arabian travel news - may 2010

INTERVIEW: MISHAL KANOO | MYSTERY SHOPPER SURVEY | SELLING CRUISE | SHARJAH UPS STANDARDS

An ITP Business PublicationMay 2010 Issue 5 Vol. 5

Licensed by Dubai Media City

What’s in store for the travel industry in the Middle East?

THE FUTURE FOR TRAVEL FUTURE FOR TRAVEL

HOW THE MIDDLE EAST TRAVEL TRADE TACKLED THE VOLCANO CLOUD CRISIS

Top exhibitors, show highlights and what’s new

at this year’s event

ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET

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01 May 2010 – Arabian Travel Newswww.hoteliermiddleeast.com

News

03 NewsTravel trade counts costs of fl ight ban; UAE must coordinate tourism promotion; Agencies respond to mystery shopper.

04 News analysis Volcano crisis: how did the travel trade tackle the chaos brought about by the Icelandic ash cloud? .

09 CruiseCruise lines caught up in vol-cano chaos, Brilliance of the Seas reports a successful fi rst season.

10 ToolsAgents to connect up online with a brand new networking site.

12 Airlines Gulf carriers lose millions over the ash cloud disruption.

14 Tourism BoardsGerman roadshow in the Gulf, Visit Britain to host mega event.

15 MICERecession has a silver lining, sur-vey reveals business slowdown.

Arabian Travel Market

16 ATM guideOur guide to the seminars, show highlights and what’s new in 2010.

19 Top exhibitor pickA round up of the top exhibitors not to miss at this year’s ATM.

Contents

Analysis

24 Road to Recovery? What is the future for Middle East travel? ATN speaks to Euromonitor about what’s in store for the sector.

Interview

30 Travel by Kanoo We chat to the outspoken head of Kanoo Travel, Mishal Kanoo.

4904Skillset

38 Mystery shopper The ‘Big Mystery Shopper Survey’.

How to sell

37 Bridging the Gulf We look at the various cruise lines offering Gulf cruises this winter.

42 Capital attractions Abu Dhabi has bold ambitions to develop as a tourism destination.

49 The hills are alive We fi nd out why visitors from the Gulf continue to fl ock to Austria.

Q&A

47 John Felix John Felix, from Emirates Holidays predicts a busy summer season.

Training

53 Sharjah tour guides The fi rst tour guides receive offi cial licenses in Sharjah.

Meet the agent

56 Mohammed Al RaisWe meet the deputy managing director of Al Rais Travel.

24

56

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News

Travel trade counts cost of fl ight ban Six-day airspace shut down due to volcanic eruption brings major revenue loss

Sheikh Sultan: UAE must coordinate tourism promotion

ASH CLOUD

PROMOTION

Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has called for greater cooperation between the emirates in promoting them-selves as one destination.

He told ATN in an inter-view: “At the end of the day we are the United Arab Emirates. So it would be logical to coor-dinate. We have these models around the world. Australia, promotes itself with Tourism Australia, also the UK. There is some specifi c marketing and promotional activities where you need to coordi-

News

said that as the body was still brand new there was no strat-egy as yet on what direction it would take in terms of UAE promotion. “I don’t have the details. I know that they have only just created it – they have started last autumn. I’m not sure what the next plans are, I think we don’t want to raise expectations as it’s a newly created entity. But we know that this move is needed since a long time ago and we are moving in the right direc-tion – but this is coming and everyone is working on this. To promote the whole UAE as one entity there is clear bene-fi t for all emirates.”

Travel agents and tour oper-ators in the region are count-ing the cost of the six-day shut down of European airspace due to the erupting volcano in Iceland last month. While IATA estimates that airlines globally suffered a loss of US$1.7 billion due to the cri-sis, the travel trade also took a major fi nancial hit as passen-gers cancelled trips and held off from making bookings due to the uncertainty sur-rounding the situation.

Hans Haensel, divisional senior vice president, Des-tination & Leisure Manage-ment, Emirates Holidays estimated that Emirates Hol-idays lost around AED 7 mil-lion in revenue. “We are los-ing revenue every day,” he told ATN during the crisis. “This time of the year is not a major travel season so we

had lost “approximately AED 25,0000” in revenue. He added that his fear now was that consumers would think twice about travelling in the coming months following the travel chaos.

“Lots of business and lei-sure travellers are presently trying to postpone or even

Emirates Airlines planes sit grounded at Dubai Airport during the ash cloud travel crisis

Turn to p. 44 for the full interview with Sheikh Sultan

stop planning for the next few months from travelling to Europe due to the situa-tion,” he said.

Al Rais Travel reported that most people that cancelled trips have now rebooked. “We had losses over these days but as most people postponed to a later date the consequences are less for us than an airline company,” said Mohamed Al Rais, deputy managing direc-tor, Al Rais Travel.

Leo Fewtrell, general man-ager of DTTAG pointed out that while it was “impossi-ble to say how much will be lost by tour operators and agents”, other sectors of the industry were able to cash in. “Many hotels here are having a bonanza with passengers stranded and accommoda-tion secured by the airlines. As they say, what’s bad news for one can often be a boon for another party.”

nate on the federal level.” Until recently the emirates

have embarked on very sepa-rate tourism marketing cam-paigns, with the result being that many visitors don’t even realise Abu Dhabi and Dubai are part of the UAE. This may be about to change however with the recently formed ‘Tourism and Antiquity Council for the UAE’.

“This [council] is to coor-dinate our marketing and promotional activities in the UAE and issues related to heritage,” explained Sheikh Sultan. “I think this is a way to address these challenges and I think it’s a great thing.” He

over 40 years in this business and I have never seen any-thing like it.”

Travel agents said book-ings to the UK and Europe came to a standstill during the fl ight ban. Sunny Augus-tine, executive director, White Sands Tours and Travel estimated that White Sands

have had a little bit of luck, but my estimate is that if we have a full week of fl ight can-cellations we will reach AED 7 million in lost revenue.”

Haensel described the sit-uation as “the worst scenario I think the aviation industry has faced so far, its far beyond what we faced at 9/11. I’m

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

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysis

How did the Middle East travel industry cope with what’s been called the “worst travel disruption the world has ever seen”?

Airlink International UAE had 100 pas-sengers in Europe when the volcano erupted. Candida Fitzsimmons, supervi-sor, Leisure Travel said the agency worked around the clock to book stranded passen-gers into hotel accomodation and onto the fi rst available fl ight. “This is the worst travel disruption the world has ever seen. The big-gest challenge for everyone in the indus-try is trying to accommodate stranded pas-sengers in their current destination, rebook fl ights or fi nd alternate routes,” she said.

Mohamed Al Rais, deputy managing director, Al Rais Travel said his staff were in “direct contact with all passengers to rebook another fl ight.” He said staff had been busy fi elding calls from customers, “cancel-ling fl ights, extending hotels, or postpon-ing trips.” Many customers also requested refunds on holidays booked. “The biggest

ust when the travel industry was busily anticipating a bright and busy

summer ahead it was stopped dead in its tracks last month when the erup-tion from the Eyjafjallajökull vol-cano in Iceland brought Europe’s most

important airports and air traffi c to a standstill for six days.

The volcanic ash cloud caused thousands of fl ight cancellations and more than 7 mil-lion passengers to be stranded worldwide.

One travel agent described the situation as the “worst travel disruption the world has ever seen”. As well as having to cancel and re-book holidays for those unable to travel, agents and operators were suddenly faced with the nightmare situation of hundreds of passengers stuck in Europe with no way of getting home and no idea when they might be able to get on a fl ight.

Abu Dhabi Tourim Authority (ADTA) was able to give its new ‘stop-over’ programme for passengers transiting through Abu Dhabi airport an unexpected trial run due to the ash cloud situation.

The authority sprang into action and treated some of the 2,500 travellers stranded in Abu Dhabi to cut-price and complimen-tary tours of the emirate’s top attractions.

ADTA laid on buses to take 200 travellers staying at Yas Island on tours of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and Al Ain Wildlife Park. Travellers were also offered discounted Big Bus and helicopter tours, kayaking tours through the mangroves and reduced green fees at four of the capital’s golf courses, as well as free information packs on Abu Dhabi including fridge magnets and postcards.

“We are currently working with partners on creating stop-over programmes for the very healthy numbers of passengers tran-siting Abu Dhabi International Airport,” said Ahmed Hussein, deputy director gen-eral, ADTA. “This has been an unexpected trial-run but the response has been highly encouraging and demonstrates the potential.”

The reaction from travellers was positive. One tourist even described the situation as a “blessing in disguise” as it gave him the chance to get to know Abu Dhabi.

“I have never been here before and the visit to the mosque has encouraged me to reconsider another visit, more at my leisure, as it is obvious there is plenty to see and enjoy,” he said.

ADTA said it expects to see an increase in return visitors to Abu Dhabi on the back of their recent experience. “This has been a signifi cant blow to the airline industry so it would not be appropriate to term it as pos-itive for the local industry,” said Barbara Saunders, senior communication adviser, ADTA. “We have simply taken the chance to demonstrate our destination’s hospitality and some of its attractions.”

Industry tacklesADTA gives city tours to stranded tourists

The Eyjafjallajökul volcano in Iceland spews a cloud of volcano dust over European skies closing airspace for six days



challenges have been getting hotel refunds at the last minute as some of the hotel are strict and will not accept it even though the customer insists.”

For tour operators the situation was equally chaotic. Emirates Holidays had to oull in extra staff to help tackle the crisis. Hans Haensel, divisional senior vice presi-dent, Destination & Leisure Management, Emirates Holidays said: “We had a few hun-dred clients from Emirates Holidays in Europe – fortunately it was only about 20 percent of our business at the time as the majority of our business over the Easter period was to Asia and the Indian Ocean.”

“The team at Emirates Holidays has been in contact with every single client – help-ing them to either extend accommodation or fi nd cheaper accommodation – that has been the biggest challenge. To be in contact with hundreds of clients individually is a massive job.”

He added: “We had to redirect our staff – we have a pool of staff who are trained to deal with emergencies, but we had to get a few more people on board.”

Not everyone lost out during the ash cloud situation. A number of hotels in the UAE reported a dramatic surge in occupancy as stranded European-bound holiday mak-ers and transit passengers unable to make it to their destination were forced to extend their stays.

Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi Yas Island gen-eral manger Dieter Franke said the hotel had seen an increase in bookings due to the disruption and acknowledged that room rates were “determined by current availabil-ity and demand”. He added that there had been “a good cooperation and communica-tion between the airlines and hotel”.

Aldar Hotels & Hospitality managing director Paul Bell said The Yas Hotel had also accepted a number of layover passengers. “We have had requests from airlines for an allocated number of rooms so that they can plan for their passengers, The Yas Hotel has responded accordingly.”

He added: “After the fi rst couple of days of uncertainty, most guests seem to be bed-ding in and getting comfortable. Our pool sides are full and the restaurants are buzz-ing, most people seem intent on enjoying themselves despite the delays.”

Staybridge Suites Abu Dhabi Yas Island hotel manager Fady Sawaya said there had been positive feedback from guests despite the delays getting home. “They are pleased with the product and the services they are receiving in our hotels. Some guests have taken this as an option to further explore Abu Dhabi city and its surroundings.”

And with Dubai being a long-haul des-tination from Europe, there was sim-ply no other option but to wait for fl ights to become available said Haensel. “If you live in Europe you could try to go on trains, buses, or rent a car but if you are on a long-haul holiday that makes it more diffi cult so that’s the story with our clients. You really have no other alternative because of the dis-tance involved.” Haensel estimated it would take up to four days to clear the backlog of passengers once the fl ight ban was lifted.

PULLING TOGETHER IN A CRISISAnwar Abu Monassar from DMC The Vision said one positive to come out the chaos was that the industry did pull together in the cri-sis. The Vision had a group of 250 people from Europe who were stuck in Dubai for fi ve extra days. Monassar said his hotel part-ners “behaved very well - assisting us, giv-ing us complimentary rooms, and helping us to accommodate them.” The Vision also offered their DMC services for free to assist the stranded group. “Some fl ights were not cancelled till the very last minute and no one knew what was happening. But we arranged trips to Abu Dhabi, to Oman, and we created a situation where people were able to enjoy it in the end.” And while agents and operators pulled out all the stops to help their stranded clients, those who booked independently and on the cheap are probably still the ones waiting desperately for a fl ight today. Leo Fewtrell, general manager, Dubai Travel and Tour Agents Group said: “I think this situation perfectly illustrates the ben-efi ts of booking with a responsible agency who can be held accountable by a trade body such as DTTAG. This gives a level of comfort to customers that they are dealing with companies that take their responsibil-ities seriously.” Agents agreed that the crisis had given them a chance to show their dedication to their stranded customers : “By booking with the travel agent, the passenger is eased out of coordinating directly with the airline or hotel, The travel agent takes care of it all,” said Fitzsimmons. “At times like this agents are expert and know when and how to con-tact the right people,” added Al Rais.

UAE hotels cash in on the fl ight ban

FACT BOX7 MILLION PASSENGERS STRANDED

WORLDWIDE

20: NUMBER OF COUNTRIES WHICH SHUT DOWN THEIR

AIRSPACE AT THE HEIGHT OF THE CRISIS

$200 MILLION: COST TO AIRLINES PER DAY IN LOST REVENUE

volcano ash crisis


News

Agencies respond to mystery shopper ATN’s ‘Big Mystery Shopper Survey’ is unveiled, but not all agree with the results

SURVEY RESULTS

Travel agencies have responded to the ‘Big Mys-tery Shopper Survey’ unveiled in ATN this month. The survey is compiled from mystery shopping results carried out by Ethos Consul-tancy on 28 UAE agencies.

Dnata Travel received three mystery shops from Ethos. While two branches, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai and Hamdan Interchange, Abu Dhabi fared well, achieving scores of 77 and 66 percent – Rolla Road, Shar-jah achieved just 58 percent.

vey results “appear fl awed” as they are more tailored towards agents that cater to the retail rather than the cor-porate sector, which may explain why Kanoo fell down on the scoring. “Some of the criteria used by your survey consultant calls for further

clarifi cation,” he said. “Because we are a corpo-rate travel man-

agement com-pany where

corporates con-tribute 96 percent of our

business, and retail / walk ins accounts to 4 percent.”

