28 MARCH 2015 ISSUE 281 DUBAI TROLLEY ARRIVES TO DOWNTOWN DUBAI H.H. SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN RASHID AL MAKTOUM, RULER OF DUBAI AND ABDUL FATTAH EL-SISI, PRESIDENT, EGYPT, ATTENDED THE SIGNING CEREMONY OF A DEAL TO BUILD EGYPT’S NEW ADMINISTRATIVE AND BUSINESS CAPITAL. 12 AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION DEBUTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST 14 IN THIS ISSUE MARKET UPDATE 02 CRUISING 05 TOURISM AUTHORITIES 08 ACCOMMODATION 14 AIR 16 RENDEZVOUS 21 AGENT CORNER 23 TRAVEL TALK 24 TRAVEL CHANNELS 25 WHO’S MOVED 26 EGYPT TO BUILD NEW PHOTO ALBUM 27 NEWS & EVENTS 28 ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL 6 MARKET UPDATE TRAVEL TRADE PUBLICATIONS Dubai: Over 11.6 Million Guests Dubai’s hotel establishments welcomed 11,629,578 guests in 2014, marking an MANAGING EDITOR Mary Kammitsi increase of 5.6 percent over 2013. [email protected] ASSISTANT EDITOR Maria Kazeli ased on Dubai Department of Tourism & Com- SENIOR JOURNALIST merce Marketing’s data, the destination’s top Rita Kasziba source market remained Saudi Arabia, followed CONTRIBUTORS Dominique Christou by India, the UK, the US and Iran, while China Ana Mladenovic moved from the 10th position to the seventh. Consequently, guest nights rose 7.4 percent to 44.66 PRESS B Maria Demetriadou million with average length of stay growing to 3.84 days, re- Pauline Shahabian sulting in a 9.8 percent surge in total revenues to AED23.9 DESIGN & LAYOUT billion (USD6.5 billion). The improvement was achieved de- Elena Stylianou spite the emirate’s room inventory expanding from 84,534 units across 611 properties to 92,333 keys across 657 estab- WEB DEVELOPER / IT Dubai Soteris Constantinou lishments. DIRECTORS Andreas Constantinides Mary Kammitsi HEADQUARTERS Jazeera Airways: 22 Percent Rise in T.T.W. Travel Trade Weekly LTD P.O. Box 25255, Nicosia 1308 Cyprus Tel: +357 22 021607, Fax: +357 22 103670 Passenger Numbers WEBSITE www.traveltradeweekly.travel Jazeera Airways recorded a 22 percent year-on-year surge in flown passengers for EMAILS January, following consecutive improvements in November and December 2014. [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] he growth was mainly driven by in- creased demand on the Beirut and Amman services, up 32 percent, as well as on the Istanbul route. Pas- MENA EXCHANGE RATES senger numbers also rose by a fifth Ton routes serving Egypt, despite the temporary As of 27/3/2015 closure of Assiut International Airport. Currencies shown in blue In addition, Dubai, Bahrain, Jeddah and Ri- are fixed against the US Dollar yadh also proved popular with traffic jumping 20 percent. COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD= Bahrain (BHD) Dinar 0.37 Jordan (JOD) Dinar 0.71 Oman (OMR) Rial 0.39 Did you know... Qatar (QAR) Rial 3.64 Nearly 150,000 Saudi Arabia (SAR) Riyal 3.75 Dubai is expected to have as many as UAE (AED) Dirham 3.67 Rooms under Contract 160,000 rooms by 2020? Algeria (DZD) Dinar 96.75 Egypt (EGP) Pound 7.63 The Middle East and Iran (IRR) Rial 27,987.69 Africa (MEA) region Iraq (IQD) Dinar 1,173.20 has 633 hotels and Kuwait (KWD) Dinar 0.30 he upper upscale segment accounts for the lion’s share at 36 percent with 53,257 keys and two other segments each present more than 15 Lebanon (LBP) Pound 1,503.49 147,953 units under percent of rooms under contract, including the upscale segment with Libya (LYD) Dinar 1.38 contract, based on over 30,700 units and the luxury segment with 27,820 keys. Morocco (MAD) Dirham 9.86 STR Global’s The upper-upscale segment made up the largest portion of rooms Syria (SYP) Pound 188.93 construction pipeline in the under contraction category as well at 40.3 percent or 29,770 units, followed Tunisia (TND) Dinar 1.95 T by the luxury segment with close to 16,450 keys and the upscale segment with Yemen (YER) Rial 215.06 report for January. almost 14,700 rooms. 2 28 MARCH 2015 TECHNOLOGY WEEKLY NEWS Dadabhai Travel and Sabre Renew Agreement adabhai Travel has renewed its con- compete more effectively and grow faster in products that help us do our job effectively tract with Sabre Travel Network Mid- the region. and efficiently. [...] Their leadership in emerg- dle East, securing continued access Aziz Gilitwala, managing director, Dad- ing technologies such as mobile, personalisa- Dto Sabre’s portfolio of innovative technology abhai Travel, said, “Sabre listens to our needs, tion and data will play a critical role in helping which enables it to differentiate its offering, understands our challenges and designs us achieve our expansion plans.” Improved Destination Website for Abu Dhabi ith a revamped website showcasing the very best of the emirate, Abu WDhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) is hoping to in- spire more travellers to experience the destination’s expanding tour- ism products portfolio. The online facelift includes around 300,000 words and 4,000 images in support of various products and experi- ences that