AVIAREPS is set to launch a series of international roadshows throughout 2017 to major and emerging outbound markets and cities around the globe. AVIAREPS Roadshows confirmed for 2017 include the United Kingdom (London, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester) from March 13-16; Italy (Monza, Piacenza and Pavia) from March 28-30; the Middle East (Dammam and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait) from October 15-18; and then a second Middle East roadshow to Dubai (UAE), Qatar and Oman from November 19–22. Additional roadshows planned include: Taiwan (Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung) in Q2; Brazil in Q2; and Germany and South Africa with dates yet to be formally announced. Further roadshows in other markets are also expected to be confirmed in the interim. Thomas Drechsler, COO Tourism, AVIAREPS: “We understand that for both large and small entities new market development is essential for long term commercial survival and success. We also understand that investing in a new market is expensive and can take some time to create a return on investment. The launch of the AVIAREPS roadshows allows such entities of all sizes to economically test and engage in a new market, knowing that they are meeting the right people, maximising their time, and as most cases to date have proven, coming away with new business and an immediate return.” The AVIAREPS Roadshows are unique in that they are not brand or destination specific, are open to all entities (both established AVIAREPS clients and otherwise), and provide quality individual meeting opportunities with each market’s leading outbound contractors, product developers, general managers, sales managers, and MICE specialists. The roadshows are open to all national, regional and city tourism promotion boards, hospitality brands, inbound tour operators, aviation …

Beginning March 23, 2017, Air Arabia will operate four weekly flights from its main hub at Sharjah International Airport to Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, also expected to be the airline’s first route launch of the year. The addition of the new route follows an agreement between Air Arabia, Azerbaijan Airlines and Azerbaijan authorities aimed at promoting connections between Baku and Sharjah. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Azerbaijan’s largest city is also the largest city on the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus region. Famed for its medieval walled old city and cultural status, Baku is the scientific, industrial and financial centre of Azerbaijan. The city recently received global attention after hosting the European Grand Prix (now renamed the Azerbaijan Grand Prix). Air Arabia added 9 new routes to its global network in 2016 from its five operating hubs in the UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. The airline added new services from its main Sharjah hub to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Batumi in Georgia. Air Arabia currently serves over 120 routes from its five operational hubs.

India has emerged as the fourth largest market for global visitors to Sharjah, according to the figures revealed by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). The Authority led a marketing campaign targeting India’s outbound tourism over the past few years, attending key travel events and visiting cities across the country. In a first, the SCTDA led a delegation of Sharjah-based tourism and hospitality organisations to the 23rd edition of the SATTE travel trade show, in New Delhi, India. Sharjah’s delegation to SATTE and India International Travel Mart in Mumbai included Ramada Sharjah, Golden Tulip Sharjah, Sheraton Sharjah Beach Resort & Spa, Sharjah National Hotels, Air Arabia, SATA (Sharjah Airport Travel Agency), Cozmo Travels and Auras Tours. According to the Indian Ministry of Tourism, 18.33 million Indians travelled overseas during 2014 and the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) expects that Indian outbound travel could grow to 50 million by the year 2020.

Emirates will launch a series of new cabin products and enhancements in 2017 for both its A380 and Boeing 777 fleet. The multi-million dollar cabin interiors upgrade programme includes an enhanced Onboard Lounge for its flagship Airbus A380 aircraft. The new Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge will make its first public appearance at the Emirates Infinite Possibilities stand during ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest tourism trade fairs. It is currently being installed onto one of Emirates’ brand new A380 aircraft at Airbus’ facilities, and will make its operational debut in July 2017. Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “The A380 Onboard Lounge is hugely popular with our customers, and has become an iconic feature of Emirates’ A380 offering.  Particularly on long-haul flights, our customers tell us they appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs and mingle in the relaxed, yet classy lounge area. “Since we first launched the product in 2008, our A380 Onboard Lounge has gone through small but successive enhancements in line with customer feedback to increase the amount of space for our customers to interact in the lounge. In our latest revamp, we have taken inspiration from private yacht cabins, and amongst other thoughtful touches, we have increased the seating space, and also made it more intimate and conducive for our passengers to socialise or enjoy our lounge service.” Enhanced Emirates A380 Onboard Lounge Features while retaining the trademark horseshoe-shaped bar, Emirates’ latest A380 Onboard Lounge will offer more seating space with a new seating arrangement along the windows on both sides of the bar. Inspired by private yacht cabins, each seating area will have a table and window view. Overall, the lounge can comfortably …