He added that Kanoo Travel regularly receives top level scores in Government of Dubai and third party cus-tomer surveys done through ZARCA which proves the company to be “in a robust position when it comes to customer service.”

Omeir Travel, Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi received 61 percent placing it 23rd overall. Reene Mary Thomas, marketing executive, Omeir Travel said: “It’s a great initia-tive from ATN’s side to con-duct such a survey and such assessments can help both customers and the company.”

A Majid Al Mulla, vice pres-ident Dnata World Travel said “substantial changes” had taken place to improve service levels at Dnata since the survey was carried out.

“Since the survey was undertaken over eight months ago, we have made several substantial changes to our operations to fur-ther improve service. These include audits of our cus-tomer outlets – both visu-ally and from a customer service perspective, further extensive product training for all frontline staff and an internal review of our cus-

tomer care processes. We are pleased with the outcome of these changes and are con-fi dent that moving forward we will place number one for service excellence.”

Kanoo Travel was mys-tery shopped twice by Ethos, achieving scores of 56 percent at it’s Karama branch and 47 percent at Rolla Road, Sharjah.

Sunil D’souza, country man-ager UAE & Oman argued that the sur-

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09 May 2010 – Arabian Travel Newswww.hoteliermiddleeast.com

Cruise lines caught up in volcano chaosPassengers miss out on cruise trips and can’t get home due to the cancelled fl ights

ASH CLOUD

NEW BROCHURE

affected by the situation. “This includes both those try-ing to complete return travel at the end of a cruise, or jour-neys to embark on a cruise,” said Royal Caribbean.

Guests booked on a fl y/cruise package were offered alternative travel to join the ship mid-cruise or full refunds of their cruise fare in the form of a future credit or an alternative fl y/cruise.

Costa Cruises also helped stranded passengers. Dario Rustico, director of sales & marketing Costa Cruises said: “Passengers onboard

The six-day fl ight ban due to the erupting volcano in Ice-land meant that many pas-sengers were unable to make it onto their Gulf cruise trips.

Royal Caribbean said 50 percent of guests booked to sail on Brilliance of the Seas repositioning voyage from Dubai to Barcelona were forced to miss out on the trip.

Globally six percent of guests trying to join a Celeb-rity Cruises, Royal Caribbean International or Azamara Club Cruises vessel were

Costa Cruises has released its 2011 brochure with more than 130 different itinerar-ies for next season. In sum-mer 2010/2011 the Costa Luminosa and Costa Deliz-iosa will return to the Arabian Gulf on 7-day cruises. They will depart from Dubai and call at Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. In Janu-ary the Costa Luminosa will offer a special 21-day cruise from Dubai to India and the Maldives.

Other itinerary highlights include 7 and 14 day cruises

Celebrity Eclipse waits at Bilbao to pick up stranded UK tourists

Cruise

Costa Deliziosa that could not fl y back to Europe were granted the possibility to stay onboard.

“We also modifi ed the itin-erary to give them the chance of immediate repatriation as soon as the fl ights become operative.”

Meanwhile brand new cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse abandoned plans for her launch celebration cruise and sailed to Bilbao in Spain instead in order to rescue over 2,000 stranded UK holi-daymakers and return them to Southampton in the UK.

Brilliance fi rst season a success

in the Red Sea, and 69 short cruises in the Far East with a new port – Osaka – being added to the traditional ports of Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Japan and Korea.

Highlights in the brochure include a new Samsara pack-ages – the Samsara Dream which allows passengers to enjoy a full spa experience, plus tea ceremony, access to the Samsara restaurant, two fi tness lessons and admis-sion to the solarium.

Costa is also offering new ‘eco-tourism excursions’ for 2011 with visits to parks and nature reserves.

FIRST SEASON

Royal Caribbean Interna-tional’s Brilliance of the Seas, has reported a suc-cessful fi rst season in the Middle East, with full occu-pancy on every sailing.

The cruise ship began its Gulf sailings in Janu-ary, offering a seven-night round-trip from Dubai to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

The majority of guests have been from Western markets on fl y-and-cruise packages with nearly half coming from the UK, fol-

New Costa 2011 brochure lowed by Germany, US, Spain and Canada. Royal Caribbean is now keen to attract more guests from the local market.

“We have been marketing the itinerary locally in the UAE and regionally with our unique message ‘Gulf Get-away’,” said Lakshmi Durai, from Royal Caribbean Inter-national, Middle East.

“The cruise around the Gulf, offering the choice of over 50 different excur-sions in the ports of call to our guests, provides a great opportunity for people liv-

ing in the region to take a break and visit their neigh-bouring countries. The interest from Middle East-ern guests has been very encouraging with an equal amount of bookings from nationals and expatriates.”

Royal Caribbean said the presence of a ship in the region had also enhanced outbound cruise business which had seen a 35 per-cent growth in sales for the fi rst quarter of 2010. Bril-liance has now departed for the Med and will return to Dubai in January 2011.

Guests booked to sail with Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Cruises, and Royal Caribbean International this summer have been assured they won’t miss out on the World Cup action while at sea after the cruise

lines obtained rights to air all the games. Guests will be able to watch the games from their staterooms or in designated lounges. Special onboard World Cup activities have also been designed.

CRUISE GUESTS ENSURED THEY WON’T MISS WORLD CUP


Agents worldwide connect up onlineNEW PRODUCT

Tools

Travelport Opinions is already in use by over 1,700 agents and operators

Social networking site for travel agents Travelport Opinions is launched in the region

Travelport has launched Travelport Opinions, an online networking tool for travel agents. The site allows agents to interact and share knowledge and reviews among their fellow travel agents across the world.

The site has been rolled-out in the Middle East fol-lowing its launch in the UK and France where it is now used by over 1,700 travel agents and tour operators.

Travelport Opinions con-nects travel professionals around the world. Agents

can use it to create and search hotel reviews, pose questions to destination

experts and access a wealth of hotel related media, including over 110, 000 pho-

tos and 2,500 videos. The tool also includes a

private email system to con-tact individuals on, and has the ability to track updates on specifi ed hotels.

Rabih Saab, Travelport GDS’ vice president for the Middle East, said: “Travel-port Opinions allows agents to harness the travel com-munity’s expertise, enrich-ing travel knowledge, enhancing customer sat-isfaction and ultimately increasing sales. So far agents using the site have said that Travelport Opin-ions is a trusted resource

where they can rely on the expertise from like-minded agents, post travel expe-riences and where hotel reviews are likely to be more trustworthy.”

He added: “It gives me great pleasure to introduce this tool for our agents and we hope, as envisioned, that agents will benefi t greatly from the knowledge and experience of their peers, all within a nurturing commu-nity environment.”

Agents can sign up for Travelport Opinions at: www.travelportopinions.com/pr.

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Gulf carriers lose millions over ash cloud ASH CLOUD

Airlines

Around one-fi fth of Emirates aircraft were grounded during the fl ight ban

The six-day fl ight ban due to Icelandic volcano leads to huge losses for UAE airlines

The disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano erup-tion in April lead to million dollar losses in revenue for UAE airlines.

Flights to the UK and air-ports on mainland Europe were suspended for six days due to the ash cloud from the eruption, affecting tens of thousand of passengers.

Emirates Airline said it lost in excess of US$10million a day resulting in losses of around $66 million. Around 30 Emirates aircraft were grounded, equivalent to one

fi fth of its fl eet, and 18,000 passengers a day were impacted by the fl ight ban.

Tim Clark, president of

Emirates Airline said: “The scale of this crisis is unlike anything I have experienced in my career. The longer it

continues the more com-plex the recovery process becomes. These are losses which are coming straight out of our own pocket. But despite this not being a cri-sis of our own making, we are doing everything possi-ble to minimise the impact on customers.”

Emirates paid for hotel accommodation and three meals a day for stranded-passengers at a cost of more than $1 million per day.

Etihad Airways also suf-fered losses amounting to about $30 million due to the situation.

The carrier said 16,000 of its passengers had been affected worldwide by the disruption and 2,500 pas-sengers had been put up in hotels in Abu Dhabi with each passenger receiving receiving breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel paid for by the airline.

Emirates: $66million Etihad: $30 million

Revenue lost by UAEairlines:

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Germany in bid to attract Gulf touristROADSHOW

Tourism Boards

Germany is targeting 1.5 million Gulf tourists by 2015

Gulf visitors to Sri Lanka saw a 50 percent increase in January 2010

Sri Lanka sees post-war surge in numbersSRI LANKA

Sri Lanka is seeing a surge in visitors from the Middle East, following the end of the civil war last year.

According to statistics from the Sri Lanka Tour-ism Development Author-ity, Middle East tourists grew 50 percent in January 2010 compared to the same period last year, with the UAE showing the strongest growth (up by 164 percent), followed by Saudi Arabia Qatar, and Kuwait.

“Sri Lanka is an exotic locale and peace has fi nally brought prosperity and development into the coun-try and opened up more

areas for tourism develop-ment which otherwise were not accessible during the war,” said Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoori, Middle East direc-tor of the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Board (SLTPB).

258,883Gulf visitors to Germany in 2009 Source: German Federal Statistics Offi ce

GNTB organises Middle East roadshow in plan to bring in 1.5 million Gulf visitors

The German National Tour-ist Board (GNTB) embarked on a roadshow around the Gulf in March in a bid to boost Gulf tourists to Ger-many. 16 German partners and suppliers were involved in the event which stopped in Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Antje Roeding, direc-tor Gulf countries, GNTB was “very pleased” with the overall trade turnout, add-ing: “the dialogue between

participants and their GCC audience resulted in great enthusiasm on both sides.”

Roeding said the Gulf was an important growing mar-ket for Germany. “The num-ber of overnight stays for tourism to Germany has increased continuously. For 2010, a further increase of two percent is possible. For 2015, GNTB estimates the volume of overnight stays from the Gulf to be 1.5 mil-lion, which would be the

second most important source market to China.”

German participants had positive feedback about the potential for development of tourism from the Gulf.

Klaus Odenthal, director of Cologne Tourism Board said: “Cologne is certainly in the focus of the travel indus-try in the countries we vis-ited. The colleagues I meet were very interested in the medical facilities as well as in the tourist attractions, such as the Phantasialand Theme Park. A full house at every destination certainly shows the interest of the local industry in our cities and products.”

“We were very pleased with the number of partic-ipants,” added Eva Gresch, marketing manager for Wiesbaden. “Especially in

Saudi-Arabia and Kuwait we noticed great interest in the medical services of Wies-baden and its clinics. Since 2006 we have seen increased arrivals from the UAE. Even in 2009, a very diffi cult year in tourism, the number of tourists remained stable. An event like this offers the pos-sibility to raise the popular-ity of Germany.”

Christian Tänzler from the Berlin Tourism Board also had positive feedback about the event: “The event was a great success for us. We had a lot of requests from travel agents. The increase of visi-tors and overnights from the GCC states to Berlin shows a continuous growth in the last years. An event like this is a helpful instrument to present Berlin as an attrac-tive travel destination.”

“At the beginning there were many challenges with the war. Sri lanka was not known as a destination for Arab travellers but we have had fam trips for VIPS from the Arab world and they saw

how they can explore the country and the growth is massive now for the UAE.”

Al Mansoori said there were many of reasons for the fast growth in popularity among GCC nationals.

“It used to be Europe and the Far East that was popu-lar with Arabs but after 9/11 they started to fi nd new des-tinations where they can be welcomed and feel comfort-able with their family and not have hassle at the air-port. Sri Lanka is one of these destinations. Also it’s a short haul destination. You can fl y from Dubai to Colombo in four hours.” There are nearly 50 direct fl ights from the UAE to Sri Lanka per week.

Over 200 travel industry special-ists are signed up to attend

‘Destina-tion Britain & Ireland (DEBI) this month: a three-day event in Dubai to showcase the latest travel and tourism offerings from the UK and Ireland:

May 10-13 2010 Grand Hyatt

Hotel, Dubai

VisitBritain holds mega trade event

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Recession has a ‘silver lining’ Hotels are no longer in the driving seat say meeting planners

GIBTM

The recession is a cloud with a ‘sil-ver lining’ for meetings business said exhibitors at GIBTM last month. “The recession was a positive for the meet-ings industry,” said Alexandre Lolliot, manager of Congress Solutions Inter-national. “It helped to stabilise the prices and suppliers are much more fl exible so it’s much easier to work as an association and conference organiser in the UAE today. Business is improving already – we can see the number of enquiries we are getting is much higher than last year.”

Lolliot said that buyers were shop-ping around for the best deals: “More

and more it’s all coming down to price and affordability. They are look-ing for added value, added services, higher quality of services for an equal amount of money they used to spend .”

Graham Barnett, exhibition direc-tor, GIBTM agreed: “Hotels now are not in the driving seat – two years ago if you were a DMC or a PCO wanting a block booking for 600 rooms they’d tell you to get stuffed, but now the hoteliers are literally on the phone saying what can you bring me? So the roles have completely reversed, that’s one of the fascinating things, the recession has been a silver lining to the cloud in the industry here.”

MICE

Oman focus on meetings Oman is stepping up its focus on the MICE sector with the construc-tion of a 6000 seat convention and exhibition centre in Muscat due for completion in 2013.

Muscat is also due to host the ‘4th International Responsible Tourism Destinations Conference’ taking place in October.

Khalid Al Zadjali, acting director of Tourism Events, Oman’s Tour-ism Ministry said: “We welcome the ‘leveraging’ that fl ows from niche conferences like the Interna-tional Responsible Tourism Des-tinations Conference. We expect that the conference will stimulate more adventure and nature-based travel,” he added.

Al Zadjali said the new conven-tion centre in Muscat “will com-plement the MICE capability of our leading hotels and resorts, and act as a ‘springboard’ for break-out groups and excursions to experi-ence Oman’s diverse regional land-scapes and experiences.”

Survey reveals business slowdownSURVEY

NEW VENUEThe Middle East Meetings Indus-try Report unveiled at GIBTM last month shows how meetings busi-ness suffered in 2009 due to the economic downturn.

The report surveyed 72 meetings suppliers from around the region. The average value of business in the region was US$966,000, down from US$1,030,350 the previous year. Average event duration also fell to 2.6 days down from 3.1 days. And the typical size of meetings dropped to 150 delegates, down from 188.