can be enjoyed in the UAE capital. “With this new site, we can now showcase the destination through thematic experiences that reflect our diversity in landscape, culture, heritage, attractions and accommodation referring consum- ers directly to our industry part- ners,” said Mouza Al Shamsi, acting executive director, marketing and communications, TCA Abu Dhabi. The new website 28 MARCH 2015 3 WEEKLY NEWS AIRPORTS Dubai to Welcome Partnership to Limit Advanced Detection 126 Million Passengers Carbon Footprint Equipment in Abu Dhabi ubai Airports, operator of Dubai ubai Airports partnered with bu Dhabi Airports signed an International and Al Maktoum Dubai Electricity and Water AED458 million (USD125 mil- DInternational at Dubai World DAuthority (DEWA) to erect a A lion) deal with Smiths Detec- Central, revised its projections for 2020 solar array at Al Maktoum Interna- tion to equip the Midfield Terminal to over 126 million passengers. tional at Dubai World Central (DWC) Complex with new systems aimed As Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Air- to limit its carbon footprint and allow at detecting threats from chemical, ports, explained at the Future of Bor- the power generated to be fed direct- biological, radiological, nuclear and ders Conference in Dubai, the ambi- ly into DEWA’s power grid. explosive substances. The purchased tious forecast is without the availability “The solar array is just one of high-speed explosives detection sys- of further infrastructure development several projects across our airports tems deploy a combination of X-ray or space to build at Dubai International. aimed at adopting ways to limit our technologies to produce high-resolu- “We will have to come up with environmental impact while safe- tion images of baggage contents. other solutions to satisfy Dubai’s con- guarding the significant economic “The safety and security of pas- tinued thirst for growth. In Dubai, we and social contributions the aviation sengers, crew and aircraft is our top are building, not talking about build- sector provides Dubai. Initiatives priority, so it is vital that we should ap- ing,” stressed Griffiths, adding that by such as these take us a step closer to ply the very best and most innovative 2030, some 200 million travellers are achieving that ambition,” said Majed technology available to achieve this,” expected to be handled by Dubai’s air- Al Joker, senior vice president, opera- said H.E. Ali Majed Al Mansoori, chair- ports annually. tions, DWC, Dubai Airports. man, Abu Dhabi Airports. 4 28 MARCH 2015 CRUISING WEEKLY NEWS Royal Caribbean Inspires with Oceania Cruises Rolls New Cruises for 2016/2017 out New Schedule Royal Caribbean International’s 2016 Europe vacations encompass eight ceania Cruises unveiled ships, sailing from six European homeports and calling at 80 destinations its summer and fall 2016 throughout the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Scandinavia and the Baltics. O schedule which includes the maiden voyage of Sirena, the new 684-passenger ship that will first be in service in April 2016 on the Barcelona – Venice itinerary. The upscale line’s new sched- ule features 121 sailings; 90 new itineraries, 50 of which are ex- tended journeys; and 20 new ports. All in all, Oceania Cruises will sail to more than 240 ports in our ships will be new to the region, while Harmony of the Seas will sail its inaugural over 70 countries. season from Barcelona. Independence of the Seas returns to Southampton while Ex- New destinations include plorer of the Seas will make history as the largest cruise ship to ever sail in Alaska, join- ports in Mexico, France, the US, It- Fing Radiance of the Seas for the cruise line’s 27th consecutive season in the Great Frontier. aly, Dominican Republic, Canada, The company also opened bookings for its new 2016/17 Adventure Collection which Denmark, Sweden, Costa Rice and Bermuda Islands will take vacationers along the Caribbean, Europe, Alaska and beyond aboard 15 ships, the Netherlands. sailling from nine US homeports. 28 MARCH 2015 5 WEEKLY NEWS EGYPT TO BUILD NEW Mourjan Marinas – ADMINISTRATIVE CAPITAL Lusail City Launches Event Space H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai and Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, president, Egypt, attended the sign- oha’s premium yachting desti- nation, Mourjan Marinas – Lu- ing ceremony of a deal to build Egypt’s new administrative and D sail City launched three pictur- business capital at a cost of EGP150 billion (USD19.7 billion). esque on-water lounge areas totalling more than 1,600m2, which can accom- modate events for up to 130 persons. he project, which is to stretch Mohammed El Newishy, operations across 700km2, will be devel- manager, Mourjan Marinas – Lusail oped along Ain Al Sokhna road City, said, “As one of the first facilities to east of Cairo, and will house open in the prestigious Lusail City, our about seven million residents unique space offers a fresh, new and Tupon completion.