Category Archives: Govt

Making its show stopping debut at the 24th edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), Dubai’s biggest citywide shopping extravaganza created by Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai Tourism, is Light Art DXB, combining the elements of movement and light, which will be on display from January 7 until February 13, 2019 at the Burj Park Plaza. Creating a dynamic environment from optimally placed giant mirrors, Light Art DXB will bathe Downtown Dubai’s Burj Park Plaza in a mesmerising kaleidoscope of light. The display of six dynamic sculptures, created through rotating mirrors and supported by a strategic placement of light, will complement the Burj Park Plaza and additionally work in harmony as a reflection base for Burj Khalifa. A bespoke artistic installation by Dubai Tourism and masterminded by Dubai-based technical designer, John Jossifakis, in collaboration with Frankfurt and Athens-based lighting designer, George Tellos, Light Art DXB is the first in a series of new installations the city will enjoy in 2019.

Tens of thousands of visitors have visited the National Festival of Heritage and Culture, the 33rd edition of Janadria, organised by the Ministry of National Guard under the slogan ‘Faithfulness and Loyalty.’ The heritage village at the festival as well as the shows of the folk groups from various regions of Saudi Arabia and some Arabian Gulf countries are popular and have become a milestone in the most beautiful elements of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Janadria is the largest cultural festival in Saudi Arabia and the largest event of its kind in the world that is being held for 21 days during the period from December 20, 2018 to January 9, 2019 as part of efforts to intensify attention to the Saudi heritage and regional and international visibility. In addition, it promotes a dialogue of cultures and civilisations between nations and people. The heritage village at Janadria is attracting thousands of families from different age groups, in addition to the artisans who are present throughout the festival area, especially in the folk market. The National Festival of Heritage and Culture offers heritage lovers a unique application which includes a complete definition of the Janadria Festival, a map of the stands and elements of the festival, activities and updated news about the festival on a daily basis. The folk groups programme is one of the most important pillars of the festival and there are more than 700 people that reflect the folk heritage, customs and traditions of all regions of Saudi Arabia and the GCC countries of the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) is rolling out a set of initiatives to deliver end-to-end ‘Only in Dubai’ experiences to ensure tourists get to enjoy an unforgettable stay in the emirate, and encourage repeat visitation, as part of efforts to further strengthen and sustain the city’s world-class propositions. One of the key pillars of Dubai’s Tourism Vision 2022-2025, the ‘Only in Dubai’ set of initiatives will deliver authentic and world-class end-to-end destination experiences across travel touchpoints that are tailored to relevant segments of tourists. The tourism strategy announced by Dubai’s visionary leadership aims to make Dubai the most-visited city in the world, targeting 25 million visitors annually by 2025, and the unparalleled ‘Only in Dubai’ experiences will offer regular unexpected delight moments and active reduction of detractor moments or pain points that will positively impact guest happiness to inspire the millions of tourists to re-visit Dubai. Measuring visitor recommendation and satisfaction is being done through Tourism’s Happiness Index, which was launched under His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai. This index measures not only Dubai’s ability to exceed service expectations, but also helps ensure that every visitor to Dubai becomes a passionate loyalist and a firm advocate of the city. Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), said, “While our world-class propositions and experiences showcase the diversity of the destination offerings and provide segment-based preferences for tourists, we are working closely with our partners and stakeholders to curate, create and deliver personalised end-to-end experiences. Visitors will be able to enjoy at every step of their journey, which starts from …

The fifth edition of 30-day ‘Shop Bahrain’ festival, aimed at celebrating the Kingdom’s hospitality and tourism offering, will be held from January 1 to February 2, 2019. Organised by the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), in cooperation with partners from the public and private sector such as Tamkeen, VIVA, Gulf Air and AA Bin Hindi Group as strategic partners, the festival will include a unique line-up of events and entertainment, a shopping experience and numerous prizes. Prize partners include Gravity, Awal Gas, Hawar Beach Hotel, Kitchen for Life Company, the Ice Cream Shop and Rahim Holdings. This year’s edition will feature more than 73,000 prizes including 11 cars, electronics from AA Bin Hindi Group, 6,000 airline tickets at special rates from Gulf Air, thousands of instant prizes from VIVA and much more. “Shop Bahrain” is one of the Kingdom’s major initiatives that aim to contribute to the national economy through stimulating the tourism and retail sectors. The fourth edition successfully achieved over 145,000 transactions with the value of 19 million Bahraini Dinars and more than 137,150 local and regional shoppers registered on the online loyalty system. Commenting on the upcoming festival, Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa, Chief Executive, Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority, said, “We promise nothing but the best in the fifth-edition of “Shop Bahrain”, the largest nationwide event which aims to further drive the growth of the tourism and retail sector by attracting residents and tourists from our Gulf neighbours. Last edition hit a record with 19 million Bahraini Dinars of transaction value, and we are positive that this new edition will surpass all expectations. The 5th edition will serve a complete entertainment and fun experience for the …

