arabian travel news - jan 2010

TRAVEL TRENDS | VIRGIN INTERVIEW | ADDRESS REVIEW | MYSTERY SHOPPER | AGENT BOWLING NIGHT

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TRAVEL TRENDS | VIRGIN INTERVIEW

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January 2010 Issue 1 Vol. 5

ATN reports from the PURE Life

exhibition

Retail therapy breaks your clients should know about

Inaugural awards for travel trade’s

unsung heroes

ATN reports fromN

EXPERIENTIAL TRAVEL TREND

Retail therapy breaks yo

SHOP ‘TIL YOUDROP IN LONDON

naugural awards

ATN AWARDS2010 UNVEILED

THE TOP TOURISM PROJECTS SET TO KEEP THE GULF DESTINATION IN

THE SPOTLIGHT IN 2010

DUBAIRISING

01 January 2010 – Arabian Travel Newswww.hoteliermiddleeast.com

News

03 Regional newsTRS in EmQuest tie up; Kuoni expansion; and new web agent.

04 ATN awardsFind out how to enter the inaugu-ral Arabian Travel News Awards 2010, which will take place during Arabian Travel Market in May.

06 News analysisATN attends the fi rst ever PURE Life show dedicated to experi-ential travel and fi nds there are opportunities galore to exploit this sector.

08 AirlinesIATA’s emissions goal champi-oned at Copenhagen; Gulf Air ditches routes; and Oman Air splashes the cash.

10 Tools Pegasus reveals some uplifting travel booking trends for 2008 and Travelport migrates Oman’s Bah-wan Travel to Galileo.

Contents

12 Tourism boardsKenya forges closer links with UAE travel market; Hong Kong gets ready to embark on trade mission; and African Odyssey to represent Cape Town.

13 AccommodationJordan’s resorts react fast to new

Skillset

23 Tried and testedThe Address Dubai Mall gets put through its paces this month.

24 Mystery shopperThis month ATN’s mystery shop-per gives the travel agents a break and puts car rental companies in the spotlight.

How to sell

28 Top Dubai projectsATN provides a list of the top Dubai tourism-related projects set to come to fruition in 2010.

33 Shopping in LondonFrom tax-free spending to après-shopping spa treatments and tea treats, ATN gives you the top tips to sell this retail heaven.

Agent action

38 Burning issueATN asks students studying travel and tourism with TRS Consult-ing in Knowledge Village why they want to work in the travel industry

40 Agents strike luckyTravelport’s bowling extravaganza.

11 Tour operatorsEmirates Holidays boosts its win-ter brochure offering to cater to skiers and non-skiers alike.

28

Indian tourist visa regulations and Cristal Hotels & Resorts announces expansion plans.

14 CruiseCosta Cruises reinforces its sup-port for Dubai as a burgeoning cruise hub and GCC market gets booking on Oasis of the Seas.

Q&A

18 Still red hotVirgin Atlantic sales and mar-keting director Paul Dickinson reveals how it pays to spend your way through a recession

48

a d C sta ote s & esoannounces expansion pla

14 CruiseCosta Cruises reinforces itport for Dubai as a burgeocruise hub and GCC markbooking on Oasis of the Se

Q&A

18 Still red hotVirgin Atlantic sales and mketing director Paul Dickireveals how it pays to spenway through a recession

18

23

33

Welcome to Morocco, the land of contrasts. Vibrant and enchanting, where shadows meld with sunlight, and sky and sea kiss at the horizon. A land that for centuries has been romanticized by storytellers in their books. Weaving tales about its natural beauty, the warm hearts of its people and the elegance of its architecture. Not to mention its lazy beaches crawling on the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas, its snow-covered peaks, water springs and thick forests, as well as the stunning beauty of its old cities. Come, discover Morocco today.

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Morocco, a place of fun for the entire family.

MOSAIK

travel for real

03 January 2010 – Arabian Travel Newswww.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel

REGIONAL NEWSNews

MakeMyTrip enters Middle East marketImproved internet connectivity inspires Indian fi rm to launch online travel portal

Training centre signs up for Sabre

ONLINE AGENCIES

TRAINING

EmQuest has enhanced its strategic alliance with TRS Consulting after signing an agreement giving the training specialist extra educational tools, including computer sets and Sabre software.

TRS Consulting’s training centre in Dubai’s Knowledge Village will also receive a ded-icated trainer who will tutor CTA students on Sabre’s Basic Reservation and Ticketing Course on a gratis basis.

“This would allow the

Kuoni’s DXB business robustINBOUND

Inbound business to Dubai has remained robust in 2009 according to tour operator giant Kuoni.

The Switzerland-head-quartered fi rm, which runs inbound operations in Dubai, said European business to the emirate performed well last year despite a sight decline from the CIS market.

“The number of passen-gers travelling to Dubai hasn’t dropped, but travel behaviour has shifted towards last-minute deals,” said Kuoni head of sales for India and the Middle East Yasser Noman. He said demand for last-minute bookings had increased by

38% compared to last year and that now hotel capacity had increased, Dubai was more affordable. Business leading up to the festive period also performed well noted Noman, who said the number of inbound pas-sengers to the region was similar to recent years.

Noman, who heads Kuo-ni’s Destination Asia unit, recently took over responsi-bility for Destination Africa and told ATN the company planned to expand into Jor-dan in 2010.

“This should take place in the second quarter and this hub (in Jordan) will look after 11 countries, where the main bulk of business will come from Europe and CIS countries,” he said.

News

travel trade to benefi t by cre-ating professionally-trained individuals who are ready to ‘play’ the moment they join the trade,” said TRS Consult-ing principal consultant Sun-dar Vasudaven. “We realise how pushed for time travel agencies are so we are ensur-ing students have all the nec-essary professional skills.”

The professional equip-ment means the training cen-tre now offers full technical tutoring, as well as the sales and general travel knowledge it currently provides.

Kuoni’s year-on-year increase in last-

minute bookings in 2009 compared

to 2008.38%

TRS Consulting’s Sundar Vasudaven with EmQuest cus-tomer solutions manager Tricia Escucha, training offi cer Syed Ghousuddin Imad and senior vice president Naz Nizari.

ATM is 70% contracted, according to organiserMore than 70% of exhibition space for Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2010 had been contracted at time of press.

A new feature for the show, which this year runs from May 4-7 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, is ‘Zone 8’, which provides a relaxed area for informal networking.

Returning to ATM in an enhanced for-

mat will be Careers Day on Thursday May 6, which will aim to facilitate meet-ings between exhibitors and people with a keen interest to work in the industry or to further their career. This will coin-cide with Travel Agents’ Day, which will involve live industry expert debates, an educational programme, as well as ATN’s Travel Agent Passport Scheme.

India’s leading travel booking portal, MakeMyTrip.com, is launching in the Middle East.

Keyur Joshi, co-founder and COO of MakeMyTrip, told ATN the online oppor-tunities that exist in the Mid-dle East right now are sim-ilar to those the company exploited in India in 2005.

“Many airlines are pop-ping up — especially low-cost carriers — and in terms of online there is

a gap in the market in this region,” commented Joshi.

“We believe we have to be here because it is one of the

fastest growing travel markets in the world.”

Joshi said the inter-net gave the com-pany the chance to serve tens of thou-sands of people in one go and that

the Middle East was one of the last regions to embrace online travel booking sites.

“For some reason there hasn’t been one online travel agency in the region, despite high internet usage and credit card penetration,” he remarked. “Many people are coming to the region and despite real estate and fi nan-cial problems in Dubai the market will continue to grow for the next 15 to 20 years.”

The company has been operating in the US for some

Joshi: Middle East is one of the world’s fastest growing markets.

time and is the largest online travel company in India, tak-ing on average 15,000 airline bookings daily.

The fi rm will also be accepting online payments in Dirhams to help custom-ers avoid additional conver-sion charges.

While the initial operation will be based in India, the fi rm plans to have a Dubai offi ce set up by February and is set to spend a signifi cant fi gure on its online marketing operation, claimed Joshi.

04 Arabian Travel News – January 2010 www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel

REGIONAL NEWSATN awards

ATN launches fi rst awards programmeRegion’s travel agents to be recognised at glittering awards ceremony during ATM 2010

AGENT AWARDS

Arabian Travel News will launch its inaugural awards programme this year in a bid to recognise the unsung heroes of the Middle East’s travel agency community.

The fi rst awards of their kind, the Arabian Travel News Awards 2010, are designed to recognise the efforts of a wide range of travel industry professionals, from frontline staff and agency managers to those who work behind the scenes such as accountants and IT gurus.

The programme kicks of in the next few months, with either agents or their col-leagues or managers invited to make their nominations online at www.hotelier-middleast.com/atnawards where they will be required to provide information relating to a strict set of criteria.

Nominations will close on April 4, 2010, in time for the shortlist in each of the 12 cat-egories to be created.

The shortlisted candi-dates will then be judged

The awards ceremony will take place on May 6, 2010.

by an expert panel of pro-fessionals from a broad

spectrum of travel-re-lated industries. The

names of the panelists will be announced at a later date. ATN senior

group edi-tor Gemma Greenwood said the awards cele-

brated excellence in the Middle East’s travel agency community: “These awards recognise the efforts of true professionals who are pas-sionate about the industry and the service they provide to both customers and their fellow colleagues,” she said.

“From the frontline staff

who constantly strive to improve their product knowledge and upgrade their customer service skills to the agency manager who has to ensure he hits his targets while keeping his workforce up-to-speed, motivated and inspired, these awards will leave no stone unturned.

“We will also reward the back-offi ce staff who keep the travel agency business running smoothly — the IT gurus who know their GDS from their CRM; the HR and training managers who keep agent careers on track, not to mention the number crunchers who chase up cli-ent accounts and commis-sion payments.”

Greenwood said the win-ners would be those who had demonstrated a willingness to go that extra mile, whether they were staying late to com-plete a complicated client holiday package, or lobbying suppliers in a bid to improve travel agency terms for the benefi t of all.

The awards programme will culminate in a gala din-ner to be staged on May 6 in Dubai at a venue to be con-fi rmed. This date purposely coincides with the last trade day of Arabian Travel Mar-ket, which is also the event’s Travel Agents’ Day where ATN runs a passport scheme and other agent initiatives.

AWARDS CATEGORIES

ARABIAN TRAVEL NEWS AWARDS 2010

SPONSORSHIP

* Branch manager of the year* Leisure travel agency manager of the year* Leisure sales agent of the year

* Corporate travel agency man-ager of the year* Corporate sales agent of the year

* Travel management company * CEO/MD of the year

* HR/training manager of the year* IT manager of the year

* Finance manager of the year* Marketing person of the year* Agent newcomer of the year* Lifetime achievement award

When: Thursday May 6, 2010Where: Dubai — venue TBCWho can apply: any travel agency staff member working in the Middle EastHow to enter: visit www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/atnawardsFor more information: email [email protected]

The Arabian Travel News Awards brings together the cream of the region’s travel agency com-munity. As such, it is an ideal place for suppliers and service providers to promote their brand, meet poten-tial customers and entertain existing clients. To ensure sponsors get the maximum return from their invest-ment, sponsorship opportunities are limited. For more details on sponsor-ship packages visit the awards website at www.hotelier-middleeast.com/atnawards or email [email protected]

** C

* HR* IT m

* Finance * Marke* Agen* Lifet

Life enriching moments2010 will be a year of celebration in Jukkasjärvi, as it marks the 20th anniversay

of ICEHOTEL, a celebration we invite all our guest to participate in.

www.icehotel.com

With consumers looking beyond luxury to ‘experiential travel’, proactive agents should tap into this lucrative new sector, which covers a multitude of options from safari to space travel. Kathi Everden investigates


The next horizon?

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysis

ith outbound travellers in the Middle East plumping for

the same destinations time and time again, there is little incen-

tive to source new and exciting travel options. However, the fi nan-

cial earthquake that struck last year has decimated all pundits’ predictions for the future of travel.

Luxury travel, at least for the leisure sector, seems to continue on a growth curve but the demand is for more than just marbled lobbies and Bose technology, with actual content of the ‘holiday’ becoming as important as its star rating — at least according to international travel trends.

Debbie Joslin, group exhibitions director for Reed Travel Exhibitions’ ILTM show, said the luxury event delivered an upbeat year-end for the industry, refl ecting industry trends for more product.

“The luxury travel market has changed, with authenticity and the quality of the expe-rience becoming increasingly important to group and individual travellers,” she said.

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) too reports a boom in business, much of which can be attributed to the healthy bank balance and fi tness levels of the baby boomer generation of 50+ travellers.

“Adventure travel is defi nitely on the rise with a desire and willingness to pursue more authentic travel,” said ATTA president, Shan-non Stowell.

But he stressed that adventure or experien-tial travel did not necessarily mean sky diving in Hawaii or white water rafting in Colorado: “There’s always something new; from snor-kelling with killer whales off the coast of Nor-

way to luxury camping in Patagonia,” he said.

Taking this further, ‘expe-

he said, with inquisitive rather than acquisi-tive travel becoming the buzz word.

PURE EXPERIENCEFor all the theory, the PURE launch event in Marrakech in November underscored the demand for a dedicated event to capitalise on the demand for a world beyond luxury.

