By K. T. ABDURABB | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jan 26, 2012 23:17
Updated: Jan 26, 2012 23:17
DUBAI: The UAE attracted a huge number of Saudi nationals this week as several people left the Kingdom to spend a short school midterm holiday in the UAE.
Hotel and tourism specialists said the number of visitors might cross 200,000.
Government officials, however, could not confirm this figure immediately.
In fact, holidays in Saudi Arabia and Oman, combined with the Dubai Shopping Festival, have created a huge shortage for hotel rooms in the UAE.
The hotel occupancy has been high for the last one week and rooms were not available even in small hotels in Sharjah and Ajman.
Hussam Al-Jaffar, a Saudi National from Dammam, said he was enjoying his stay in Dubai and most of his hotel mates are Saudi nationals.
“Every year, I visit Dubai with my family. I prefer to spend my vacation in the UAE because it is close to Saudi Arabia and it has modern shopping facilities like European countries,” he added.
“Of course, I visit tourist attractions in Sharjah and Abu Dhabi too,” he said.
Thomas Kurian, director of sales and marketing at Flora Group of Hotels in Dubai, said Saudi nationals occupied 50 percent of their rooms during the past week.
“We have about 700 rooms and 50 percent of our guests for this period have been from Saudi Arabia. Since our property is non-alcoholic, the demand from Saudi Arabia is always high,” he added.
Salem Abdullah, a visitor from Saudi Arabia who was staying at a hotel in Ajman, said he could not find a room in Dubai because of high demand.
“The demand is high and hotels have increased the tariff also. Even in Ajman, I am paying more than AED600 per night per room. It was AED250 before,” said Salem, who is a regular visitor to the UAE.
“Since it is vacation time for schools in Saudi Arabia, we have seen an amazing turnout of families in Dubai. All our hotels are fully booked and have up to 60 percent of their guests from the Kingdom. Dubai Shopping Festival has once again proved to be a major attraction for families from the neighboring GCC countries, particularly Saudi Arabia,” Sadiq Iqbal, director of sales and revenue management, Coral Hotels Resorts, said.
“We are doing well at the Grand Millennium Dubai with the hotel enjoying 100 percent occupancy. Since we had secured our business in advance, we could only accommodate 10 percent guests from KSA. We have seen a high demand from Saudi Arabia recently,” Peter Mansourian, general manager of Grand Millennium Dubai told Arab News.
“The Holiday Inn Dubai in Al-Barsha is fully booked with 20 percent of guests from Saudi Arabia. There has been a high turnout of travelers from the Kingdom owing to the school holidays in the country,” said Gilles Nicolas, director of operations, Holiday Inn Dubai.
“We have had a terrific response from Saudi Arabia. We are running at 100 percent occupancy with nearly 30 percent of our guests from Saudi Arabia. We have both leisure and corporate clients owing to two major events happening in Dubai — DSF and Arab Health,” Hassan Al-Jawhari, director of sales and marketing, Park Regis Kris Kin Hotel in Dubai, told Arab News.
“Saudi Arabia is one of our key feeder markets and we have, at the moment, nearly 30 percent of our guests from the Kingdom,” said Aamir Pervez, general manager, Corp. Executive Hotel Apartments.
Hotel and apartment rooms are not available in Ajman, says Dinesh, manager of Hamilton Hotel in Ajman. Currently 50 percent of my guests are from Saudi Arabia and Oman.
“It was an unexpected turn-out from Saudi Arabia, we couldn’t accommodate many guests. I diverted a number of guests to hotels in Umm Al-Quwain and Ras Al-Khaimah,” Dinesh added.
He agreed that hotel rates have shot up.
“Rooms are not even available at furnished apartments, so, naturally the rates will go up,” he said.
“We used to go to Egypt and Lebanon. However, since last year we visit Dubai and it is a calm place with attractions” said Khaled Omar, a visitor from Jeddah.
Abdul Rahman A. M. Al-Khateeri, a school student who came with his parents by road from Riyadh, shared similar sentiments. “For me, the most interesting place is Sharjah’s Islamic Museum, because I learned many things from there,” Abdul Rahman said.
