SalamAir announces the introduction of new non-stop flights connecting Salalah and Bahrain during the much-anticipated Khareef season. Commencing July 5th, this strategic initiative aims to cater to the growing demand from travellers seeking a seamless travel experience between these two popular destinations. SalamAir’s CEO, Captain Mohamed Ahmed, said, “We are proud to announce the launch of a new non-stop flight route between Salalah and Bahrain during the Khareef season in response to His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s direction to the concerned authorities to provide direct subsidies on fuel prices at Salalah Airport, equivalent to fuel prices at Muscat International Airport.” Captain Mohamed Ahmed added, “The introduction of non-stop flights between Salalah and Bahrain supports the growing inbound tourism sector and contributes to the realization of Oman’s ambitious Vision 2040.”

Radisson Hotel Group announces the signing of Radisson Collection Resort, Marsa Alam Port Phoenice in Egypt. This signing debuts Radisson Hotel Group’s third brand in Egypt, Radisson Collection, and is a fantastic addition to the current portfolio, bringing the Group’s footprint in the country to eight hotels in operation and under development. It also reflects the transformation of the Group in the region. Radisson Collection is a unique collection of iconic properties, reflecting an authentic local influence, living design, and vibrant social scene. In the collection of exceptional hotels, no two are ever the same and each has a unique character authentic to its locality. The modern design blends elegance in form and function, making the hotels the ultimate destination for those who value a vibrant and luxurious lifestyle. Scheduled to open in early 2025, the resort will be situated in Port Phoenice on the Red Sea, a waterfront premier integrated resort community boasting luxury residents, golf estates, water activities, retail centers, hospitals, and schools and easily accessible from Marsa Alam International Airport (only 35 minutes’ drive away). The resort location makes it an excellent spot for a vacation, with venues for dining, entertainment, boutique shopping, cultural expedition, activities, and lively nightlife located all nearby. The newly built resort will comprise of 294 rooms, including 20 suites, all carefully curated with a mix of Mediterranean and Italian architecture. The resort will offer a lobby lounge, one all-day dining restaurant, one high-end specialty restaurant, as well as a stunning beach restaurant, and a beach bar with mesmerizing sea views. The resort will also offer a fitness center, diving center, a theatre, kids club, several pools, and direct access to the beach. …

Sojern announces the latest version of its Sojern Travel Marketing Platform with enhanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered audiences. Sojern has leveraged its long-standing AI capabilities to provide expanded support for more than 10,000 travel marketers annually. Customers include hotels and resorts of all sizes, destinations, attractions and airlines. “Our customers needed to respond swiftly to the rapidly evolving digital marketing landscape, so during the pandemic, we expanded our automation and AI capabilities. It all begins with data, specifically the Sojern Traveler Ecosystem™, which powers our platform with billions of travel intent signals from thousands of travel brands in every corner of the globe,” said Kurt Weinsheimer, Chief Solutions Officer at Sojern. “While AI is making headlines now, we’ve been harnessing its capabilities for years and are excited to announce these new updates. We have competitors that are just now building AI functionality, and I can tell you firsthand that it takes several years to develop and refine the sophisticated AI models that power our platform. Our 15 years of experience and deep technological expertise gives us a significant advantage in delivering results with AI-powered audiences in the latest iteration of our Platform.” Sojern’s AI-powered audiences offer travel marketers a strategic advantage in optimizing their marketing investments. By leveraging AI technology, marketers can make informed decisions on resource allocation, effectively targeting the right customer segments for maximum return on investment and business impact. Through automated audience segmentation and optimization, brands engage with relevant audiences in real time, achieving greater precision, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness. In response to increasing demand for personalized experience, and 71% expressing their expectation of personalization from companies, Sojern’s data-driven approach enables brands to deliver highly tailored campaigns at scale …

With the summer travelling season coming up, Air Arabia presents multiple options to facilitate smooth travel for its passengers during the expected rush at departure airports, especially with the low-cost carrier offering access to various destinations for the Eid break and summer months with a plethora of added benefits. To avoid long queues at the airport, passengers can utilise the online check-in service which allows you to conveniently check-in from the comfort of your home or office. Customers are required to fill in their reservation number, name, flight date, and numbers 36 hours prior to departure time. Enjoy convenience and flexibility by dropping off luggage within 24 hours up until 8 hours prior to flight departure at one of Air Arabia’s six City Check-in facilities located in Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Al Ain. Travelers can also collect their boarding passes at the facility, allowing them the opportunity to proceed directly to their flight upon arrival at the airport. Holidaymakers are advised to ensure they arrive three hours before departure, providing them with ample time at the airport. Travellers also need to be at their designated gates 45 minutes before take-off.

