to 15 GIBTM buyers whowill visit and examine hotels,venues and event locations likethe Bahrain International

Exhibition & ConventionCentre (BIECC).

Lois Hall, ExhibitionManager, GIBTM informed,“Bahrain has recognised the

important role the meetingsindustry will play in the coun-try’s economic revitalisation.Hence, it’s investing in tried-and-tested sales and market-ing vehicles like GIBTM, whichprovides a platform to furtherboost its MICE business.”

She added, “By backingGIBTM’s new post-showfamiliarisation trip initiative,the awareness of Bahrain’s

key MICE-related attributeswill be heightened amongst acommunity of key industrydecision-makers from Europe,Asia and the Americas, whoare looking to stage meetings

and events in the Gulf.” TheBahrain Exhibition &Convention Authority has wit-nessed a 116 per cent rise inthe number of exhibitions and conferences staged in2012 as compared to 2011.The credentials for the island nation as a MICEtourism destination are onlyexpected to grow with newhotels and destinations in pipeline.

With the announcement of World Expo 2020, tourism in general, and MICE sector in particular in the Gulf is set to take a dramatic step up.

MICE sector steps up

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Bahrain has recognised theimportant role the meetings industrywill play in the country’s economicrevitalisation

Lois Hall, Exhibition Manager, GIBTM

AVIATION M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 5

It provides a platform toexplore best practices,

collaborate and establish clear legislative frameworks,

policy priorities, transparentgovernance systems andeffective funding strategies toaccommodate the region’s aviation sector.

A supreme committee forthe event was announcedrecently with Sheikh Ahmedbin Saeed Al Maktoum,President, Dubai Civil AviationAuthority, Chairman of DubaiAirports and Chairman andChief Executive of EmiratesAirline and Group at its head.

Sheikh Ahmed Maktoumasserted,

“The event mirrorsthe aviation industry’s robustgrowth and theregion’s economicresilience.

This enables decision-makers and other aviationindustry professionals toexplore the latest technologiesand identify future challenges,in order to further promote thesuccess of a thriving aviationindustry in the region.”

GALF, in conjunction withthe airport show, will provide adefinitive platform for the Dubaiaviation sector to formulateand share details of futureplans leading up to World Expo2020; and the period beyondwhich is being hailed by indus-try players as the ‘supergrowth’ phase for the region’saviation industry.

He informed, “Airports inthe MENA region are projectedto cater to 400 million passen-gers by 2020. Based on these forecasts, billions arebeing invested to provide the additional capacity requiredto accommodate the anticipated demand.”

The supreme committeewhich has been formed for the purpose of overseeing the event will recommend key issues and suitable topicsfor discussion.

The 2nd edition of Global Airport Leader’s Forum (GALF)unites the world’s authorities on airports, policies, businessand technology. It will be held on May 12 and 13, at theDubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

A hub for aviation leaders

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Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al MaktoumPresident, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority,Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman andChief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group

The inaugural flight landedin Dubai on February 5,

2014, carrying officials fromthe Republic of Congo andECAir delegations. The dele-gation was welcomed by

Mohammed A. Ahli, DirectorGeneral, Dubai Civil AviationAuthority (DCAA). The airlinepresently operates a fleet offive aircraft to seven destina-tions worldwide. “Africa is thefastest growing market with

huge potential. We are happyto welcome EquatorialCongo Airlines (ECAir) as animportant link betweenCongo and Dubai, and fur-ther boost tourism, trade andcommerce between both themarkets,” stated Ahli.

To facilitate the process,Planet Travels and Tours LLChad been appointed as theGeneral Sales Agent for theairlines. The group has con-nections in the Middle East,Europe and CIS countries,

and is internationallyrenowned for its drive to pro-vide qualitative service.

“This is a historicevent for ECAir asit will strengthenour Middle Eastnetwork throughone of the mostimportant hubs inthe world.