“It is clearly focused and cost effi cient, aimed at lodges, retreats and unique hotels, discovery journeys, wilderness experiences, soft and extreme adventure, gastronomic and cultural escapes and events and festi-val,” explained Dive. Some 700 participants attended from around the globe, with hosted buyers and set appointments guaranteeing a business environment.

There were only two Middle East exhibi-tors but those that did show up discovered an entirely new audience for the Arabian expe-rience. Dubai-based Gulf Ventures, promot-ing the wider UAE and Oman in particular, reported an excellent response, with the out-standing calibre of attendees generating good quality business.

“We had scheduled appointments throughout the event and in fact, were over-subscribed,” said operations manager Deb-orah Bevan. “People wanted the Middle East region as they know they can sell it, given the right product — and the main focus has been on Abu Dhabi and Oman.

“Previously the focus was on Dubai and we were not able to sell the UAE as such, but

riential travel’ has crept into the travel lexicon, defi ned as a leisure journey that can be active but also have cultural, natural, social or spiri-tual aspects.

According to Serge Dive, co-founder of the new PURE Life Experiences exhibition, which is devoted to the ‘experiential travel’ sector, the aim is to appeal to those who aspire to be travellers rather than tourists.

“The travel market is splitting again, mov-ing from selling destinations to selling jour-neys,” he said.

“In the 1990s, the destination was the coun-try and after the millennium, the destination became the hotel — now people don’t only want a destination or a resort — their holiday has become a gateway to an experience.”

Hand in glove with this aspiration, there is also a move towards more responsible travel,

Adventure travel is defi nitely on the rise with a desire and willingness to pursue more authentic travel ”

For some, ‘experiential travel’ means wildlife encounters.


REGIONAL NEWSNews analysis

The travel market is splitting again, moving from selling destinations to selling journeys ”

tors as the market there seems willing to travel and experience new things.

“We offer four-day desert initiation teach-ing 4WD skills mixing camping with a stay at The Chedi, but the potential is to expand this to longer trips and even twinned with the Liwa dunes in Abu Dhabi.”

OUTWARD BOUNDSo, if experiential travel could become another USP for inbound travel to the region, what of the potential for outbound?

In some ways, the travel industry in the Gulf is only just moving towards ‘packaging’ at a time when the rest of the world is going for independent travel, but in contrast, the trade has always catered to individual arrange-ments and could perhaps now shift to adding ‘experiences’ to the air/hotel combo.

A pioneer of this concept is Paul Clab-burn at Bahrain International Travel, who launched The Signature Collection “to stimu-late the thought process about travel in terms of products available”.

He acknowledged that the majority of bookings were for mainstream luxury prod-ucts but said bookings had been received for gorilla watching and Galapagos cruises.

“You need an angle to make this a success

Key selling tips Diving can be classed as ‘experiential travel’.

• Know your client, their prefer ences, budgets, sense of ad venture, love of comfort/luxury• Start with a few ‘shop win dow’ products that can be marketed and talked up — even just alternative Indian Ocean destinations or safaris• Research the market — exhibi tions such as PURE, organisations like ATTA (www. ATTA.travel), the African trade association, or the Adventure Travel Trade Association (www.adventuretravel.biz)• Think regional — Oman, Jor dan and Egypt operators are targeting experiential travel and could offer short-break trips that would appeal to the expat market in particular• Emphasise the tailor-made aspect of this travel — service elements are vital• Consider selling family experi ences as an alternative to the Disneyworld-style holiday

with more resorts such as Banyan Tree in Ras Al Khaimah, Al Maha, Qasr Al Sarab and Des-ert Palm, we are getting the right credentials and touring has become the thing, taking in Oman too and with perhaps our camel polo as a gimmick.”

With buyers “pleasantly surprised” at the scope of Arabian tours — and Gulf Ventures already notching up bookings from PURE show buyers for multi-centre itineraries — it emphasised the potential both to sell the UAE as one destination and also to package the Gulf product differently to woo new business.

Nicholas Mantheakis, the owner of Oman-based off-road specialist 53 Degrees East — the other Middle East exhibitor at the show — stressed that demand for travel to the region and its potential for soft adventure was strong at the event.

“I will defi nitely return — the show was geared to travel experiences rather than just luxury and it worked very well for me with more than 65 set meetings as well as passing traffi c,” he said.

“Most buyers were from Europe, but there was a great interest from South American visi-

— whether you are a big or niche operator,” he said. “We aim to broaden the horizons of our clients and offer suggestions to enable them to get more from their holiday than they might otherwise have expected.”

Clabburn stressed that those agents look-ing to sell experiential travel needed to be pas-sionate, invest in sourcing product and offer quality service.

The PURE event helped agents look at new product offerings by showcasing global sup-pliers and prompting new ways of thinking about traditional destinations.

The show opened up a whole new world — one where clients could be set aloft in a space balloon; venture across the canopy in the South American jungle; indulge in the lap of luxury on an ‘expedition’ cruise; ride the rapids on the Yukon in Canada’s wilderness; go heli-trekking in the Himalayas; discover gourmet Japan; retreat to a wellness spa in the South African bush; fi nd alternative beach luxury in Mozambique, Pemba, Bangaram or Fiji; test out a wine tour of New Zealand or Chile; or opt for yet another safari — this time on horseback, on elephant, on foot, or even by yak in Mongolia.

Expedition cruises are becoming increasingly popular with adventurous jet setters.


REGIONAL NEWSNews

IATA declares its aims at CopenhagenGlobal airline body promises the convention it will halve airline emissions by 2050

CARBON EMISSIONS

ADVERTISING

The International Air Trans-port Association (IATA) declared the aviation indus-try’s goal to achieve a net reduction in carbon emis-sion of 50% by 2050 com-pared to 2005 at last month’s climate change convention in Copenhagen.

This involves improving fuel effi ciency by an aver-age of 1.5% per year to 2020 and stabilising carbon emis-sions from 2020 with carbon-neutral growth, IATA director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani told the United Nations Framework Con-vention on Climate Change

Oman Air has shelled out US $10 million on an interna-tional advertising campaign.

It will run across broad-cast, print, online and out-door media and promote Oman’s culture history and its sporting opportunities, inviting travellers to ‘Find Oman’, ‘Bike Oman’, ‘Dive

Airlines

in cooperation with govern-ments through ICAO.

‘I call on governments in Copenhagen to give ICAO a clear mandate to report back to COP-16 with a Global Sec-toral Approach that will enable the aviation industry to deliver real results against concrete targets,” he said.

A Global Sectoral Approach through ICAO comprises three main elements — the full accounting for aviation’s emissions as a global indus-trial sector; the global coor-dination of economic mea-sures to ensure that aviation will not pay more than once for its emissions; plus access to global carbon markets.

Oman Air spends millions on adsGulf Air to scrap 15 routesSTRATEGY

Gulf Air will suspend up to 15 loss-making routes and expand its regional opera-tions as it aims to become a profi table carrier.

The airline will add more A320s to its fl eet while selling its fi ve A340s as it reduces the size of its wide-body fl eet.

Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said: “For the fi rst time, Gulf Air will focus spe-cifi cally on Bahrain, serving the kingdom with higher frequency non-stop ser-vices to more destinations across three continents.

“We will also provide bet-ter services to some of the world’s leading fi nancial markets, helping to support Bahrain’s signifi cant fi nan-cial services sector.”

Unprofi table routes earmarked for the chop include Shanghai, Hydera-bad and Bangalore — all decisions which form part of a three-year realignment programme announced last month.

The programme will aim to make the unprofi table business commercially sus-tainable by 2012.

• Today air transport is 75% quieter than four decades ago. • Last year aviation’s carbon footprint was just under 670 million tonnes of CO2. • That will shrink by 7% in 2009 — 5% as a result of the re-cession and 2% as a direct result of IATA’s emissions strategy.• Biofuels can reduce aviation’s carbon foot-print by up to 80%

Emirates Airline has opened a new “luxury lounge” at Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport.Leather armchairs, complimentary gourmet food and shower facilities now await premium passengers. This represents Emirates’ fi rst exclusive lounge in Africa and the sixth to be opened this year across its route network.

FAST FACTS

US $10 million

The value of Oman Air’s new ad campaign

he said. “These goals show the aviation industry is even ahead of its regulators in its approach to climate change.

Bisignani’s presentation was part of an offi cial side meeting hosted by the Inter-national Civil Aviation Orga-

nization (ICAO), the UN’s specialised agency for avi-ation. The Kyoto proto-col gives ICAO the respon-sibility for aviation’s

international e m i s s i o n s . B i s i g n a n i said the only way to meet IATA’s tar-gets was to work

Bisignani called on governments to help the aviation industry meet its emissions targets.

Emirates’ Jo’burg lounge opened last month.

EK lounges around Jo’burg

Oman’, ‘Climb Oman’, ‘Taste Oman’, ‘Smell Oman’ and ‘Walk Oman’.

The campaign will be rolled out in the UK, France and Germany following Oman Air’s recently launched new routes to Paris, Munich, Frankfurt, Male in the Mal-dives and Colombo in Sri Lanka while using new A330 aircraft on the London route.

Majali: Gulf Air will focus

on serving Bahrain.

A

Om$10tio

IcasdoOmits invOm

(UNFCCC), which was staged in the Danish capital.

“We are the only global industry coming to Copen-hagen with a strong track record and a commitment to cut our emissions in half by 2050,”


COMPETITION WINNER Direct flights toScandinavia

Book on www.norwegian.com

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www.icehotel.com

To participate in the competition, simply answer these two questions

and submit to [email protected] by October 30th 2009:

1. To which Scandinavian capitals does Norwegian fly from Dubai?

2. Where is the ice in ICEHOTEL taken from?*Conditions apply

COMPET

Scando competition winner announcedAgent ‘chuffed’ about winning ATN comp with Norwegian and Ice Hotel

Lucky Oman-based agent Raji DeMonte will be leaving the desert and head-ing to a much cooler climate having won ATN’s com-petition with low-cost air-line Norwegian and Norway’s Ice Hotel. DeMonte, divisional manager for United Travel LLC, who entered the competition in the October issue of ATN, will be fl ying with Norwegian from Dubai to Kiruna via Stockholm for a two-night stay at the world famous hotel.

“I’m absolutely chuffed,” DeMonte told ATN. “I really wanted to go to Scandinavia.

“I am quite well travelled, but have never had the chance to go there and I am a competition freak as well.”

United Travel’s Raji DeMonte is an avid reader of Arabian

Travel News.

DeMonte, an avid ATN reader, answered all the competi-tion questions

correctly, point-ing out that Nor-

wegian fl ies from Dubai to the Scandina-

vian capitals Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. The clued-up agent was also on the mark when she guessed correctly that the ice used to construct the Ice Hotel was taken from the Torne River.

DeMonte said Scandinavia was piquing the interest of Oman-based travellers.

“There’s lots of intrigue about Scandinavia in Oman,” she noted. “The Omanis are rather discerning travellers.”

ATN’s exciting competition with Norwegian and the Ice Hotel in the October edition.


REGIONAL NEWSMIME NEWS

MIGRATION

Pegasus reveals uplifting booking trendsThe technology fi rm’s October report shows 2009 fi gures starting to hit 2008 levels

Travelport migrates Oman’s Bahwan Travel to Galileo

STATISTICS

Tools

Travel bookings and net rev-enues were climbing back to 2008 levels towards the end of last year, the October 2009 edition of The Pegasus View has revealed.

The most positive move-ment was reported in North America where corporate bookings volumes jumped +3.5% in October 2009 com-pared to October 2008 and leisure bookings volumes by +21%, the travel technology provider revealed.

The average daily rate (ADR) for GDS transactions

reached its highest point in 2009 at $163 in October, but the report revealed booking lead-in times remained short for both corporate-driven GDS bookings and leisure-driven ADS transactions.

Pegasus CEO Mike Kist-ner said: “While there are many factors involved in these trends, the Pegasus data globally and more spe-cifi cally for North America indicates that we’re seeing a classic case where the fi rst countries to bear the brunt of the downturn are the fi rst to see signs of recovery, there-fore we could expect to see

Travelport has completed the migration of Oman’s Bahwan Travel Consor-tium to its Galileo platform in what it has claimed is the single-largest migration for the GDS provider this year.

The company said it was a “major feat” for both Travel-port and Bahwan ensuring that all of the group’s ticket-ing systems were switched seamlessly from the previ-ous GDS provider to Galileo in less than 24 hours.

In addition, more than 80

of Bahwan’s front-end users were successfully trained on the system within a limited time frame.

“We made the conversion to Travelport for several rea-sons, but mainly because they invested consider-able time consulting with us to ensure they understood our goals and challenges,” explained Bahwan Travel Consortium general man-ager Shankar Bose. “We are very pleased with how Trav-elport handled the conver-sion — they’ve been very responsive and the whole The Bahwan team said Travelport understood the travel fi rm’s goals.

While corporate travel GDS bookings in North America showed growth in October, the picture else-where is tamer, yet reserva-tions were getting closer to 2008 levels, the report added.

Other key trends noted include a “signifi cant shift” of volume from the GDS to the ADS.