But despite ongoing concerns over budgets, 58 percent of suppli-ers believe the Middle East region has the most meetings growth potential in the world.

458 meetings buyers from 57 countries were also surveyed. 56 percent of those surveyed said they expected the number of events in the region to increase this year.

When placing an event, buy-ers said the infl uencing factors were cost, followed by quality of accommodation and service, over-all appeal of the destination, travel time and security.

Sally Greenhill, managing director, The Right Solution who compiled the report concluded: “Clearly 2009 saw a downturn in the region, however it was lower than that experienced in Europe and elsewhere. According to pre-dictions made by buyers, this year will see the region bounce back with increased numbers of events using a wider range of destinations. “

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Arabian Travel Market 2010

Thurs 6 May is Career and Travel Agents Day, a dedicated day especially for the travel trade. Here are just some of the highlights: 11am-3pm: HR Roundtable A roundtable of HR experts will discuss issues including: how can travel agencies improve HR? Most travel agents come from the Indian subcon-tinent but with that talent pool being drained where can staff be found? And how is the industry progressing with Emiratisation targets? 1pm-3pm: Training, regulation and the evolution of the industryKeep up to date with the latest insider info with industry experts Leo Fewtrell, DTTAG, and Arabian Pacifi c Travel, Al Arabi, and Kanoo. 4pm: Travel Agents Day Passport Competition (Hall 8)Don’t miss your chance to win some amazing prizes!

This year’s ATM show is shaping up to be one of the most important in history. Here’s our comprehensive guide to this year’s event.

Arabian Travel Market

2010

TRAVEL AGENTS DAY

fter a tough couple of years for the travel industry there’s a palpable mood of opti-

mism in the air at this year’s ATM and according to organisers, this year’s show is shaping up to be the most

important in its 16 year history. “This year the industry is in

recovery and the outlook is much more pos-itive - it’s a very exciting time for business,” said Mark Walsh, ATM exhibition director. “There will be a heavy focus on recovery and compared to the last few years we are look-ing to the future and positive growth rather than how to cope and ride out the crisis.”

Over 2,200 exhibitors from six conti-nents are at ATM this year. Most previous exhibitors have returned, and over 60 new companies have signed up. Last year over 15,000 visitors attended, and organisers are expecting a similar number this year.

“Arabian Travel Market has always acted as a barometer for the industry’s health as the event allows the travel and tour-ism trade to come together and discuss the future. Progress is being made and interest-ing developments are beginning to occur as the industry takes its fi rst steps back in to the sunlight after weathering the economic storm,” said Walsh.

Some exciting new developments have been added to the show this year in a bid to make it even more relevant to the indus-try. The seminar programme has doubled in size, with the addition of a new Debate Room where top industry speakers will come together in a panel format to tackle topics like ‘Value Tourism’, ‘Cruise Tour-ism’ and ‘Sports Tourism.’ Another addi-tion this year is the ‘Ásk the Expert’ sessions, designed to provide step-by-step guides to topics such as PR and social media.

One highlight this year is bound to be the brand new ‘Zone 8’. The more relaxed space

is for informal networking away from the hustle and bustle of the main show fl oor, and destinations will be using it to put on live shows for visitors. “It’s about giving exhibitors a chance to use their imagination and really grab the industry’s attention,” explains Walsh.

Travel Agents Day is also back for the third year running on Thursday 6 May. As in pre-vious years the day will feature a combina-tion of industry expert debates, educational seminars, entertainment and prize give-

aways. Prizes up for grabs this year include city breaks, accom-

modation packages, MP3 players, car rentals

and shopping vouch-ers. “It’s an initiative that brings exhibi-tors directly into con-

tact with the agents selling their products.

Agents can learn about the destination and the


REGIONAL NEWSArabian travel market

REGIONAL NEWSArabian Travel Market 2010

Network through tweetsThis year you can network online with Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin accounts as well as the regular ATM website. The increased web pres-ence is a great way for visitors and exhibitors to interact during and after the event. “Our Twitter account provides up to the minute news on ATM and key industry develop-ments, and our LinkedIn and Fa-cebook groups are another avenue for exhibitors and visitors to meet and engage prior to the show,” said Mark Walsh, exhibiton director. “We recommend that everyone takes ad-vantage of these free tools, to help maximise their time on site.”

SMS entry Another techy feature introduced this year is the new SMS system which allows pre-registered del-egates to receive their badge entry number by text message. Visitors to the show can then use the onsite touch screens to print their badge for easier and quicker entry to the show, which means no queuing up!

Out of a job? ‘Jobs Hot of the Press’ is a service which delivers via Bluetooth new jobs direct to your phone. All visi-tors on Careers Day will be able to take advantage of this exciting new service.

TOP SEMINAR PICK: ‘Hotels Get Real’:Tues 4 May 1pmHotels in the region are still pricing themselves way out of the market say DMCs. This ex-citing panel debate should give hoteliers some tough advice. The Growth of Value Travel in the Middle East: Tues 4 May 3pmThe session will explore the rise of low cost carriers, budget hotels and value entertainment option in the Middle East. Airline Debate:Wed 5 May 2pm A panel discussion on Gulf aviation issues with topics in-cluding the impact of the crisis, how are LCC’s performing and are carriers focused enough on the environmental challenge?Cruise Debate:Wed 5 May 4pm: What is the growth potential, opportunities and challenges of the Middle East cruise indus-try? Come and fi nd out.

WHAT’S NEW AT ATM THIS YEAR?

It will be great to see so many of our returning supporters again this year and I look forward to meeting new ex-hibitors as they present their destinations and products. It’s always exciting to see what the future holds for the industry. ”

services they have on offer which will ulti-mately secure extra sales,” said Walsh.

For the travel trade, ATM is an opportu-nity to improve industry knowledge, make some great contacts and to get a sneak peek at what’s in store for the travel sector over the coming year added Walsh. “You have over 2,200 exhibitors all in once place, allow-ing you to do six months worth of business and meetings in just four days. This show provides key insights into the economy and predicts and shapes future trends for the travel and tourism trade. During tough eco-nomic times it is imperative that the travel trade takes advan-tage of all ATM has to offer to give them that much needed edge.” Head to ‘Zone 8’ to see exhibitors put on live shows

Mark Walsh, exhibition director ATM is excited to see what the future holds for travel

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Emirates is making a massive impact as always with its ‘Emirates globe’ stand which has some exciting new innovations this year. “This mammoth rotating structure has been rejuvenated with some impressive new dis-play features,” says Richard Vaughan, divisional senior vice president. There are three zones – one for Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa, one for the recently opened Wolgan Valley Resort and a third for Emirates airlines.

Agents should head down to the Ama-deus stand to check out its new ‘SMS solution’ – a web-based tool which al-lows travel agents to update customers via SMS. Amadeus promises to unveil some other new solutions too and a group of specialists will be on hand to guide agents through the products.“This is Amadeus’ ninth year at ATM,” says Antoine Medawar, vp, Amadeus MENA. “In addition to educating and creating awareness on our new products, we are looking forward to strengthening our business in the region, to which we are deeply committed.”

To help you make the most of your time at Arabian Travel Market 2010 here’s our guide to the exhibitors you can’t afford to miss at the show

ATM: Top exhibitor pick

EMIRATES

AMADEUS TOURISM IRELANDStand: EU565Stand: TT20

Stand: ME2510

Stand: UAE2280Stand: UAE 2400

Tourism Ireland is shouting about Dublin this year. “Dublin is one of the trendiest urban destinations in Europe and now beginning to gain recognition in the Middle East,” says Aiveen Ryan, Tourism Ireland. Some stunning properties are on show including the g hotel in Galway. Agents are encouraged to check out what Ireland has to offer. “We would like to meet more agents from other Gulf countries to establish strong business connections that will assist in our marketing activities,” says Ryan. “Now is the time to visit Ireland, it is a charming, relaxing and exciting new destination for travellers from this region.”

Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts is at ATM to announce the launch of its brand new re-sort, Banyan Tree Al Wadi in Ras Al Khaim-ah which opened last month. The resort is located in Wadi Khadeja, a protected nature reserve, and is the fi rst luxury desert resort in the UAE to offer an all-pool villa

concept with Asian-inspired spa and private beach club. Audrey Chung, assistant vice president, global marketing says the Banyan Tree brand has big plans for this region: “The Middle East continues to be an important market for us where the following resorts are to open over the next two years: Angsana Eastern Mangrove, Abu Dhabi in 2011, Banyan Tree and Angsana Sifah in Oman, as well as Angsana Alegria and Angsana 40 West in Cairo in 2012.”

BANYAN TREE

Sofi tel has made huge strides to re-position itself in the luxury market in the past couple of years with major revamps to its properties. 2010 will see a rash of new openings with 11 new hotels including two in the Mid-dle East - Sofi tel Al Khobar the Corniche in Saudi Arabia, and Sofi tel Bahrain Zallaq by Thalas-sa Sea & Spa in Bahrain. Added to that there’s a second Sofi tel Legend hotel coming up in Am-sterdam. The Legend brand is a prestigious label given to hotels housed in listed monuments that are designed to become destinations in themselves.

SOFITEL


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BICESTER VILLAGE London

KILDARE VILLAGE Dublin

LA VALLÉE VILLAGE Paris

LAS ROZAS VILLAGE Madrid

LA ROCA VILLAGE Barcelona

FIDENZA VILLAGE Milan

MAASMECHELEN VILLAGE Brussels / Antwerp / Cologne

WERTHEIM VILLAGE Frankfurt

INGOLSTADT VILLAGE Munich

LAS ROZAS VILLAGE, Madrid

The Armani Hotel has just opened its doors in the Burj Khalifa. Here’s your chance to check it out (if you haven’t already). The160-room hotel is the fi rst to be launched in collaboration between Emaar Proper-ties and Giorgio Armani.

It features eight restaurants, and the world’s fi rst in-hotel Armani/SPA. The entire hotel was personally designed by fashion legend Giorgio Armani. Further projects are planned for Marrakesh and Egypt.

Singapore is showing off its new destination brand ‘YourSingapore’. The tourism board has also launched an interactive website yoursin-gapore.com. “YourSingapore was developed in response to the growing infl uence of digital media and the rise of virtual communities,” says Jason Ong, Middle East Director (STB). “It positions Singapore as a future-facing and inspiring destination that will appeal to the region’s tech-savvy traveller.” Singpore also has some exciting new attractions to ap-peal to Middle East visitors such as two new Integrated Resorts – Resorts World Sentosa and the Marina Bay Sands – which feature world-class accommodation, entertainment, shopping and dining experiences.

Greece has a new tourism campaign ‘Kalimera’ which means Good Morning and the destination is looking to promote its cul-tural side at ATM. As well as the ancient monuments this includes the brand new Acropolis Museum in Athens - one of the most important contemporary works of ar-chitecture in the country.

GREECE TOURISM BOARD

ARMANI HOTEL

SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD

ADTA is mounting the largest stand this year. The 1400 sq m stand will include soon-to-open hotels and new travel and tourism op-erators. “It will be hard to miss the stand as it is the biggest at the show,” says Mubarak Al Nuaimi, international promotions manager. “But the real reason to visit is to come and meet our expanding stakeholder base and the business opportunities they hold. People will quickly see why Abu Dhabi has been voted by two of the world’s leading travel guides as one of the top 10 destinations to visit this year.”

ABU DHABI TOURISM AUTHORITY

Travelport is generating a buzz with its ‘Galileo Fee Manager’ – which helps agents operate in a zero com-mission environment. There will also be live demos of ‘TravelChat’ and ‘Travelport Opinions’ - networking op-tions for the agent community. “This is the fi rst time many agents will get the chance to view our Galileo prod-uct enhancements up close and in such an interactive way,” says Paul Adams, Travelport EMEA director. “We will have live demos and pre-sentations every hour to take agents through our latest products and tools, and will be bringing in experts to talk about our Non-Air offering too.”

TRAVELPORT Stand: TT220

Stand: HC1550

Stand: AS410

Stand: EU310

Stand: UAE2100

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Agents should head down to the Emirates Holidays stand to pick up a copy of the brand new A World of Choice brochure which features more than 120 destina-tions in six continents. The latest brochure also has an Arabic and Russian version. “Emirates Holi-days is a regular participant at ATM,” says senior vice president John Felix. “We use the platform to meet with our suppliers from across the destinations featured in our brochures; to refi ne rates

and conditions in preparation for the summer travel season; and to showcase the holiday options on Emirates as well as our new brochures for the year. This always creates a great deal of interest with our partners attending the show.”

If you’ve heard of Twitter and Facebook but have no idea what they could do for you, it might be an idea to pay Con-nect a visit. Connect provides the travel industry with exper-tise in digital marketing. CEO Alexander Rauser believes he has a lot to talk about. “If your competitors are online and

you are not, that’s a disadvantage and an opportunity lost. We look forward to discussing with com-panies how best to utilise the web and answer any ques-tions they may have.”

Hyatt is showcasing its two new properties opening in Abu Dhabi in the next 12 months. The 189-room Hyatt at Capital Centre is linked to the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), while the 270-room Park Hyatt, scheduled for early 2011 is located on Saadiyat Island and will feature a 9km stretch of natural beach. As well as the local market the brand also has big plans for expansion into India. Three new India Hyatt properties will open in 2010 - Hyatt Regency Pune, Hyatt Regency Chennai, and Grand Hyatt Goa – and expansion into 15 new India markets is in the pipeline.

2010 is going to be a huge year for HMH with a hotel opening practically every three weeks across the company’s four brands. “We have 20 new openings lined up this year,” says CEO Mi-chel Noblet. HMH just launched a property in South Africa – Coral International Cape Town, making it the fi rst Gulf brand to open a hotel there, as well as one in Khartoum and Sudan. “We plan to open 20 new ho-tels by the end of 2010 taking our existing portfolio of 33 to 53, increasing the group’s number of rooms by more than 40 percent. We have already signed 55 hotels and have a target of 100 hotels by 2012.”

The world’s fi rst and only fi ve-star track-side hotel opened recently for the Dubai World Cup. “Our key mes-sage will be that the UAE’s latest iconic landmark and entertainment focal point is now open to guests from around the world,” says Abdin Nas ral-la, the hotel’s GM. The Meydan is lay-ing on a special shuttle to take visi-tors to the property throughout ATM so they can check it out for themselves.

