Spirits soar as tourism booms
The aviation industry’s importance will grow significantly in the run up to ‘Expo 2020’ as the UAE continues with its expansion plans to cater to the growth of the industry. Also, hotels in the Emirates held on strong during the first half of 2015 despite
During June to August, dnata, an air travel service provider, expects to handle over 50,000 flights, 20 million passengers and 30 million bags from around the world. This volume means that dnata teams at the airport will handle a flight every 80 seconds, on an average. It is ensuring that it has the capacity to meet demand, given that Dubai International overtook London’s Heathrow Airport as the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passengers last year.
Jon Conway, Divisional Senior Vice President, dnata, says that in Dubai, they can turnaround a fully loaded aircraft in as little as 60 minutes.
“The aviation industry in the UAE has been recording an impressive growth over the years. The first half of 2015 was no different,” informs His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and Dubai Airports.
Chairman,
“The UAE has an outstanding aviation infrastruc- ture and is globally recognised for seamless travel facilitation. We are developing Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai World Central (DWC) into the world’s biggest airport with an annual capacity of over 220 million passengers. Alongside, we continue to develop the Dubai International Airport which will handle 100 million passengers when the expansion plans get over. Emirates and flydubai have remained in expansion mode,” Al Maktoum says.
“Quality is the strong factor for ensuring a safe, orderly and sustainable air transport infrastructure. The UAE has been continuing with its commitment in air transport infrastructure development to adequately meet the needs of the industry, now and in the future,” he adds.
The UAE rivals major global tourist attractions for 2020. Phil Taylor, Director, Team Leisure LLC, previously Chief Executive, Ski-Dubai, and Executive Director, London Eye, says that Dubai is now considered as an inter- national city on the same stage as New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, and is leading the development of the UAE leisure market together with Abu Dhabi.
Unique concepts include the world's first Bollywood theme park, part of the Dubai Parks and Resorts development, and the new Warner Bros. resort on Yas Island, while some of the best attractions and tourist destinations in the world are being reimagined.
Dubai's popularity as a destination for UK business and leisure travellers is growing at the rate of 10 per cent per year, thanks to a regularly evolving destination offer comprised of new hotels, meetings venues and leisure attractions.
Statistics released by Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce
We are developing Al Maktoum International Airport into the world’s biggest airport with an annual capacity of over 220 mn passengers Dubai's status as a destination for both business and leisure continues to rise in the UK, thanks to the emirate's superior service level Our 2015 H1 results demonstrate our capacity to deliver on our objectives with determination and discipline despite a slow summer
Marketing (DTCM) revealed that the emirate welcomed 687,000 UK hotel guests in 2012, and a further 759,000 UK hotel guests in 2013, representing a 10 per cent yearon-year increase. In 2014, Dubai welcomed 845,000 UK hotel guests to its shores, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2013.
Steen Jakobsen, Director, Dubai Business Events (DBE), a division of DTCM which acts as the city's official convention bureau, says, "Dubai's status as a destination for both business and leisure continues to rise in the UK, thanks to the emirate's quality infrastructure, accessibility and superior service level. Dubai's proximity to the UK also makes it a convenient destination for visitors seeking warm weather and world-class experiences, a point underscored by the UK being the number one European source market for visitors to Dubai, and third internationally after Saudi Arabia and India."
DBE team has participated in the 2015 edition of The Meetings Show being held at Olympia London.
Laurent A. Voivenel, CEO, Hospitality Management Holdings (HMH), explains that, “The economic environment continues to vary from one region to another. However, our 2015 H1 results demonstrate our capacity to deliver on our objectives with determination and discipline despite very challenging market conditions and a slow summer. The CIS crisis, weakening of euro, political turmoil and instability in different parts of the Middle East, oversupply of rooms in some key cities, competition from cheaper destinations – all put pressure on demand and rates".
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority woos travellers from Oman. During the first four months of 2015, Oman was Abu Dhabi's second largest GCC source market with 21,342 visitors marking a 12 per cent growth from last year. Qatar accounted for 9,793 visitors, while Kuwaiti visitors amounted to 9,776 over the same period.The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led the market share with 46,576 visitors, a solid 46 per cent growth over the same period.
The tour aimed to reinforce bilateral relations between the GCC countries, especially in the areas of business and conventions, notes Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director, Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau.
According to Shamsi, Abu Dhabi offers a favourable atmosphere and unique advantages to organise specialised conferences and exhibitions, illustrated by the bureau's wide range of free consultation and advisory services.
Etihad Airways has experienced one of the busiest travel periods in the history of the airline with 291,518 guests flying across its global network during Eid-Al-Fitr, an increase of 12 per cent on the 260,641 guests flown in the same five day period in 2014.
The load factor out of Abu Dhabi during this period rose from 82.1 per cent in 2014 to 82.3 per cent in 2015, with a network-wide seat factor of 78.3 per cent.The airline operated 83 more flights out of the hub than during Eid-AlFitr in 2014.
Capt. Richard Hill, COO, Etihad Airways, says, “We're pleased to have once again carried record numbers of guests and baggage across the Etihad Airways network during EidAl-Fitr, one of the busiest and most challenging periods in the year.”
UAE confirms its lead as the first family tourism destination during Eid. Occupancy rate has exceeded 96 per cent in Tamani hotel rooms and apartments allocated for families that spent their Eid holidays in the UAE.
Sherif Elibrashy, Director of Sales & Marketing, Tamani Hotel says, “We achieved great rates during Eid holiday, that came as a result of special offers we launched during holy month of Ramadan addressed to Gulf and Arab family
We’ve once again carried record numbers of guests and baggage across the Etihad Airways network during Eid-Al-Fitr We achieved great rates during Eid, that came as a result of special offers we launched during Ramadan addressed to Gulf and Arab family tourism
tourism, included discounts on prices and benefits of staying at Tamani to make their holiday a happy and memorable one, a goal that we always pursue.”
It is expected that family tourism’s value rise to $181 billion by 2018 driven by population growth in the Muslim world and strong economic performance. Industry experts predict that family tourism will achieve strong annual growth estimated at 4.79 per cent until 2020, and at a rate higher than the global growth estimated at 3.8 per cent, reflecting the growing importance of Islamic economics.