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced an “e-hail” taxi joint venture with Careem Networks recently at a press conference held under the patronage of His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer; Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors, RTA; Mudassir Sheikha, Co- founder and CEO, Careem, along with other senior officials and CEOs from the RTA and senior executives of Careem. HE Al Tayer stated that this partnership was the first in the world between a government transport authority and the private sector. “This initiative stems from RTA’s keenness to implement the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister, the UAE and Ruler, Dubai, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world. It also aims to bring happiness to people, deliver classy services to tourists and enrich customer’s experience. This partnership is the first-of-its-kind worldwide between a government transport authority and a private entity specialised in taxi e-hail business. “Through this new company, the RTA intends to leverage the taxi sector in Dubai. It involves raising the efficiency of taxis in Dubai through enhanced accessibility of vehicles and their online booking and reducing the expected waiting time for the vehicle. It also entails a host of advantages to clients such as making a direct online payment via the app, charting the most suitable journey route, sharing the ride with others, displaying details of the vehicle and driver, in addition to an option for providing the service with a chauffeur. Five of the big e-hail taxi companies operating in the global market submitted technical and financial proposals but Careem was selected as it caters to the provision of …

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) and HIS Co, one of Japan’s leading travel agencies, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Tokyo to confirm a strategic collaboration between the two entities. This month’s agreement marks the first-of-its-kind for Japan’s travel and tourism sector, and emphasises the commitment from Dubai Tourism and HIS Co, to increasing awareness amongst Japanese travellers, while positioning the emirate as the destination of choice across multiple target audiences including female travellers, honeymooners, families and seniors segments. The MoU was signed by Issam Kazim, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) and Tatsuya Nakamori, President, HIS Japan at the HIS headquarters in Tokyo. The MoU outlines plans to deliver an enhanced visitor experience for Japanese tourists in Dubai by providing increased ease of access to marketing collateral for the emirate’s variety of travel products, tailored information through localised campaigns and retail store promotions in major cities across Japan. Kazim said, “HIS is a significant partner for Dubai with its considerable reach across the Japanese market and longstanding history in the travel sector. Our future focused collaboration allows us to promote Dubai as the destination of choice for Japanese travellers, as we work together to drive our efforts in the market. We have seen continued positive growth in the number of Japanese guests visiting the city.” Tatsuya Nakamori, President, HIS Japan said, “Dubai is the number one destination in the Middle East for HIS due to its level of safety, variety of tourist attractions and high quality accommodation options. We have seen consistent growth in the demand for travel to the emirate from Japanese tourists, and are expecting this to …

Dubai remains on track to becoming the most visited city for global travel, business and events, according to the latest visitation figures released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism). The emirate welcomed 11.58 million visitors in the first three quarters of 2018, with India retaining its position as Dubai’s leading source market, followed by Saudi Arabia and the UK continuing to hold second and third positions respectively, underlining the city’s sustained appeal to its traditional strongholds and a wider diversified global audience. Russia, China and Germany continued to be key drivers within the top performing markets, each recording double-digit growth compared to the same period in 2017. Tourism from Russia remained on high trajectory, growing by a massive 60 per cent year-on-year, with visitor numbers surging to 460,000 in just the first nine months of 2018. The increase in Russian overnight guests was supported by a strong 19 per cent growth in air capacity across non-stop flights, in addition to added ease of travel access following the introduction of visa-on-arrival facilities in the last two years. China also continued to highlight benefits from the visa-on-arrival scheme, complementing the ongoing ‘China Readiness’ strategy, consequently re-enforcing its upward curve resulting in China securing its position as the fourth largest feeder market with an impressive 641,000 visitors so far this year, marking a 12 per cent increase versus 573,000 for the same period last year. Germany grew even faster at 15 per cent to reach 388,000 visitors during the first nine months, landing in eighth place within the top 10 source markets for Dubai. From a regional perspective, the first nine months saw 20 per cent of overnight visitors …

