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Four and Five Star hotel occupancy rates in Oman increased from 64.7% in 2007 to 86.1% in 2008. The increase is attributed to mainly to the government’s successful promotional tourism campaign in the Gulf. Ministry of National Economy Statistics last year 618,826 people stayed in four and five star hotels compared to 674,204 people in 2008.
The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority together with Emirates Airline began a four city promotional tour of the Middle East. The one week promotional tour, dubbed the Mauritius Road show, aimed to promote tourism in Mauritius, which is geographically close to the Middle East. The Mauritius Road show began in Kuwait, continued in Riyadh and Jeddah, and ended on Thursday in Dubai. The Mauritius Minister for…
Dubai’s tourism campaign, dubbed “Keep Discovering Dubai” will bring over 2,000 industry professional between now and May. A key goal of the campaign is to dispel negative perceptions of Dubai, according to a Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) source. Specifically, there were previously reports of illegal sewage dumping on Dubai’s beaches and another report of a case of Legionnaire’s…
Wataniya Airlines this week launched twice daily scheduled flights to Bahrain. This is the third new route Kuwait’s luxury airline has announced this week. Previously they flew to Dubai, Beirut, and Cairo. Wataniya’s CEO said the Bahrain route is important both from a business and social perspective. The first Wataniya Aircraft landed at Bahrain International Airport Thursday morning.
Most kite flying experts recommend the Sultanate as the best place to hold kite-flying festivals in the Middle East. Kite flyers from around the globe, but especially Australia, are drawn to the Sultanates’’ long beaches and favorable winds. Marc Gribener, a kite flyer from Germany said that for kite surfing a minimum of 18 mph wind speed is required and that "The climate here is good for holding kite…
Travelport GDS announced on Tuesday that it had signed an exclusive Galieo contract with Al Ghaith Al Moosa Travel Agency (ALTA). Travelport GDS is one of the world’s leading providers of global distribution systems. Travelport GDS operates both the Galileo and Worldspan platforms. Regarding the new contract, Abdul Kareem, General Manager for Alta said that Galileo is their preferred GDS because "In today's…
Amadeus has appointed Tom Kulinski Business Solutions Manager for its Middle East and Africa operations. Mr. Kulinski has over 20 yeas experience in international companies throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, America, and Europe. During his tenure with Amadeus to date, he has led account migration projects and from 1995 worked in Amadeus (Nice) France in customer relations management. Mr. Kulinksi’s key…
The Road and Transport Association (RTA) announced the completion of the Dh 11 million dollar Marinas Project. The Marinas Project runs on both sides of the creek and is in the vicinity of the Floating Bridge. The project is intended for Dubai Police rescue operations, use by the Dubai Golf Club, Al Boom tourist village, and visitors to the Creek Park. Mattar al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive…
An official with the International Air Transport Association has strongly recommended a move to an “open skies” policy. Madji Sabri spoke at the Middle East Economic Digest Airport Projects 2009 conference said that the “open skies” policy would be helpful in bridging the gap between extra capacity and demand, which is currently slowing down. In the Middle East and North Africa, there are over 460,000 jobs in…
The Dhofar Tourism Company’s RO 1 billion Mirbat Beach Project on the Salalah Coast was showcased Oman Travel Mart (OTM), which just recently concluded. The Dhofar Tourism Company pavillon revealed all 5 phases of the development, which is nearing completion. Phase 1 is the construction of the five star hotel called the Mirbat Beach Resort and Spa. For phase II, 161 Marina apartments around a Marina with 75…
Muriya Salaha Beach project clients were recently given a tour of the project so that they could see first hand the progress so far. A presentation of the construction development of the villas and destination facilities was given and a comprehensive review and update of the progress was made. Clients were able to view actual work in progress. At the Marina they watches as 170,000m3 of the inland marina basin was…
Al Bustan Rotana Dubai announced that Gonzalo Rodriquez has been appointed the hotel’s new Front Office Manager. Mr. Rodriquez has extensive experience working in five start properties in different European countries including Spain and Italy. He is a Spanish national with more than ten years experience working in the hospitality industry. Regarding his appointment he said he remarked "I am positively…
Dubai’s DepaMar was awarded a $50 million contract by Kerzner International Developments at the Mazagan Resort villas in El Jadida. El Jadida is on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. DepaMar is the Moroccan subsidiary of Depa Limited, one of the world’s largest interior design companies. The first phase of development at the Mazagan resort will include a five story hotel with 1,000 beds, entertainment center, many…
The UAE announced on Tuesday that it will begin using the international “blue flag” system to identify those swimming spots that are eco-friendly. The WAM news agency said that The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF) will be the program coordinator across the UAE. The Blue Flag program is a voluntary eco-label that started in 1987 and is acknowledged by the United Nations environment programme and World Tourism…
An official speaking for Bahrain’s current tourism body said today that plans to establish a new Bahrain Ministry of Tourism this April have been postponed, because economic crisis has left the government struggling to find sufficient funds to support itself. Bahrain attracts about 2 million visitors a year and is one of the most popular destinations in the UAE. Officials expect that the tourism sector will…
Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) reported yesterday that they expected a 50% growth in consolidated revenue for 2008 compared to the 80% growth rate during the previous year ($178.6mm or Dh655mm). The company said that net income growth is driven by hotel performance and real estate sales. Also, the company’s foreceast comes in advance of their announcement of financial results for year ending 31 December 2008,…
Organizers of a recent hospitality and trade show said that hoteliers need to pay more attention to products and service which have bigger cost savings efficiency during periods of lower growth. Maggie Moore, the Exhibition Director of The Hotel 2009 said that “Without a doubt the hotel industry in the region will face challenges as overseas demand declines.” Miss Moore said that more emphasis is being placed…
Gulf Finance House signed a US $1.8 billion (Dh6.61 bn) agreement with Abu Dhabi Investment House to build a health resort in the tourist destination of Essaouira, in Morocco. The partners signed letters of intent on with the Moroccan government in Davos, Switzerland last week, as the World Economic Forum there was in process. The alliance between the two partners is named Vision3 and it will develop a…