Austria has always been a perennial favou-rite with Middle East tourists, and Klaus Eh-renbrandtner, Middle East director, Austrian National Tourist Offi ce says he hopes ATM will help build on this. “The travel trade tells us it will be another fabulous summer for Austria. In the last fi ve years, arrivals from the Middle East to Austria increased 125 percent. ATM is basically to update the trade when the major bookings are coming in.”

EMIRATES HOLIDAYS HYATT HOTELS

CONNECT

HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS (HMH)

AUSTRIA

THE MEYDAN Stand: UAE220

Stand: HC1600

Stand: EU610

Stand: UAE2400

Stand: HC1350



Fairmont has fi ve new hotels in the pipeline for 2010, but the one creating the most buzz is the Makkah Clock Royal Tower in Saudi. The hotel will cater to pilgrims and MICE business and over 2,600 Muslim staff member are be-ing hired for the monumental 850-room hospi-tality complex. Mohammed Al-Arkobi, general manager, Makkah Clock Royal Tower said the opening of the hotel was “one of the most signifi cant milestones in Fairmont’s 100-year his-tory given the reverence of the location as well as the genuine needs that we have identifi ed in Makkah for new levels of hospitality, as well as the ambitious plans that the government of Saudi Arabia has outlined for growth in that region.”

Malaysia has always been a fi rm favourite with travellers from the Middle East but with Ramadan ar-riving earlier in summer season its also marketing itself as an ideal place to combine the month with a summer getaway. There are a number of recently opened hotels to promote too which are bound to appeal to the local market-.

Mohamad Ibrahim, marketing manager, Tourism Malaysia says: “Malaysia is home to some of the most beautiful and relaxing beach resorts in the world, with a wide range of lodging facilities to ap-peal to every taste and budget, from island and beach resorts to adventure with nature or city life experiences.”

FAIRMONT HOTELS & RESORTS TOURISM MALAYSIAStand: HC850 Stand: AS515


REGIONAL NEWSNews analysisAnalysis

After a diffi cult few years things are fi nally on the up, but what’s in store now for Middle East travel? ATN spoke to Caroline Bremner, Euromonitor’s global travel and tourism manager to fi nd out her predictions for the year ahead.

t’s been a painful couple of years for the beleaguered travel industry. Thanks

to the global fi nancial crisis, tightening consumer credit and a decline in busi-ness confi dence, travel demand suf-

fered badly in 2009 with tourist arrivals shrinking by fi ve percent globally and

tourist spend taking an even harder hit. The picture in the Middle East was far from

rosy, with arrivals growth declining from around 10 percent in 2008 to just three per-cent in 2009. “The Middle East performed slightly better than other regions. It did suf-fer a slowdown, but at least it didn’t go into the red,” says Caroline Bremner, global travel and tourism manager, Euromonitor International.

TRAVEL SPEND TAKES A HITOne of the biggest impacts of the crisis was the decline in tourist spend which fell sharply. “In the crisis year, there was a sharp contraction in terms of what people were actually spend-ing,” says Bremner. “Based on incoming tour-ist receipts, value declined by -15 percent.”

There are various reasons for this: tour-ists trading down, operators discounting on room rates, and National Tourists Offi ces put-ting together packages and offering steep dis-counts (as happened in the UAE at the heart of the crisis). While these measures helped to boost volume to the destination, actual travel spend was badly hit. And for the foreseeable future, it’s a trend that looks set to continue according to Euromonitor.

With a slowdown from traditional source markets, such as Russia, the UK and Ger-

On the road to recovery?

many, Middle East destinations are increas-ingly dependent on inter-regional travellers. “The problem with inter-regional travel is that people tend to spend less because they are close to home,” says Bremner. “Destinations need to target the long-haul travellers who are coming in, spending a longer time, and more money. That’s a challenge that needs to be addressed in the forthcoming period.”

THE ROAD TO RECOVERYWith the economic picture looking more positive this year, travel industry fi gures are expressing confi dence in the year ahead and the signs are encouraging. But how long will things take to get back to pre-crisis levels?

This depends on what sector of the travel industry you’re in, says Bremner. Air travel and transportation sector are expected to recover within two years.

Tourism expenditure and travel retail (sales made through travel agents and tour

One of the biggest impacts of the crisis was the decline in tourist spend which fell sharply ”

operators) will take longer at three years, so won’t recover to pre-crisis levels until 2011.

For the hotel industry it could be a long road to recovery. “The hotel industry will take a longer time to recover because it is a lag industry,” explains Bremner. “It takes a while once you start discounting to build up those rates again so it’s not going to be a quick fi x overnight in terms of getting back to pre-crisis levels. By 2012 we will be back to 2008 levels in terms of value sales.”

It may seem a long way off, but Brem-ner points out that the Middle East is actu-ally not doing too badly compared to the rest of the world. “In the scheme of things



TRAVEL TRENDS

- NEW SOURCE MARKETSWith traditional source markets on the decline; and with Asia leading the world out of recession its time to look East at India and China. Greater connectivity and relationships with Asia will be key to maintaining growth. Africa and Latin America also offer potential. - ADDED-VALUEThis is the new watch word for the travel industry in 2010. “People are now looking for value,” says Bremner. “This is the new normal for the travel industry worldwide and guests will still pay a premium provided the service offers them something original, unique and authentic. it has to have that added-value and something that really clicks with the consumer.” - CRUISING This is set to be huge growth segment for the region. The sector has shown to be resilient to the pressures of the crisis as many consumers saw it as a value for money option. - TRAVEL HOT SPOTS This year’s destination to watch is Lebanon. In 2009 there were 1.9 million visitors to Beirut – an increase of over 30 percent on the previous year. “Beirut is up and coming thanks to its relative return to stability plus Lebanon was relatively unscathed by the economic crisis,”says Bremner. Another hot spot is Saudi Arabia, which has proved amazingly resilient to the downturn due to its religious tourism offering. The Kingdom suffered a slowdown in arrivals growth in 2009 from around 30 percent, down to 13 percent. “But that’s still very strong. And that’s even considering the impact of the H1N1 which shows that its insulated from the external shocks because pilgrims will travel regardless.” - ONLINE BOOKINGS? Great news for travel agents is that despite the ongoing internet threat, online ticket sales have still not really found a foothold in the region. “There’s still a consumer distrust of booking online, using a credit card online and a high dependency on face to face transactions.” - Health and Wellness This sector showed zero decline in growth through the crisis, and will continue to show its resilience this year. “Health and wellness is a sector that’s very important to consumers. So even when they’re under duress and there’s a lot of worry about budget it’s an area that they’re willing to spend on.”

that really isn’t too bad. Globally, Asia is going to recover in terms of hotels the fastest in say two or three years and then the rest of the regions could take several more years to recover. Four years does sound a long time but compared to other regions its actually pretty good. But it’s all in terms of context – obvi-ously for the operators to wait four years to return to this level it is very diffi cult.”

DIVERSIFY YOUR OFFERING For the future, increased diversifi cation is needed if the region’s tourism industry is to meet its potential. “It’s important that a destination needs to have an element of diversifi cation,” says Bremner. “To have long-term potential you need to have something for everyone.”

Middle East destinations are only now beginning to diversify their product offering away from the luxury segment, with low cost carriers (LCCs) and budget hotels entering the market. However, the budget sector is still hugely underdeveloped says Bremner.

“In terms of the budget segment it’s still fl edgling and there’s a lot of growth poten-tial. In the UAE only two percent of hotel outlets were budget, so that’s very low,” There is potential there considering a lot of inter-regional travellers are low-spending and would be interested in looking at mid-options rather than the super premium, lux-ury hotels.”

Equally LCCs are still not making the impact they could be. “By 2014 we expect 10 percent of all airline seats sold to be via LCC so there’s still quite a bit of potential in that market.”

She adds: “Something we’ve picked up on is that there is still no real low-cost commit-ted airline offering massive price differen-tials between the scheduled carriers. Even with Fly Dubai prices are very expensive.”

Bremner adds that budget brands should be viewed as a major opportunity for the destinations to increase visitor numbers. “Budget hotels, combined with low cost car-riers are ‘growth catalysts’ that bring in more volumes of people.

“They are not necessarily stealing share from the other segments – what they are doing is building volume, which is putting

more people into the destination so that’s very important. Once people are in

a destination, if they’ve saved on their fl ights they are more likely

to trade up to a higher priced hotel or spend more in a nice restaurant. So there are bene-fi ts to the destinations.”

Accommodation options also need more variety,” adds

Bremner. “It’s clear from our research that certain areas are still

negligible. Hotels dominate with 85 percent of all sales in the MENA region,

so there are opportunities there. Areas to consider are self-catering and camping and glamping (glamorous camping).”

www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/travel

REGIONAL NEWSQ&A CELEBRITY CRUISES

How can travel agents maximise revenues from hotel and car content available via the GDS?

Question:

Expert: Paul Adams, regional director, Hospitality and Car Rental EMEA, Travelport

Ask the expert

At a time when commissions from other segments are diminishing, agents can collect attractive commission rates from hotel and car suppliers”

ith an ever expanding portfolio of hotel and car rental suppliers

from around the globe, there is cur-rently more hotel and car content

available on the global distribution system (GDS) than ever before. How-

ever most travel agents in the Middle East underutilise the GDS channel’s rich non-air booking capabilities. But this trend is shifting as travel agents in the region begin to recognise the value of the GDS as an effi cient booking tool for hotel and car content as well as the relative ease of booking these reservations. Once travel agents understand how they can streamline the booking process through a single book-ing channel, they are empowered to increase their productivity. Apart from saving time, travel agents who book hotels and cars through the GDS can

also create new reve-nue streams. At a time

when commissions from other segments are diminishing, agents can collect attractive commis-sion rates from hotel and car sup-pliers. To put this into perspective, a typical hotel book-ing via the GDS can earn agents up to US$31 in commission. With the introduction of new commis-sion process-ing solutions, it is also much easier

for agents to collect these funds.

Hotel and car suppliers are also expanding their use of the GDS, leveraging it as a sales channel to optimise their inventory and boost volumes from travel agents, many of whom prefer booking through the system and integrating multiple travel bookings into one booking fi le. Travelport has teamed up with major hotel chains and car suppliers for workshops that equip the trade with both the practical skills required to make hotel and car bookings, as well as the knowledge to sell these products effectively. During these training sessions, agents are taken through important non-air GDS features including Travelport’s ‘Best Avail-able Rate Programme’, which guaran-tees best available published rates from over 45,000 hotels world-wide. Under the scheme, agents are guaranteed access to the same fl exible room rates that participating hotels have available online, in addition to the thousands of negotiated and corpo-rate rates for which they can receive instant confi rmation. Apart from competitive rates, the GDS also provides a great plat-form for high quality visual hotel content, including photos, virtual tours and videos of hotel proper-ties and car rentals. This enables the travel agency customer to make a more informed decision on where they would like to stay or which car they

would like to rent. Once a booking is made, there are options available for agents to more easily recon-cile hotel bookings and improve tracking and collection of hotel commissions. One of the commission processing services cur-rently available in the Middle East is Pegasus, which streamlines commission payments and facilitates collections, delivering regu-larly scheduled, consolidated payments to travel agents. For car rentals, the Travelport GDS has the functionality to support e-vouchers for car rental bookings. Through both Galileo and Worldspan, travel agents can instantly book and issue car rental vouchers, ensuring that that no paper voucher is needed. Overall, the GDS is an unrivalled plat-form with a wide range of hotel and car con-tent that empowers the trade to streamline

their workfl ow, and earn new revenue streams.

However, more needs to be done to make

agents in the Mid-dle East aware of the value of booking hotel and car content.

We believe its an opportunity that

agents do not want to miss out on.

26 Arabian Travel News – May 2010

r

gbook hotels and cars

als

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forthese

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

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Every ash cloud...

What crisis could possibly be thrown at the travel industry next? Just when everyone was happily looking forward to a swine-fl u and recession-free sum-mer – a volcano thousands of miles away in Iceland erupts, dumping a giant cloud of ash over European skies, causing a blanket shut down of European air-ports for six days and complete and utter chaos for millions of stranded travel-lers everywhere.

For the passengers left stranded by the six-day fl ight ban, it must have been a complete nightmare. But if there was one good thing to come out of all this chaos it’s that travel agents got to show what they’re made of. After all, if you’re stuck in a foreign country, with no idea when or how you might be getting on a fl ight home – the one person you should be able to rely on is your travel agent.

Travel agents I spoke to during the crisis told me their priority had been to make sure all their clients affected by the situation had been contacted directly, booked into hotels, and re-booked onto the fi rst possible fl ight home - all the while being kept informed and up to date about the changing situation.

In our interview with Mishal Kanoo this month, he summed it all up when he said the volcano chaos illustrated perfectly why people needed travel agents: “If tomorrow I have an issue or problem with my ticket – like currently with this situation in Europe - what do I do? Who do I contact? What a travel agent does is act as an intermediary for the best benefi t of the customer, that’s the whole purpose of having a travel agent. That’s what they’re supposed to do.”

So while the volcano might have been the worst crisis ever to have hit the travel industry, at least it gave travel agents a chance to ‘do what they’re sup-posed to do’ and show their dedication to their customers. I guess every [ash] cloud has a silver lining..

Travel agents show their worth in the crisis

Monika Grzesik, Editor, Arabian Travel News

1. DUBLIN. Millions of tourists flock to Dublin every year for its metropolitan atmosphere, easy charm and countless sights. Combine a visit to see the Book of Kells, dating back to 800 AD, on display at the Trinity College Library with a spot of designer shopping in Brown Thomas on Grafton Street, or head to Temple Bar for the quirky and unusual. Stay: The Westbury, Grafton Street. This five star hotel offers comfortable luxury in the heart of Dublin’s retail and cultural quarter.

2. GOLF. With 345 beautiful green golf courses to choose from, Ireland is undoubtedly a golfer’s paradise. Tee off in isolation on a remote green, or soak up the luxury of one of the country’s top golf resorts. Arnold Palmer's second golf creation, the K Club at Staffan, is a favourite for many, while Enniscrone Golf Club in County Sligo is often referred to as one of Ireland's best kept secrets. Stay: This part of County Sligo is off the beaten path, and you will not find any international hotel chains within walking distance. There are many good self-catering options and mid-range hotels nearby.