Travelport and Royal Jordanian Airlines announced they have renewed the distribution and operator agreements to deepen their decades-long relationship. Under the agreements, Royal Jordanian Airline will continue to provide the widest range of products and ancillaries to Travelport-connected agencies worldwide, along with the highest level of service to its customers. Travelport will support the airline’s technological transformation by ensuring its robust product offering is delivered to agents through Travelport’s innovative, modern retailing platform, Travelport+. Furthermore, Royal Jordanian Airlines and Travelport have renewed the operator agreement for Royal Jordanian Airlines’ distribution of Travelport+ to agencies in Jordan. “Throughout our decades-long partnership, we have been impressed with the cooperation and adaptability that Travelport has demonstrated as a partner. They have a firm grasp of our business requirements and have worked closely with us to meet our commercial goals, helping us further elevate our positioning as the airline of choice for the entire Levant region. We are eager to work closely with Travelport on our global network expansion, strengthening our relationship with Travelport and having direct access to the world-class travel marketplace, in line with our ambitious, comprehensive growth strategy for the coming years,” said Karim Makhlouf, Chief Commercial Officer at Royal Jordanian.  “In addition, the 25-year partnership between Royal Jordanian Airlines and Travelport is reinforced with our renewed operator agreement, which will enable us to cement our position as the leader in sales distribution and support for agents in Jordan”, he added. “The distribution agreement renewal with Royal Jordanian Airlines is evidence of their trust in the long-established partnership with Travelport,” said David Gomes, Head of Commercial, Air Partners EMEA at Travelport. “We are thrilled to have renewed our agreement with Royal …

Almosafer, and Klook have together launched the first ever holistic tours and activities platform for the KSA market, Almosafer activities. The launch follows the signing of an agreement between the two travel industry powerhouses in early 2022 to establish the joint venture with the purpose of creating a holistic B2B marketplace for activities in the Kingdom, addressing a gap in the market which has thus far largely seen fragmented options for bookable ‘things to do’. Almosafer Activities is a one-stop digital platform with end-to-end content and inventory management solutions that supports tourism and leisure activity merchants in Saudi Arabia, as well as distributors across the globe, to provide an unprecedented choice of product offering for travellers to, from, and within the Kingdom. The platform, which will go live for distributors in Q3 2023, will leverage Klook’s position as a leading global distributor of experiences and services and enable domestic and international tourists to book activities with ease. Almosafer Activities will provide seamless booking experiences, connecting Saudi Arabia travellers to global platforms, starting with Klook. The launch of Almosafer Activities supports the tourism agenda of Saudi Vision 2030 by boosting inbound and domestic tourism. The platform will also support small and medium-sized merchants by providing them with a platform and exposure to more distribution channels. Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Member of the Board at Saudi Tourism Authority, said: “Saudi is setting the pace for global tourism development. We are currently undergoing a remarkable transformation and experiencing unprecedented growth, positioning ourselves as the world’s largest investor in tourism – this presents an exciting opportunity for both our existing and new partners. “The launch of Almosafer Activities represents another significant stride towards establishing …

Etihad Airways touched down for the first time in Lisbon, marking the launch of regular services between Abu Dhabi and the Portuguese capital. The inaugural flight, EY63, was celebrated at Abu Dhabi Airport before take-off with His Excellency Fernando d’Orey de Brito e Cunha Figueirinhas, Ambassador of the Republic of Portugal to the UAE and Chris Hedlin, Etihad’s Vice President Network Planning. On arrival in Lisbon, Etihad’s captains waved UAE and Portuguese flags from the cockpit to celebrate the new air link. The new service will be operated on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays using a state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, offering 28 seats in Business and 262 seats in Economy, entertainment systems, in-seat power, and in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity. Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “As we continue to expand our global network, we’re thrilled to be flying for the first time to Lisbon. We look forward to welcoming guests to visit the historic city of Lisbon while also connecting the people of Portugal with the UAE and destinations across the Middle East, Asia and Australia.” Initially announced as a seasonal route, Etihad Airways has extended the service through to the winter season to make it a year-round operation, as a result of strong travel demand. To celebrate the first flight, guests on board were offered special menu items including custard tarts, a traditional Portuguese delicacy. All guests were treated to gifts including luxury chocolates by Emirati brand Mirzam in Business class and a unique commemorative luggage tag for guests in Economy. Lisbon was recently voted as the “Leading City Break Destination” and “Leading Seaside Metropolitan Destination” at the 2022 European edition of the World Travel Awards, proving its …