This appointment hadmade for the purpose ofECAir’s expansion andstrengthening its brand andsales amongst the UAE trav-ellers and travel industry lead-ers,” asserted Jean LouisOsso, Chairman of Board ofDirectors, ECAir. “The open-ing of a direct route betweenthe two destinations isexpected to make Brazzavillea hub for travel in CentralAfrica,” he concluded.

Beginning March 31, 2014, Equatorial Congo Airlineswill start a thrice-a-week travel route between Dubai andBrazzaville, Republic of Congo. Planet Travels & ToursLLC has been appointed the GSA for the airlines.

Offering services to Dubai

SU S M I TA GH O S H

L-R Georges Moussa, Fatima Beyina-Moussa,Minister Mokoki Gilbert, ChairmanOsso and Chief of Staff Roger Ongoli

HOTELS1 6 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

On the topic on GIBTM,Nischay Dheer, Group

General Manager, XclusiveGroup of Hotels, informed thatthe Group visits the exhibitionevery year, as it will also do soin 2014 to interact with varioustravel partners.

The Group receives themajority of its business fromthe GCC and CIS countries.Adding two new properties toits portfolio, Xclusive CasaHotel Apartment and XclusiveClover Hotel Apartment in2013, the Group has experi-enced a rise of 4 per cent asaverage occupancy rate.

When asked about travelagents and the role they playin bringing business to theGroup, Dheer informed, “Thetravel trade partners haveplayed a very important role inproviding strong support,bringing leisure travellers fromvarious parts of the world toXclusive Hotels. It gave an

average share of 47 per centof business throughout 2013 toXclusive Group.

We are expecting a better support in 2014 from all our present tradepartners and look ahead to participate in allmajor travel trade exhibitions,including ATM in Dubai.”

The Group believes thatWorld Expo 2020 has reallybolstered the hospitality

sector in Dubai in particularand the United Arab Emiratesin general, and is confident that the lead up to the Expo will see them even better occupancy averages in 2014.The Group plans to launchanother property before theend of 2014, enhancing brandawareness in the region.

The Group sells itself asa ‘home away from home,’ the familiarity and comfort of an apartment with the service of a contemporary luxury hotel.

The forte of Xclusive Group is to offer different themedapartments and hotels that offer its guests not only amemorable stay, but a choice of different facilities that areexpected from a truly world-class hotel.

4% rise in occupancy rate

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Nischay DheerGroup General ManagerXclusive Group of Hotels

The hotel has been chosento be a part of a mega UAE

Green Festival, which is takingplace from March 16 - April 16,2014. The eco tourism confer-ence will take place in RamadaAjman on March 30- 31, wherethe speakers are participatingfrom across the GCC.

“We have manyactivities likewastemanagementwhich is 90 percent divergingfrom the landfill.We also have anurban farm fromwhere we procureour organicvegetables,”

confided Iftikhar Hamdani,General Manager, RamadaHotel and Suites Ajman, whois popularly known as ‘Green

Hotelier’ and a CorporateSocial Responsibility (CSR)champion. The reasons arenot far to seek -

Energy consumption The hotel’s largest

expenses come from utilities,especially water and electricityaccording to Hamdani. While reducing electricity and water consumption, aninterest in sustainability practices appeared that could decrease costs, whilereducing the hotel’s environ-mental footprint.

As a result, one of the key initiatives the hotelintroduced was the zero land-

fill projects, where the hotel aims to recycle or reusemore than 90 per cent of its entire waste and not uselandfills at all.

Waste managementThe hotel turned

to measures like recycling, andpromoting paperless reportselectronically transferredbetween department heads.

Another initiative is the430 sq m urban farm, whichnow grows seasonal vegeta-

bles that are served at thehotel’s restaurants.

Guest awareness Educating new and exist-

ing guests has been an impor-tant part of the hotel’s strategy.A dedicated guest relationsexecutive shows guests the hotel’s green initiatives, and are now getting bookingsas a green hotel.

