Category Archives: Govt

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announced a strong upturn in the Emirate’s tourism and hospitality performance during the initial phase of recovery post the COVID-19 pandemic. The Authority had launched a range of far reaching support initiatives, aimed at its hospitality, leisure and development partners, during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis to lay the strong foundations for future recovery. Moreover, stringent safety measures were implemented across the Emirate to safeguard guests and residents leading to internationally renowned certifications and a quick bounce-back of its tourism industry. Ras Al Khaimah’s key performance highlights during the initial phase of recovery include: Ras Al Khaimah reported an average ADR increase of 12.9% over Eid Al Adha break, the highest average room rate, compared to the last three years under normal (non-pandemic) travel circumstances; Despite the regional effects of the pandemic, Ras Al Khaimah leads in RevPAR in the UAE. The ongoing ‘Shortcation’ Campaign, which was launched in early June targeting domestic travel, drove bookings of almost 7,000 nights during the first eight weeks of the campaign; During Eid Al Adha holiday, Ras Al Khaimah hotels and resorts welcomed over 18,000 guests who chose the Emirate as their preferred staycation destination; The Jais Adventure Peak which has welcomed over 52,000 thrill seekers to date, reopened with strict sanitary measures and continues to receive visitors; Ras Al Khaimah becomes the first city in the world to be certified as safe by Bureau Veritas and the first Emirate to receive the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Safe Travels Stamp. RAKTDA partners with the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority and Ras Al Khaimah Preventive Medicine Department provide free COVID-19 PCR testing for …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has extended the deadline for implementation of the 19 Sustainability Requirements and Carbon Calculator submissions by 12 months. The requirements have been laid out to support the emirate’s hotel establishments in their compliance with Dubai Tourism’s hotel classification system, and the long-term objective of advancing sustainability performance across the sector.In light of the current situation surrounding the global COVID-19 pandemic, hotels will benefit from an additional 12 month implementation period to finalise their sustainability compliance, a decision that has has been announced by Dubai Tourism to strengthen the foundations for recovery of the hospitality sector. All requirements will now be mandated from 1 July 2021 with the extension also including the postponing of the Carbon Calculator monthly submissions until the same deadline. The 19 Sustainability Requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities. Through improving internal sustainability operations, hotel establishments in turn will enhance the competitiveness of Dubai’s tourism-linked economy. Since its inception in January 2017, the Carbon Calculator – part of the Tourism Dirham Platform, is a tool that has been measuring the carbon footprint within Dubai’s hospitality sector. On a monthly basis hotels submit their consumption of 11 carbon emission sources, including; electricity, district cooling, water, waste, fuel for transportation, fuel for generators, fire extinguishers, and liquefied petroleum gas for analysis. This information is aggregated and analysed to provide valuable industry insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint. In addition, by formulating a baseline along with consistent tracking, this information enables hotels to …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has partnered with Microsoft to further streamline data-driven services offered to stakeholders, enhance the e-learning platform for Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and adopt an innovative approach towards showcasing the city as a must-visit destination. Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, commented, “As we plan for future scenarios, cloud based solutions have emerged as a crucial element of Dubai Tourism’s digital transformation strategy because of the secure, sustainable and scalable nature of the technology. The diversity of our partnership with Microsoft will add to our efforts to embed world class technology solutions to our business systems and further enhance the scope of cutting-edge digital services that we provide our stakeholders in real-time, to help ensure Dubai stays ahead of the curve and also maintain its position at the forefront of the world’s leading travel destinations.” “Microsoft Azure has been at the heart of the company’s efforts to form several strategic partnerships across UAE’s public and private businesses and accelerate their digital transformation agendas by migrating to the cloud,” said Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE. “Our partnership with Dubai Tourism enables their platform to seek better customer engagement, empower its workforce, optimise operations and reinvent products and services. This is made possible by our two cloud regions in the UAE serving customers across the region to innovate and grow.” Essa Bin Hadher, General Manager, Dubai College of Tourism, said, “Dubai College of Tourism established a strong online learning platform even before the pandemic and today the advantages of using such a system have become more important than ever. Indeed, in this challenging environment, we are able …