Air Namibia (SW) and Turkish Airlines (TK) have signed a code-share agreement. Effective from March 1, the agreement will cover routes between Turkey and Namibia, and set to expand further travel opportunities for the passengers of the two airlines. The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Headquarters in İstanbul. Namibia Deputy Minister of Works & Transport Sankwasa James Sankwasa and Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Ekşi signed the deal in the presence of senior officials from both sides. This new code-share agreement is bound to broaden the commercial partnership between two companies and their respective countries. At the same time, passengers of both airlines will be given more travel options between Namibia and Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, Air Namibia and Turkish Airlines are planning to place codes on unilateral flights of SW on Windhoek – Johannesburg v.v. / Windhoek – Frankfurt v.v., and unilateral flights of TK on İstanbul – Johannesburg v.v. / İstanbul – Frankfurt v.v. Also it has been considered that, when SW introduces the Windhoek – İstanbul v.v. flights in future, this code-share agreement will be expanded by placing the code to include beyond İstanbul flights. Sankwasa expressed his satisfaction with this commercial partnership with a well-established and rapidly growing carrier like Turkish Airlines, which enjoys a broad route network. He also expressed that they are happy to conduct this code-share agreement with Turkish Airlines and also added that the deal will be a crucial experience for them. Sankwasa further stated that he is confident about this cooperation which will be fruitful for both sides and will be enlarged very soon. Sankwasa further stated “Air Namibia is a small airline and …

Travelport has announced a new multi-year agreement with Astra Travel, the first dedicated travel management company in Egypt. This new partnership will provide Astra Travel with access to Travelport’s travel content – including the branded fares and ancillaries from the world’s leading airlines and low cost carriers, as well as over 650,000 hotel properties and 36,000 car rental locations in nearly 180 countries across the globe. Astra Travel will access this consumer-ready content via Travelport Smartpoint, Travelport’s industry leading point of sale solution for travel agents that provides rich, graphical detail in a fast and accurate single workflow. Established in 1990, Astra Travel provides integrated travel services as well as event management services to large local and international firms. Fatma Nosseir, Managing Director, Astra Travel commented: “Considering the constant changes and customer needs of the travel industry, all of us at Astra Travel, are fully dedicated to customer satisfaction and devoted to serving our clients efficiently. Our investment in Travelport’s industry leading technology solutions is an innovative move for us to grow our business in the region. Travelport’s Travel Commerce Platform will provide our business with opportunities to work smarter and improve our productivity and profitability, helping us to stand out from the competition.” Mervat Alfy, Country Manager, Travelport Egypt said: “Astra Travel is a key player in the Egyptian travel industry. This partnership with Astra Travel, is testament to the value that our Travel Commerce Platform brings to travel business and demonstrates how we are working with Egypt’s travel industry leaders to innovate together and support them in growing their businesses. Travelport’s presence in Egypt is steadily growing and we are looking forward to working with Astra Travel over …

UAE based loyalty and payments solutions company Infinia Services and Solutions will be launching its mobile application “Dubuy” during this week. Dubuy is the first one of a kind application in the Middle East with many benefits for tourists to Dubai at any time of the year. It is a smartphone application which can function on both Android and iOS formats for travellers to Dubai. Tourists can browse for merchant categories, apply filters and find locations near them using the simple geo-location tool, which shows all merchant offers nearby. It can be availed through hotels, DMCs or registered travel agents of Dubuy. A tourist visiting Dubai will be provided with a downloadable application link by the travel agent. Once the link is downloaded, entering an authentication code makes the application ready for use. The tourist can then view multiple options of discounts, offers and deals across various categories to explore in Dubai. Dubuy enfolds a number of options to discover Dubai like never before, with valuable discounts, offers and deals across shopping, dining, leisure & attractions, spa & wellness and many more.  The initial launch phase of Dubuy has already brought leading brands on board and plans are to build Dubuy into the ultimate experience for a tourist. With Dubuy, Infinia brings to tourists the ‘great deals more fun’ experience in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations – Dubai. “The driving force for growth at Infinia results from putting the customer at the centre of everything we do. Instead of offering a one-size-fits all model, we invest time and effort in understanding consumer needs and go about devising comprehensive solutions with the help of best-in-class technology and innovation. …