The fourth edition of the two-day Sharjah FDI Forum titled ‘Shaping the Future of Economies’, got underway in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member Ruler of Sharjah. The event opened with optimistic comments by the HE Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, the UAE, and the Shurooq Executive Chairman about the nation’s readiness to promote foreign direct investments (FDIs) as an enabler of sustainable development, despite the slump experienced globally – especially in developed economies – in 2017. Al Mansouri shed light on how the new UAE Investment law has come into force to consolidate the nation’s position for FDI both regionally and globally, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. Global flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 16 per cent in 2017 to an estimated US$1.52 trillion, from a revised US$1.81 trillion in 2016, according to the latest World Investment Report. The Economic Minister cited examples like the approval of 10-year visas for those in the fields of science, technology; new stimulus packages like bank guarantees; flexible remittances; 100 per cent business ownership by foreign investors; the promotion of entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and building capacities of national cadres. Al Mansouri remarked, “There is a need to promote cooperation and dialogue to turn this negative decline around. The UAE has number 1 position in FDI in the Arab region. It is forums like this that offer a platform for the same, and will contribute to mapping of FDI in Sharjah and the UAE.” He explained that the UAE Agenda 2021 has a focus on attracting qualitative investments targeted towards achieving sustainable …

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), in partnership with Sharjah International Marine Sports Club has announced The Sharjah World Championship Week to be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler, Sharjah from December 11 to 15, 2018. Two championship water sports competitions form part of the Grand Prix of Sharjah, which include the UIM F1H2O World Championship 2018 and the UIM-ABP Aquabike Class Pro Circuit World Championship and will be the main highlights of the event. HE Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “Sports tourism is a key focus of Sharjah’s drive towards attracting 10 million tourists in line with the Sharjah Tourism Vision 2021. As a city which offers every member of the family an activity to enjoy, we are confident that this edition will be popular, successful and well attended once again by water sports fans, especially among the youth and the travel-driven millennials who love the challenge and exciting, competitive nature of water sports.” Up to 10 Formula 1 Powerboat Racers and 60 Aquabike racers from over 32 countries excel in showcasing their strengths navigating the tunnel-hull catamarans over the water. The key partners of the events include the Department of Seaports & Customs, Sharjah Police Headquarters; Sharjah Electricity & Water, Sharjah City Municipality; Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority; Sharjah Civil Defence and Sahara Centre. Other sponsors include Al Zahra Hospital as medical sponsor; Sharjah Media Corporation as media sponsor; Sharjah International Marine Sports Club as strategic partner; Hilton Sharjah, Royal Tulip the Act Hotel, Golden Tulip and Copthorne Hotel as hospitality partners. Nicolo di San Germano, Promoter, UIM F1 PowerBoat & Aquabike …

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) and Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, a division of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) have teamed up to win bids to host four leading international conferences in Abu Dhabi – all of them being held in the Middle East region for the first time. These wins, for the World Congress of Nephrology, the Annual Conference of the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes (ISPAD) Congress, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Africa, Europe, Middle East Global Conference, and the XIV World Association for Psychosocial Rehabilitation (WAPR) World Congress – will contribute to enhancing Abu Dhabi’s growing reputation as a global health and education hub. Securing these significant conferences will also support the Abu Dhabi government in its efforts to further develop these sectors, which have been identified as key development areas in the Abu Dhabi Vision 2030 roadmap for the future. HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Undersecretary, DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Abu Dhabi is now firmly established as a major player on the global events stage, able to excel at hosting the world’s most prominent conferences and exhibitions. Working in partnership with our colleagues at ADNEC to secure these conferences for the Emirate is further proof of the great strides we are making in positioning Abu Dhabi as a destination of choice for a whole host of major international organisations.” Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Group CEO, ADNEC, said, “These four conferences are of strategic importance as we continue our efforts to position the Emirate as a key global hub for health and education, which are among the sectors identified in the Abu Dhabi vision document as crucial to the Emirate’s …