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) announced a partnership agreement with Accor as part of its strategy to develop AlUla as a tourism destination for nature, culture and heritage. The agreement will see Accor operate an expanded Ashar Resort under the Banyan Tree brand. There will be 47 new units added, which will bring the resort’s total number up to 82 high-end villas, along with a luxury spa and several gourmet restaurants. This will be guided by a sensitive design that allows each villa to blend discreetly into the striking natural scenery of the Ashar valley, located 15km from the Kingdom’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, Hegra. Commenting on the agreements, the CEO of the Royal Commission for AlUla, Amr Al Madani, said, “We’re working with the world’s best developers and hotel operators to deliver projects that complement our cultural oasis, as well as benefitting our local community. The partnership agreement with Accor is part of a major series of capital projects and multiple investments made by RCU into fifteen plans in AlUla, many of which will be announced in the coming months.” Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of Accor said, “In line with our commitment to grow Accor’s unique portfolio in Saudi Arabia, and as one of the first global hospitality groups to set foot in the Kingdom, we are extremely proud to take part in the development of the historic county of AlUla, thus celebrating the Kingdom’s vast heritage and culture.” Commenting on the agreement, Bander M. Alharbi, Head of Hotels and Resorts at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said, “The Ashar Resort forms part of our strategy to create an immersive boutique destination that offers transformative experiences …

H.E Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, UAE reviewed a detailed report on the progress of efforts undertaken by the Interim Committee to Deal with the Impact of COVID-19 on the National Economy, during the Committee’s fifth virtual meeting, which was chaired by His Excellency. HE was briefed on the economic and financial implications of all the measures adopted by the federal and local governments over the past months since the onset of the pandemic, and the extent of their effectiveness in supporting the country’s business continuity during these times. HE Eng. Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehhi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Economic Affairs said that the Committee is continuously measuring their success in developing sustainable and practical policies and solutions that suit the needs of the business sector and contribute to its speedy recovery. He affirmed that the Ministry and its partners in the Committee will directly and periodically assess the implementation of packages and initiatives and will stand by all efforts to support business activities and develop the economy. H.E. Saif Hadef Al Shamsi, Deputy Governor of the UAE Central Bank, explained the measures introduced by the Bank in detail, which helped many of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) continue their operations during the crisis, provided facilities for real estate buyers and improved liquidity of banks to meet the requests for lending and deferred payments. In this context, HE Saif Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation for Human Resources Affairs, stated that the Ministry repaid about AED 8.3 billion of bank guarantees to employers, which represents about 50 per cent of the total bank guarantees until the …

H.E Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, held a virtual meeting with H.E Ranil Jayawardena, British Minister for International Trade, to discuss the frameworks of bilateral trade and economic partnerships. The meeting also discussed new opportunities to expand the scope of the existing partnerships in accordance with the priorities of the coming stage, in order to serve the strategic and development aspirations and visions of the two friendly countries. The meeting was attended by H.E Mansoor Abulhoul, the UAE’s ambassador to the United Kingdom; H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs; H.E. Juma Mohammed Al Kait, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs; and Mohammed Nasser Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of the Trade Promotion Department at the Ministry of Economy. Simon Benny, British Trade Commissioner for the Middle East, and number of officials participated in the meeting from the UK’s side. The meeting followed up on some files related to bilateral cooperation efforts, which included coordination with regard to the convening of the sixth UAE-UK Joint Economic Committee. These include a review of investment opportunities and incentives in priority sectors, renewable energy, health care, food security and advanced technology services, as well as a number among the requirements for the restoration of tourism activity between the markets of the two countries. Additionally, the meeting discussed the ongoing efforts to initiate discussion on a free trade agreement between the GCC and the UK. During the meeting, H.E Dr. Al Zeyoudi underscored the UAE’s strong commitment to enhance bilateral cooperation with the UK in all fields of interest, especially in the area of …

In preparation for this year’s Hajj, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) has completed the maintenance of about 491 km of roads leading to Makkah and has assigned buses for each pilgrim group with full precautionary measures.These steps follow the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with the support and supervision of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Al Mukaramah Province, and the follow-up of Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport, to serve the visitors of the Holy House of Allah. Periodic and preventive maintenance was carried out on several major roads leading to Makkah Al Mukaramah, which included Al Madinah Highway, Jeddah Highway, Old Jeddah Road, Al Sail Road, Al Hada Road, AlLayth Road. Maintenance work included lighting, bridge expansion, fence repair, scraping and asphalting, as well upkeep of directional signs, road signs, road sign holders, paints, cat eyes, construction of concrete and metal barriers, and fence wires. Wadi Ash Shu’bah ferry also started its operation. Al-Jasser confirmed the readiness of all facilities and installations for Hajj. He sought the importance of cooperation of the entire transport users to comply with the necessary preventative measures against COVID-19. The number of passengers must not exceed 50% of the total accommodation capacity of the bus. Passengers must adhere to physical distancing inside the bus by following the recommended policy. A seat must be left vacant between two passengers. However, families can sit together. No one is allowed to stand inside the bus. All passengers must wear facemasks.