Dinesh Chaddah, general manager of Sharjah-based Citymax Hotels, said he is sad as he could not accommodate many guests from Saudi Arabia.
“We were overbooked due to DSF and Arab Health Exhibition in Dubai. In general, most of our guests, are from Saudi Arabia and Oman only,” he said.
Dubai tourism officials said the visitor figures will be ready by next month.
A top executive at Sharjah tourism office said that they are unable to provide the number of visitors at this time as the data were still being processed.
© 2010 Arab News
Article courtesy Bing
Brokers choose sandwiches over stocks as trade volume sinks
By
Zahra Hankir
Photograph by Newsha Tavakolian for Bloomberg Businessweek
Nabil Rantisi
Photograph by Newsha Tavakolian for Bloomberg Businessweek
A year ago, Nabil Rantisi spent his days trading stocks at a Dubai brokerage. Today he fills orders of a different kind. The gourmet deli he opened in September serves roast beef in a Yorkshire pudding wrap and other lunchtime fare to crowds that include his former clients. “Business was getting too slow, and at some point you have to decide where time would be spent in a more valuable way,” says Rantisi, who quit his job as brokerage director at Rasmala Investment Bank in June.
Three years after the collapse of a real estate bubble, Dubai’s financial industry is still in decline and shows little signs of recovery. Of the 98 brokerages active in 2008, 41 have suspended operations. The market value of shares in Dubai’s benchmark DFM General Index stood at $27.4 billion on Jan. 17, compared with $123.9 billion at the end of 2007.
Endowed with less than 10 percent of the United Arab Emirates’ oil reserves, Dubai has charted an economic course heavy on trade, tourism, and finance. The U.A.E.’s largest metropolis set its sights on becoming a regional finance hub. To attract global banks, asset managers and insurers seeking to capitalize on the region’s rising oil wealth, the city’s rulers set up a tax-free business park, the Dubai International Financial Centre, in 2004.
Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley were among those that opened offices there. By early 2008, Dubai’s main stock index had risen almost sixfold from its level five years earlier.
Then came the crash, caused largely by real estate speculation that left the government and state-owned companies saddled with about $110 billion in debt. Dubai, home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and palm-tree-shaped manmade islands, received a $20 billion bailout led by its wealthier neighbor, Abu Dhabi.
While the economy is on the mend—growth in the U.A.E. accelerated to 3.3 percent last year—foreign interest in Dubai has been dampened by Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. International investors bought shares worth $762 million in the third quarter, down 83 percent from the same period in 2009.
Banks including Credit Suisse Group and Nomura Holdings have trimmed their equities or equity research divisions in Dubai as trading volume has plunged. Al Futtain HC Securities, a leading Dubai-based broker, said on Jan. 4 it would end operations in the U.A.E.
Vyas Jayabhanu, the manager of Al Dhafra Financial Broker, has found a new line of business while he waits for the market to turn around. The 35-year-old broker is moonlighting as a hotel and nightclub developer. “In tourism, there’s something for everybody,” says Jayabhanu over coffee at Boutique 7 Hotel Suites, a four-star Dubai hotel he helped get off the ground. “Encouraging clients to trade in this market is not ethical.”
“The smart brokers who manage to stick around will capitalize big time when volumes come back,” says Rantisi. The owner of the 1762 deli—named for the year the Earl of Sandwich supposedly asked for his meat to be served between two pieces of bread—is not holding his breath. He and his partners are gearing up to open a second branch of their establishment in another Dubai business district next month. Says Rantisi: “Business has exceeded expectations.”
The bottom line: A prolonged slump has Dubai’s brokers looking for other lines of work. The market is down 84 percent from its high in 2005.
Hankir is a reporter for Bloomberg News in Dubai.
Article courtesy Bing
January 15, 2012, 1:16 AM EST
By Zahra Hankir
(Updates with market drop in seventh paragraph.)
