Category Archives: Agents

For the first time, the two most visited countries by the GCC, France and Spain have collaborated to bring out a special event titled, “Marhaba France, Spain 2023” which will take place in the Sultanate of Oman from 6th to 9th March 2023. The on-site event will bring in 70 suppliers from the two countries to meet 100 buyers from nine countries in GCC and ME region and expects to conduct over 2000 meetings. Karim Mekachera, Regional Director, Middle East, and Turkey, Atout France, “We will be organising Marhaba in collaboration with Spain and will be named as “Marhaba France, Spain 2023”. We have an array of 70 suppliers that will come over to meet with the travel trade from the region coming from nine different countries and of course this year we wanted to make something new and something different and as we work in the tourism industry, we thought to organise this event in another great destination and very popular in France, the Sultanate of Oman. Over three days we will have more than 2000 meetings, along with a special entertainment program, a special press corner for journalists to meet with all the different stake holders and promote both destinations. France and Spain remain as the two first destinations in terms of tourist arrivals in the world, so with this collaboration we also intend to introduce our travel trade to make the most of this event and partnership as they will be able to design new itineraries which can cover both countries France and Spain as they plan for their clients. We want the travel trade to think out of the box and give their Middle East clientele …

Ensuring that France would still be the top of the mind destination, Atout France kicks off the year with a tailor made e-learning programme designed for the travel trade in the Middle East, called “France Connaisseur.” This platform consists of 19 modules which provide content relevant to the travel trade to better understand the destination, think out of the box and design packages and itineraries combined with areas in France that are hitherto unknown. Karim Mekachera – Director Middle East and Turkey – Atout France addressing the travel trade shared that it was important to keep the travel trade updated after the challenging years, hence they conducted various research and compiled a platform tailor made for the region. Mekachera reiterated about the destination France plan for 2030. “The e-learning platform is brand new and today we launched it for the first time in the region. The whole world went through a crisis, but the resilience is there so now we have to update the knowledge of the travel trade professionals on the knowledge about the destination, this is the first reason, secondly, we want to go beyond the traditional destinations and we have to help the travel trade to think outside the box, for this we need to give them the right tools and the right content to design some new itineraries, new packages for their clientele. I think of course, Paris is Paris, the gateway to France, the French Alps for Ski and the French Riviera for the summer season but there are also many other destinations to discover in the country and that is the aim of this e-learning programme.” Zamira Ismatova – Travel Trade Manager Middle East …

Jazeera Airways partnered with the Georgian National Tourism Administration and Convention Bureau of Georgia to organize a roadshow promoting travel and tourism to Georgia. The event was attended by His Excellency Konstantin Zhgenti, Ambassador of Georgia to Kuwait, local travel agents and Jazeera Airways business partners from Kuwait. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Zhgenti said: “We welcome further development of all kinds of friendly relations between Kuwait and Georgia. Mostly important are people to people relations and economic and business cooperation. Direct flights between Kuwait and Georgia helped to develop our relations in this. Jazeera is the leader in this sphere. Tourism is also very important field in our cooperation and this event shows how aviation and tourism can cooperate successfully in this. I am pleased that Georgia is very popular touristic destination in Kuwait and hope that more and more Kuwaitis with support of Georgian tourist authorities visit Georgia in future.” A visa free destination for Kuwaiti citizens, Georgia offers a rich culture, dense history and diverse landscapes making it an ideal for both history and culture lovers. It also offers adventure sports for thrill seekers and green valleys for those that enjoy relaxing scenic views making it the perfect place for individuals and families, both in summer as well as winter. Jazeera Airways operates direct flights from Kuwait to Tiblisi, Georgia. While Tiblisi boasts great culture and food, there are also several other cities in Georgia that are a must visit such as Kakheti, Kudaisi and Gadauri. The flight duration is just under two and half hours, making it a convenient destination to plan a quick getaway from Kuwait. Bharathan Ravindran, VP – Sales for Jazeera Airways added: …

Kicking off the year ensuring the agents keep Switzerland at the top of their mind, as they recorded a surplus of tourists from the region last year, Switzerland Tourism Board in the GCC conducted its Race to Switzerland where 80 of the leading travel trade agents learn and specialise about the latest offerings and new destinations in Switzerland for a period of 24 hours. The event kicked off this year in Abu Dhabi’s Yas island, Matthias Albrecht Director Switzerland Tourism GCC shared the importance of the event to learn about the many new areas, attractions, hotels and the Swisstainable approach that they have been promoting with their efficient Swiss travel system. Last year Switzerland recorded a surplus of visitors from the GCC and this is yet another important initiative to ensure that the GCC will continue to explore the many new offerings in the destination. Speaking with TravelTV Matthias Albrecht Director Switzerland Tourism GCC reiterated, “It’s a fantastic event and we are very happy to be back as it’s the Race to Switzerland. It’s where the best travel agents from the UAE compete with each other in groups and they are somehow in a virtual trip through Switzerland and this year on the grand train tour of Switzerland where they visit different destinations, and then they participate in games and quizzes and get some points and at the end of their journey through Switzerland they have the chance to win a trip to Switzerland. We have 19 partners from Switzerland and Swiss International Airlines, they all have different break out sessions and they brought together some wonderful games, it’s a corporation between not just the Swiss partners but also the …