Staff care Besides various encour-

aging activities for the

staff throughout the year, the General Manager has allotted 10 rooms from May till September for their spouses to come from their native lands. They can stay free of cost for amonth in a guest room, availree food, acquire visa at a convenient rate, and also avail shuttle bus service toDubai for sightseeing.

Based on activities, involvements and engagements, Ramada Hotel and Suites Ajman was felicitatedin Las Vegas, USA, as the ‘best green hotel’ in the region of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Ramada nurtures a ‘greener’ future

SU S M I TA GH O S H

Iftikhar HamdaniGeneral ManagerRamada Hotel and Suites Ajman

An urban farm created inside the hotel, which grows seasonal organic vegetables, served at the hotel’s restaurants

Witnessing the participa-tion of more than 80 com-panies and 150 exhibitors,Hani Abu Ras, Mayor of Jeddah opened the 4th edition of the JeddahTravel and TourismExhibition (JTTX) at theHilton hotel recently.

The three-day exhibi-tion aimed to boost domes-tic tourism and offer Saudijob seekers an opportunityin the sector. JTTX 2014focussed on differentoptions of tourism likedomestic, health, environ-mental, entertainment,shopping, property, archaeological, historicaland religious.

“The exhibition givesSaudis the chance to exploreopportunities in the tourismindustry. Its aim is toenhance local tourism anddevelop more job opportu-nities, as it is considered stilla nascent industry in theKingdom,” emphasised AbuRas. Plans are under way toset up an exhibition centrespanning 120,000 sq ft atthe old Jeddah airport.

Boostingdomestictourism

� The Group plans tolaunch anotherproperty before theend of 2014

� The Group believesthat the lead up to theExpo will bring betteroccupany averages

Forecast 2014

TECHNOLOGY M A R C H 2 0 1 4 TRAVTALK 1 7

As launch partner Icelandair(an airline and travel

service company in Iceland),serving 31 gateways inEurope, the USA and Canada,will set up this solution as ofmid-2014 on all its flights han-dled from its hub at KeflavikInternational Airport.

The new solution, whichis fully integrated into theAmadeus Airport IT portfolioand the Altéa DCS platform,will simplify existing baggageprocesses. All data required tomanage baggage will be avail-able through a user-friendlyapplication interface located inAmadeus’ Data Centre. Thisinterface will improve overallaccuracy and speed, ensuringfaster turn-around and depar-ture times for all handledflights. “We are pleased to joinforces developing this solution

with our launch customer,Icelandair.

Our BRS solutionwill offer keybaggagefunctionalities in asimple, plug-and-play application,enabling visiblecost and timesavings to thewhole airportecosystem.

This is only the beginningof the solution’s success andwe look ahead, developing itfurther with valuable feedbackfrom our launch customer,”confided John Jarrell, Headof Airport IT, Amadeus.

Today, the majority ofground handlers globally useteletype messages to manageall baggage processes. This

involves sending plentiful digi-tal messages back and forth toprocess all baggage activities.Amadeus Airport BRS wouldgreatly reduce the dependencyon these messages, thus pro-viding substantial cost savings.According to Icelandair, travellers can expect animprovement in punctuality and quicker baggage delivery,while ground handlers will have more efficient and user-friendly system.

An agreement was recently announced betweenAmadeus and Icelandair, which is a baggagereconciliation system, ‘Amadeus Airport BRS’, capableof offering real-time baggage management.

Easing baggage woes

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John JarrellHead of Airport ITAmadeus

In April 2013, the relationshipbetween the two organisa-

tions strengthened furtherwhen Travelport unveiled itsAggregated Shopping technol-ogy with easyJet as its launchpartner. Aggregated Shoppingallows agents to shop, priceand book fares and ancillariesfrom easyJet in a commonworkflow regardless of thetechnology used to aggregatethat content. The new agree-ment also includes Flexi Faresand Inclusive Fares througheasyJet’s preferred GDS booking processes.