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — Nabil Rantisi, who sold stocks during the United Arab Emirates’ boom, now oversees orders of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding wraps from crowds including former clients.
“Business was getting too slow, and at some point you have to decide where time would be spent in a more valuable way,” said Rantisi, who quit his job as the director of brokerage at Rasmala Investment Bank Ltd. in Dubai in June to help start a deli named 1762. The 34-year-old now works a few hundred meters from where he used to fulfill share orders.
Three years after the Dubai bubble burst, its financial industry is still in decline and shows little sign of recovery. While the emirate successfully restructured debt and invested in transport and tourism, 41 of the 98 local brokerages active in 2008 suspended operations.
Banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Nomura Holdings Inc. have trimmed their equities or equity research devisions as trading volume on the Dubai Financial Market plunged 77 percent after 2009. Al Futtaim HC Securities LLC, a Dubai-based broker ranked first by value traded in July according to the Dubai Financial Market website, said Jan. 4 it would end operations in the U.A.E. The number of employees in the Dubai International Financial Centre slipped to 11,331 in July of last year from 11,436 in 2009.
Market Crash
The crash followed real-estate speculation as government and state-owned companies amassed about $110 billion in debt. Dubai is home to the world’s tallest skyscraper and palm-tree shaped islands off its coast. By early 2008, the benchmark DFM General Index had risen almost six-fold in five years.
The market value of shares in the U.A.E. is now $97 billion, less than half the $206 billion at the end of 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Foreign investors have reduced holdings of Dubai stocks amid Europe’s debt crisis and political uprisings that ousted leaders in Egypt and Libya. They bought shares worth 2.8 billion dirhams ($762 million) in the third quarter, down 83 percent from the same period in 2009, according to the Dubai Financial Market website.
Dubai’s benchmark index slumped 17 percent in 2011 compared with a 20 percent drop in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Abu Dhabi’s measure retreated 12 percent. The value of shares traded in Dubai tumbled to about $5 million on Nov. 16, the lowest since 2004. The DFM General Index slipped 0.5 percent to 1,327.54 at the 2 p.m. close today, down 84 percent from a high in 2005.
Drop in Volume
Trading volume in Dubai plummeted to a six-year low even after state-owned holding company Dubai World reached a restructuring agreement with creditors in March. The company roiled global financial markets in 2009 when it sought to halt repayments on about $25 billion of debt.
The U.A.E. will have to wait until at least June to be upgraded to emerging market from frontier status in MSCI Inc. indexes, which determine the stocks that tracking funds buy.
With little to trade, ex-stockbrokers are running restaurants, nightclubs and luxury hotels, waiting for a catalyst to reignite markets. Vyas Jayabhanu, the manager of Al Dhafra Financial Broker LLC, has spent the past year developing Boutique 7 Hotel and Suites, a four-star Dubai hotel complete with a bar, a café and soon a nightclub.
Moving Investment
Business has been good, Jayabhanu, 35, said in an interview over coffee at the hotel’s Garden of Eden café. “If you’re bankrupt, you drink more,” he said. “It’s a win-win situation.” The café sports tables made of wood imported from Scotland, surrounded by trees and bushes, and offers shisha, the water-pipe smoked in the Middle East.
“During the boom you saw everyone investing more to capture market share,” said Rantisi of 1762, a reference to the year the Earl of Sandwich supposedly asked for his meat between two pieces of bread so he could stay at the gambling table. “It was overdone, and that was the first signal that the cycle was coming to an end,” he said. “Today is the opposite. People are getting out of the business or moving to other investments as the market dries up.”
Dubai, which has less than 10 percent of the U.A.E.’s oil reserves, set up the DIFC, a tax-free business park, in 2004 to attract global banks, asset managers and insurers to help diversify its economy. Banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc. added staff in the region as rising oil wealth increased demand for financial advice.
Expanded Too Quickly
Dubai expanded too quickly, said Akram Annous, former Middle East and North Africa strategist at Al Mal Capital PSC who left the company in November. “For now, I’m working on enhancing my personal brand,” the 33-year-old former banker said. “Maybe I’ll bring a franchise to Dubai, such as a shisha- based bowling alley, a fusion enterprise of some sort. Or maybe I’ll start a twitter feed.”