While GDS volume is still down year-on-year by 6.42%, the ADS channel has seen signifi cant year-on-year growth in net reserva-tions of 3.27%. This trend is emphasised by the October 2009 versus 2008 results that revealed a 15.89% increase in ADS net reservations.

However, a positive trend for the GDS was that length of stay increased slightly in October to 2.16 days and total revenue generated through the GDS was nearly back to October 2008 levels (although down 2.28% year on year).

• $163 — the average daily rate (ADR) in October 2009 compared to $162.65 in September 2009 and $166.97 in October 2008.• 3.5% — the increase in GDS net reservations in North America in October 2009 compared to Oc tober 2008.• 15.89% — the increase in ADS net reservations in October 2009 compared to October 2008.• 2.16 days — the average length of stay for GDS bookings in October 2009.• -2.28% — the decrease in total revenue gener ated through the GDS in October 2009 compared to October 2008.

VITAL STATISTICS

process has been an amaz-ing success.”

As the GSA for 16 major air carriers, Bahwan Travel Consortium has developed a strong foothold in Oman over the last 35 years, with a network driving approx-imately 25 % of travel and tourism business in the Sul-tanate. The group is also a leader in corporate travel with 850 corporate clients including government busi-ness. The conversion fol-lows Travelport’s multi-year agreement with Bahwan ear-lier this year.

Source: The Pegasus View

other global regions pro-ducing similar encouraging results in early 2010.”

GDS bookings had a com-paratively strong month with a slight increase in bookings and ADR ($163) over Sep-tember 2009 ($162.65).

However, this was lower than the $166.97 reported

$163The average daily rate in October 2009 (highest point of the year)

in October 2008 and $182 in September 2008.

“This indicates that the impact of the recession on rates really started to take hold in October 2008,” said the report.

“We still have a signifi cant gap to close before rates are back to pre-recession levels.”

Source: The Pegasus View


Emirates Hols offers winter experiencesTour operator’s new winter brochure caters to skiers and non-skiers alike with its offering

BROCHURES

Emirates Holidays has broad-ened the appeal of its ski bro-chure by introducing winter experiences to the offering.

The tour operator’s Ski Holidays 2009-2010 bro-chure, which is out on the shelves now, has included experiences to appeal to trav-ellers who are not necessarily skiers, but would like a winter holiday or a festive break.

“The team at Emirates Hol-idays has worked hard to cre-ate a product that meets the needs of every type of trav-eller and budget,” explained

Emirates Holidays vice pres-ident commercial operations Dina Al Herais.

“We always keep our prod-

The 2009-2010 winter brochure.

ucts fresh and this year we have added winter experi-ences, from shopping for tra-ditional handicrafts in the famous Christmas markets, to simply soaking up the cul-ture in beautiful Innsbruck where the atmosphere is guaranteed to enchant.”

Innsbruck in Austria is featured in the brochure for the fi rst time. The city is renowned for its cultural events, architecture and cob-bled-stone streets and is also famous for having played host to the Winter Olympics.

For the more adventurous winter sports enthusiasts, the

new brochure offers a wide range of slopes for all skill lev-els, as well as activities such as snowboarding, ice skating, tobogganing, dog sledding and sleigh rides.

The brochure comprises18 ski resorts and 72 hotels in

Tour Operators

seven countries including Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Lebanon, the US and Canada and offers “fl exible and tailor-made packages designed specifi cally to help travellers make the most out of their winter holiday”.

Emirates Holidays’ winter packagesInnsbruck: From AED 3927 per person on a twin-share basis, travellers can enjoy a winter experience at the Hilton Innsbruck. This in-cludes economy-class airfare Dubai/Munich/Dubai, three nights’ accommodation with Amer-ican breakfast, room tax and service charges.


NEWS XXXXXXXX

Kenya targets lucrative Gulf marketsDestination reveals future plans following the conclusion of fi rst Kenya Week in UAE

MARKETING

Kenya is stepping up its efforts to attract travel-lers from the UAE by work-ing closer with the country’s travel agents and strengthen-ing relations between the two countries’ governments.

“We are committed to pro-moting Kenya [in the UAE] through participation at Ara-bian Travel Market, stalls at Global Village and through local business forums,” explained Kenya Minis-ter for Tourism Najib Balala speaking to ATN at the inau-gural ‘Kenya Week’ in the UAE last month — a promo-

Tourism Boards

tion designed to “strengthen the bones of confi dence” between the two nations.

“As a government we will be [in the UAE] almost twice a year; we want to tell the world that Kenya is safe.”

The minister’s message follows concerns that Kenya has yet to fully recover from the violence that followed the 2007 general election.

Balala conceded the country’s image took a beating following world-wide interest in events, but said the government was predicting 100% recovery.

Balala: Kenya offers value for money.

He said the East African country had invested heav-ily in its tourism infrastruc-ture by building new roads and upgrading existing ones, as well as pumping US $120 million into upgrading Nai-robi’s Jomo Kenyatta Inter-national Airport.

HKTB confi dent of 2010 growthSTRATEGY

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is hoping for high single-digit growth in Middle East visitors to the destination in 2010 having witnessed a pick-up in busi-ness at the end of 2009.

HKTB Northern Europe and Middle East director Simon Mills said although arrivals from the region were down around 2% for the Jan-uary to October 2009 period, the tourism board had seen a strong resurgence in busi-ness in November and December and expected to be up 1-2% year on year for the full 12 months.

“Based on what we have seen in 2009, we expect another good year,” he said. “I would predict a 6-8% increase next year; the capac-ity is there to achieve that.”

Mills said the main reason

for the boost in arrivals for the last two months in 2009 was additional fl ights to Hong Kong out of the Middle East with Cathay Pacifi c operat-ing fl ights to Riyadh daily and to Jeddah four times weekly.

“The increase [in arriv-

Dubai fi rm’s Cape Town winREPRESENTATION

Dubai-based African Odys-sey has been appointed Middle East marketing rep-resentative by Cape Town and Western Cape’s tourism organisation Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU).

African Odyssey will be charged with the task of promoting South Africa’s western province in the GCC as the country gears up to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The Dubai fi rm plans to target the local travel trade and press, focusing on lei-sure tourism, events, con-ferences and business tourism, with the aim of increasing visitor num-bers from the region, said founder and chief execu-

tive Mary Stephania Paul. Fams, presentations, semi-nars and workshops would be used to educate agents about the destination, she added. “There is not much knowledge around about how to sell Africa,” she com-mented. “European mar-kets are much easier to sell for agents in this region, but when it comes to Africa they can be a bit hesitant.”

ST

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HanSimarrdouathea sneDebethe

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M

als from the Middle East] will come from Saudi Arabia — a market that has real poten-tial,” he said.

HKTB’s Middle East mar-keting plan for 2010, he revealed, was to target Arab families and the youth mar-ket. The tourism board will also embark on a Middle East travel trade mission involv-ing 20 travel partners from Hong Kong hotels and attrac-tions later this month.

It starts in Riyadh on Jan-uary 24 with further stops in Dammam, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

HKTB is hoping for arrivals growth.

Putting on the RitzThe Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong, will open later this year occupying fl oors 102 to 118 of the new International Commerce Centre (ICC) in Kowloon. It will feature 312 guest rooms, each boasting harbour views.

Paul: Africa knowledge is limited.

The government is also planning to build a new port in Lamu and will be reclas-sifying four- and fi ve-star hotels next year.

Balala said the current focus in the UAE was to “tell the consumer that Kenya offers value for money”.

11,103 The number of UAE

tourists who travelled to Kenya in 2008

Source: Kenya Tourist Board

VISIT www.tourismcapetown.co.za

o nations.ment we willalmost twice a

tell the worlde.”r’s message

ns that Kenya recover fromt followed thection.

ded thee took owing terestsaid entg

ily in its tourism infture by building newand upgrading existinas well as pumping Umillion into upgradirobi’s Jomo Kenyattnational Airport.

t


REGIONAL NEWSXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

Visa rule boost for Jordan hotelSix Senses resort says relaxation of regulations will open new doors

NEW MARKETS

Abu Dhabi-based hotel man-agement group, Cristal Hotels & Resorts, has announced international expansion plans for the group following the opening of its fi rst UAE hotel earlier this year.

Group chairman Mohamed Abdul Baki said the intention was to “position Abu Dhabi as a global hospi-tality leader and support its tourism growth plans”.

“Cristal is proud to be a home-grown brand. We view ourselves as the hospi-tality ambassadors for Abu Dhabi and our plans are to go global,” he added.

With pipeline plans includ-ing several properties in Abu

New rules regarding tour-ist visas for Indians visiting Jordan will allow the desti-nation and its many hotels to profi t from this grow-ing source market, the gen-eral manager of one of those resorts has claimed.

Evason Ma’in Hot Springs & Six Senses Spa general manager Manish Puri said the removal of visa restric-tions blocking Indian nationals from visiting Jor-dan as tourists would be a huge stimulus to Jordan, which was looking to “bur-geoning economies” such as India where the middle classes could “yield profi ts for the tourism industry”.

“We will use our various distribution and sales chan-nels to net business from

this market,” Puri told ATN. “As Six Senses is very active in India securing business for its other properties we have a well established sales network that we’re currently looking to tap into. Also, being an Indian National myself, I am personally plan-ning to hit the pavement and

Indian passport holders per month coming in either from India or the Gulf to our resort alone,” he declared.

Two months ago, Jordan’s Interior Minister, Nayef al-Qadi, made the decision to change the visa rules for India in order to promote and support the economic growth of the country.

As a result, individual Indian tourists will now be given a two-week entry visa stamped with ‘not allowed to work in Jordan’ upon entry to the kingdom.

The Jordan Tourism Board has already opened an offi ce in India to promote the des-tination to this market.

Puri said Indian tourists would be attracted to the history, religion, adventure and wellness tourism Jordan had to offer.

EXPANSION

The developer of the Dubai Pearl is in talks with the Formula One racing group McLaren to brand a hotel and homes on the site.

The fi rm’s chairman Abdul Majeed Ismail al Fahim, responsible for developing the AED 15 billion (US $4.08 billion) project, said the initial terms of the deal had been agreed, although a contract had not been signed.

Pearl Dubai is already set to fi nance and build two hotels known for their Las Vegas roots — the 250-room Bellagio and the 350-room MGM Grand hotel. A Skylofts hotel is also planned.

Six Senses’ Jordan property is gearing up to receive Indian tourists.

Cristal Hotel in Abu Dhabi is business traveller focused.

drum up as much business as I can.”

He noted that the Indian MICE market was “quite sub-stantial” and “always looking for exotic destinations” and that up until now, Jordan had not been an option.

“By early next year I fore-see an average of 50 to 60

Accommodation

Race to build McLaren hotel?

Dhabi, Dubai and outside of the Middle East, the group said it aimed to ensure that demand for quality business travel accommodation was “well catered to”.

The Cristal Hotel in Abu Dhabi is located in the busi-ness district and a short drive from Abu Dhabi airport.

HOTEL BRIEFS

Room at the innUK hotel group Pre-mier Inn has slashed room rates at its two properties in Dubai by 40%. Daily rates at the Dubai Invest-ments Park and Dubai Silicon Oasis properties have been cut from AED 495 to AED 295. The price is guaranteed for every Premier Inn room at the two hotels said a company statement.

Beirut on the upOccupancy rates in-Beirut hit 71% for the fi rst nine months of the year, represent-ing a growth of 48% compared to the same period in 2008, according to an Ernst & Young’s benchmark survey, proving the city has been reces-sion resilient.

Heavy pettingThe Trump Hotel Col-lection is targeting the animal-lovers market by launching pooch pampering services at its luxury properties in Chica-go, New York and Las Vegas. Special extras for visiting pets will include such treats as a plush mini-beds, gourmet treats, a water bowl with fresh bottled water to fi ll it, chew toys and a spe-cial in-room dining menu featuring vari-ous doggie delights.

Cristal set to expand globally

Costa puts faith in Dubai’s hubCruise operator to deploy its ‘top-of-the-range’ fl eet in the emirate

STRATEGY

Costa Crociere Pacifi c Asia operations sales and mar-keting director Dario Rustico said the estimated impact of the cruise line’s forthcom-ing winter season in Dubai with the presence of three ships (Costa Europa will also sail from Dubai) was 14 mil-lion euros, comprising some 140,000 Costa guests spend-

Hurtigruten climate cruiseITINERARY

Norwegian cruise line Hur-tigruten has introduced a one-off ‘climate’ themed cruise to Svalbard and the Arctic Ocean on board the new MS Fram.

The 12-day, 11-night ‘Climate Cruise’ sails from Tromsø in Norway and stops in Honningsvåg, Norway, before visiting several desti-nations in Svalbard and the

Costa Cruises has opened its fourth winter season in Dubai, which the operator has claimed reinforces its belief in the emirate as a bur-geoning cruise destination.

For the 2009/2010 pro-gramme, the cruise line will homeport Costa Lumi-nosa, “the most elegant” of its cruise ships, in Dubai for the fi rst time until April 2010, operating seven-day itiner-aries in the Gulf.

And from February she will be joined by sister ship Costa Deliziosa, a new “top-of-the-range” Costa vessel that dur-ing its inaugural cruise, will become the fi rst ship to be christened in Dubai.