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has launched the ‘Sharjah Safe for Tourism’ stamp, a mark of assurance given to all establishments in Sharjah which fully adhere to the public health protocols and guidelines aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19. The stamp follows the measures set out by the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) ‘Safe Travels’ stamp, the world’s first global safety and hygiene stamp for travel and tourism. H.E. Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “Our main priority is the health and safety of residents and visitors alike, which led to the development of the ‘Safety Assured’ stamp, employing the protocols set by the World Travel and Tourism Council under their ‘Safe Travels’ stamp program to assure tourists of a secure and relaxing experience at every stage of their journey and stay in Sharjah.” Al Midfa added, “We have outlined the precautionary measures for all hotels to ensure their guests can enjoy the establishment’s facilities with full confidence. SCTDA continuously monitors premises to ensure compliance with precautionary measures to make sure they are fully prepared to receive guests with the highest standards of hygiene and safety.” H.E. Abdulla Ali Al Mahyan, Chairman of the Sharjah Health Authority (SHA), said, “Sharjah has always remained keen on applying the latest in international standards and best practices, particularly in the field of health and safety to ensure that the emirate’s citizens, residents and visitors are well protected. In line with this, the Sharjah Health Authority is working in close partnership with the SCTDA to implement the required preventive measures ensuring public health and health security. We are confident that the ‘Sharjah Safe for Tourism’ stamp will serve as …

His Excellency Major General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) met with representatives of tourism companies in Dubai to discuss the mechanism for granting tourist visas as part of promoting and revitalising tourism in the post-COVID-19 phase. The meeting was also attended by HE Major General Obaid Muhair bin Suroor, Deputy Director General of GDRFA Dubai, Colonel Dr. Omar Al Shamsi, Assistant Director General for Entry and Residence Permits Sector, and other officials. “Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing and tourism companies are major partners of the GDRFA in the effort to realise Dubai’s vision to become the world’s leading tourism destination and commercial hub,” Al Marri added. His Excellency said he expects tourism to emerge stronger from the crisis with the removal of air travel restrictions and the resumption of all vital sectors in the country. He emphasised that the UAE has proven its ability to overcome the crisis by creating a robust framework for managing the impact of the pandemic and implementing comprehensive precautionary measures. Following the resumption of air travel, international tourism flows have been increasing, he noted. Al Marri further said the GDRFA is geared to contribute to the revitalisation of tourism in Dubai. The department is working constantly with its partners to facilitate the procedures for issuing visas and receiving travellers, while ensuring compliance with the UAE government’s measures to protect everyone’s health and safety. He stressed on the need to adhere to the UAE government’s air travel protocols.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has appointed Claviger to promote Dubai as a destination and increase arrivals from across the GCC and Egypt. Claviger will leverage its in-market presence across the GCC and Egypt to promote Dubai as a prime destination for leisure travellers. Its dedicated sales force of market experts will highlight the exceptional Dubai calendar of events and tourism and hospitality attractions that the destination has to offer. Appointing Claviger will give DTCM access to an extensive network of travel industry professionals as it targets increased tourist numbers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Egypt. DTCM will also call on the company’s expertise to further develop Dubai as an important brand and destination of choice for GCC and Egypt holidaymakers. KSA is one of the GCC’s highest traffic generators for Dubai, with 1.56 million [AAS1] Saudis visiting the city in 2019. As the second highest volume driver for the GCC, Oman secures fourth spot in 2019 with a sharp 24.3 per cent spike to deliver over a million visitors. While Egypt remains in the top 20, with 314,000 visitors all demonstrating potential to positively impact tourism traffic in 2020. Speaking about the representation agreement, Hoor Al Khaja, Acting Associate Vice President for International Operations at DTCM said, “Dubai remains amongst the most preferred destinations for tourists from the region. Appointing Claviger is part of Dubai Tourism’s commitment to its source markets and our ongoing strategy to attract even more visitors from GCC and Egypt to Dubai, year-on-year.”