3. GALWAY. Galway city is the ‘bilingual capital of Ireland’ as it sits on the doorstep of the Galway Gaeltacht, an area where Irish is the primary language spoken. While there is more than a taste of traditional Ireland with plenty of opportunity to hear and see Irish singing, music and dancing, Galway has become the country’s trendy unofficial arts capital. In the summers, watersport enthusiasts flock to the city and surrounds for big wave surfing. Stay: The G hotel. Designed by Philip Treacy, the 20th century’s most famous and best loved milliner, the hotel offers luxury accommodation with a trendy twist.

4. THE RITZ CARLTON Powerscourt is situated on one of the most scenic and historical estates in Ireland. The tranquil country estate can trace its origins back to the 12th century, with endless elegance and glamour. A stay here is not complete without a visit to the luxury retreat spa, ESPA, where all your worries will be soothed away by pure indulgence.Stay: For as long as you can. 5. BELFAST. The chequered history of the capital of Northern Ireland makes it a fascinating place to visit. Having left its turbu-lent past behind, the city is now infused with vibrancy and optimism. A stay here is often teamed with a tour of the Antrim coast, where natural wonders give pause for thought. Bring a picnic for the Glens of Antrim, an area of unsurpassed natural beauty, cross the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge if you dare, and be wowed by the Giant’s Causeway, before continuing up to the walled city of Derry, or heading back to Belfast. Stay: The Malmaison Belfast. This city centre luxury boutique hotel provides the perfect base from which to explore the city and surrounds. The converted Victorian seed warehouse retains its historical exterior while offering every comfort and contemporary style. 6. THE RING OF KERRY. This is one of Ireland’s most scenic drives, and offers an itinerary of waterfalls, an old abbey, and picturesque villages. It is a 179 km circular route, so it can be started anywhere. Stay: The Europe Hotel & Resort in Killarney. Set on the banks of Lough Lein, Killarney’s largest lake, the hotel reflects the wilderness of Kerry’s mountain range. The view will take your breath away. 7. CORK. Named one of the top 10 cities in the world by Lonely Planet this year, Cork is rapidly gaining a reputation as one of Europe's hippest cities. Every corner gives way to another architectural gem and some of the best art galleries, theatres and museums in Ireland. No visit is complete without a trip to Blarney Castle, home to the famous Blarney Stone. Tradition says that those who kiss the stone will receive the gift of eloquence.Stay: Class, grace and opulence all go to describing the Hayfield Manor, one of Ireland's top five star hotels, tucked away in a quiet corner of Cork City. Situated in secluded leafy grounds, the Hayfield Manor is the image of timeless style associated with manor houses of the Georgian era.

8. CLIFFS OF MOHER. One of Ireland’s top attractions, the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare loom 214 metres over the Atlantic Ocean at its highest point. On a clear day, the Aran Islands are visible in Galway bay. Stay: In one of the charming guesthouses or self catering cottages available in the surrounding countryside.

9. HORSE RIDING. Activity holidays are becoming more popular by the day, and Ireland is the perfect destination for horse riding holidays, with its temperate climate and safe terrain. There are any number of equestrian centres in Ireland, from small family farms to five star facilities, with BHS qualified trainers. Visit the discoverireland.ie website for more information. Stay: Near the stables.

10. ASHFORD CASTLE. For the ultimate in luxury and indulgence, rent your own private castle. The magnificent 13th Century castle in County Mayo is one of the historical luxury estates available to rent from Adams & Butler. If it looks familiar, it is because you might have seen it on the pages of a society magazine as this is where Pierce Brosnan got married. Stay: Forever. www.adamsandbutler.com

Top Ten sights to sell in IrelandIreland is fast becoming a hot new destination for travel agents to sell in the region.

We have put together our top ten selling points for 2010:

For more information on Ireland, please contact Tourism Ireland GCC Ph: +97143166170

Email: [email protected] - Website: www.discoverireland.com/ae


REGIONAL NEWSQ&A CELEBRITY CRUISES

ATN sits down with the outspoken deputy chairman of the Kanoo Group, Mishal Kanoo for his views on the travel industry.

Travel by Kanoo

Interview

30 Arabian Travel News – May 2010

Mishal Kanoo, deputy chairman, The Kanoo Group

here’s probably few peo-ple better placed to talk about the rapid transfor-

mations happening in the travel industry than Mishal Kanoo. The

multi-billion dollar Kanoo Group which Mishal is the driv-

ing force behind, pioneered the Gulf travel industry back in 1947 by being the fi rst travel agency to register with IATA. Kanoo Travel has since mushroomed to become largest travel company in the Middle East, with a network of over 200 branches and a thousand employees across the region.

ONLINE BOOKINGS Today, things are changing, and the advent of the internet is threatening the traditional role of the agent. Kanoo however resolutely dismimisses the idea that travel agents are doomed by online bookings.

“There was a perception about fi ve years ago that travel agents were going to suf-fer because of internet ticketing and I don’t see that happening,” he says. “I’m not say-ing that it doesn’t exist but I’m just saying it hasn’t become the dominant power that peo-ple perceived it to be, even though it is taking a bigger slice year by year.”

Kanoo argues that the fundamentals of being a good travel agency have not changed regardless of technology, and that’s to do with the focus on the customer.

“If tomorrow I have an issue or a problem with my ticket – like currently with this sit-uation in Europe [the ash cloud] – what do I do? Who do I contact? At that point I think if I was to contact a 1800 or a toll free number they would be overwhelmed. What a travel agent does is act as an intermediary for the best benefi t of the customer, that’s the whole purpose of having a travel agent. That’s what they’re supposed to do.”


REGIONAL NEWSInterview

east.cwww.hoteliermiddlee

Travel agencies that rely on making a living off commission - they are going to die a natural death. Watch and see. You should start seeing these smaller shops shutting down - unless of course they are a front for something else. ”

Kanoo is convinced that a genuinely bud-get airline has no hope in taking off while governments around the region continue to build “monstrous” airports.

“It comes down to the issue of whether the governments here will open up the skies. Unfortunately the way I see it - Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai - each one is targeting 40 to 50 million passengers. I’m sure the CEOs of these airlines will disagree with me, but if I was to say, what are the criteria to fulfi ll a budget airline and are they fulfi lling it? No. We don’t have that in airlines here.”

HOTELS Some equally strong words are reserved for the region’s hoteliers. While the crisis forced hotels here to dramatically slash their rates to attract guests during the downturn, Kanoo remains unconvinced that they have learnt from past mistakes and with the tourism sector now reviving, hotels once again risk pricing themselves out of the market with infl ated room rates.

“I would strongly suggest to the hotels in the region – they have this done in the past and I hope they learn from this – do not ‘gouge’ your customer. I know the number of hotels here is limited but then so is the enter-tainment that a hotel guest would have.

“Tourism is still young,” he adds. “There is still a lot to do here before it becomes a major attractions point. If you keep doing that to your customers, eventually you will lose them. The more discerning ones will fi nd alternatives. If I was to charge the same rate as that of a hotel in London or Paris or New York, and I cannot provide them the same entertainment factor of London or Paris or New York – well what do you think?”

THE FUTURE Kanoo is optimistic that things are now pick-ing up for the travel sector as those “silly poli-cies” that companies put in place during last year’s reccession – otherwise known as cor-porate travel bans and travel spending cuts – are fi nally being rescinded.

“Fortunately some companies have looked at it and said, it was a silly policy, let’s go back to what is the norm, and I can see the trend is moving towards readjusting that aspect, so I’d say [the travel sector] has revived, to a certain degree it has recovered.”

But as to the future of the travel agency - well, with airlines no longer paying commis-sion and the internet taking a bigger slice of bookings every year, Kanoo says its only the “serious travel agencies that will survive”. He predicts a rash of consolidation and smaller shop closures in the future. “Travel agencies that rely on making a living off commission - they are going to die a natural death,” he says. “In a zero commission environment, watch and see it won’t take very long. You should start seeing these smaller shops shutting down. Unless of course they are a front for something else...” he adds, (when I ask what that could be he suggests money laundering as one plausible option.)

For a “serious travel agency” like Kanoo Travel there are other concerns. With 96 per-cent of the company business now coming from corporate accounts, the focus going forward is to take ultimate care of these cli-ents. “Our main concern – and this is para-mount for us – is to service our current cus-tomer base and to ensure that they are satisfi ed and happy with the service they are getting. And to fi nd out what do to keep them as happy customers – that’s our main goal.”

UNDERCUTTING SUPPLIERSGood customer service is all well and good, but how does an agent deal with undercut-ting suppliers targeting clients directly? “First and foremost that will not happen because if our suppliers did that – and we have experienced it the past – we will imme-diately fl ag it to them and we will cut them off,” states Kanoo without hesitation. He acknowledges that relations can be strained between airlines and agents, but hints that agents still have an upper hand, as even airlines who have been “belligerent” in the past “thinking we are number one and everyone will come to us, have now turned around and said, actually you know what, can we work with you again?”

He explains: “In the past certain airlines from Europe thought the world revolved around them - but they discovered very quickly that it doesn’t. An airline from this region – I won’t mention their name – also thought the world revolved around them, but they discovered they could be replaced. Another airline from the region picked up their banner and discovered that that’s not the case. And it will continue to be the case.”

BUDGET AIRLINES It’s clear that there is not much love lost between the travel boss and the region’s air-lines. Kanoo has plenty more to add when asked about budget carriers, declaring:

“Let us address the ‘myth’ of budget air-lines: there are no budget airlines.

“Just because you sell fi ve or six or even a dozen seats at a very low price – does that make you a budget airline? In a plane that carries 300 people, if ten of them or even, let’s be generous, 30 are a really low price, you’re talking 90 per-cent that are not. And unless I’ve got my maths wrong, that means the majority is not budget so by default it is not a budget airline.”

Another issue is the lack of ‘sec-ondary’ airports.

“Budget airlines survive on sec-ondary airports.” explains Kanoo. “Where are my secondary airports in the region?

Look at Ryan Air, Easy Jet and all these dis-count airlines in Europe – I’m talking

about fl ying out of Luton versus fl ying out of Heathrow, I’m also talking about a £20 or £100 fl ight

versus £200 with BA.”


REGIONAL NEWSMystery ShopperMystery Sh ppSkillset Mystery shopper

ince June 2009, Ethos Consultancy and Arabian Travel News have been carrying out ‘Agencies Uncovered’ –

a monthly investigation designed to fi nd out how travel agencies across the UAE fare when it comes to cus-

tomer service. Each month Ethos sent its expert mystery shoppers undercover to four different travel agencies to fi nd out how satisfi ed your customers are in regards to the following three categories:

AGENCY APPEARANCEMystery shoppers rated agencies on whether the outlet was easy to fi nd, was clean and tidy, whether opening and closing times were clearly displayed and whether travel brochures were well displayed.

TRAVEL ADVISORS Mystery shoppers rated advisors on their appearance, their attitude to the customer, how long it took to be served and the atten-tion paid to the query, as well as the knowl-edge that they showed of the destination.

OVERALL EXPERIENCEMystery shoppers were asked to rate their overall satisfaction levels and whether or not they would recommend the agency to family and friends following their experience.

Having visited a total of 28 travel agencies across the UAE and undertaken 232 mystery shopping visits we can now unveil the ‘Big Mystery Shopper Survey’ results. How did your travel agency do?

Based in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Ethos Consultancy specialises in delivering excellence in customer service. Ethos Consultancy’s intent is to ensure that clients not only meet but exceed their customer’s expectations every time they come into contact with their brand. Ethos Consultancy services include consultancy, training, online feedback, customer and employee satisfaction surveys, mystery shopping and benchmarking surveys.

Ethos Consultancy


REGIONAL NEWSMystery Shopper

# AGENCY LOCATION Score

1 Qatar Holidays After Maktoum Bridge, Dubai 92%

2 Al RostamaniTamani Hotel, Jumeirah Beach Road, Dubai

91%

3 Etihad Holidays Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai 83%

4Compass Travel & Tourism

Hamdan St, Abu Dhabi 82%

5Al Futtaim - Access to Travel

Mall of the Emirates, Dubai 82%

6 Orient Travel Al Aroob Road, Sharjah 81%

7 Alpha Holidays Behind Nissan Showroom, Deira 80%

8Al Tayer Travel Agency

Al Maktoum Street, Deira 79%

9 SATA Mina Road, Sharjah 79%

10 Holiday CompanySheik Zayed Road , Emarat Building, Dubai

78%

11 Al Rais Holidays Choithram Bldg, Bur Dubai 78%

12 Sharaf Travel Near Ramada Hotel, Bur Dubai 78%

13 Dnata Holidays Sheik Zayed Road, Dubai 77%

14 Al Futtaim Travel Dubai Festival City, Dubai 76%

15 Al Rostamani Electra Street, Abu Dhabi 75%

16 Al Rostamani Mall of Emirates, Dubai 75%

17 Nirvana Travel Behind Al Haliya Hospital, Abu Dhabi 70%

18 Emirates Holidays Sheik Zayed Road, Dubai 68%

19 SNTTA Al Mina Street, Sharjah 66%

20 DnataHamdan and Electra Interchange, Abu Dhabi

66%

21 Palm Oasis Travel Khalidiya Road, Abu Dhabi 64%

22ANTA Travel and Tours

Bu Haleeba Plaza, Dubai 62%

23 Omeir Travel Khalifa Street, Abu Dhabi 61%

24 DNATA-Sharjah Rolla Road, Sharjah 58%

25 Kanoo Travels Next to Manama Supermarket, Karama 56%

26 Gray Mackenzie Behind Zayed University, Abu Dhabi 53%

27Kish Travel & Tourism

Madhina Zayed, Abu Dhabi 50%

28 Kanoo Travels Rolla Road, Sharjah 47%

MYSTERY SHOPPER RANKING LIST:

Was there a suffi cient enough num-ber of employees available to serve you and other customers?