The airline’s InclusiveFare combines the servicesthat are important to corporatebookers like bag and seatselection, with easyJet’s well-known low fares. It is only avail-able through the GDS andother booking systems con-

nected to the easyJetAPI. Robin Ranken,Head of EuropeanAirline Relations,Travelport, mentioned,“We have had a strongrelationship witheasyJet for some yearsnow. We look forwardto continue workingclosely together andexplore further opportuni-ties for easyJet to use our lead-ing technology to maximizebookings with the travel trade.”

Andy Hodges, Directorof Sales, Distribution andBusiness, easyJet comment-ed, “We are delighted to haverenewed our deal withTravelport. Its extensive globalfootprint provides us with anefficient distribution channel forour popular low-fares, includingthe Inclusive Fare and FlexiFare, especially to the man-aged corporate travel market.

We look forward toworking withTravelport to bringaffordable travel to even more passengers.”

easyJet is also workingwith Travelport to deploy itsRich Content and Brandingtechnology, which will alloweasyJet to control how its con-tent and ancillaries are visuallypresented and described totravel agents.

Travelport and easyJet, UK’s largest airline, have beenworking together since 2007. They recently renewed theirdistribution agreement, where Travelport-connected travelagencies worldwide can access and book all easyJet flights.

Closer ties with easyJet

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Robin Ranken and Andy Hodges

MOVEMENTS1 8 TRAVTALK M A R C H , 2 0 1 4

Abdullah Melhem has been appointed Director of Operations ofHospitality Management Holdings (HMH). A veteran in the industry,he has spent 14 years with Starwood Hotels& Resorts, and 15 years with Hyatt Hotels &Resorts. In his last posting at StarwoodHotels & Resorts, he served as the AreaManager for Makkah and Madina, andGeneral Manager of Sheraton DammamHotel & Towers. In his newrole, he will be responsiblefor all operational issues ofHMH portfolio and will alsobe in charge of all pre-openings.

Akber Bana joins HMH as Manager - Revenue & Distribution,having exceptional expertise in managing revenue, e-commerceand loyalty programmes. He holds morethan 10 years of experience working withArabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa - Dubai,Sheraton Karachi, Marriott Karachi.Earlier, he served as ManagerRevenue, Marketing and LoyaltyPrograms with Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa - Dubai. In his new role,Bana will be responsible for all revenueand distribution.

Etihad AirwaysPerthVincent Frascogna is the Manager - Western Australia for EtihadAirways and will be based in Perth. He takes on the role after fiveyears based in Etihad Airways’ headquartersin Abu Dhabi. This role included responsibility for the commercial integration of new partnerships and worldwide roll-out of the airline’s SME loy-alty scheme BusinessConnect. Prior tothis, He managed the Abu Dhabi-based air-line’s Global Contact Centres and UAE retailoperations after nine years in commercialroles at British Airways.

InterContinental Aqaba ResortUAETamer Abu Jerise has been appointed as the F&B Manager atInterContinental Aqaba Resort. A Jordanian national, he boasts

over 10 years of experience in the hos-pitality industryin several hotels inJordan and the UK. He was in chargeof many tasks and responsibilitiesincluding monitoring present andfuture trends, practices and systemsin the F&B industry, assuring the

achievement of optimum food & beverage cost percentage, auditing F&B

services on a regular basis,among others.

TAJ Palace Hotel DubaiUAEAsser Samy rejoined the TAJ Palace Hotel Dubai as Director ofSales & Marketing. With experience over 23 years, he previously

worked at the hotel as Director of Sales. AnEgyptian national, Samy began his career withSheraton Nile Cruises. He is well placed topromote the TAJ Palace to established cor-porate and leisure markets, and will targetcountries such as China, India, Latin America,East Europe, South Africa and GCC market.

Prior to his current appointment, he spent threeyears at the Dusit Residence Dubai

Marina as Director of Sales &Marketing.

Grand Hyatt DubaiUAERoddy Gordon is the new Director of Sales and Marketing andArea Director of Sales and Marketing for Hyatt Hotels in Dubai.He has more than 24 years of experiencein the industry. He previously worked withthe Group as the pre-opening Director ofMarketing when this hotel was opened.He will be responsible for increasing the hotel’s performance in all segments of the business mix and willhelp with the collective marketing plan-ning and sales development of theDubai portfolio.