Costa Luminosa will homeport in Dubai for the 2009/2010 season.

Middle East cruisers are booking suites on the new mega ship.

areas around Spitsbergen, which have become essen-tial to scientifi c research into climate research.

Guests on board this Cli-mate Pilgrimage visit the isolated Bear Island, one of the most important breed-ing places for Guillemot, Brunnich’s Guillemot and Aucks on the northern hemisphere. The vessel then heads to the Spitsbergen branch of the Gulf Stream north until it reaches the marginal ice zone.

During the cruise, biolo-gists, geologists, explorers and experienced ‘Svalbard-ians’ invite guests to par-ticipate in fi eld landings at places of signifi cance.

Prices start from EUR 2800 for an outside cabin.

Middle East bookings for Royal Caribbean’s new mega-ship, Oasis of the Seas, are coming in thick and fast with demand primarily for the suites and premium balcony staterooms. “We also see interest for our new stateroom cat-egories like loft suites and balcony staterooms overlooking the Central Park and Boardwalk,” Royal Carribean’s Middle East executive direc-tor, Lakshmi Durai, told ATN. She also revealed that the highest category on board — the Royal Loft Suite — had been booked by a Middle East based honeymoon couple for the ship’s inaugural sailing, which took place on December 5.


The number of Costa Cruises guests visiting

Dubai this winter season.

140,000

ing on shore excursions, transfers, cruise operation expenditures and other gen-eral spending.

He said the appreciation of Dubai as a cruise hub was increasing and that Costa’s sales for 2009/2010 were 40% over last winter.

Europe and Asia were key source markets, he said, but the percentage of Gulf resi-dents hopping on board was on the up.

Agent training, in partner-ship with Dubai-based PSA Alpha Tours, would be a focus for 2010, he continued.

“We will [also] promote fl y-cruise options and increase the awareness of Costa Cruises as an attractive holi-day option,” he added.

GCC cruisers book big-ship suites

GLOBAL UPDATE

Disney MagicDisney Cruise Line will reposition one of its ships, Disney Magic, to Europe for a fi ve-month season of Northern European and Mediterranean cruises this year. For the fi rst time, the cruise Line will offer a 12-night Northern European Capitals cruise taking in the fjords and Scandinavian ports such as Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm. The ship will also sail to Warnemunde, Germany and to St. Petersburg, Russia

Carnival timeCarnival Corporation is to build a new 130,000-tonne vessel, which is scheduled to enter service under the Carnival Cruise Lines brand in spring 2012. The new 3690-passenger ship will offer many of the same innovations featured on the recently-launched Carnival Dream, including a WaterWorks aqua park, as well as a Cloud 9 Spa and The Lanai — an outdoor promenade featuring whirlpools that extend over the ship’s sides.

Polar bears are a common sight.

Cruise


Royal Caribbean in DUBAILAND tie-up Cruise line to offer DUBAILAND shore excursion options to Brilliance of the Seas cruisers

PARTNERSHIP

DUBAILAND and Royal Caribbean International have joined forces to create a joint product offering for the cruise line’s guests.

The US cruise fi rm, which will offer seven-night sailings on the Brilliance of the Seas in the Gulf from January 18 to April 2010, will boost its shore excursion offering for pre- and post-cruise with a DUBAILAND option.

Several elements of DUBAILAND — designed as a tourism, leisure and entertainment destination and a member of Dubai Properties Group — are now operational.

These include Dubai Autodrome in MotorCity, Dubai Outlet Mall in

Global Village: one of the many attractions DUBAILAND has to offer cruise tourists.

Outlet City, Global Village and Dubai Sports City, which features the Ernie Els Golf Club, the Butch Harmon School of Golf and the Cricket Sta-dium, which collectively receive more than eight million visits annually.

“Combining some of DUBAI-LAND’s exciting destinations with the excellent Royal Caribbean prod-uct will provide a wealth of entertain-ment options that will attract repeat visits from tourists and residents alike,” said Dubai Properties Group CEO Khalid Al Malik.

“We look forward to welcoming this world-class vessel to [our] shores and we are confi dent this develop-ment will contribute to the growth of regional and international tourism.”

Key features of Brilliance of the Seas include an open Centrum with 10-deck high windows and ocean-facing glass elevators, both of which offer spectacular views of the passing

shoreline and sea. Activities offered include mini-golf; a rock-climbing wall and the Adventure Beach water-slide. For the Gulf itineraries the ship’s ports of call after departing Dubai will include Muscat, Fujairah and Bahrain.

RCI regional vice president Rama Rebbapragada said the cruise line had received an “excellent response” for Brilliance of the Seas’ fi rst ever Gulf sailings with key global source mar-kets including the UK, North America and Germany.

“We are also seeing strong inter-est from the Middle East,” he said. “Together with DUBAILAND, we look forward to offering great shore excur-sions and an overall outstanding vacation experience for our guests.”


REGIONAL NEWSTravel trends: METMS 2009

Some insightful UAE 2009 outbound leisure travel trends were unveiled by YouGov at the inaugural METMS tourism marketing summit in November

UAE travel trends revealed

• Travel volume remains stable despite a predicted increase and is expected to increase further in the next year• Class of travel has remained stable and will continue to do so• Most travel in a small party size of up to three people with spouse and young children or friends• Visiting friends and relations is the main reason for a leisure trip• MENA countries and India remain top destinations despite travellers predicting otherwise• Destinations such as Malaysia, It-aly, UK and USA that were expected to be major destinations are again predicted to become important• Quality of airline or hotel is con-sidered more important than price for leisure travellers• Special offers and promotions are most infl uential in terms of travel company selection• Flights and tours are most likely to be booked via a travel agent • Ground transport and accommo-dation is most likely to be booked directly by clients• Online booking has seen a rise in the last year and is expected to increase further in the next year

KEY FINDINGS

ore UAE residents were travelling short haul in 2009 according to the

results of the latest YouGov Travel Tracker unveiled at last month’s inau-gural Middle East Tourism Mar-

keting Summit (METMS). Direc-tor of travel and tourism research,

Jane Wilson, unveiled the research fi rm’s lat-est fi ndings at the event, which took place at Shangri-La Hotel Dubai on November 5.

BUDGET AIRLINESNot only were long-haul trips down year on year versus an increase in short haul, but an increasing number of respondents said they were using low-cost carriers (LCCs) with the top reasons cited being ‘to get the best value for money’ and ‘to get the best price’.

The propensity for respondents to book a fl ight with an LCC peaked in August although the results for June show a similar willingness.

The reasons travellers had not fl own on a budget airline in the past were primarily the belief that they were not really that much lower in price or they had not had the oppor-tunity to try them.

YOUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONSWhen asked how many people travelled with them

on a leisure trip, the largest percentage of respondents (28%) said two, followed by 25% who said one.

In addition, 26% of respondents said they travelled with their spouse and very young chil-

dren (those aged up to fi ve) followed by 21% who said just their spouse.

TYPES OF LEI-SURE TRIPS

The most popular type of leisure trips

Which of the following has the most infl uence on the choice of company you use for leisure travel?

Special promotion/deal/advertised offer 40%

Friend/family at destination 12%

Partner/spouse 10%

Friends (locally) 8%

No one/nothing 7%

Newspaper or magazine article 4%

Travel agent recommendation 4%

Colleague 3%

Travel programme on TV 3%

Company travel organizer 3%

Other 3%

Other family members (locally) 2%

Associate at destination 1%

Boss 0%

Base: All Leisure Travelers (n:714) - October 2009

21%of respondents said

the fare was the most important factor when

booking fl ightsThe survey found India had decreased in popularity.

38% of travellers book their holiday one to two months before they depart.


REGIONAL NEWSTravel trends: METMS 2009

• YouGov’s ‘Travel Tracker’ was launched in October 2007 to enable clients to track travellers’ attitudes and habits over time• For October 2009 fi ndings, 547 business and 714 leisure travellers residing in the UAE were interviewed via You-Gov’s online research panel (180,000+ members across the region), from October 4-21• Leisure travellers are those who travelled at least once for leisure in the past 12 months and did not travel for business• Short-haul trips are defi ned as those that take four hours or less of air travel while long-haul trips are those that take more than four hours• 55% of respondents were male, 45% female• The largest percentage (27%) were aged 25-29• The biggest income bracket (31%) of those surveyed was below $2133 per month• 55% of all respondents were of Asian origin

Jane Wilson is Director Travel & Tourism Research at YouGovSiraj, a full-service research agency based in Dubai. She is the au-thor of the travel tracker survey, a study of the habits and travel needs of more than 2000 busi-ness travellers and leisure travel-lers resident in the UAE and KSA.

About YouGov’s Travel Tracker

taken in the last 12 months were home leave (52% of respondents in October 2009 com-pared to 56% in October 2008) with visiting friends and relatives in second place (50% in 2009 compared to 48% in 2008).

Interestingly, more religious holidays or pil-grimages had been taken in the last 12 months (12%) compared to the 12 months leading up to October 2008 (11%). Resort holidays were way down from 18% to 13%.

However, this is expected to change over the next 12 months with 21% saying a resort holi-day was the type of trip they most expected to take in the next 12 months.

DESTINATIONSYouGov research revealed that while India remained the top leisure destination, demand for holidays to the country continued to drop, while Egypt had increased in popularity when respondents were asked which country they travelled to on their last leisure trip.

When asked where they were most likely to travel to on their next holiday, fewer respon-

Are you more or less likely to fl y with a low-cost carrier in the next year?

Base: All Leisure

Travellers June 2009

(n:709); August

2009 (n:602); Octo-

ber 2009 (n:714)

dents chose India, but Turkey, Malaysia, UK, Thailand, Australia, Singapore, the US, Can-ada, Italy, Switzerland and France all proved more popular than.

DECISION MAKINGPromotions and deals proved infl uential when it came to making decisions as to where to go on holiday and who to book with. The majority of respondents (40%) said a special deal or advertised offer had the most infl u-ence on the choice of company they used to book leisure travel (see fi gure 2). Only 4% said travel agent recommendation.

In addition, 38% of travellers surveyed book holidays one to two months before departure and 35% within one month. Internet search engines proved the top choice for travellers researching hotel, airline and tour bookings.

LEISURE BOOKINGSThe internet was top choice for making air-line bookings (37%) followed by travel agents (26%). For hotel bookings, the web was again the top choice (24%) followed by book-ing direct (18%) and then with a travel agent (18%). However, agents were top choice (21%) when making tour bookings.

AIRLINE SELECTIONThe most important factor when booking an airline for leisure travel was the fare (21%) fol-lowed by value for money (19%). Flight con-nections and route network were low on the agenda (2% and 3% respectively). The usual class of travel was economy and 56% expected this to stay the same over the next year.

HOTEL SELECTIONThe most important infl uencing factor when booking a hotel was value for money (29%) followed by quality of service (15%). Availabil-ity of internet booking was low on the agenda (3%). The most popular type of accommoda-tion was budget hotels (28%) followed by the homes of friends and families (24%) with lux-ury hotels in third place (13%).

Don’t know

7Much less likely

A little less likely

Just as likely

A little more likely

Much more likely

37%of all lleisure airline book-

ings are made online

6

7

15

19

44

JUNE 09

47

17

15

37

10 10

8

9

15

18

40

AUG 09 OCT 09

Still

REGIONAL NEWSQ&A CELEBRITY CRUISES

red

Q&A

18 Arabian Travel News – January 2010 www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel

hot

Creating ads with wow factor proved a recession-busting move for Virgin Atlantic explains the upbeat airline’s sales and marketing director, Paul Dickinson

Our rating as an airline for business and leisure is the highest it’s ever been ”

here are few, if any airlines that can say they have immune to the global eco-nomic crisis and Virgin Atlantic is no

exception. The UK long-haul carrier took quick steps to address the issue early last year

— reducing capacity by 13% by dropping unprofi table routes and cutting staffi ng

levels by 13% to mirror that strategic move.But unlike many travel fi rms, whether air-

lines, hotels or tour operators, Virgin, which is renowned for its ‘out-there’ cheeky and infl u-ential ad campaigns, did not cut back on sales and marketing spend.

In fact, it embarked on a 25th anniver-sary advertising extravaganza that involved creating a TV advert that set the airline back £800,000 to produce.

This ’25 years and still red hot’ initiative was a roaring success, picked up by websites, bloggers and cyber geeks worldwide, while it was parodied and posted online by avid fans, from groups of bus drivers to Essex girls.

The result of this investment was a brand presence stronger than ever, the airline’s Paul Dickinson tells Gemma Greenwood

ATN: What was your strategy towards sales and marketing during the recession?We didn’t cut resources and we didn’t cut spend and it has really paid back for us when others were cutting back. The UK is our

REGIONAL NEWSCELEBRITY CRUISES Q&A

19 January 2010 – Arabian Travel Newswww.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel

To view virgin’s ’25 years still red hot’ cam-paign visit www.Virginatlanticstillredhot.com

number one market and so we always invest the most in that market. But with no new routes or aircraft, the question was what to market, so the story was to make more of our 25th birthday and decided to run the cam-paign all year. We challenged the agency to come up with a good concept and it came back with the ‘25 years and still red hot’ cam-paign. We produced a TV advert at the cost of £800,000 involving 200 extras, a massive crew and turned Ascot into an airport terminal. The ad was based in 1984 and the day or our fi rst fl ight. It ran three times throughout 2009. We took a big risk in spending that money.