“The standard of service delivery at UAE travel agencies is extremely inconsistent. It’s not uncommon to visit the same agency twice in the space of 24 hours and receive a complete contrast in service. The travel advisors attitude and ability to provide customers with timely information supported by sound product and destination knowledge correlates extremely highly with customer satisfaction and their overall experience. Agencies must focus on continually training, educating, and engaging their staff so service levels are consistent across the board.”

Kara Byrne, marketing manager,Ethos Consultancy says:

Did the outlet have a formal queing system in place?

No 68%

Yes 89%

No 11%

Yes 32%


REGIONAL NEWSMystery Shopper

How satisfi ed were you with the outcome of this visit

Did the travel advisor provide you with all the relevant information relating to your enquiry? Were you satisfi ed with the

information you received?

Did the travel advisor have a friendly attitude towards you?

If you hads to wait to be served did the employee apologise for the wait?

Overall based upon your experience would you reecomend this outlet to family and friends?

How were you greeted by the travel advisor who served you?

31%

0

20

40

0

20

40

60

22%26% 14%

7%

Extre

mel

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tisfi e

d

No37%

Yes63%

No39%

No15%

Yes85%

No88%Yes

12%

Non verbal greeting16%

Cold and mechanical16%

Warm and genuine

68%

Yes60%

Extre

mel

y sa

tisfi e

d

Satis

fi ed

Satis

fi ed

Nei

ther

sat

isfi e

d no

r dis

satis

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Nei

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isfi e

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satis

fi ed

Dis

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Dis

satis

fi ed

Extre

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More cruise lines are introducing Gulf itineraries for the winter season, but not all offer the same product. Kathi Everden looks at the options.



Bridging the gulf

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysisHow to sell Cruise

here were 120 ships call-ing at Dubai Cruise Termi-nal during 2010, a fi gure that

is set to rise by 50 percent within fi ve years. This compares to just

15 calls in 2005 - the year Costa added the Arabian Gulf as a

winter cruise option for the fi rst time. But while cruise is an interesting sell, with per diem costs lower than most premium hotels - and entertainment, full board and often drinks all thrown in – the trade is still to a great degree lacking in confi dence in rec-ommending a trip on the ocean wave.

As well as the huge increase in ship calls in the Gulf from operators such as Prin-cess, Cunard, Crystal and Celebrity, some

lines have introduced winter hub opera-tions in the Gulf and sail round-Gulf itin-eraries. Royal Caribbean, Costa and Silver-sea are building bridges with the local trade to expose their USPs and boost awareness of cruise as an option and the differentials between the three lines.

The latter is vital, with cruise operators similar to hotels in the variation of product from top-end boutique to lively mass mar-ket, with some lines dedicated to the Ger-man market, general European, North American or international. So, while these ships play tag round the Gulf ports of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Fujairah and Muscat – in terms of a sell, they present very different options, catering to widely differing tastes.

Royal Caribbean brought in the 2,500-capacity Brilliance of the Seas to spearhead its Gulf cruise product and will be returning next year 2010/2011, adding in a longer India voyage. Regional sales director Helen Beck said reaction has been posi-tive to the product with Muscat scoring well as a port of call, given the contrast between the modernity of Dubai and the heritage in the Omani capital: “The dramatic entrance, fi shing boats and souks, were all that was expected of Arabia, and the other ports need to match up to this, defi ning their USP.”

Within the region, Beck said the arrival of the ship had served to spearhead sales and marketing, doubling bookings through the local offi ce within a few weeks: “Now the ship is here, it has created an excitement and we see this as the beginning of a new era, opening up Dubai as a cruise arena internationally as well as boosting cruise as a new sell in the local market – for residents and locals.”

Beck emphasised the distinctions between Royal Caribbean and Costa: “We have different source markets and market a different product,” she said. “Costa was the trailblazer, but it tends to sell product where we sell Arabia fi rst, so we see our-selves as complementary as well as competitors.”

Even so, there’s plenty of product on board, with a rock-climbing wall, basketball court, spa and solarium, indoor pool, putting course and golf simulator, three pools, three Jacuzzis, jogging track, casino, cinema and library, billiards and card clubs, steakhouse and Italian speciality restaurants, disco and theatre, and dedicated kids and teen clubs and pools.

Royal Caribbean is now looking at bringing in its Voyager class of ship offering more cabins, and an ice rink.

ITINERARY Brilliance of the Sea 2011Barcelona to Dubai, via Alexandria, Suex Canal, Aqaba and Safaga (January)- Dubai to Dubai, via Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain (January to March)- Dubai to Dubai, via Muscat, Cochin, Mormugao (Goa), and Mumbai overnight (March and April)

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Royal Caribbean docked in Dubai port


REGIONAL NEWSCruise

The appeal of Silversea for many is its lack of size. With capacity for just 382 passengers - a minnow in cruise terms - the all-suite ship aims provides an ex-clusive retreat exuding casual elegance with butler service for every cabin, gour-met cuisine and complimentary wines and spirits as well as inclusive onboard gratuities (often a notable addition to any shipboard account).

Most cabins have a private veranda, sitting area and dressing room, and all have the fi nesse of a fi ve-star hotel with Bulgari toiletries, as well as a choice of Salvatore Ferrangamo or Neutrogena bath and body products, plus fresh fl owers, a pillow menu, robes and slippers, glasses and luggage cleaning, complimentary mini-bar stocked to guests’ preferences, satellite TV with DVD, marble bathroom with full bath, separate shower and dou-ble sink, plus 24-hour ‘room service’ and champagne on arrival.

The line claims its suites have the high-est ratio of space-per-guest of any fl eet, and the result is a cabin designed for

relaxation rather than just the sleeping quarters of livelier ships.

Silversea does offer the facilities of the major carriers, although on a smaller scale, with a boutique size casino, spa and fi tness centre, golf cage, pool, book, music and DVD library and internet cafe, show lounge, humidor, casual dining and á la carte restaurant, plus several bars and lounges and a full range of onboard activities and shore excursions.

The seven-day Gulf itinerary takes in Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Fujairah, Khasab and Bander Abbas in Iran, with one day at sea, and there’s a full menu of events, from big screen entertainment under the stars to yoga, ice carving, cooking dem-onstrations, water volleyball, golf putting challenges to ballroom dance.

According to regional senior vice presi-dent, Trudy Redfern, with nine voyages touching on the Middle East this year and seven in 2011, there is a real opportunity for the trade to exploit the potential of upmarket cruising – particularly given the fact that the traditionally strong UK mar-

ket is down.“We have never had many bookings

from the region previously, but with ca-pacity on our ships here, it has opened up opportunities to sell, and we are step-ping up marketing with email shots to the trade, incentives such as Nintendo DSIs for any 2010 booking, as well as boost-ing awareness through media fam trips, hosting associations on board when we are in Dubai and offering air credits.”

ITINERARY Silver Wind 2010:- Dubai to Dubai, via Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Muscat, Khasab and Bandar Abbas (No-vember)- Dubai to Mumbai, via Fujairah, Bander Abbas, Khasab, Muscat overnight and Porbandar (December)- Mumbai to Dubai, via Mormugao (Goa), Cochin overnight, New Mangalore and Muscat (December)- Dubai to Dubai, via Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Muscat overnight, Salalah, Bandar Abbas, Khasab and Bahrain (December)

SILVERSEA

Silver Spirit cuts the waves


REGIONAL NEWSCruise

Meanwhile, for those seeking more of a party atmosphere, Costa Cruises rep-resents a good option with competitive pricing and a wide range of facilities on board its two newest ships, Costa Del-iziosa and Costa Luminosa, both with capacity for 2,826 guests.

In fact, the former was offi cially named in Dubai in February on the occasion of the opening of the new Dubai Cruise Terminal, and Costa is acknowledged as having successfully introduced Dubai and the Gulf as a winter cruise destination.

While the regional market was not initially a target for the line, according to sales & marketing director Dario Rustico, there is a medium to long-term project to raise numbers, starting with educationals to build awareness for both leisure and MICE business.

“The market is mainly from Europe but we are building numbers from the Gulf region, as well as from Asia, South and North America too, with the development of the Emirates’ network,” he said.

The ships, having enjoyed success dur-ing this winter’s deployment, will return at the end of November (Luminosa) and middle of December (Deliziosa), sailing week-long itineraries with two overnights in Dubai to enable guests to explore the

city prior to sailing.Facilities are designed to wow with

four restaurants, 11 bars including a cof-fee and chocolate bar, four Jacuzzis and three pools (one with retractable cover), multi-purpose sports pitch and roller-skating track, pool deck with retractable glass roof and giant screen, a 4D cinema, three-level theatre, casino and disco, a 3,500 square metre Samsara spa with solarium, Turkish bath, saunas and thala-ssotherapy suite, plus a Grand Prix simu-lator, PlayStation World, golf simulator and putting green, kids’ and teens’ clubs and library and internet point.

Nearly two-thirds of the cabins come with balconies while 52 have direct ac-cess to the spa, and Costa market sev-eral spa packages inclusive of unlimited access to the spa and thalassotherapy pool, wellness consultation, two free treatments, two free fi tness or yoga classes plus entry to the solarium and relaxation areas, and reserved table at the exclusive Samsara restaurant.

Another bonus is season-end bargains, with rates on the last cruises this spring starting from US$599 per person, inclu-sive of bed, board and entertainments, with children free up to the age of 17 sharing a cabin with two adults.

ITINERARY2010/2011Costa Luminosa: - Savona, Italy to Dubai, via Naples, Port Said, Suez Canal, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Saf-aga, Aden, Salalah, Muscat and Fujairah (November)- Dubai to Dubai, via Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain (November to March)- Dubai to India, Maldives and return, via Fujairah, Murmagao (Goa), Cochin, Male overnight (Maldives), Mumbai, Muscat, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi (January)- Dubai to Savona, via Abu Dhabi, Fu-jairah, Muscat, Salalah, Aden, Safaga, Aqaba, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Suez Canal, Alexandria and Naples (March)

Costa Deliziosa:- Savona, Italy to Dubai, via Naples, Port Said, Suez Canal, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Saf-aga, Aden, Salalah, Muscat and Fujairah (December)- Dubai to Dubai, via Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain (December to March)- Dubai to Savona, via Fujairah, Muscat, Salalah, Aden, Safaga, Aqaba, Sharm-El-Sheikh, Suez Canal, Alexandria and Rome (April)

COSTA CRUISES

Costa Deliziosa’s naming ceremony was held in Dubai in February

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Yas Island signalled Abu Dhabi’s debut as a must-see destination, and with an ongoing roll-out of big name attractions, the emirate is rivalling its Gulf neighbours in the tourism stakes. Kathi Everden reports.



Capital attractions

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysisHow to sell

Arabian Travel News – May 201042

ong written off as a rather reserved capital, offering few facilities to

attract either local or overseas trav-ellers, Abu Dhabi is undergo-ing a renaissance that will see it evolve as a destination of choice for those seeking cul-

ture, nature, adrenalin sports, family enter-tainment and more.

Several years of strategic product devel-opment and marketing are bearing fruit as a string of hotels open their doors – including destination resorts such as Anantara’s Qasr Al Sarab and Sir Bani Yas hotels - while icon attractions such as the Ferrari World theme park and a growing list of annual sporting and cultural events are adding to the pull.

The white marble domes of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque And, its not only a city sell as the authori-

ties seek to widen the appeal of the emirate to its islands, coast and desert dunes, with the western Al Gharbia region set to win fans with its own festival programme – from a desert hill climb championship through to date, camel and water sports events, the latter held every April at Mirfa and includ-ing kite-boarding, surf-ski kayaking, beach sports and dhow racing as well as concerts, a sunset souk, sand sculpting, classic car show, photography contest and fi reworks.

More accommodation options are under-way with Tilal Liwa opening early this year and additional lodges due to debut on Sir Bani Yas island by the end of 2010 – both fea-ture 30 rooms and restaurant and pool facil-ities while Al Barari Lodge will have a rustic setting and Al Yamm will have a lagoon loca-tion. In addition, a 300-capacity conference centre and a dive centre are also due to open on the island and an equestrian centre and outdoor camp are in the pipeline.

All of this is in addition to the massive developments underway at Saadiyat and Yas Islands - location of the majority of cul-tural and tourism projects including the Guggenheim, Louvre and Maritime muse-ums, theme parks and the Formula 1 race circuit, as well as two championship golf course, three marinas and a host of resorts.

WHERE TO STAYFrom the iconic to budget, Abu Dhabi is building an impressive line-up of hotels to accommodate its strategic ambitions to boost leisure and MICE travel.

New names for the future include: Man-darin Oriental, Rocco Forte, St Regis, Le Bristol, Viceroy, Shangri-La, Rosewood, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Ramada, Pre-mier Inn, Park Hyatt and Jumeirah, while among the hotels that opened this year are Park Rotana Abu Dhabi and Khalidiya Pal-ace Rayhaan, plus Tilal Liwa in the desert.

In addition, the Grand Canal Abu Dhabi, Bridgeway Abu Dhabi, Grand Millennium Al Wahda and Vision Links and Vision Meena, plus the iconic 189-room Hyatt at Capi-tal Centre are due to open by year end, and Rotana will be launching a Rayhaan prop-


Abu Dhabi

The Yas Hotel and Yas Island Race Track will host the Grand Prix again this year

erty in Al Ain in the autumn – altogether adding more than 4,000 rooms to the emir-ate’s growing tally.

Given the huge infl ux of rooms, rates and occupancies in Abu Dhabi are fi nally com-ing down, which mean packages and pro-motions are available at many hotels.

WHAT TO DO Following the debut of the Yas Island race track last autumn prior to hosting the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Novem-ber, the circuit is now open for drag racing and GP2 and also operates Track Days when visitors can drive around in their own cars

recently launched by Etihad is offering heli-copter tours, desert safaris, dhow cruise, Al Ain tour and unique Abu Dhabi experiences such as mangrove tours, island exploring by kayak, deep sea fi shing, golf, ballooning and quad bikes, traditional farm visits and dol-phin watching.

Other options include the Abu Dhabi Fal-con Hospital and falcon fl ight show, nature

or spin the wheels in a Formula 1 car, with a professional driver.

The second half of 2010 will see the open-ing of Ferrari World, the world’s largest indoor theme park at 86,000 sq metres with 20 major attractions including the fast-est rollercoaster in the world, emulating the Ferrari experience at speeds exceeding 210km an hour, plus a racing coaster with competing carriages racing along parallel tracks to a fi nish line. For the travel trade, a booking engine and marketing tools and materials are promised, as well as event potential for conferences, incentives and product launches.