Melia Hotel DubaiUAEYannis Homenidis joins as the General Manager of MeliaHotel Dubai. He has been with Melia Hotels International forover three years, coming from MeliaAthens before being assigned to leadthe Dubai team. Prior to this, heworked with other hotel chains suchas Rotana in various managementpositions. He brings with him over 20years of experience in the hospitalityindustry, with a solid background inFood & Beverage.

Sabre’s 1st meeting at Gulf Air HQSabre Travel Network Middle East (STNME), a joint venture between Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, and Sabre, a global technology company, recently held its first board meeting of 2014 at the Gulf Air headquarters in Muharraq. The Board reviewed the performance of 2013 as well as the outlookfor 2014, challenges and opportunities.

Wego launches new productWego, a leading travel

metasearch site in the AsiaPacific and Middle East,recently launched the WegoAffiliate Network. This is anew platform that enablestravel & tourism websitepublishers to add flight andhotel search features, andgenerate a significant newrevenue stream from theresulting activity.

“For many years,Wego’s travel metasearchtechnology has been used bymajor airports, nationaltourism boards and largetravel portals who have cus-tomised and re-branded theWego experience andoffered it as a feature fortheir own users,” saidAllister Barretto, Director of

Affiliate Marketing, Wego."The Wego Affiliate Network(www.wan.travel) providestravel and tourism publish-ers a set of DIY tools to integrate airfare and hotel search capabilities into their sites."

WAN.travel providesaffiliates with a variety ofskillfully designed and cus-tomisable IAB-sized embed-dable search boxes alongwith a white-labelled ver-sion of Wego’smetasearchproduct. Simple point andclick interfaces allow affili-ates to theme, brand andlocalise the widgets andsearch result pages to suittheir site.

More advanced travelpublishers seeking a more

bespoke integration canmake use of the fast andpowerful Wego Flights and Hotels APIs. A dedicat-ed development team isconsistently adding new fea-tures and updates toWAN.travel, much of whichis guided by feedback fromWego Affiliates.

“Affiliates who havebeen beta testing the newWAN.travel platform areseeing significantly higherreturns compared to com-mon text ads and static dis-play advertising," Barrettocontinued. Travel publisherswho join the Wego AffiliateNetwork enjoy the benefitsof a dedicated account manager to support themthroughout the process.

Cristina Polo takes over as Director of Business DevelopmentOperations of Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH). Havingworked with leading international brands,Polo has over 15 years of strong experi-ence in the field. Her last position was with The Rezidor Hotel Group inDubai as Director of RevenueOptimization Middle East (ArabicPeninsula, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia). Inher new role, Polo will be responsible forall sales and revenue generation and willalso oversee marketing.

Josimar Delfin joins Melia Hotel Dubai as the Marketing & E-Commerce Manager. Born in Manila, Philippines, she graduated

with a degree in Mass Communication,with a major in Journalism. She started

her career in the hospitality industrywith the InterContinental HotelsGroup in the Maldives, and thenworked with the Millennium &Copthorne hotels in Dubai. She willbe responsible for the marketing

and communications strategiesand strengthening the brandawareness of the hotel.

Hospitality Management HoldingsDubai

(From left): At the back -.Ahmed Janahi, Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Gulf Air; Harald Eisenaecher, Senior VicePresident, Europe, Middle East & Africa, STNME; Laurence Woodhouse, Director Finance, Europe, Middle East &Africa, STNME and AbdulAziz AbdulQadir, Director Finance, Strategic Planning & Company Secretary, Middle East,STNME. In the front - Daniel Naoumovitch, CEO, Middle East, STNME; Dean Bibb, Vice President, Eastern Europe,Middle East & Africa, STNME and Dr. Jassim Haji, Director Information Technology, Gulf Air.