ATN: So how did you measure its success?We did ad tracking and used econometrics — a special agency tracks data and calculates the effect of adverts on your revenue and tell you your return on investment. We discovered that our ROI was £15 for every £1 spent on this campaign. By using this system we also found that our very glamourous adverts for Pre-mium Economy didn’t work as well — the ROI was just £5 for every for every £1 spent — and that’s mainly because of the limited size of the Premium Economy cabin.

With the ‘still red hot’ campaign we recorded more than 700,000 searches on Google and more than 100,000 hits on our website. When the TV campaign was aired the number of people searching for the Virgin name increased by 500% and as a result, our rating as an airline for business and leisure is the highest it’s ever been.

ATN: How does this now position you against your competitors coming into 2010?Coming out of 2009 into 2010, both in the UK and US, our brand has never been stronger. Virgin Atlantic is perceived in the best light ever, particularly as some of our competitors haven’t maybe had the most effective adver-tising and marketing this year and others haven’t had the best press relations.

At the same time, the on-board experiences of some have been disappointing. During the past 12 months our crew have carried on pro-fessionally and have not lowered their stan-dards or become grumpy.

ATN: What’s your sales and marketing strat-egy for next year?The challenge for 2010 is to maintain and grow. The big news is we are changing the way we do our marketing — we are globalising the

creative work whereas in the past, each terri-tory had its own budget and agency. From now on, all creative work will be done out of the UK with our ad agency (Y&R) and each market-ing team will have access to an online system where they can adapt the creative to the local market. From March 1 we will have consistent ads around the world.

ATN: What’s your advertising theme for 2010?The theme is a secret, but it’s going to be very confi dent — we are never pessimistic and never shy and try to be amusing. We think it will work in all of our markets.

During the past 12 months our crew have carried on professionally and have not lowered their standards or become grumpy ”

ATN: Your marketing in Dubai has been low- key in 2009 so what’s the plan for 2010?We always invest proportionately to the scale of opportunity so smaller markets like Dubai get a relative percentage of spend. For 2010 it will depend on how big we see the poten-tial — if we think the biggest opportunity will be inbound to Dubai then we will spend less in Dubai and more in the UK and vice versa. Dubai does have potential however, if we did go to double daily fl ights (currently daily) — and this probably won’t happen for the next two years — it would probably be on the back of inbound to Dubai. We are seeing an increase in the number of hotel rooms and average rates are coming down so suddenly we can offer fantastic packages for affordable prices. This opens up massive new markets.

ATN: What is your distribution strategy?About 30% of business is direct, which has increased from around 18% fi ve years ago. Bookings on the phone remain unchanged and that’s about 10-12% of our business.

What’s changed is the number of people booking on the website, however, our strategy is to work with all channels to market.

We are not so big that we can dictate how people book. We work closely with the big agents and TMCs plus there are some big lei-sure players out there — Expedia, Trailfi nders, Thomas Cook, TUI etc.

Web penetration is low in Dubai and our strategy is to work with all agents to support their growth and objectives, but at the same time, ensure our website is up to date.

We don’t pay commission in many markets anymore, but of course, we have overrides and marketing agreements.

Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson proves he’s still red hot too.

Virgin Atlantic’s ‘Still red hot’ TVC wowed the crowds.


REGIONAL NEWSComment Comment

How to combat the internet threatCruise Master Middle East director of business development Ashok Kumar

LEBANON’S PRICE WARI read with interest your comment Think value before price (posted online at www.hoteliermiddleeast.com and on www.arabianbusiness.com in November) and thought I’d grab this opportunity to share my thoughts and insights on this crucial subject.

The trend in Lebanon is to enter into price wars in order to survive in the travel market.

Hotels are selling at prices lower to walk-in customers than they are to the agencies and corporates plus online fares are continuously chang-ing according to occupancy.

Some airlines in Lebanon are selling ‘under the table’

fares offering consolidators additional discounts and there are some agencies that are selling to individuals at corporate deal prices, which is absolutely illegal.

To top it off, there is a new trend in Lebanon, by both corporates and individuals, to not pay on time.

At our travel agency we are trying a different approach by avoiding a price war and abiding by payment terms, even when customers don’t pay up on time. As a result [of abiding by the rules] we are losing customers.

Roxanne Nassar

OMAN HERE WE COME

In response to your article Oman Air ups the stakes (in the November edition of ATN and posted online at www.hoteliermiddleeast.com), I am a great fan of Oman as a des-tination and with aircraft like this [new A330-300] added to the Oman Air fl eet, this is the icing on the cake.

Oman as a destination is in-comparable to any other in the

Middle East due to its natural beauty, which is absolutely stunning, plus the Omani peo-ple are the most hospitable you will come across. Good job Oman Air! Please keep it coming slowly, but surely.

CJ

THE SOUR SACHERI read the recent ‘What the customer said’ review of The Sacher Hotel (in Vienna, Austria) online at www.hote-liermiddleeast.com and in the October edition of ATN and agree that The Sacher is, in-deed, a beautiful hotel that is steeped in historical grandeur.

A few years ago, while staying at an alternative ho-

tel in the city, I decided that the Sacher restaurant was a must-visit-for-dinner location and arrived there full of an-ticipation. The food was good (although I have had much better) but the biggest disap-pointment was the attitude of the staff who were somewhat aloof and gave the impression of “looking down their noses” at all the guests.

To be honest, they spoiled what would otherwise have been a very pleasant evening.

So, replace the restaurant staff en masse with a team that’s more human, respectful and customer friendly and I might return.

Paul Tunbridge

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Oman Air’s new aircraft is the “icing on the cake” for Oman.

It is beginning of another year and time to refl ect on our achievements. It is also time to refl ect on the chal-lenges we have faced and to learn from them so we move forward with renewed posi-tive energy.

Allow me to be a little bit nostalgic — before the GDS entered the market, airline bookings were a manual pro-cess. Complicated multi-sec-tor RTW itineraries were pre-pared using AT, bookings were sent to airlines using an AIRIMP form, fares were cal-culated manually using APT and airline tickets were hand-written. Hotel or cruise book-ings were processed via telex, which would often take more than 48 hours to process!

Today, fl ights, hotels and

Technology has simplifi ed the business and now the same technology is seen as competition ”

cruises are confi rmed with just a few clicks. Technology has simplifi ed business and now the same technology is seen as competition.

Travel agents often com-ment that the internet offers lower prices. There is no doubt the internet has aided and speeded up the dissem-ination of product updates and pricing information and is here to stay.

At the same time, like a

or the agents who have online presence? Back to the cruise business and cruise line web-sites display prices applica-ble to specifi c markets.

Owing to market condi-tions, these fares are adjusted to have a reasonable bal-

ance between demand, sup-ply and yields and such dis-counted or promotional fares are also offered via their appointed agents.

There are agents who spe-cialise in group business and cruise lines offer them good prices so these fares are offered by an agent who is real competition and not the cruise lines themselves. Fur-thermore, these agents do not pay commission com-pared to cruise lines that pay you healthy commissions.

You too can work smart and work with a cruise line to explore the possibility of group business and then watch your bottom line grow.

So here’s wishing you a $uccessful, $elling and $ail-ing year ahead!

global v i l l a g e, it offers competition from all over the world that was ear-lier restricted to the agency next door. So who is the real competition — the internet

REGIONAL NEWSComment

.In its capacity as mouthpiece of the Middle East travel trade, ATN is eager to hear your news and views. Email [email protected]


News and analysis for Middle East travel agents and tour operators

Arabian Travel NEWS

Printed by Atlas Printing Press L.L.C. DubaiSubscribe online at www.itp.com/subscriptions Controlled Distribution by Blue Truck

The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publica-tion, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the reader’s par-ticular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.

Published by and Copyright © 2010 ITP Business Publishing, a division of ITP Publishing Group Ltd. Registered in the B.V.I. under Company Registration number 1402846.

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Registered at Dubai Media CityPO Box 500024, Dubai, UAETel: 00 971 4 210 8000Fax: 00 971 4 210 8080Web: www.itp.comOffices in Dubai & London ITP Business Publishing CEO Walid AkawiManaging Director Neil DaviesDeputy Managing Director Matthew SouthwellEditorial Director David InghamVP Sales Wayne LoweryPublishing Director Diarmuid O’Malley

EDITORIAL

Senior Group Editor Gemma GreenwoodTel: +971 4 435 6262 email: [email protected] Kathi Everden and Ben Watts

ADVERTISING

Sales Director Alexandra KnightTel: +971 4 435 6143 email: [email protected] Account Manager Natalie SabelTel: +971 4 435 6342 email: [email protected]

STUDIO

Group Art Editor Dan PrescottDesigner Angela Ravi

PHOTOGRAPHY

Director of Photography Sevag DavidianSenior Photographer Efraim Evidor, Khatuna KhutsishviliStaff Photographers Khaled Termanini, Thanos Lazopoulos, Jovana Obradovic, Rajesh Raghav, Ruel Pableo, Lyubov Galushko

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION

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ITP GROUP

Chairman Andrew NeilManaging Director Robert Serafi nFinance Director Toby Jay Spencer-DaviesBoard of Directors K.M. Jamieson, Mike Bayman, Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafi n Circulation Customer Service Tel: +971 4 435 6000Certain images in this issue are available for purchase. Please contact [email protected] for further details or visit www.itpimages.com.

A fond farewell

For those of you that are parents, you will no doubt have experienced the anguish of leaving your child at the school gates on their fi rst day of school, or shed a tear when as a teenager, your ‘baby’ fl ocked from the nest, moving out of the family home as they entered adulthood.

I am yet to embark on parenthood in this sense, yet it is time for me to say fare-well to my ‘baby’ — Arabian Travel News — a magazine that I have nurtured since its birth in March 2006, as I leave for pastures new.

Since its inception, Arabian Travel News has mirrored the fast-paced growth of the region’s travel industry and has gone from strength to strength.

It has become the must-read travel trade publication in not only the Middle East, but globally, due to its willingness to address issues that impact the lives of travel trade professionals.

Arabian Travel News has always been proud to tell it how it is and for that I have to thank you, the readers, for your honesty, openness and enthusiasm for both the industry and the publication.

I do hope this will continue in the future as the magazine looks to grow and develop new products and services.

In fact, 2010 looks set to be an exciting year for Arabian Travel News with many new initiatives in the pipeline.

The publication will continue its focus on developing custom-made ‘how to sell’ destination supplements, which have proved immensely popular over the past few years. But perhaps more exciting is the plan to launch a brand new awards programme designed to reward the unsung heroes of the travel trade.

The Arabian Travel News Awards 2010 will recognise the region’s travel agency community, which, in the past few years in particular, has been faced with many challenges, from commission cuts to recession and the direct-sell tactics of sup-pliers. From the frontline consultants who strive to improve their product knowl-edge and upgrade their customer service skills, to the agency manager who has to ensure he hits his targets while keeping his workforce up-to-speed, motivated and inspired, the awards will reward passionate people who go that extra mile. See page 4 for more details.

And last but not least, 2010 will see the launch of ATN’s own dedicated website, bringing you breaking industry news as well as vital services such as training to help you keep your selling skills up to scratch.

Despite my departure this month, you might well see my name crop up from time to time in ATN as a mother can never really leave her child totally abandoned!

I have crossed paths with some truly wonderful people during my past four years overseeing the travel and hospitality group here at ITP and I will endeavour to stay in touch with you all.

I thank you again for your support of ATN and its sister publications and hope that 2010 is a happy and prosperous year for you all.

It’s time to head to pastures new

Gemma GreenwoodSenior Group Editor

ons


REGIONAL NEWSSkillset Tried and tested

The Address Dubai MallBACKGROUND: The Address Dubai Mall opened on September 9, the third prop-erty in the portfolio of The Address Hotels + Resorts — the hotel brand owned by Emaar Hospitality Group. The property is cate-gorised as a “fi ve-star premium” and its key selling point is that it’s directly linked to the world’s largest shopping malls.

THE ARRIVAL: A chauffeur service is optional, but well worth the money. The ride in the 7 Series BMW, driven by a very polite and friendly smartly-dressed chauffeur, was comfortable and relaxing. The door staff and porters were also friendly and effi cient although check-in was a little hectic as the property was very busy. There was no formal queuing system, which not only made the lobby area appear untidy and disorganised, but could cause arguments amongst waiting guests. A colleague of mine waited 30 min-utes to check in.

THE ARRIVAL: The hotel has 244 rooms and suites. We stayed in a Club Suite, which was very roomy comprising a living room with en-suite and a bedroom with semi open-plan bathroom featuring a bath with a window view overlooking Downtown Burj Dubai. The colour palette was neutral — dark woods complemented with tones of beige and brown, offset with whites and creams. The room featured two fl at-screen TVs, an iPod docking station, “gourmet” tea and cof-fee station and good quality food and bever-ages and in-room amenities. However, hav-ing stayed at The Address Downtown Burj Dubai, I did not think the quality of the fi x-

The Address Hotels + Resorts carries the slogan ‘Where Life Happens’ and The Address Dubai Mall was certainly lively and bustling when we stayed there. The hotel was packed with GCC shoppers and corporate groups and it is a conveniently-located property that suits all types of guests. However, for those seeking a more upscale leisure experience, I would rec-ommend sister property, The Address Downtown Burj Dubai. The Address Dubai Mall is also perfect for a girly shopping weekend — the mall is a two-minute walk from the lobby.