Rantisi’s former company, Rasmala, which has a research venture with Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, has moved away from retail brokerage services, as have HSBC and Shuaa Capital PSC. Shuaa, the U.A.E.’s largest investment bank, scaled back its research department to two employees as it cut costs, two bankers familiar with the matter said Jan. 10.
“We are simply not making any money through brokerage,” said Jayabhanu of Al Dhafra. “There’s a vicious fight to make use of small volume. In tourism, there’s something for everybody,” said the broker, who spends much of his time on the hotel project. “Encouraging clients to trade in this market condition is not ethical.”
Banks Also Suffer
Regional lenders have also suffered after the global credit crisis weakened lending, crimped investment banking and spurred loan defaults. Fees earned by banks in the region fell 42 percent to $320 million in the first nine months of 2011 from $551 million during the same period the year earlier, according to New York-based research firm Freeman Co.
Bond markets have recovered, with the average yield on debt in the U.A.E. slumping about 200 basis points since the end of 2009 to 5.36 percent on Jan. 10, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai UAE US Dollar Bond Index.
Al Dhafra still operates with four brokers in Abu Dhabi, the U.A.E. capital that led the $20 billion bailout of Dubai, Jayabhanu said. The brokerage was ranked 30th by value traded in December on the Dubai Financial Market.
“One thing that could boost volumes would be the inclusion of the U.A.E. in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index,” Georges Elhedery, head of global markets for the Middle East and North Africa at HSBC, said by e-mail Jan. 4. “Inclusion would have the effect of allowing international Emerging Markets funds to access this important market.”
Key Designation
MSCI indexes are tracked by funds that oversee about $3 trillion in assets, so getting promoted to emerging market from frontier can increase investment. MSCI cited investor’s questions about the effectiveness of a new settlement system as a reason why it kept the country under review.
The U.A.E. and Qatar, which is also up for review from frontier market status in June, “deserve an upgrade on the basis of their financial strength and economic and political stability,” Paul Cooper, the Dubai-based managing director at Sarasin-Alpen Partners Ltd., which oversees more than $500 million in the Middle East, said by e-mail Dec. 21. “The difficult global economic environment could work in the region’s favor as its financial strength could justify an overweight stance here.”
The Securities Commodities Authority, the U.A.E. market regulator, plans to issue rules on liquidity providers, short selling and security lending and borrowing in the first half, Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Al Turaifi said in November.
“The smart brokers who manage to stick around will capitalize big time when volumes come back,” Rantisi said. Meanwhile, the former broker and his partners plan to open a branch of 1762 as soon as this month in Jebel Ali, another Dubai business district.
“We haven’t hit a wall in sales figures yet,” Rantisi said. “And business has exceeded expectations.”
–With assistance from Shaji Mathew and Dana El Baltaji in Dubai. Editors: Philip Revzin, Claudia Maedler, Riad Hamade
To contact the reporter on this story: Zahra Hankir in Dubai at zhankir@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Maedler at cmaedler@bloomberg.net
Article courtesy Bing
A NEW daily flight between Glasgow Airport and Dubai will benefit everyone from whisky makers to tourists, according to business experts.
Emirates Airline will give a boost of more than £200million to the city’s economy with a second daily flight starting from June 1, as reported in later editions of yesterday’s Evening Times.
About 400 extra passengers will fly in and out of the airport every day as a result and tourism bosses and politicians hailed it as fantastic news for Glasgow’s economy.
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce, said: “We welcome this investment decision by Emirates as a clear vote of confidence in Glasgow’s continuing economic success.
“This expansion of Emirates’ service to the international hub at Dubai is vital to growing Glasgow-based engineering companies such as Aggreko, Weir Group and Clyde Blowers – all of whom are operating beyond Europe and into Far East markets.
“It is also important to the whisky and tourism industries.
