The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates this week revised the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2022 from 6.5 percent to to 7.6 percent. Explaining the reason for the renewed forecast, the bank cited stronger than anticipated performance of non-oil sectors, including tourism, hospitality, real estate, transportation and manufacturing. In its review report for the third quarter, the Central Bank noted that it expects non-oil gross domestic product to grow by 6.1 percent in 2022, compared to its previous estimate of 4.3 percent, while it expected oil gross domestic product to grow by 11 percent in 2022. Explaining the reasons for the steady growth in gross domestic product, the report cited the removal of most Covid-related restrictions, in addition to recovery of the tourism sector, real estate and construction boom, expansion of manufacturing activities, as well as the hosting of global events.
The World Cup’s Tourism Ripple Effect
25.08.2023 - 14:42 / skift.com / Edward Russell / Rashaad Jorden / Peden Doma Bhutia / Matthew Parsons / Marjan Rintel
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 23. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast | Google Podcasts
Destinations throughout the Middle East are getting an enormous tourism boost from soccer’s World Cup in Qatar. Roughly 1.5 million travelers are expected to arrive at Abu Dhabi International Airport in the next six weeks, reports Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia in this week’s Middle East Travel Roundup newsletter.
Officials from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, one of the United Arab Emirates’ two flag carriers, said they’re ready for the large numbers of travelers already in the region for the World Cup. Abu Dhabi is hosting a series of events, including the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Grand Prix, during the same time as the World Cup.
Next, Hilton has discovered new ways it can make inroads among the growing number of travelers combining leisure and business trips. What did it do? The hotel giant gathered its findings through an annual student competition organized by Adobe Analytics, software company Adobe’s analytics division, writes Corporate Travel Editor Matthew Parsons.
Hilton recently finished hosting an analytics challenge with Adobe Analytics, during which students analyzed data from the hotel company before pitching engagement strategies toward different travel segments. Hilton asked students to identify differences between business and leisure travelers as well as focus on trends apparent in those taking blended leisure and business trips. A Hilton executive said the pandemic drove the company to look for more ways to target customers, adding it’s seen new types of travelers emerge.
Three students from the University of Maryland took home the top prize of $35,000. Parsons writes they used data from Hilton’s 18 brands and 7,000 worldwide properties to examine how consumers make purchase decisions. An Adobe executive said students identified possible places Hilton executives can introduce its loyalty program, adding some of the strategies that they developed could be enormously lucrative for the hotel giant.
Finally, amid a large-scale push to reduce emissions from flying, the Netherlands has proposed a climate policy that includes further capping flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. But flag carrier KLM believes it could permanently stunt the company’s recovery, and new CEO Marjan Rintel is urging the government to adopt a balanced climate policy, reports Edward Russell, editor for Airline Weekly, a Skift brand.
Rintel said, in an exclusive interview with Airline Weekly, that the Dutch government could help the airline industry cut emissions without capping flights at Schiphol. She added that moving forward with an
The UAE's Very, Very Ambitious Tourism Goals
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Qatar Will Allow Ticketless Fans to Enter the Country From December 2
Qatar will allow visitors without football World Cup tickets to enter the country from December 2 after the group stage matches end.
The New Chinese Traveler Won't Be Receptive to Old Marketing Strategies
Marketers beware: Prior ways of marketing to Chinese consumers, including travelers, won’t work as well today because their preferences changed during the pandemic.
Israel Looks to Boost Tourism Investment for West Bank
Looking to position itself as a leading tourism destination in the Middle East, Dubai has scrapped the 30 percent municipality tax on alcohol for what has been called a trial period of one year, till December 31. Also, tourists and expats will no longer need to pay a fee to secure a personal liquor license to purchase alcoholic beverages. However, an Emirates ID, or passport for tourists, will still be required. The change that came into effect from Sunday, was confirmed by Maritime and Mercantile International, one of the biggest alcohol retailers in the United Arab Emirates and a subsidiary of the state-owned Emirates Group.
Dubai Aims to Grow Tourism With 'Intimacy at Scale'
Blink and you may miss the full tourism recovery of Dubai, as it focuses on returning to pre-pandemic levels of business.
UAE Eyes $122 Billion a Year From Tourism by 2031
In a bid to boost tourism’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to $122 billion a year by 2031, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 on Friday. Eyeing an annual increase of $7.4 billion, the tourism startegy aims to attract new investments of $27.2 billion to the tourism sector in the country, and attract 40 million hotel guests in 2031. The strategy includes 25 initiatives and policies to support the development of the tourism sector in the country, according to the government media office. With the return of tourists, the United Arab Emirates’ tourism revenues surpassed $5 billion in the first half of this year.
Saudi Arabia Details Plans for One of World's Largest Airports
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.
5 Destinations Transforming U.S. Tourism
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, December 21, and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The Hotel CEO Who Doesn’t Need Digital Nomads
Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, December 16, and we are headed back from a successful Skift Forum in Dubai. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The World Cup Travel Bump
Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, December 7. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
The Most Important Airline Story of 2022
In hindsight, we should have known the mess that was air travel in 2022 was coming. Airlines kicked off the year canceling tens of thousands of flights amid the surge in Omicron variant cases that kept crews at home, and travelers — unfortunately — on the ground.