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Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) officials said a massive advertising campaign in the UK and Ireland has been launched. The goal of the campaign is to boost the number of tourists visiting Dubai during this summer’s Dubai Summer Surprises period which runs from 11 June to 14 August. Industry experts believe that the tourism sectors current 19% contrition towards GDP may be increased…
Sharjah Commission and Tourism Development Authorities (SCTDA) officials said Wednesday that tour operators and others working in the tourism industry must obtain a tourism license and degree by 2010. This is a tentative deadline. The new regulations are being implemented in order to ensure those working in the tourism industry have adequate knowledge and also are portraying Sharjah appropriately. Sharjah…
Travelport GPS and Pegasus Solutions have finalized an agreement which will give travel agents higher commission rates. Travelport GPS is a leading provider of worldwide distribution systems while Pegasus Solutions is the hotel commission for travel agents. The agreement allows Travelport to offer better prices on commission processing services so agents will get better hotel commission rates. In addition,…
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, delivered a speech for the Emirates Group Chairman which emphasized the importance of accommodating the needs of special travelers. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is also chairman the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, said in his speech it is important to make the tourism sector in the Middle East one of the main contributors of GDP in Arab countries. In order to…
Many hoteliers are confident about finding investors despite the global economic crisis and economic slowdown. President of Hilton Hotels, Middle East and Africa said they continue to expand aggressively as the economic downturn continues. Jean-Paul Herzog said many investors remain interested in new opportunities because of mid-term and long term potential. Herzog said many large hotel developments take…
Emirates Airlines clarified on Wednsesay that its “Best Offer” promotion applies only to Emirates services and not those of other airlines. The airline announced their "Best Offer“ promotion earlier this week, which gives refunds to passengers if they find a better deal elsewhere. However the airline did not specify that the offer refers only to its own services. An Emirates spokesman explained that some…
British Telecom (BT) has signed a contract to provide the technology link to Emirates Airlines worldwide call centers. Under the five year contract BT will connect Emirates call centers to a single globally managed platform. The call centers are in Mumbai, Melbourne, Manchester, Dubai, and New York and also nine town office locations. BT said operating costs will decrease and efficiency will improve with the…
EAD, the parent of Airbus, registered a 70% dive in operating profits during the first quarter, following a new charge for its postponed A400 military plane. They also cut their forecast for civil plane order, which caused their share price to slide. EAD results reflect the challenges faced by aerospace firms because airlines avoid expanding their fleets while funds are scarce. Backstop accounting measures…
A Bahraini MP is pushing to have a new law enacted that would protect air passengers from flight cancellations or delays and give them financial compensation. Other lawmakers are expected to provide their support so that it can pass the upper house before moving to the lower house for debate. Faisal Fouladh is a member of the upper house in the bicameral parliament. He said the new law will ensure that…
Kuwaiti premium class carrier Wataniya Airline slammed rumors that its Cairo flights were in jeopardy because of failure to comply with regulatory requirements. Recent reports suggested Wataniya did not meet Directorate General for Civil Aviation rules. The airline says there is no truth to the rumors. In a company statement they assured its stakeholders and guests that “it has complied with all regulatory…
Airlines have been restructuring their assets because of decreased traffic and high cost of operations, caused by the impact of the global financial crisis and turbulent fuel costs. Managing Director of British Airlines bmi, Peter Spencer, said some legacy airlines have resorted to using smaller aircraft, carrying fewer passengers, and using some part of their fleet for charter services. Spencer said legacy…
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed an air services memorandum of understanding (MoU) and Republic. The MoU was signed so the two counties can discuss and set up operations on the Abu Dhabi-Korea route. The MoU entitles both parties to operate as many as four weekly flights on the Abu Dhabi-Korea route with immediate effect. There is no restriction on the type of aircraft so any…
Emirates Airlines is forging ahead with increased Middle East services with its introduction of 12 new weekly flights to key travel hubs in the region. This brings to 197 the airlines total number of weekly fights throughout the region. From 1 July, Emirates will fly weekly to 12 new destinations in five key Middle Eastern cities: Kuwait, Amman, Damascus, Sanaa, and Doha. The new flight services will operate…
The world’s busiest airport for international passengers announced an impressive 6.5% growth in passenger traffic in April. Dubai International Airport (DIA) registered 3,271435 passengers in April 2009 compared to 3,073479 for the same month last year. Airport Council International figures show that in March DIA that among the top ten airports they were the only airport to register positive growth in the…
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) organized a meeting to review the promotional campaigns for this summer. Senior representatives of hotels, hotel apartments, and tourism companies were in attendance. During the meeting, DTCM Executive Director, Media Relations, reviewed initiatives designed to increase hotel occupancies and bring more visitors during the summer months and the holy…
Government owned budget carrier flydubai will begin services to Damascus and Alexandria on 8 June, and 9 June respectively. The new flight services increases the total number of flydubai destinations to 4. Also, inaugural flights to Amman and Beirut begin from 1 June, just in time for the summer holiday season. The government established flydubai one year ago and is starting its operations with a fleet of…
Etihad Airways launched its first flight to Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday from Abu Dhabi. Flight EY294 departed at 10:05 am and landed at 4:35 pm on the same day at Astana airport. The Kazakhstan flights will operate weekly on an Airbus A319 aircraft. Atana is Etihad Airway’s second destination in Kazakhstan. In December 2008, flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan were launched. Almaty is the biggest city in…
Airlines in the Middle East flying to the United States can be fined from Wednesday for not complying with accessibility rules set by authorities for those with special needs. The fines can be as high as $27,000 (Dh101,000) per violation. The law requiring compliance with new accessibly rules was passed in May 2008 and gave airlines one year to comply. The Dubai Airport management company is working with…