Aside from Yas and its ultra-modern attractions, Abu Dhabi has a range of heri-tage and shopping sites to suit all tastes, as well as offering access to both the desert sands of Liwa and the islands and beaches of its extensive coastline.

Principal stops on a city tour include the Sheikh Zayed Mosque with its 80 mar-ble domes, 1,000 columns, 1,700 sq metre courtyard and artifi cial lakes, 24-carat gold and glass mosaics and the world’s largest hand-woven Persian carpet, plus the Cor-niche, the heritage village, dhow yard and local markets.

In addition, the new Hala Abu Dhabi DMC

ADTA is rolling out an impres-sive line-up of events de-signed to bring tourists to the emirate. Here’s what’s happen-ing in Abu Dhabi: Summer in Abu Dhabi Festival, July-August 2010: The festival held at ADNEC features family attractions from circuses to ice performersMiddle East Film Festival, October 2010Artparis, November 2010: a contemporary art fair held at Emirates PalaceFormula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, November 12-14 2010: held at Yas Island with three days of celebrity concerts FIFA World Club Cup, December 2010Capitala World Tennis Cham-pionships, January 2011. Opening event of the ATP tour Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, January 2011The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival March 2011:Ffeaturing opera, dance, Ara-bian contemporary music, clas-sical concerts and art showsThe Red Bull Air Race Series, March 2011, with stunt fl ying and racing along the Corniche

EVENT CALENDAR:

Given the huge infl ux of rooms - rates and occu-pancies in Abu Dhabi are coming down which means promotions are available at many hotels”


REGIONAL NEWSAbu Dhabi

CROWNE PLAZA ABU DHABI YAS ISLANDis offering an overnight stay for two people in a superior room including breakfast and din-ner, complimentary wireless access and late check-out from AED599. T:+971 2 656 3030W:www.crowneplaza.com

STAYBRIDGE SUITES ABU DHABI YAS ISLANDhas a family weekend package with a Friday overnight for two adults and two children in a two-bedroom suite including brunch and kids club access from AED899.T:+971 2 656 3030W:www.staybridgesuites.com/abudhabi

AL RAHA BEACH HOTEL has a honeymoon package priced from AED 1570 for the honeymoon suite, dinner, breakfast, spa massage, fl owers and per-fumed fl ower bath, and wedding souvenir.T: +971 2 409 9999W: www.danathotels.com

YAS HOTEL ABU DHABIhas weekend and golf packages, starting at AED 1,999 for two-nights for room and breakfast from Thursday through to Saturday or AED3,099 for two-nights with a round of golf at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, transfers and breakfast.T: +971 2 656 0000W: www.theyashotel.com

DESERT ISLANDS RESORT, SIR BANI YASAnantara has a weekday package inclusive of single room, breakfast, lunch, dinner, two daily activities such as kayaking or wildlife drive, and boat transfers from Jebel Dhanna, valid until September 9 from AED 1,500 per person (plus 16%). A similar package at Qasr Al Sarab costs from AED1,700.T:+971 2 801 5400W: www.desertislands.anantara.com

RADISSON BLU HOTEL YAS ISLAND is offering a weekend getaway deal from AED 529 per room, per night for a minimum of two nights, inclusive of Friday Brunch for two and 30 percent discounts on all spa treatments.T:+971 2 656 2000W: www.radissonblu.com/hotel-abudhabi

trips on Futasi Island or farther afi eld at Sir Bani Yas Island, race meetings at the Eques-trian Club, camel racing at Al Wathba and high tea at Emirates Palace.

HOW TO SELL Ferrari World is the big sell, both for fam-ily and general leisure sales. Once it opens in the later part of this year in time for the Grand Prix event, it will be Abu Dhabi’s USP for at least the coming year.

During the summer, the focus will be on family travel with the Summer Festival cited to be better than ever attracting world-class attractions from circuses to ice displays, workshops and other edutainment.

All hotels are seeking regional meetings business to boost their occupancies in the lean season – watch out for cheap packages and promotions.

Premier travellers can be channelled to resorts such as Qasr Al Sarab and Desert Islands, as well as the iconic Emirates Pal-ace, while new options such as the Grand Canal, Tilal Liwa, Grand Millennium and Khaladiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana are good sells with some Saadiyat resorts set to open next year.

ADTA is to launch its revamped corporate website at ATM this month, offering a range of collateral and marketing tools; indus-

try training programmes; exhibitions and roadshow news; online processing of hotel trade licences as well as entertainment and exhibition licences. Guided cyber tours are available at the Abu Dhabi stand, or go online at www.abudhabitourism.ae

SAMPLE PACKAGES

Ferrari World on Yas Island will open for the Grand Prix in November

The Cultural District will be completed by 2013


REGIONAL NEWSAbu Dhabi

What has ADTA done to develop the tourism industry in Abu Dhabi? The decision was taken in 2004 to create the authority. Back then the inventory of hotels in Abu Dhabi was about 8000 rooms. Now we have 17,000 rooms and an additional 5000 are being added this year, so we will cross 20,000 rooms in 2010. When we fi rst started we re-ceived only 700,000 visitors a year. In 2009 we received 1.5 million visitors. So the growth is staggering. We even achieved growth in 2009 despite the economic crisis.

How did the economic crisis impact on your plans for tourism? We had to revise our visitor targets for 2012. From an initial target of 2.7 million we now want to achieve 2.3 million. That’s based on the availability of hotel rooms, the cir-cumstances, and the economic crisis around the world. But the economies that we depend on for our tourism are stabilising now.

What are your strategies for in-creasing visitor numbers? The majority of our visitors are busi-ness tourists, which accounts for 80 percent. We want to increase leisure visitors in the future as Abu Dhabi has great potential from that side.

We have all the assets - the desert islands, the eco-tourism experience, the wildlife, the sun and beach and the desert. We opened the fi rst prod-uct in the Empty Quarter last Novem-ber, Qasr Al Sarab which the market reacted to very well. In business tourism we want to increase our share through the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). Four years ago ADNEC had only 15 exhibitions. Now we have exceeded 60 exhibitions a year, and including conferences have about 110 events in ADNEC alone and growing. Another area we are focusing on is international events, like the Formula One. We recently signed the Volvo Ocean Race. Abu Dhabi has a 450 km coastline and a deep mari-time history - so we thought of doing an event related to sailing.

With all the new hotels being add-ed, how do you plan to drive visitors to these new properties? We believe there is an international appeal for Abu Dhabi. Talking spe-cifi cally about Saddiyat Island it defi nitely has international appeal, with beaches, a unique waterfront; it’s close to the city and has poten-tial for conferences as well. Once the cultural attractions are in place there will be a new dimension in terms of international appeal. Cultural visitors are the market we are focusing on for the future. This is already tested to prove successful in Abu Dhabi. We have organised many exhibitions in Gallery One in Emirates Palace and a lot of international and local visitors came so the indication is that for the cultural district the fun-damentals are there.

What are your main markets for visitors into Abu Dhabi?Of course Europe because of proxim-ity and fl ying time, the UK and Ger-many, then Scandinavian countries

and Italy. A new area of focus now is East Asia, especially China. We have offi ces in Shanghai and in Beijing.

How is the new hotel classifi cation system helping to sell Abu Dhabi?We developed this system with the hoteliers themselves. It was a long process but a very healthy one. Clas-sifi cation is very important for any destination because it’s a promise you give to your customers. It helps a lot marketing the hotels abroad.

What is ADTA doing to encourage more nationals into the industry? There is a challenge, the perception of tourism when we started wasn’t culturally that acceptable – but now people know it. In Abu Dhabi you don’t need to work in the hotel itself. There are so many opportunities - tour operators, tour guides, also related to cultural attractions. We are working on training opportunities - we are in advanced talks with hos-pitality schools like the Hong Kong Polytechnic and the American Insti-tution for Hospitality in Las Vegas. This is one of our main targets – as I said tourism is a way of diversifying the economy and providing job op-portunities for our nationals.

What’s coming up next for tourism in Abu Dhabi? The quality of events we are hosting now has improved dramatically like the Formula One. Abu Dhabi is now starting to position itself in tennis, so sporting events – this is the area of focus for the future – not any events but high level international sporting events like the Volvo Ocean Race. There are world class attractions coming to Abu Dhabi – like Ferrari World. On Saadiyat Island, the cul-tural institutions are under construc-tion and we are on track for 2013 for opening those. It’s a major step not only from the tourism side but on the cultural and educational side too.

ATN meets His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority to fi nd out about plans for tourism in Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Sutan, chairman, ADTA

Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre

One Event, Unlimited Destinations

Arabian Travel Market 2010 guarantees to be more than just an exhibition, offering networking opportunities with international and regional buyers.

Take part in a number of features including:n Seminars and Debatesn Social Eventsn Careers Day – Thursday 6 Mayn Travel Agents Day – Thursday 6 Mayn Consumer Day – Friday 7 May

For exhibitor queries, contact Wellah Ellis T: +971 4 364 2811 E: [email protected]

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For all other enquiries, contact the Arabian Travel Market Customer Service Helpline E: [email protected]

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The Leading Travel Exhibition for the

Middle East Region

Official HotelOfficial Airline Official Ground Handler


REGIONAL NEWSCELEBRITY CRUISES Q&A

A WORLD OF CHOICE Emirates Holidays is launching its new 2010-2011 A World of Choice Brochure at the Emirates Holidays World event from 30 April - 2 May.

The 500 page brochure features over 120 destinations across 33 countries and covers all types of packages from family breaks to cultural

getaways. There is also a brand new section on multi-city breaks, allowing travellers to combine different destinations in one trip. A dedicated Dubai brochure, an Arabic language brochure and a tailored edition for Russia has also been introduced.

The event aims to ‘bring the brochure to life’, allowing consumers and travel agents to explore the destinations for themselves. Intercontinental Hotel, Festival City, Dubai, 30 April – 2 May 2010

On the eve of their brochure launch, ATN speaks to John Felix, senior vice president Emirates Holidays about his hopes for a busy summer

A bright summer ahead

ATN: How was business affected last year by the impact of the recession? Last year we suffered an impact in sum-mer which is our peak time. We dropped off around 23 percent. This was when the swine fl u issue came up and that slowed booking because the information coming through was not enough for people to make decisions and the uncertainty was there. The second issue was Ramadan coming in earlier in the sum-mer period which will happen now as we go through. And the third issue was the uncer-tainty surrounding the busi-ness environment. I’d say the biggest impact here was probably swine fl u though as that’s a personal health issue. The impact of that in this part of the world at that particular time was greatest, and then came the others.

ATN: What are your predictions for this year’s summer holiday season?This year I think all the implications are that business is normalising. Things are com-ing back to where they were and as we go into our summer the only thing we have to worry about is Ramadan coming in earlier but we still have a full month after the schools shut and we expect this period to be positive. We believe it’s going to be a good year, its going to defi nitely be a better year than last year.

ATN: Ramadan is arriving earlier into the summer now, how will this affect bookings?

Ramadan is not necessarily diffi cult because you can spend it in Egypt, you can spend it in Malaysia, you can spend it in Leba-non. Countries like Malaysia are promot-ing themselves as a destination where you can observe Ramadan so they are adjusting

their marketing depending on who they’re promoting to. I think it goes in our favour. It shows people are looking at us in this part of the world, rather than presenting a message

from somewhere else. So we are growing in awareness which is benefi cial.

ATN: Will we see the same cheap deals in the market this year?

From a business perspective I think rates will continue

to normalise now. They dropped signifi cantly last year but most businesses cannot sustain that indefi nitely. They have to bring it back. As normalisers we will refl ect that in the pricing of our packages.

ATN: What destinations will be popular this year from visitors from this region? Some destinations are coming back this year. Take Lebanon, that’s gone through a fairly bad patch for a long time but its now more settled and people are starting to go there again. It’s re-building from where they were where they dropped signifi cantly. Sri Lanka is growing as well because the problems have stopped so people are starting to go back in.

ATN: What is the biggest challenge for 2010?I think we have gone past the toughest time which was last year, now we have to go back to taking things toward the growth patterns we have seen before. The last quarter which started from December until the end of March we saw positives until the end of March.

Q&A

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A WORLDEmirates HBrochure a

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getaways. There is also a to combine different destinalanguage brochure and a tai

The event aims to ‘bring thexplore the destinations for Intercontinental Hotel, Fest

was Ramadan coming in earlier in the sum-mer period which will happen now as we go through. And the third issue was the uncer-tainty surrounding the busi-ness environment. I’d say the biggest impact here was probably swinefl u though as that’sa personal health issue. The impact of that in this part of the world at that particular time wasgreatest, and then came the others.

believe it’s going to be a good year, its godefi nitely be a better year than last year.

ATN: Ramadan is arriving earlier insummer now, how will this affect book

Ramadan is not necessarily diffi cult beyou can spend it in Egypt, you can it in Malaysia, you can spend it in non. Countries like Malaysia are pring themselves as a destination whecan observe Ramadan so they are adj

their marketing depending on who tpromoting to. I think it goes in our favshows people are looking at us in this pthe world, rather than presenting a me

from somewhere else. So we are grin awareness which is benefi c

ATN:Will we see the same deals in the market this

From a business perspI think rates will con

John Felix, senior vice president, EmiratesHolidays

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ATN speaks to Klaus Ehrenbrandtner, Middle East director of the Austrian National Tourist Offi ce to fi nd out why visitors from the Gulf are fl ocking to enchanting Austria



The hillsare alive

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysisHow to sell Austria

ATN: What are the main attractions of Aus-tria for visitors from this region?In Austria visitors can combine a stay in a historic, romantic city centre in Vienna, Salzburg or Innsbruck with a visit to the Alpine region with its spectacular pan-oramic views and crystal clear lakes - and its all within two to three hours travelling time.

The most visited destinations are Vienna, Salzburg and Zell am See, the province of Tirol with its capital Innsbruck, and pictur-esque mountain resorts like Kitzbühel or Seefeld. Other ‘newcomers’ are the Gastein Valley and the province of Carinthia.

