A shift towards experiential journeys, growing demand for premium travel options – Indians approach to travel is evolving, according to Mukul Sukhani, senior vice president of business development at Mastercard.
25.08.2023 - 14:30 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia / Merilee Karr / Sharm El
Etihad Airways looks forward to welcoming over 1.5 million travellers at Abu Dhabi International Airport between November 21 and January 8. Abu Dhabi kicked off a calendar of events with The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held between November 17 and 20 last week. Football fans from around the world will also be flocking to the region as the FIFA World Cup started in Doha from Sunday. “Etihad with its partners, is geared up and ready to host 1.5 million expected guests over the next six weeks,” said Shaeb Al Najjar, general manager of hub operations at Etihad Airways.
Egypt’s ministry of tourism launched an international campaign to promote sustainable tourism in the country. The campaign titled “A civilization inspired by nature,” was launched on the sidelines of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 27) hosted at Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh from November 6 to 18. The campaign will target Egypt’s prominent source markets that include U.S., Germany, UK, Italy and the Gulf countries. The campaign highlights the ancient Egyptian’s relationship with nature and its respect for the environment while showcasing the efforts of the modern Egyptian state in preserving the environment and adopting sustainable practices, said Amr Al-Qadi, CEO of the Egyptian General Authority for Tourism Promotion. A set of short promotional films on Egyptian destinations highlighting their environmental diversity will mark the beginning of the campaign, said Susan Mostafa, director general of Tourism Promotion Department at the authority.
UnderTheDoormat Group CEO Merilee Karr said her company’s new technology and distribution agreement with Visit Oman can be a novel approach to short-term regulation — one where technology can spur governments to embrace the sector rather than shun it. Through an agreement signed last month in Muscat, Oman, government-approved property listings delivered through the UK’s UnderTheDoormat Group’s Hospira property management and distribution platform were to be live in November in time for the World Cup in Qatar. Oman already offered had short-term rentals from a variety of players.
Dubai expects 46 ship calls and more than 300,000 passengers to arrive at the Dubai Harbour Cruise Terminal during the cruise season until June 2023. The first cruise passengers for the season arrived on Thursday as Dubai Harbour welcomed AIDAcosma, officially marking the start of the 2022-23 cruise season. Setting sail from Germany on its maiden voyage, AIDAcosma is a first-of-its-kind liquid natural gas-powered ship with a capacity of over 5,500 passengers. As sustainability and decarbonisation are crucial elements of Dubai’s tourism strategy, we welcome
A shift towards experiential journeys, growing demand for premium travel options – Indians approach to travel is evolving, according to Mukul Sukhani, senior vice president of business development at Mastercard.
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is set to get a AED 6 billion-AED 10 billion ($1.6 billion-$2.7 billion) mega expansion in the next 5-7 years.
Silkhaus, a United Arab Emirates-based platform for short-term rentals, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $7.75 million in a seed funding round.
Marketers beware: Prior ways of marketing to Chinese consumers, including travelers, won’t work as well today because their preferences changed during the pandemic.
The United Arab Emirates government on Sunday announced the lifting of all precautionary measures implemented in the country during Covid-19. With the lifting of restrictions, wearing of masks has now been made optional in all open and closed facilities, including places of worship and mosques. However, those categorized as “people of determination” would be required to wear mask while visiting health facilities and centers. The Al Hosn app would now only be required to furnish proof of vaccination and for test results inside and outside the country, when required. The green pass on the app would no longer be required to enter public facilities and sites. The requirement of a polymerase chain reaction test would also no longer be made mandatory for those attending or participating at sporting events. The authorities said they have decided to ease the restrictions after studying the epidemiological situation in the country and having monitored occupancy rates in hospitals and intensive care for Covid cases.