Shiji ReviewPro Guest Communications connects with Amadeus’ iHotelier® and HotSOS solutions to increase web conversions and improve hotel staff efficiency. Clients of both Shiji ReviewPro Guest Communications solution and Amadeus’ iHotelier® Booking Engine or HotSOS Service Optimization solution will benefit from a newly integrated AI-driven chatbot to better serve their guests. Travelers who interact with the Shiji ReviewPro chatbot while researching their next stay are seamlessly routed into the booking flow. Once the guest has filled in their details and is ready to book, they are redirected to the iHotelier Booking Engine page to finish their transaction. Thanks to the integration, all results shown on the Amadeus booking page are filtered by guest details previously collected in the chat. Booking is now only a matter of pick-and-pay, making the experience easy and frictionless for the guest. While messaging automation helps travelers find the information they need, the booking engine integration bridges the gap between information and reservation. “This new partnership with Shiji reinforces our strategic objective to provide seamless solutions that meet the growing demand for technology-driven guest personalization. By incorporating guest messaging into the booking process, guests can easily and efficiently receive more personalized offers and shopping experiences, while hoteliers can add additional value to their direct booking channel,” stated Peter Waters, Executive Vice President of Hotel IT Solutions, Hospitality, Amadeus. Shiji ReviewPro also integrates with Amadeus’ industry leading Service Optimization solution, HotSOS. The two-way connection offers common clients full visibility of guest feedback management updated in real-time on both platforms. Tasks coming in from reviews, surveys, messaging conversations or other updates appear directly in the HotSOS solution as well as the Shiji ReviewPro platform, enabling prompt resolution for …

Zahara Travel, the leading travel management company in Oman, reaffirms its strategic partnership with Sabre Corporation , a leading software and technology company that powers the global travel industry. Furthermore, Zahara Travel signed a multiyear agreement to expand its technology scope with Sabre and recruit the latest technology solutions to enable its strategic goals. Under this renewed and expanded agreement, Zahara Travel will continue to use Sabre Red 360, to deliver intelligent and consultative services to travellers, respond to evolving traveller demands and create compelling shopping experiences. The travel company will continue to access Sabre’s marketplace of more than 400 airlines, 750,000 hotel properties, and hundreds of tour operators, rail, car and cruise providers, giving Zahara Travel the opportunity to sell personalized travel packages from suppliers all over the world. “In such a competitive landscape, technology is important to maximize our efficiency and deliver our promise of providing a seamless and exceptional travel experiences,” said Gautam Broota, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Zahara Travel.  “For more than two decades, Sabre has been the backbone of our operations, thus we are expanding our relationship to deploy further technology solutions to support our strategy, advance our operations and enable our digital transformation to better compete in this complex landscape.” Zahara Travel will deploy a set of Sabre technology and solutions to drive growth, boost revenue and transform its business – including as Sabre Virtual Payment to manage the agency’s payment and reporting capabilities; Content Services for Lodging to provide access to richer hotel and aggregator content; Automation Hub- to maximize efficiency and utilize resources; and Automated Exchange and Refunds to simplify the complexity of the day-to-day operations and drive operational excellence. “As a …

Yalago, part of the Emirates Group and one of the world’s fastest-growing leisure bed banks, recorded a 92% increase in hotel bookings in 2022 compared to the previous year. Reporting on latest trends from across all global markets, the wholesale specialist reveals record-high figures for the number of travellers, spend per booking, and length of stay throughout the year. Travellers are spending 30% more per booking, taking on more extensive meal plans such as all-inclusive, and booking five-star hotels as a majority (45%). They are also staying for longer, with the average number of nights per stay increasing to five, compared to four nights in previous years. Astrid Kastberg, General Manager of Yalago, commented: “With more destinations now open for international travellers, we are seeing incredibly strong demand for all our key destinations. Looking ahead, we are expecting this trend to last as flight capacity continues to expand to reach pre-pandemic levels. This is especially true for some of our key source markets in the Asia-Pacific region, which are yet to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity. “Through our industry experience and partnerships, we aim to support worldwide travel companies in offering an ever-growing hotel portfolio for leisure travellers. We have built a reputation for our expertise globally, in destinations including Dubai, the Indian Ocean, Florida, Spain, and others, and continue to build on these destinations, alongside new locations across the globe. “The UAE, USA, Maldives and European cities as an example, remain extremely popular, while in the last couple of months we have seen a considerable increase towards bookings in Southeast Asia. Across Asia, five-star resorts are in demand, yet remain affordable and attractive with our exclusive discounts and value-adds.” …