Both are famous for their water resources: Gastein Valley with its natural springs and the most famous spas in the Alps, and Carin-

The hills and valleys of Zell am See in the summertime

thia - the ‘land of the lakes’ with 1,270 lakes in a region a quarter the size of Abu Dhabi.

ATN: How many visitors come to Austria from the Gulf and how important is this market to you?In 2009, we had 97,000 guests from the Mid-dle East generating 331,000 overnight stays. In the last fi ve years, arrivals from the Mid-dle East to Austria have increased by 125 percent. The Middle East is one of the fast-est growing markets for Austrian tourism and has become the third biggest overseas market after North America and Japan. Most of our guests do still come from Ger-many, the Netherlands and other Euro-pean countries but it has been the Austrian


REGIONAL NEWSAustria

National Tourist Offi ce’s (ANTO) policy to focus on the overseas market in recent years - and the fi gures confi rm that we were right in doing so. Austria is in the top ten list of countries for international arrivals world-wide in the last few years, with three times as many visitors as Switzerland – and only 10 percent fewer guests than Germany.

ATN: What are you doing to increase visitor numbers from the Gulf? We have been very successful in combining B2C campaigns and B2B activities and will

mend visiting during those months to see why literally hundreds of songs have been written about the blooming fl owers and gardens in Austria.

ATN: Why should travel agents here recommend Austria to their clients?We have everything that tourists from the Middle East are longing for in the summer. Thousands of lakes, rivers and waterfalls with fresh water from the mountains; green meadows and forests; mountains with snow-covered peaks; historical cities; lots of shopping – all within easy reach. That is why most of our guests combine a stay in a city like Salzburg and Vienna, with a trip to the Alpine region. Austria is also very safe and family-friendly and Austrians have a repu-tation of being very welcoming hosts.

ATN: What is the accommodation like? In regions popular with Middle Eastern tourists (Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Zell am See, Gastein Valley, Kitzbühel, Seefeld, Carinthia lake district) 4- and 5-star hotels provide special facilities for guests such as hotels with connecting rooms and Arabic cuisine. Muslims should have no problems fi nding Halal food (Islam is the second big-gest religion in Austria). There are a num-ber of new luxury hotel projects such as the Grand Tirolia Resort in Kitzbühel which has just been completed and the Shangri-La on the famous Ring Boulevard in Vienna City which will open next year.

ATN: Are there any new tourist attractions coming up in Austria? Very close to the Ring Boulevard, one of

WHO TO SELL TO: Families – lakes and mountain holidays offer plenty of activities to keep the kids occupied Adventure and activity seekersWHEN TO GO: Austria can be visited at any time of year but the seasons will infl uence what you do. Summer is great for hiking and swim-ming in the lakes, winter for skiing. The majority of festivals are held between May and October. ACTIVITIES: Sailing

Windsurfi ngMountain bikingHiking and Alpine walking Cycling SkiingSightseeing and culture HOW TO GET THERE: Emirates and Austrian Airlines operate daily fl ights from Dubai Qatar Airways operates daily fl ights from Doha. However, around 50 percent of visitors from the Middle East reach Aus-tria via Munich which is just 1.5 hours away from popular destinations like Salz-

burg, Innsbruck, Seefeld or KitzbühelVISAS: Visas for stays of up to three months are not required for citizens of the EU, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Arab nationals will require a visa and should apply at the Austrian embassy. CONTACT: Austrian National Tourist Offi cePO Box 214050 Dubai, U.A.E.Tel: +971 4 321 88 61www.austriatourism.comwww.austria.info

HOW TO SELL

A thermal spa in the Gastein Valley in mid-winter

keep that strategy. Our activities in the Mid-dle East range from a travel agents train-ing program, road shows, fam trips, in-mall promotions, campaigns in radio and print and online marketing.

ATN: When is the best time to visit Austria? Middle Eastern tourists like to visit our country in the months of May and June and also September and October. May and June are very popular because everything is blooming and blossoming and the weather is really pleasant. I personally would recom-


REGIONAL NEWSAustria

Of course spring is the perfect time to head to Austria to see the country in bloom, but don’t forget that long winters with heavy snowfall make Austria a fantastic place for a winter ski break.

Austria’s après-ski scene ranks as some of the best in Europe and its ski resorts offer good value for money compared with other European resorts. Eight glacier skiing areas guarantee that the Austrian Alps are blessed with an enviably long season which runs well into the spring with packed powder on the runs and knee-deep snow waiting off-piste.

Top Austrian ski resorts: Innsbruck (850m to 3200m)Capital of Tyrol and an Olympic centre, Inns-bruck has excellent facilities and a ski-lift structure that takes in nearby ski centres. The Stubai glacier means year-round skiing. Bruck am Ziller (760m to 3030m)With direct access to 150km of downhill ski-ing, there are three airports within two hours drive of the resort. Finkenberg (840m to 3280m)A pretty village, with traditional large chalet style hotels, surrounded by the stunning scenery of the Ziller Valley. Obervellach (3100m to 3120m)Direct access to 77km of downhill skiing, with 13 individual pistes, served by 16 ski lifts.The 16 lifts can take 8,000 skiers and snowboarders per hour and there are two airports within two hours drive.

THE WHITE STUFF Vienna’s major sights opened in Decem-ber 2009: The “Swarovski Wien” - a combi-nation of art gallery, shop and masterpiece of architecture. After Swarovski’s big suc-cess with the “Swarovski Crystal Worlds” in Tirol (established in 1995, it’s now Austria’s second most visited sight after the Imperial Palace in Vienna), this is the second project by Austria’s famous crystal company.

Boats on a lake in Zell am See

The romantic city centre of Vienna A town festival in Zell am See

AGENT INCENTIVE Austrian National Tourist Of-fi ce runs a destination training programme for agents called “ACTS” (Austrian Certifi ed Travel Specialist). More than 1,500 tour operators and travel agents in the Middle East have signed up so far to gain an of-fi cial certifi cate and status as ‘preferred partner’ in all mar-keting activities. Visit www.acts-academy.com

Tour guides told they must get a license as the emirate looks to boost its tourism potential



Sharjah gets serious about standards

REGIONAL NEWSNews analysisTraining Sharjah

he Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) offi cially

certifi ed its fi rst tour guides last month, as part of the emirate’s drive

to boost tourism and improve standards in the industry.

Just twelve tour guides – working for Ara-bian Adventures, Orient Tours, Al Khalediah Tourism and the Sharjah National Travel Agency - received their offi cial licenses in a ceremony attended by Sheikh Sultan Bin Ahmad Al Qassimi, chairman of SCTDA. The guides were the fi rst to complete the ‘Advanced Tour Guiding Course’, rolled out last year in conjunction with Skyline Uni-versity in Sharjah, but the plan is that by next year it will be mandatory for all tour guides working in Sharjah to have an offi cial tour guiding license.

Al Qassimi told Arabian Travel News that the programme has been developed

Sharjah is unique like a treasure - you have to come and discover it yourself”

Sharjah has been voted Cultural Capital of the Arab World by UNESCO. It features a number of different museums including: the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, the Sharjah Aquarium and the Sharjah Desert Park. The Sharjah Heritage Area features traditional houses converted into museums and the oldest souq in Sharjah: Al Souq Al Arsah. Another popular souk is the Central Souq (also called Blue Souq). One of the top attractions in Sharjah is Al Qasba, with year round events and activities, it is a great place to mingle with the local population. Sharjah also boasts some beautiful natural scenery with its two lagoons Al Khan and Al Khaleed and the surrounding corniche, plus its authentic fi shing villages on the East coast set against a stunning mountain back-drop. A trip to Dibba Al Hisn, Khor Fakkan and Kalba presents visitors with unspoiled beaches and scenic drives along the coast.

HOW TO SELL SHARJAH

Sharjah is being promoted as a cultural destination


REGIONAL NEWSSharjah

to ensure that tourists to Sharjah receive the right information about the emirate. “It’s easy for companies to just take people around and talk about Sharjah even if they don’t know about it,” he said. “But we don’t want everyone to sell Sharjah the way they see it and the way they want to. We want them to understand the culture, and to know what they’re talking about at least.”

Much of the course is focused on teach-ing guides about the culture and history of Sharjah. “It’s so they can talk about muse-ums, they can talk about the different cul-tural and heritage areas within Sharjah, but at the same time they need to know what they are talking about,” said Al Qas-simi. “They need to know not only what this museum has inside it, but why it is here and why it is part of the identity of Sharjah, so it’s a broad programme.”

Sharjah received 1.4 million tourists last year, and has a target to increase this fi gure by 10 percent in 2010 by promoting itself as cultural and heritage destination.

Divyesh, Orient Tours How did you fi nd the course? This course helped us to see a lot more of Sharjah which we had not been doing as a part of the excursions we run at the moment. This has opened the way for us to explore these places. We have seen some archeological

sites which we could not personally go to ourselves because they are still under study and being excavated, so it has left a curiosity in us that there’s more to explore than what we see now that will be ready in the future.

What’s the potential for Sharjah as a tourism destination?Sharjah has got a lot of potential for guests who are looking for a place with rich culture and heritage. Guests get to see the Islamic architecture, the government buildings, and the beautiful landscaping. In Sharjah there’s a rich heritage to explore.

Mirella El Munawar, Arabian AdventuresHow useful did you fi nd the tour guides course?The course was useful and very informative. We do a lot of tours into Sharjah, and we learnt a lot of things we normally don’t get to know about so in that sense it was essential to our knowledge. It’s an accreditation - it puts up the value of us being professional tour guides. We could have done the tours anyway we wanted to do it but the licenses give a more professional look to the job.

Does Sharjah have potential as a destination? Sharjah absolutely has potential. They are heading in the right direction, they have the sun, the sea, the desert and all that but then there’s the culture. They are heading in the di-rection of developing the emirate as a cultural destination more than a fun destination.

Partha Sawardekar, Arabian Adventures What’s the benefi t of this course to developing tourism? It brings in some standardisation which is highly required in this industry, given the scope of the country, the large area and that tour guides working here are spread out everywhere. Everyone does it their own way so this course is good because it’s stan-dard information that is given out to us and then we in turn can pass this on to the tourists.

What’s the reaction of your tour groups when you bring them to Sharjah?Tourists are pleasantly surprised. It’s not a well known destination. It’s a kind of hidden gem, and when it’s revealed to them they are happy to see it. What had been lacking here for a long time was the infrastructure to receive tourists

but now that’s been developed. Part of the course is to see what’s being planned by the tourism authority and it looks really good.

What the tour guides said:

“We have our own unique points,” explained Al Qassimi, “We have 18 muse-ums, and we have real heritage areas. We are the more authentic Arabian experience - that’s what we try to provide tourists with instead of them coming see something they can see everywhere else in the world. We always say that Sharjah is unique like a trea-sure - you have to come and discover it for yourself.”

Al Qassimi added that the biggest chal-lenge for the future would be to increase the awareness of Sharjah as a tourist destina-tion. “I think the main challenge is trying to reach everyone, and trying to make people understand what Sharjah is. We have been participating in several exhibitions and going to different places to promote Shar-jah, talking with our different offi ces aboard – that’s our fi rst step and I think we are doing very well. We just came from ITB in Berlin and we won the ‘best exhibitor’ award in our category. So step by step we are trying to reach more people.”

SCTDA runs an Advanced Course and a Beginners Course for tour guides:Advanced Course: (5 day course, cost AED 2000) Dates: 23 - 27 May, 10 - 14 Oct 2010Beginners Course: (8 day course, cost AED 2,750) Dates: 13 -23 June, Mid-Nov 2010 (TBA) For more information contact: Conny Boettger, Email: [email protected] Tel: 971 6 519 0918


Deputy managing director, Al Rais Travel

Mohammed Al Rais

Travel is my love. I’m into this business not just

because it’s my family business. When you love something you defi nately want to be creative with it”

Company: Al Rais Travel & Shipping Time at the company: 8 years - I took over the business in 2008Favourite holiday destination: Switzerland Next holiday destination: Japan. It’s some-where I’ve never been before. I’m going to Tokyo as I want to promote it as a leisure destination.

I always want to do some-thing different which peo-ple will talk about. I have tried to do things that peo-ple in the travel indus-try have not done before. I invited the wives of my cli-ents for dinner at Raffl es to promote destinations. Why chose local ladies? Because in our culture when you go on holiday ladies have the infl uence. Secondly ladies talk more than men, so this spread the word of Al Rais to more than 100 families.

About 75 percent of our lei-sure division is targeting the local market but our next strategy is to expand to target expats. Locals spend much more money but we cannot live without expats

as its 80 percent of the pop-ulation here.

During the crisis we never closed any offi ces and we never laid off any employ-ees. In the good times they were our num-ber one supporters so in the bad times why should we not sup-port them? Of course we were affected and our costs were high but we knew it was just a matter of time – one year and we can man-age it.

The main chal-lenge for me is the internet. People are increasing their bookings online. But I have found a resolution – I am not letting my cus-tomers go. We have done very special training with all our staff to explain to customers the differ-ence between the inter-net and a travel shop. We have to explain to people why they need to be with a travel agency.

These days I joke with my friends a lot. I have travelled to many desti-nations – so they call me and say “Mohammed I am going to Singapore is it better to stay at the Mandarin Oriental or Berjaya Times Square?” I say it depends - are

you buying from a travel agency or the internet, if you are booking on the internet you don’t deserve

to have the infor-mation!

We have a good rela-tionship with airlines.But sometimes they try to act smart, which we don’t like. A couple of airlines try to bypass travel agencies – their excuse was that the market was bad and they need to get their share. But we have a strong hand. I can say to the airline - I can cut you, I will not sell you. It’s not in their

favour. We have had some very frank discussions with

airlines.

I’m a very sociable person; I love to talk to people. I think this is the best way to be. I believe we should be in touch with the consumer. Personally I won’t miss any event, any cocktail recep-tion, any wedding. If you need anything from me, I am available.

My offi ce style is open door. I have tried to create a dif-ferent environment – there is no boss here. We have 500 plus employees, and if you ask at any counter they all know me by person.

Travel is my love – actually it’s my second love, I can’t tell you it’s my fi rst, my wife would have problem with that. I’m into this business not just because it’s my fam-ily business. When you love something you defi nitely want to be creative with it.

anaging director, Al Rais Travel

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