EDITOR’S VERDICT

desirable sunbathing area with plenty of pri-vate shady spots. The cur-rent gym is temporary and will house the QIX Kids Club, opening soon, while a new fi tness centre offering personal trainers is under construction. There is also The Spa, with nine treatment rooms, as well as separate male and female hair salons. However, the most impressive leisure facility is the adjoin-ing mall, boasting 1200 retail outlets includ-ing 70 world-leading haute couture labels (in Fashion Avenue), as well as leisure attrac-tions spanning Dubai Aquarium & Underwa-ter Zoo; the Olympic-sized Dubai Ice Rink; SEGA Republic; and Reel Cinemas.

MICE: There is a 576m² ballroom that can be divided into three sections and host up to 650 guests as well as six meeting rooms accommodating between 15 and 40 guests.

PRICES: Packages and special deals are posted on the website (www.theaddress.com). The property is currently offering a deal where guests book three nights and get a 20% discount. Club Suite rates start from AED 2759 per night, which includes use of the Club Lounge services, pick up and drop off, two hours of complimentary usage of meeting room and free WiFi.

BOOKING IT: The property suggests agents book through the GDS or a DMC. Alternatively call +971 4 438 8888, fax + 971 4 438 7888, email [email protected] or visit www.theaddress.com

is u

tures and fi ttings were up to the same stan-dard. In addition, the curtains were made from an awful tacky plastic material, remi-niscent of a shower curtain! One bonus, how-ever, was complimentary WiFi.

THE F&B: All-day dining restaurant Na3Na3 specialises in Arabic home-style cooking offering both à la carte and buffet service with live cooking stations. The din-ner and breakfast service at this restaurant, which boasts views of the 20-metre waterfall (that drops into the mall below), was of a very high standard. Additional outlets include lobby lounge Karat; the very funky Amatista bar where innovative cocktails are served downstairs and cigars upstairs in the dedi-cated cigar room; and poolside bar Cabana featuring daybeds, loungers and DJ.

LEISURE FACILITIES: The property boasts a massive outdoor pool and a very

The very funky Amatista bar.

DUBAI

The suites are tastefully decorated — apart from the curtains.


REGIONAL NEWSSKILLSET REVIEW

ATN reveals the fi ndings from this month’s mystery shopper survey of car rental fi rms in Dubai

Car rental fi rms uncovered

Skillset

Scenarios

As

Each month ATN and Ethos chooses four UAE-based travel-related companies to mys-tery shop and fi nd out how satisfi ed your customers are. The purpose of this exercise is to fi nd out the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to customer service and sales execution performance.

What are the mystery shoppers looking for?1 AGENCY/OUTLET APPEARANCE• Outlet easy to fi nd?• Opening/closing hours displayed?• Outlet clean and tidy?• Brochures and related literature placed in a good orderly manner?• Comfortable temperature?

2 TRAVEL ADVISOR• Were the employees well groomed?• Were employee name tags clearly visible?• Enough employees available to serve?• Did the advisor make eye contact to acknowledge your presence at the desk?• Did the outlet you visited have a formal customer queuing system in place?• How long did it take for you to be served?• If you waited, did an employee apologise?• How were you greeted by the agent?• Did the agent provide relevant info?• Was the agent friendly?• Did they give you their full attention?• Were they knowledgeable?• Did the agent provide you with information in an easily-understood format?• Were you satisfi ed with the information you received from the advisor?

3 THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE• Overall, based on your experience at this outlet, would you recommend it to your family and friends?• How satifi ed were you with the outcome of your visit to this particular travel agency?

Mystery shopping explained

Originating in the UK 1995, Ethos Consultancy relocated to Dubai in early 2003. The fi rm’s consultants have been handpicked from some of the most mature customer service markets in the world to ensure experience and best practice is built into the mystery shopping process. Based on its years of expertise in the mystery shopping fi eld, Ethos has developed a combination of products and services to help organisations of all shapes and sizes understand exactly how their business is performing through the eyes of both their customers and employees. Contact: +971 4 332 6315, visit www.ethos.ae or email [email protected]

About Ethos Consultancy

Star advisorStWell done Vince from Hertz, Radisson Hotel, West Tower, Media City, who provided detailed, structured information to his cus-tomer leaving them completely satisfi ed. Vince asked the right questions to estab-

lish his customer’s needs, provided a bro-chure including pricing, as well as promo-tion details. It was fantastic to see his name tag clearly visible and that he provided the shopper with his business card.

Scenario 2: Say that you are inquiring on behalf of your friends who will be visiting Dubai on a tourist visa. Say you would like to fi nd out more information about the types of vehicles from which to choose and how much they cost. Make sure you ask about insur-ance options and if the company has any special pro-motions on offer.

Scenario 1: You are visiting Dubai and arrived just a few

days ago. You have planned a three-week holiday in Dubai

and although you decided not to rent a car from the airport, you have since changed your mind and would like to fi nd out more information about the types of vehicles you can choose from and how much they cost. Make sure you ask about insurance options and if there are any special promotions.

Mystery shoppers

asked for car rental information.

Shoppers asked for car rental on behalf of visiting friends.


REGIONAL NEWSMYSTERY SHOPPER SKILLSET

Mystery shopper

HertzRadisson Hotel

Dubai Media City91%

BudgetMovenpick Hotel

Bur Dubai

87%

ThriftyFour Points Sheraton

Sheikh Zayed Road85%

AvisKempinski Hotel

Mall of the Emirates

12%

Summary: The counter was easy to fi nd and well signposted. Open-ing/closing hours were clearly displayed and the premises were clean and tidy, but brochures were not clearly displayed. Advisors were well groomed and wearing name tags and made good eye con-tact, were friendly and displayed a good standard of product knowl-edge. Both shoppers were given a business card and asked to return. Advice: Customers notice if your brochures are not organised and easily accessible, even if your advi-sors provide a good service.

Summary: The counter was not easy to fi nd and opening/clos-ing hours were not clearly dis-played, but the premises were clean and tidy and brochures were clearly displayed. Advisors were well groomed, but not wear-ing nametags. Both advisors made good eye contact, were friendly and had good product knowledge. Advice: Wear a name tag and apol-ogise for keeping customers wait-ing. One shopper had to wait around 10 minutes and was not offered an apology. Make your location and opening hours clear.

Summary: The counter was not easy to fi nd and opening/closing hours were not clearly displayed, but the premises were clean and tidy and brochures were neat. Advisors were well groomed, but not wearing name tags. Both advi-sors made good eye contact, were friendly and had a good standard of product knowledge. Advice: Always wear a name tag and apologise for keeping custom-ers waiting. One shopper said a Thrifty staff member read a maga-zine all the way through his discus-sion with his colleague.

Summary: The counter was not easy to fi nd and opening hours were not clearly displayed. The premises were clean and tidy and brochures were clearly displayed. Advisors were not present and no notice of a return time was given. Advice: If no one is available to serve your customers, a sign must be erected apologising for the inconvenience and detailing the time when an attendant will be back, as well as a name and contact number. Leaving your customer with no information damages the reputation of your business.

HERTZ BUDGET THRIFTY AVIS

90%90.70%90%90.70%

80%86.70%100%87%

90%85%90%90%

70%.70%5%5%

Arabian Travel News provides a round-up of the latest hotel and resort openings, new airline routes and all other travel-related announcements...


REGIONAL NEWSSkillset

What’s new...IN ACCOMMODATION: IN TRANSIT:

WHAT’S COMING SOON:

• Bur Dubai hotel refurbish-ment complete: Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai recently completed major renovation work. The US $6 million face-lift incorporated all 125 guest rooms and is intended to com-plement the 10-year old hotel’s facilities and service culture.

• Name change for Istanbul Hyatt: Hyatt Regency Istanbul has been rebranded Grand Hyatt Istanbul. The name change follows enhancements to gues-trooms, suites, meeting space and public areas. There are also plans to expand the hotel and the property’s restaurants will be renovated in 2011.

• Rotana opens Abu Dhabi property: Rotana has opened the fi ve-star Park Rotana Abu Dhabi. It is one of the key ele-ments of the Park Rotana Com-plex — a multi-use business and residential development. The hotel is adjacent to Park Arjaan by Rotana, which is set to open soon.

• Mumbai Trident hotel opens: The Oberoi Group has opened its Trident-branded hotel within Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Com-plex. The North Mumbai Trident features 436 guestrooms, in-cluding 77 Trident Club Rooms and 24 suites. The property is located in the heart of the new fi nancial and commercial district of North Mumbai.

• Melbourne-Doha-London: Qa-tar Airways has launched daily fl ights to Melbourne now the airline has taken delivery of its second Boeing 777-200LR. The non-stop fl ight from Doha of-fers one of the fastest services between London and Melbourne via the airline’s Qatar hub.

• Holiday Inn’s Saudi Arabian invasion: The fi rst three loca-tions of Holiday Inn Express hotels to become operational in Saudi Arabia have been an-nounced. The three new hotels will be located in Madinah Road, Jeddah; Knowledge Eco-nomic City, Madinah; and King

• Increase in fl ights between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu: Etihad Airways is increasing its service between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu from four to seven fl ights a week. It is one of the airline’s busiest routes.

The renovated living room of an executive suite at Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai.

A suite at the newly branded Grand Hyatt Istanbul.

The Park Rotana Complex in Abu Dhabi.

Etihad is increasing its servicesto Nepal.

IHG brand Holiday Inn Express is set for rapid expansion in Saudi Arabia.

The fl ight crew onboard Qatar’s Doha-Melbourne service.

Abdullah Economic City under a master franchise agreement between InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Saudi-based investment holding company, Siraj Capital. The deal will see 12 Holiday Inn Express hotels open in Saudi Arabia over the next fi ve years.


REGIONAL NEWS

The world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai, is scheduled to unlock its doors in early 2010 as the cen-trepiece of the Downtown Burj Dubai area. This will include the world’s first Armani Hotel, designed, featuring 160 guest-

rooms and suites, an Armani Spa, a private members’ club, two gourmet restaurants and a nightclub.

It will also boast 144 exquisite Armani Residences all furnished in the designer’s ‘homes’ brand, Armani Casa.

Dubai projects 2010

ATN showcases the ‘wow’ developments set to rise from the sand in an emirate that continues to push the boundaries and hit the record books

No matter how much the international knocks — and mocks — Dubai, you have to admire the emir-ate’s ability to cast these aspersions aside and focus on its core objectives — developing the des-tination to world-class standards.

At World Travel Market (WTM) in London in November, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) came out with a series of bold press releases promoting the emir-ate’s many tourism-related projects that are due to come online in 2010 with headlines reading ‘fl agship developments defy the global economic downturn and open in Dubai’.

“Dubai has pioneered some of the world’s

most exciting and extraordinary developments and 2010 will be no exception,” said a DTCM statement.

“Standing head and shoulders above other destina-tions, Dubai’s offering will reach new heights when the world’s tallest building opens in December 2009 (ed: now January 2010), along with a number of new hotels, sporting facilities and epic ground breaking develop-ments opening in the coming months.

“These high profi le new developments are a clear sign that the emirate is moving into a period of recov-ery from the global econmic downturn while also pro-viding many new employment opportunities.”

Here we profi le the many projects that the DTCM has said will open in 2010.

BURJ DUBAIThe Armani Residences.

The Burj Dubai, apart from being the tallest building in the world, will house the fi rst Armani Hotel and Residences when it opens this month.


REGIONAL NEWSDubai projects 2010

Dubai World Central, located in the vicin-ity of the Jebel Ali Port and Free Zone in ‘New Dubai’ is a multi-phase development of six clustered zones: Dubai Logistics City (DLC), Commercial City, Resi-

dential City, Aviation City and Golf City, with the world’s largest airport — Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International (DWC-AMI) at its heart. The 140km² development will also be home to the region’s fi rst inte-grated, multi-modal transportation plat-form connecting air, sea and land. The costs for the entire DWC development (including all clusters) has been estimated in excess of US $32 billion and work is in progress on the $820 million phase one of DWC-AMI.

Here ATN speaks to DWC-AMI vice pres-ident Andrew Walsh about the opening of phase one — which will take place in June 2010 — and the plan for years ahead.

ATN: Which airlines are likely to move into DWC-AMI when phase one is open?We are still talking to a range of carriers — commercial, cargo, government aviation, low-cost, freighters etc — but the level of attractiveness is going to be down to each airline’s own personal product. We are talk-ing to a combination of existing airlines and new entrants, but nothing is confi rmed yet.

ATN: What are the benefi ts of airlines mov-ing to Al Maktoum Inernational?The real benefi t is that we will be a multi-modal hub in that we can take advantage

DUBAI WORLD CENTRAL AL MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL (DWC-AMI)

of the nearby seaport (at Jebel Ali) plus we have the road network into Dubai, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi and into Saudi Arabia. This is very attractive for the cargo industry.