Musafir.com in collaboration with the India Tourism, Dubai (Incredible India – an international marketing campaign by the Govt. of India) has formed a comprehensive partnership to promote tourism in India and to raise awareness about India as a leisure destination among UAE travellers hailing from diverse backgrounds and to highlight India’s vast culture, demography and rich heritage among the UAE travellers. With the association and rigorous promotion of India during December, Jan and February, Musafir.com witnessed a growth of 12 per cent in their flight bookings to the Indian sector out of the UAE and 21 per cent increase in holiday packages sold by Musafir.com to India. I.R.V. Rao, Assistant Director of Incredible India, states, “Our aim is to increase our foothold on the digital front and to further target key new demographics, at which Musafir.com has helped us immensely given their varied demographic base on the online front. We have witnessed a sharp uplift in our Arab enumeration and look forward to working with Musafir.com closely again, to help establish India as a tourist destination in the GCC region.” “The association between Musafir.com and India tourism was extremely successful and the partnership further strengthened the tourism influx into India. Tourism is the second largest foreign exchange earner in India and it is a brilliant source of cultural exchange between the countries and in addition opens the gateway for numerous business opportunities. Tourists from both sides are visiting for leisure with an increased number of UAE nationals availing the tourism facilities in India” said Rajesh Pareek, Group CEO, Musafir.com. Musafir.com has managed to create an awareness amongst the UAE population, (specially expats) through their digital acquisition campaigns with a strong …

Rotana made its long-awaited debut in Africa with the official opening of Kin Plaza Arjaan by Rotana in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The luxury five-star hotel was inaugurated by His Excellency the Governor of the city of Kinshasa, André Kimbuta Yongo, in the presence of prominent dignitaries and members of Rotana’s senior management including Nasser Al Nowais, Chairman and Selim El Zyr, Vice Chairman. Omer Kaddouri, President & CEO of Rotana, “Rotana has been increasingly looking to markets in Africa to drive business growth and expansion, and today we mark a major milestone in our efforts to extend our geographical presence in the continent. We are very excited to bring our decades of hospitality expertise to the Democratic Republic of Congo – a country we believe has immense tourism potential which has largely remained untapped. As the second largest city in Africa, Kinshasa offers tremendous business opportunities and is renowned for its nature attractions. Yet, the city is still vastly underserved when it comes to hospitality, especially in the upper end of the market. The opening of Kin Plaza Arjaan by Rotana marks a significant step in the further development of Kinshasa’s hospitality industry, and will enhance the city’s positioning and credentials as a destination that offers comfortable accommodation to visitors. The five-star hotel will bring a new standard of refinement and guest comfort to Congo’s fast-growing hospitality sector.” A modern property equipped with contemporary technology and facilities, Kin Plaza Arjaan by Rotana include 101 luxurious rooms, studios and suites along with a selection of three food and beverage outlets. The hotel offers four meeting and conference rooms – all fully equipped with the latest technology …

Dubai College of Tourism (DCT), part of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), hosted the first HR Forum at the Grand Hyatt Dubai. The event, attended by more than 150 people from over 100 hotels operating in the city, focused on DCT’s efforts to train and empower the emirate’s tourist-facing workforce, which is expected to grow to more than half a million by 2020. Ensuring a knowledgeable, well-rounded hospitality workforce that delivers exceptional service is a critical component of Dubai Tourism’s strategy towards meeting its Tourism Vision 2020 goals, which include welcoming 20 million visitors per year by the start of the next decade. The event was an opportunity to introduce forthcoming DCT programmes, including Dubai Way, a detailed online training course designed to improve the knowledge of the tourist-facing workforce, as well as the Tourism Employee System, a unified platform created by Dubai Tourism and Dubai Police that maintains the industry’s employment records and is designed to improve administrative efficiency. Also on the agenda was Dubai Tourism’s new ‘Medyaf’ initiative that seeks to place UAE nationals in customer-facing roles within the tourism industry. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, commented: “Dubai is already well known for its exceptional service and visitor experience, but as we work towards increasing the number of visitors to the city in line with our Tourism Vision 2020, it’s crucial that we not only maintain these levels, but also raise the bar even higher. To that end, Dubai Tourism and Dubai College of Tourism are committed to working closely with our public and private sector stakeholders and partners by offering world-class training programmes. This is to ensure …