Saudi Arabia announced its masterplan for King Salman International Airport — touted to be one of the world’s largest airports. Public Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will build the more than 57 square kilometres airport, and it will include the current King Khaled airport. With plans for six parallel runways, and including the existing terminals, the airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travelers by 2030. By 2050, the airport is expected to accommodate up to 185 million passengers and process 3.5 million tons of cargo. The masterplan would boost Riyadh’s position as a global logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade and tourism, and act as a bridge linking the East with the West. The new airport is expected to contribute $7 billion annually to the country’s non-oil gross domestic product and to create 103,000 direct and indirect jobs, in line with Saudi’s Vision 2030 objectives. The kingdom has plans to attract 100 million annual visits by 2030.
A job opening for a hotel wanting an “organic chef” or someone who can handle “procurement and environmental, social, and corporate governance,” underlines the importance of sustainability as a value proposition helping them with talent acquisition and retention.
India-headquartered travel tech firm RateGain Travel Technologies is acquiring Adara, a Silicon Valley-based firm in travel martech and predictive consumer intelligence. The cost: a mere $16.1 million, according to RateGain’s filing on the Indian stock market, which puts Adara, long troubled with management and competition issues for the last few years, out of its misery.
The Middle East is leading international travel recovery in the fourth quarter as inbound arrivals to the region witnessed an increase of 4 percent, long ahead of the global average of a decrease of 30 percent, according to travel analytics firm ForwardKeys. “The FIFA World Cup is certainly the key driver for its travel recovery,” said Juan Gomez, head of market intelligence at ForwardKeys. The latest air ticketing data by ForwardKeys also shows that international arrival levels may be back to normal in 2023, with travel to the Middle East up by 15 percent on pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter. Overall, the outlook for 2023 looks promising, despite high inflation in key source markets and the looming recession, FowardKeys noted. The Middle East is also attracting more premium travellers than in 2019, the travel analytics firm noted with Saudi Arabia showing the greatest growth. Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon are also showing growth, with a regional average of 11 percent above 2019.
American comedian and actor Kevin Hart is a man on a mission as he is looking to hire an ambassador for Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. Hart, who was appointed Yas Island’s first-ever chief island officer in May, announced the job opening on social media on Monday, calling it the “world’s best job.” The salary being offered for the two-month role is $100,000. Anyone aged 21 years or above can apply for the job, the last date for receiving entries is January 23. “No CV, previous experience or cover letter needed, just your video up to 60 seconds (videos over 60 seconds will be disqualified),” the website mentioned. Once hired, the ambassador will take part in a variety of tourism activities for Yas Island while being put up at the W Abu Dhabi for 60 days. Yas Island has also made all the video applications public in its website.
Saudi Arabia launched the electronic stopover transit visa for international visitors arriving in the country by air from Monday. The transit visa entitles visa holders to stay in the kingdom for four days and the duration of the visa is three months. The visa is free of cost and it will be issued instantly along with the flight ticket, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting sources from the foreign affairs ministry. The ministry clarified that applications for transit visas can be submitted through the electronic platforms of Saudi Arabian Airlines and Flynas. The transit visa allows transit passengers, who wish to enter Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah and visit the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah in addition to traveling inside the kingdom, as well as attending tourism events. The ministry confirms that the digital transit visa service will contribute to achieving the objectives of Vision 2030 by strengthening Saudi’s position and benefiting from its distinguished strategic location connecting various continents, and attractive station for transit passengers as well as a global tourist destination.
Dubai received 14.36 million international overnight visitors in 2022, growing 97 percent year-on-year from the 7.28 million tourist arrivals in 2021, according to the latest data published by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. In 2019, the city had welcomed a record 16.73 million international overnight visitors. The strong performance in 2022 features some noteworthy spikes in Dubai’s traditional key markets and strong growth across emerging markets. Dubai remained a first-choice safe travel destination for visitors from the city’s stronghold markets. Western Europe and Gulf regions each accounted for a 21 percent share of arrivals. The Gulf region in particular saw an exponential increase in their share of arrivals from 13 percent in 2021 to 21 percent last year. South Asia contributed 17 percent of total volumes while the Middle East and North Africa region contributed 12 percent, further reinforcing Dubai’s continued appeal to travelers from proximity markets. The Americas accounted for seven percent of arrivals while North Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa each contributed five percent and Australasia accounted for two percent.