Kanoo Travel, the largest travel company in the MENA region, has started a new partnership with dcs plus, a global leading travel technology company. This investment will further enhance the technological infrastructure, strengthen Kanoo Travel’s operational activity and upgrade the services towards its impressive portfolio of customers. Kanoo Travel will power their operations with TINA, the travel ERP developed by dcs plus. TINA is one of the world’s most advanced web-based ERP systems for the travel industry and is favored by members of large global TMCs. With an operational footprint that spans over an extensive network of offices the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, Kanoo Travel aims to achieve a greater control and efficiency through digitalization. This new partnership will enable Kanoo Travel to achieve greater control through seamless processes, reducing the operational costs and offering a best-in-class traveler experience at every touchpoint of the customer journey. Furthermore, Kanoo Travel will leverage the state-of-the-art technology from dcs plus to optimize business processes, utilizing smart analytics and data, which will be integrated across different platforms at group level for Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt. Zaeem Gama, Divisional CEO of Kanoo Travel: “Our partnership with dcs plus is a fundamental element of our ambitious roadmap to advance the travel industry through digitalization, further reflecting our commitment to provide the most sophisticated travel solutions on a global level. We believe in establishing key strong partnerships in the region to fully execute our full-scale digitization plan and ambitions, which allows us to become agile and seamless especially in an ever-evolving landscape. dcs plus and Kanoo Travel have a collective vision, and together we will capture untapped opportunities …

The year kicked off with the largest tourism networking event Fitur which brought together 131 countries with over 120,000 professionals and about 90,000 visitors. It was held  under three themes of the main events revolving around “Tourism, Culture and Heritage”, “Urban Tourism” and the challenges facing the sector following the recovery and the major projects of Turespaña. Daniel Rosado Director Spain Tourism GCC shared, “Most of the Arab countries exhibited their tourist attractions at FITUR, but it is worth highlighting the wide variety of opportunities offered by both the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.  Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the framework of their Vision 2030, has started to take historic steps such as the e-visa. For its part, the UAE exhibited at FITUR the boost it has given to the tourism sector over the last five years. In relation to international participation, the strongest growth is recorded in Asia-Pacific (163%), Africa (88%) and the Middle East (60%).” Balaji Ramgopal, COO of Al Arif Sons travel reiterated, “Greetings from Madrid! I am thankful to the UAE Spain Tourism team for the support extended in my trip to attend FITUR event 2023. Our company Al Arif Sons Travel is one of the agencies specialized in curating luxury leisure holidays for UAE national families. At FITUR I was very happy to witness such a mega event after the pandemic. There were more than 7 large pavilions with various destinations representing with exhibiting large stands, flooded with exhibitors and buyers. South American destinations were in big focus due to Spanish speaking Travellers. However, there were big exhibits of Asian and European countries as well. It was a great opportunity to meet some …

Last weekend, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Tourism Board hosted 126 travel trade partners from the UAE for a special desert safari as their first trade engagement for the year. Travel trade partners were able to enjoy from dune bashing, sand boarding, riding the camel and other memorable experiences amidst being with so many partners whom some met after many years. The event was graced by Consul General of the Republic of Singapore in Dubai Raziff Aljunied. Addressing the trade partners HE Consul General, “first of all I would like to thank all of you for the support that you have rendered to us and for accepting the invitation to attend today’s event put together by Singapore Airlines and Singapore Tourism Board. I would also like to inform that now Singapore is fully open and we are ready for business, it was a trying time for us with covid, but now we are coming back with a vengeance and you can also capitalise with revenge travel as we say, so continue to have Singapore as the top of the mind destination for your travellers.” “It is a pleasure to be back for a trade engagement activity which is of a very unique kind, this is the first time that we are conducting a desert safari trade engagement activity for the past six years, I have never done a trade engagement activity in such a setting. First of all a big thank you to all of you for bringing travellers from the UAE to Singapore. In 2022, Singapore opened in April for international vaccinated travellers without quarantine. So overall in 2022, we have received 6.3million visitors which is above our forecast.” Ashwin …