January 16, 2020

Expo 2020 Dubai is only months away, and it is an opportune time for the hospitality sector to tap into the expected influx of visitors from both in and outside the UAE, a top official of one of the nation's fastest-growing hotel chains says.

'It's good timing... Expo 2020 is a big opportunity for us and other hotels as well,' Abdulla Al Abdulla, chief operating officer of Central Hotels, said.

This is also because of the 'full support of the UAE government' in promoting the country's tourism assets, which in turn helps operators tap business"...

January 15, 2020

Abu Dhabi hoteliers felt the benefit of the Formula 1 Grand Prix in December as the sporting event drove huge increases in average room rates and room revenues.

According to STR’s preliminary December data for the UAE capital indicated strong room rates despite weakened demand.

Although supply remained flat year over year, the slight decline in demand pushed occupancy down for the month.

STR analysts noted that performance growth was especially pronounced at the beginning of the month,"...

January 13, 2020

Meraas, a leading Dubai-based holding company with interest in real estate and hospitality, has announced a partnership with Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, for three hotels at Al Seef in Dubai.

Hilton will operate the Hampton by Hilton Dubai Al Seef, Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef and Al Seef Heritage Hotel Dubai, Curio Collection by Hilton.

Originally opened in 2018, the three hotels are located"...

January 12, 2020

UAE-based Jannah Hotels & Resorts has revealed plans to open a new four-star property in Dubai in February 2020, with another set to launch in Sharjah in 2022.

The CEO of Jannah Hotels & Resorts, Richard Haddad, announced plans to open Jannah Dubai Creekside in February, followed by Jannah Ras Al Khor in 2022.

He also said Jannah Hotels & Resorts has started talks with Tajakistan with plans to expand the scope of the brand to Central Asia.

Haddad also announced a partnership with"...

January 11, 2020

Despite the uncertainty that continues to revolve around Brexit, tourism experts and officials noted that there will be a limited and short-term impact on tourism to the UAE, as the country remains a popular destination among travellers from the UK.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Matthew Sliedrecht, director of Marketing at Cleartrip, said: 'We saw a 27 per cent growth year-on-year in both inbound and outbound traffic between the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom in the first quarter of 2019. However, once the Brexit transitional period began, we saw that reverse into negative growth. Since March, we have seen that year on year traffic"...

January 9, 2020

The world-famous Hay Festival on Wednesday announced the line-up for the first edition of Hay Festival Abu Dhabi, which will take place in the UAE capital from February 25-28.

Supported by the UAE’s Ministry of Tolerance, the UK-based festival will feature a range of award-winning writers, journalists, historians, film-makers and artists in an international programme spanning nearly 100 events over four days.

Award-winning writers will include Nigerian Nobel Prize-winner Wole Soyinka, Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif, Filipino writer Miguel Syjuco, Pakistan’s"...

January 9, 2020

ABU DHABI, 8th January, 2020 (WAM) -- The hospitality sector in Abu Dhabi reported impressive growth across all major KPIs during the last quarter of 2019, revealed the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi.

The figures were presented during DCT Abu Dhabi's regular industry development meeting which sees key representatives from Abu Dhabi's hotels and industry partners highlighting the latest trends and developments relating to tourism in the emirate.

The quarterly meeting's agenda included presentations on the latest statistical data for the fourth"...

January 8, 2020

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (Adnec) has renewed a five-year strategic partnership agreement with Agility’s Fairs and Events, a division of Agility Global Integrated Logistics.

This MoU will continue to enhance Adnec’s service offering to exhibitors and event organisers with a full range of logistics and freight forwarding services.

Agility is one of the largest integrated logistics providers in the world with more than 26,000 employees and operations in 100 countries. Under the MoU, Adnec and Agility will continue the success of their established, mutually beneficial cooperation with the aim of providing Adnec customers with world-leading logistics solutions.
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January 8, 2020

Abu Dhabi's Fairmont Marina Abu Dhabi hotel will open in March this year, Accor hotels has confirmed.

In a tweet, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts replied to an interested guest, who inquired about the opening date of the residences at the hotel, saying 'the Fairmont Marina, Abu Dhabi is anticipated to open in March 2020'.

Previously, the hotel group confirmed on its website that the waterfront hotel would open in 2020, but the month was not announced.

Fairmont"...

January 8, 2020

UBAI, 7th January, 2019 (WAM) -- Nordic tourists travelling to the GCC from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, are expected to generate an estimated US$810 million in travel and tourism revenue by 2024, according to data published ahead of the Arabian Travel Market, ATM, 2020.

The latest Colliers International research, commissioned by ATM organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions, predicts the UAE will witness the highest growth, with the total tourism spend by Nordic visitors projected to reach $718 million by 2024, an increase of 36 percent when compared with figures from 2018, and the tourism spend per trip expected to reach $2,088.