According to a report from Accor, highly-personalised service is becoming the key differentiator for travel advisors. The report, titled ‘Tailor-Made Touch or Digital Efficiency?’, looks at the strategies, technologies and trends impacting leisure travel advisors in the recovery and beyond. It says that while continually digitally transforming their operations is of course vital, even more important is to develop the services and nurture the partnerships that can help them delight and connect with their customers on a level that is beyond what alternative intermediary models can achieve. The report, focused on the European market, outlines how the pandemic accelerated the transformation of the leisure travel intermediary market, with the widespread adoption of digital technology and many key players shifting their models in a bid to become platform businesses or b2b technology providers. It supports the notion that, used properly, technology from messaging platforms to payments and artificial intelligence can be travel advisors’ best friend, helping them to optimise their capacity with a wide variety of inventory; access powerful digital distribution channels; better understand their customers, market themselves and provide more sophisticated and efficient services. However, it argues that even more key to travel planners’ success as they evolve is the ability to get close to their customers, to provide the high-touch personalised service now expected by travellers. Saskia Gentil, SVP Sales, Europe & North Africa at Accor, explained: “Consumers increasingly value the ability of travel advisors to remove the stress from their trip, tailor it to their preferences, plan every last detail in a flexible way, and be the reassuring presence that takes care of problems when they arise. “The ability to provide this bespoke level of service is a …

The world’s busiest international airport will get even busier in the coming weeks as the UAE’s summer school break coincides with the six-day long Eid Al Adha holidays starting this weekend. According to Dubai Airports, Dubai International (DXB) will welcome an estimated 3.5 million guests through its doors between June 20 and July 3, with average total daily traffic reaching 252,00. The hub is preparing for a surge in departures, with more than a quarter of a million in outbound traffic from June 23 to 25. Saturday, June 24 is forecast to be exceptionally busy with a total departure load of nearly 100,000 passengers across DXB. The arrival peak at the end of the Eid Al Adha holiday is anticipated to be even busier with total daily traffic expected to surpass a record breaking 305,000 passengers on July 2. “Dubai International’s recovery has been spectacular this year as evidenced by the impressive traffic growth in the first quarter. As a result, the seasonal peaks this year are expected to be the busiest since 2019, and we are preparing ourselves accordingly. Teams across DXB, representing terminal operations, guest experience, control authorities including Dubai Police, airlines, ground handling, baggage operations, car parks, and multiple commercial and service partners, are all working in perfect sync to maintain the high quality of service that international travellers have to come to expect of Dubai,” said Essa Al Shamsi, Senior Vice President of Terminal Operations at Dubai Airports. Backed by DXB’s state-of-the-art airport operations control centre, which not only monitors operations inside the terminals and on the airfield in real time but also helps predict and address operational situations before they occur, the teams at the …

Emirates recommends passengers take time to plan their travel journey this June and July, as departure numbers peak significantly just before Eid al Adha on 24 June, and again on the 1 July as many families set off on summer holidays. With more than 80,000 passengers expected to depart Dubai on busy days – Emirates advises passengers to arrive to the airport up to 3 hours before a flight, take note of their boarding time to ensure they reach the departure gate on time, and take advantage of multiple check-in and baggage drop options to reduce time at the airport. Passengers are encouraged to download the Emirates app on their mobile phone and are reminded that when departing from Dubai – boarding passes are now issued in digital format on the app, or by email when passengers check in online via Emirates.com. Both options allow customers to book and change flights, download a digital boarding pass for most destinations, check what meals will be served onboard, book a chauffeur drive service and even pre-select and plan movies to watch via ice inflight entertainment. Online check in and app check in are both open 48 hours ahead of flight departure time. To save time, Emirates passengers can drop off luggage at the airport the night before travel at no charge. Passengers who are departing from Dubai can check-in early and drop off their bags 24 hours before departure, or 12 hours before departure if flying to the US or Tel Aviv. Then closer to departure time, they can arrive to the airport and proceed directly to immigration. For a slick start to summer travels, passengers can try the brand-new City Check‑in …