The benefi ts for the passenger airlines is certainly a less-congested airport [than Dubai International], plus the close proxim-ity to new Dubai. We do recognise the current diffi culties for Dubai International and the concentrated land mass around it, whereas AMI will be far less congested. There is bet-ter access to Abu Dhabi and Al Ain and the by-pass road [that is being extended to the airport] will make it much easier to travel to Sharjah and the Northern Emirates.

ATN: What will be the total capacity of the two airports when phase one is opened?We reached 40.5 million passengers at Dubai International in 2009 and will have 46 million by the end of 2010. At DWC-AMI we will have one million passengers by the end of 2010 so that’s 47 million across the two airports in total by the end of the year. What’s actu-ally available is fi ve million at DWC-AMI [for phase one] and 65 million at Dubai Interna-tional. With expansion [at the latter], that will increase to 75 million by the end of 2012 with the opening of concourse three. Of course, when it’s completed, DWC-AMI will have the capacity for 160 million.

ATN: When will phase two open?We are not sure but there will be a series of developments opening in between phases one and two, but it could be another 10 years before the passenger terminals are open.

ATN: Will the two airports both be opera-tional when DWC-AMI is completed?DWC-AMI is always the long-term solu-tion for Dubai because capacity constraints at Dubai International are recognised. The absolute capacity at Dubai International is 90 million, but in order for the UAE and Emir-ates Airline to expand, we need more capac-ity than that. The decision about how they might work together is still underway.

ATN: From what sources will demand for DWC-AMI be generated?It’s important that we look at the passen-ger side. We have said for some time that we would exceed 40 million passengers at Dubai International in 2009 and we had already done that before the end of the year. Unlike many airports globally, we continue to report

growth. Over the last few months we have seen double-digit growth (year on year in terms of passenger numbers). Of course, the growth is not as strong as we witnessed from 2007 to 2008, but never-the-less, it is posi-tive. It’s the same on the cargo side where we have seen marginal growth this year. In the list of top 10 airports in the world (where we are number fi ve) the other nine airports have lost volume, but we are growing. DWC-AMI is located in a place that brings the airport and seaport together, plus we are a global hub that brings three continents — Europe, Africa and Asia — together. We are a multi-modal hub and it’s important to have an air-port that can grow and expand.

PHASE ONE (JUNE 2010):• A single A380 compatible runway• Passenger terminal with capacity of fi ve mil-lion passengers per annum (expandable to seven million) at a cost of $275 million• A cargo terminal building with a capacity of 250,000 tonnes per annum (expandable to 600,000 tonnes) at a cost of $76 million• A 92-metre air traffi c control tower

WHEN COMPLETED:• Up to four passenger terminals• 160 million passengers per annum (com-pared to 90 million at Atlanta)• A fi nal cargo capacity of 12 million tonnes per annum • Five parallel runways, 4.5km long, each separated by a minimum of 800-metres

Al MAKTOUM INTERNATIONAL

Phase one of DWC-AMI will open in June 2010.

Walsh: DWC-AMI will be a “multi-modal hub”.



KIDZANIAChildren are in for a treat in 2010 with the opening of Kidzania at Dubai Mall, a city made for and run by children, where they can drive buses, fl y aeroplanes and work in restaurants. It is an initiative of Emaar Retail, which has already opened attrac-tions such as Dubai Aquarium & Under-water Zoo, SEGA Republic, Reel Cinemas and Dubai Ice Rink at the mall.

KidZania will feature offi ces, schools, a fi re station, race track, radio station, pizzeria, hospitals, a bank, ATM machines, theatre and fashion ramps, all scaled down to a smaller, child-friendly size. Kids can choose a preferred ‘role’ — from teachers and doctors to construction workers and mechanics — and are provided with costumes to complete the experience. But perhaps the piece de resistance is the Emirates Airline component of this edutainment centre.

The airline is creating a real-life airport and airline envi-ronment with features including aircraft bodies and cock-pits and check-in counters. Kids can even dress up in Emir-ates Airline pilot and cabin crew uniforms.

JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATESDubai’s goal to position itself as one of the world’s leading sporting destinations is already underway with the Greg Norman-de-signed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates already opening at the end of 2009 for the inaugural Dubai World Championship, which culminated with the Race To Dubai. The resort will also house three other courses,

Wind, Fire and Water, designed by Greg Norman, Vijay Singh, Ser-gio Garcia and Pete Dye. Members are already playing the Earth course and the Fire course is set to open early this year.

TIGER WOODS AL RUWAYA RESORTContinuing the golf theme, despite the recent controversy surrounding international golf star — and now play boy — Tiger Woods, the Tiger Woods Dubai and Al Ruwaya

Golf Club is also set to open in 2010. It will boast an 18-hole championship course with “dramatic elevation changes, lush landscap-ing, stunning water features and an overall design that will challenge and entertain golf-ers of all playing abilities”. Residential and hospitality components will include 197 res-idences, a boutique hotel, a spa, a fi ne dining restaurant, a professionally staffed golf acad-emy and the Al Ruwaya clubhouse.

Jumeirah Golf Estates is already up and running with the Earth course open.Emirates Airline has set up a real-life airline and airport experience.

The 6th hole at the Tiger Woods Dubai.



DUBAI METROFollowing the opening of the Dubai Metro in 2009, the next stage — the Green Line — is scheduled to open in June 2010 with the completion rate in constructing sev-eral stations ranging from 50% to 80%. The project com-prises eight underground stations, 12 elevated stations, 8km of underground track and 15km of above ground track to be served by 17 trains in 2010, increasing to 42 in 2015 and 50 in 2010. The route covers the area between Al

Nahda Street to Healthcare City and the estimated journey time from start to fi nish of the Line is approximately 26 minutes.

Dubai Metro is the world’s longest fully-automated rail transport system and when completed, it will have 70km (43 miles) of lines and 47 stations.

There are three classes of travel — ‘Women & Children’ (a special car for women and children with more space to allow strollers and bags); ‘Gold’ (more spacious, higher level of privacy, luggage space and leather seating; and ‘Silver’ (standard class with 25 to 27 seats).

THE WORLDDevelopment on Nakheel’s The World proj-ect will continue in 2010. Work will begin on as many as 20 of the planned 300 luxury man-made islands and with two more islands selling in October last year; only four islands remain on the market in the current schedule.

THE MEYDAN RACECOURSEMeydan Racecourse will open its doors this month playing host to a number of high-profi le events including Dubai International Racing Carnival and the Dubai

World Cup.The new racecourse will be able to accommodate 60,000 spectators in the 1.2-km long grandstand. A horse racing museum and gallery, hotels, restaurants and an IMAX theatre are also planned.

Hotel operator Banyan Tree has also been appointed to manage a hotel complex and all-pool villa resort at Meydan.

The racecourse is part of Meydan City, which will also include Horizons — a mixed-use development comprising commercial, residential and retail space, as well as an 80-berth marina; Godolphin Parks — a res-idential complex and shopping mall; and Metropolis — a commercial, retail and resi-dential development. Meydan Racecourse — one component of Meydan City — will open in 2010.

Dubai Metro’s Green Line will open in June.

Work will begin on 20 of the islands on The World this year.

REGIONAL NEWSHow to sell Shopping breaks to London

London shopping breaks are an easy sell given the capital city’s unrivalled retail opportunities geared to the GCC market

Retail therapy

How to sell Shopping breaks to London

ondon is arguably the best place to shop in the world due to the diversity

of its retail offering. From the mouth-

watering array of top-end brands

available at stores in Knightsbridge and Kensington where a serious bashing of the wallet is the order of the day, to the more afford-able High Street brands that line Oxford Street or the quirky vil-lage-style shopping offered in surburbian pockets of the city such as Notting Hill or Hampstead, there’s plenty to suit consumers of all types.There are also new city shopping centres emerging such as West-fi eld London in Shep-

herd’s Bush where GCC Nationals craving the mall environment can feel at home and shop for designer names, get their nails done and have a quick bite to eat, all under one roof.

What’s more, London’s shopping and hos-pitality scene is geared up to catering to the GCC market with many of the city’s top-end hotels negotiating special deals, discounts and personal shopping arrangements with the larger department store retailers such as Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Liberty.

Importantly, they also provide some much-needed post-shopping respite with sumptuous after-noon teas and relaxing spa treat-ments high on the agenda.

With such appealing packages on offer and airlines currently competing to beat one another on price for fl ights to the UK, there is no time like the present to sell a shopping break to London.

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London offers arguably some of the best shopping opportunities in the world.



Location: Sandwiched between Brompton Road and Hyde Park, opposite Harvey Nichols.Accommodation: 198 guestrooms and suites, all individually furnished and deco-rated in true Victorian style.Don’t miss: The award-winning spa, offering eight private treatment rooms, expert thera-pists and ESPA products.What’s new: The Knightsbridge property has joined forces with The Fat Duck Group to create the fi rst London restaurant with Chef

Heston Blumenthal (to open this autumn) and will also introduce the award-winning cuisine of Lyon-born chef Daniel Boulud to the UK for the fi rst time when Bar Boulud opens in the hotel this spring. This year will also see Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group manage the 85 luxurious residences — known as One Hyde Park — that are being developed next to the Knightsbridge hotel. These apartments will make ideal longer term residences for Middle East shoppers.

Selling Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park

Mandarin Oriental’s best of British programme

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park is close to Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

MANDARIN ORIENTALFor clients seeking the ultimate Knights-bridge shopping experience, there is only one place to stay — Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park. It couldn’t be better located — it’s slap bang opposite one of London’s top department stores, Harvey Nichols — in fact, if your client’s room is facing Brompton Road, there is a good chance they’ll get a good glance of the store’s top fl oor champagne bar from their window or terrace. Not far down the road there’s the

A taste of the Orienticonic department store Harrods, which has long been a favourite haunt of Middle East shoppers, plus the boutiques of Sloane Street are only a stone’s throw away.

HEAD TO HARRODSMandarin Oriental guests not only have the shopping advice of the hotel’s expert con-cierge team at their fi ngertips but until the end of January, are offered the chance to pos-sess their very own Harrods loyalty card plus shopping vouchers under the hotel’s ‘Best of British’ programme.

Once signed up, cardholders are also eligi-ble for discounts at certain times of the year when promotions apply, with discounts on top-end brands also up for grabs.

The Best of British programme also includes complimentary entry to the presti-gious Aspinalls club in nearby Mayfair, ordi-narily priced at £1000 per person.

Mandarin Oriental guests also enjoy shop-ping and family experience privileges in the run up to Christmas.

n 2009, for example, the hotel’s ‘Christmas Extravaganza’ programme included a Golden Pass to the Harrods Christmas Grotto.

Harrods is astute to the requirements of Arab Nationals who tend to shop ‘til they drop in the department store during the summer months in particular.

The store has extended trading hours dur-ing the summer period when Arabic-speak-ing sales assistants and personal shoppers are on hand. Shopping at Harrods is tax free and traditional Arabic cuisine is offered at the Ish-bilia restaurant.

Harrods’ international marketing manager Fiona Armitage says there has been a 13%

increase in Middle East visitors year-to-date and a 14% hike in sales against a “very strong” 2007-2008.

“It was apparent this summer that we had fewer high value jewellery sales, but we saw an increase in fashion accessories purchas-ing,” she reveals.

TIME FOR TEAPost-shopping, there’s nowhere better to re-fuel than The Park restaurant where tradi-tional English afternoon tea is served, com-plete with mouth-watering cakes and sweets created by head pastry chef Graham Horni-gold, voted ‘Pastry Chef of the Year’ by the Craft Guild of Chefs. For something a little stronger, the Mandarin Bar serves cocktails and exotic nibbles in über-trendy surroundings.

POST-RETAIL THERAPYMandarin Oriental guests weary of shopping should head straight to The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, which has consistently been voted one of the best urban spas in the UK.

The facility has eight private treatment rooms plus an Amethyst Crystal Steam Room, Vitality Pool, Sanarium and the “deeply calm-ing” Zen Colour Therapy Relaxation room. There are a range of signature treatments offered and therapists conduct very thorough consultations before therapies are applied.

Prices from £525 including:• One night’s accommodation • Full English Breakfast in The Park restaurant • A Harrods Gift Certifi cate: £25 or £50 depending on room category and access to the Harrods Rewards Scheme • Lunch at Foliage • Complimentary membership to Aspinalls club (worth £1000)

Rates are based on two guests sharing one room for a one night stay exclusive of VAT and 5% dis-cretionary service charge. The pro-gramme is valid until January 31, 2010 and subject to availability.



Selling the Langham

Bespoke stays at Brown’s

The Langham is located in the busiest shopping district.

THE LANGHAMHow often have you or your clients walked along Oxford Street after a hard day’s shop-ping and thought how wonderful it would be to step into a hotel room and rest your weary feet? Well, with The Langham Hotel conve-niently located just minutes by foot from Oxford Circus, you can do just that.

This property was just made for shopahol-ics and having re-opened its doors last year following an £80 million restoration, there is no excuse for your top-end clients not to stay here when hitting one of the world’s most impressive shopping districts.

The new Langham Hotel London, which dates back to Victorian London (1865), has 380 luxurious guestrooms and suites, all exqui-sitely fi tted out in a contemporary design in neutral tones with hints of an Asian infl uence.

Guests will also note touches of the prop-erty’s new signature pale pink motif — the colour of the bathroom amenities and sta-tionary. The property also boasts 15 func-tion rooms and a fi tness centre, while the cen-trepiece, located behind the lobby, is Palm Court, famed as the place where the tradition of afternoon tea was born.

All pink and Brown’s

Location: Portland Place, just a few minutes on foot from Oxford Circus, Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street.Accommodation: 380 luxurious guestrooms and suites.Don’t miss: taking a deep breath when you step into the lobby and enjoying the Langham’s signature ginger and lily scent. Taking after-noon tea in the hotel’s Palm Court is also an imperative.What’s new: a brand new spa is due to open its doors at the prop-erty this summer.Packages: an ‘Enchanted Week-ends’ package is priced from £219 per night and includes Eng-lish breakfast and late checkout (3pm), meaning there’s more time to shop.Information: visit www.london.langhamhotels.co.uk

Brown’s Hotel, located in the heart of May-fair close to Bond Street, Regent Street and Oxford Street, is offering a ‘Bespoke Brown’s Experience’ allowing guests to cre-ate their own stay by selecting one of the following services or activities:• Three hours with either a personal shop-per or a private guided tour of London and a copy of the limited edition Rocco Forte’s A Hedonist’s Guide to London

• Round-trip chauffeur driven car transfers from Heathrow, Gatwick or City Airport• Two theatre tickets to a leading West End show with set two-course pre-theatre dinner in The Albemarle• Two tickets to The Royal Academy of Arts and three-course lunch in The Albemarle• Three-course dinner for two, including bottle of wine, in The Albemarle • Two one-hour spa treatment in The Spa

The stay also includes: • Overnight accommodation • Welcome amenity on arrival• Full English breakfast in The Albemarle

Package prices start from £800 for two nights for two people sharing a Classic King room. Packages are available for Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout 2010, subject to availability.

The hotel also offers special after-hours appointments with and private tours of London’s fi nest Savile Row establishments and even the chance to create your very own personalised scent, ensuring a truly tailormade trip.

Call: +44 800 988 4040, +44 (0)20 7493 6020 or email [email protected]

Additional F&B outlets include The Landau, serving contemporary European dishes, and the Artesian cocktail bar.

As is the case with many London hotels, the concierge can help arrange shopping experi-ences and when ATN stayed at the property, discount cards for Liberty on Regent Street, were distributed in guest rooms with the famous store’s dedicated glossy magazine.

Brown’s Hotel is offering bespoke stays including shopping options.



Malls and money back

WESTFIELD LONDON Westfi eld London is Europe’s biggest urban shopping complex, boasting 265 premium and high street retailers, including 80 fash-ion and 40 luxury brands. Easily accessible by tube, train, bus and car, the mall has multi-lingual staff, offers personal shoppers, style advice, a concierge, intelligent parking facil-ities, a home and hotel delivery service for shopping goods, a chauffeur service, an elec-

Westfi eld London is Europe’s biggest urban shopping complex.

tronic tagging system for lost children, taxi lounge, tax-free shopping for tourists and valet parking. Hosted tours are available.

There are 50 eateries plus restaurants and open cooking counters line Southern Terrace, a pedestrian dining street where fresh food, including Halal options, is available.

Opening hours also suit the Middle East market — 10am-9pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am-10pm Thursday and Friday, 9am-9pm Saturday and 12 noon to 6pm Sunday.

Since the centre opened its doors in Octo-ber 2008, the shopping centre has reported a footfall of more than 20 million, with tourism comprising around 30% of visitors.

In this respect, the top visiting nationali-ties, according to Global Tax Returns reported by Westfi eld, are Nigerians, Kuwaitis, followed by Chinese and Indians.

The mall’s marketing manager Jacquie Craig says feedback reveals that high-profi le visitors from the Gulf are choosing to shop at Westfi eld because they can be anonymous there whereas at Harrods, they bump into everyone they know.

The Westfi eld VIP card provides discounts of up to 20% in more than 80 stores and restaurants in the shopping centre.

Mall marketers are currently working closely with airlines and hotels to offer these passes to their clients.

For example, passengers traveling with Virgin Atlantic from Dubai to London Heathrow can keep their boarding pass stub and hand this in at the concierge in the main atrium in exchange for a VIP card. The Mandarin Oriental also runs a ‘Luxe for less’ promotion for its guests whereby they receive a Westfi eld VIP card and an Armani gift. Visit www.uk.westfi eld.com

DNATA HOLIDAYSDukes Hotel: prices start from AED 5785 per person.The Milestone Hotel: prices start from AED 6000 per person. Both packages include fl ights with Emirates; three nights’ accommo-dation; daily English breakfast; tax-es and service charges. Packages valid until March 31, 2010, based on a weekend stay for two.

EMIRATES HOLIDAYSHyatt Regency London: a six-night package is priced from AED 6525, valid until January 31.Thistle Marble Arch: a six-night package is priced from AED 5015 (stay six nights for the price of fi ve, valid until March 31).

Popular Westfi eld stores with Middle East market:• Marks & Spencer — for everything• Next — for kids clothes• Myla — for top-end lingerie • Luxury brands such as Prada, Gu cci and Miu Miu

Money back guaranteeVisitors to the UK are offered a 15% tax rebate on purchases of £30 or more when the goods are exported out of the country. When selling a shopping break to London, make sure you clients are aware of this tax re-

fund system following three steps:1 REFUND CHEQUE — ask the shop for a Refund Cheque when making a purchase.2 CUSTOMS STAMP — show your purchases, receipt and passport to the Customs offi ce when leaving the country and get your Refund Cheque stamped.3 REFUND OFFICE — show the stamped Refund Cheque, passport and credit card at a nearby refund offi ce and ask for an immediate refund on your credit card. The refund can also be paid in cash.

UK airline Virgin Atlantic fl ies daily from Dubai to London Heathrow. The carrier operates a three-class aircraft on the route featuring Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy cabins.

Westfi eld VIP card

Getting to London

HOLIDAY PACKAGES

Essential information and top tips

The Milestone Hotel, London.


REGIONAL NEWSAgent action

I decided to do a travel agent training course to bolster my travel knowledge and credentials and to improve my opportunities to work in the UAE.

I enjoy helping people fi nd the perfect tai-lor-made holiday and also organising corpo-rate travel.

In respect to the economic situation, I am quite positive about the industry and I am sure it will all be fi ne as people still want to

travel regardless. It is a leading industry in the world and one of the biggest in the UAE.

I believe I am in the right place to develop my career.

Why do you want to work in the travel industry and what are your views on the future of the industry?

Burning issue

I have always wanted to communi-cate with people who have visited

other countries. I like to travel and want to pass on my knowledge to customers.

I’m on a four-month course, which is great because I will be able to fi nd out quickly if I like the job as everything is covered on the syl-labus. The course helps us to understand the industry and I believe we are good enough and experienced enough to now work in a

travel agency, and this gives us a good starting point.

The travel industry is developed in Dubai

and it is an exciting time to become

a travel agent.

I decided to take this c o u r s e because I am interested in travel and I want to know more about it.

I enjoy trav-elling, meet-

ing new people and talking to them about their travel experiences.

The course I am currently studying will help me gather a lot of information on how to talk to customers and how to use the systems used by travel agents.

It’s a good time to get into the industry as it is heading in the right direction and tourism in this region is big business.

Looking at the current market con-ditions, all travel agents seem to be selling the same thing so I want to do something different.

In my mind 2010 is not looking to be a good year — therefore it is time to get educated and to think about how we as an industry can be better at what we do.

I am doing the course because I want to offer something better and it is about quality over quantity. I am looking to get extra knowl-edge and I want to give the customer some-thing different; I don’t want to stagnate and I need to be inventive.

Yulia Horvath, TRS Consulting student, tourism management graduate and qualifi ed English-Russian translator,

Dubai

“It is an exciting time to become a travel agent”

“Tourism in this region is big business”

Raid Ahmed, TRS Consulting student and branch manager, Al Rais Travel, DubaiSahar Ahmed,

TRS Consulting student, Dubai

“I believe I am in the right place to develop my

career ”

“It is time to get educated and to think about how we as an industry can be better at what we do”

Sabrine Ahmed, TRS Consulting student, Dubai

ATN spoke to students studying travel and tourism with TRS Consulting in Knowledge Village


REGIONAL NEWSNEWS MIME

ATN talks to Ralph Melis, the new contracts manager — GCC, for wholesaler Destinations of the World (DOTW)

ATN: What is your travel industry background? I’ve worked in hotel opera-tions in Holland and in the UAE with most of my time spent in the front offi ce, res-ervations and revenue. After completing some time in a sales role, I decided to move to an online travel agency in Dubai as an account man-ager for Oman, Qatar and the the UAE.

ATN: What are your respon-sibilities in this new role? My main responsibilities will be dealing with rates con-tracts for existing and new

hotels in the GCC. I will also meet hotel sales and reve-nue representatives to dis-cuss potential promotions and strategies.

ATN: What do you hope to bring to the role?My background helps me understand the needs and ideas of hotels and travel agents alike.

ATN: What will be the big-gest challenges? It will probably be the spin-off of how hotels have reacted to the credit cri-sis. Most hotels were and

are facing the challenge of declining RevPAR and are frequently looking for new avenues to help them improve it.

This has led to a lack of control over rate distribu-tion. We need to work closely

For us it’s now all about improving seamless distri-bution using technology.

We have a strong focus on XML connectivity to our cus-tomers and direct connect to our suppliers.

The company plans to increase its global customer distribution to more than 450,000 points of sale and increase its direct connec-tivity to more than 50,000 hotels in the next 12 months.

Next year we will see mas-sive expansion on this, so this should help improve our results and increase our market strength.

Agent action

New recruit

Checkin’ in/checkin’ out

My background helps me understand the needs and ideas of hotels and agents alike ”

with our key partners to allow them to maximise their yield, but in a more controlled environment.

ATN: What is the key to developing business during the economic downturn?

MARSHALL’S MOUNTAINUAE fl ag carrier Etihad Airways has appointed Ken Marshall as its country manager in Nepal.

Marshall will be based in the capital, Kathmandu, where he will oversee the airline’s opera-tions in the Himalayan republic.

With a plethora of airline sales experience already under his belt, Marshall, who has worked for the Abu Dhabi-based airline for fi ve years, has also held senior management positions at UK carrier British Airways, as well as Emirates Airline and Swiss International Airlines.

His most recent role was as sales manager — Pakistan, for Etihad Airways.

In this role he was part of the team that set up the airline’s operations in four cities within the vast country.

Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers has appointed three

new membersDirector of sales and marketing Deeksha Trivedi has welcomed to

the team Anna Kandaryan, who becomes sales manager for the leisure segment, while Olga Ga-raschenko and SimSim Salaria join as sales executives.

A MOVE FOR MASTERSONThe Rocco Forte Collection has announced the appointment of Jodi Masterson as direc-tor of sales and marketing at recently opened The Augustine in Prague.

Masterson has more than 17 years of experience within the hospitality industry and has been with The Rocco Forte Col-lection for seven years.

She leaves her previous role as director of sales of marketing

at Man-chester’s The Lowry Hotel where she oversaw the de-

velopment

SHERATON SEES TRIPLE

NOMAN HEADS TO AFRICAYasser Noman, Kuoni’s current head of sales India and Middle East

and head of Destination Ara-bia, has taken on the added challenge of heading Kuoni’s Destination Africa. Noman takes on the added responsibility from Thomas Goosmann who returns to the Kuoni Group’s Zurich headquarters to take on a senior position within the re-cently established procurement and production unit. Having been with Kuoni for more than 11 years, Noman has held various positions and has been head of sales India and Middle East since 2006.

of core hotel strategy, sales, conferences, marketing, PR, revenue, groups and VIPs.

On her new position, Mas-terson commented: “I am delighted to be in Prague, ready to begin my next chapter with the company. The Augustine is a very special property in a magical city.”

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who son re-

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Anna Kandary-an has previ-ously worked for hotel chains and global travel

agencies both in Dubai and her native Armenia.

The business management Masters graduate will lead the leisure segment for the Dubai Creek hotel.

Russian-born Olga Gara-schenko joins the property with a wide-ranging career spanning steel and grain trading, real es-tate investment and hospitality.

SimSim Salaria has a back-ground in restaurant manage-ment and joined the hotel chain in Dubai as a corporate trainee, before taking the step up to sales executive.

3. Al Faisal Travel collecting the grand prize from Travelport UAE country manager Faris Azzee and Greg D’Souza, director of E-Commerce and Intermediaries at Marriott International.

4. The mean team.5. Trave agents hoping to to strike it lucky.

1. The Costa Cruises team ready for action.2. Travel agents competing in the bowling alley.


REGIONAL NEWSAgent action

Agents, airlines, tour operators, car rental fi rms, hotels and many more gathered for a night of ten-pin bowling in Dubai last month, courtesy of Travelport GDS

1

3

5

2

4

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