“This great news is yet more vindication of BAA’s decision to retain Glasgow Airport.
“The management team there is doing an excellent job in exploiting the airport’s assets and in attracting new flights during what remain tough times.”
The link to Dubai allows Scottish travellers to catch connecting flights to destinations around the world, including Australasia and Africa.
It was first introduced in 2004, since when the single daily flight between Glasgow and Dubai has carried more than 1.7m passengers and over 46m kilos of cargo to and from the Middle East and beyond.
The new flight will create up to 12 direct jobs and generate millions of pounds in visitor revenue.
The additional flight, coupled with an aircraft upgrade on the existing service, will increase Emirates’ capacity to and from Glasgow by 47%, an extra 398 seats per day – 199 each way.
Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson said the new flight would be a significant boost to the city’s economy and competitiveness.
He said: “It is estimated the twice daily service will deliver local economic benefits of £33m, with almost 140,000 inbound passengers this year alone.
“Over the next five years, the route will be worth more than £200m.”
It will also see the introduction of a first class cabin in both daily services, the first time this has been offered by a commercial airline from Scotland.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, said: “This announcement of the new expanded service underlines Emirates’ confidence in the Scottish market’s ability to sustain and grow.”
stef.lach@ heraldandtimes.co.uk
‘
Article courtesy Bing
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The National has published an interesting article about the boom of tourism in Dubai this year. Many people relate the increase in number of tourists in Dubai to the unrest in the Arab world however there is an other factor that can be the main cause of increase in tourism in Dubai and that is the increase of options to see in Dubai.
Dubai is not any more a shopping destination it has matured from mere 2 days shopping to the luxury beach travel desert adventures and also the remarkable Burj Khalifa is attracting a lot of people to come to Dubai.
In my own capacity as a tour-operator I have seen many different type of tourist coming to Dubai. There was a time the numbers of tourists counted were mainly just the transit passengers from south Asia, than came the time when we had lot of Europeans started to come and as the economy of the western countries was shaking a slump came. This slump it self has managed to be a learning curve for the Industry Dubai hotels have realized that they just cant keep increasing prices.
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The touroperators managed to get themselves organized and now are able to offer more professional tour services. Even the guides have been able to understand that the time is not always the same and now they must give good service to stay in the job hence the Industry has not been matured and is ready to accept more tourists.
Tourists come to another country for pleasure as well as for learning the new cultures and new systems. Dubai has now developed enough infra structure and also enoug of its high paced history which attracts people towards it.
I remember I used call Dubai “Concrete Paradise” that implieng that there was no substance in it there was no natural development in it. Now I can not say that any more. I am now myself developing new tour packages which are centered towards showing people the culture of Emirates and also history geography and the huge success in building the remarkable buildings like Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab and Ibne Batuta mall etc. Recently in our company we have started a new tour called Islam awareness tour that tries to show people how Muslims live their life and what are the teachings of Islam. In about 6 hours we are able to give enough material to a tourists that he or she can go home and actually can talk about the basics of Islam.
Similarly another half day city tour has also been developed that gives people a taste of traditional culture of Dubai. We take people to old areas of Dubai let them taste the spices and offer them traditional Lunch or breakfast at a special Arabian restaurant.
There are now ques at Burj Khalifa for entrance tickets just like at the Colosseum in Rome or any other place. People now come to Dubai not just to shop or to sat 2 days in transit but now its a full length tourist destination which need atleast 7 days to explore it.
Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu will offer weekly regional itinerary with Dubai as home port
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) organised a grand welcome ceremony at the Dubai Cruise Terminal to mark the maiden calls of Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu cruise ships to Dubai.
The newly-inducted cruise ships will offer weekly regional itinerary with Dubai as the home port, it was announced at a ceremony attended by senior officials of Dubai Customs, General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), DP World and World Security at the terminal and DTCM Director-General, Khalid A bin Sulayem, among others.
Costa Favalosa is a new ship of Costa Crociere of Italy, inaugurated on July 2, 2011 in Trieste. The 114,500 tonnage ship has a carrying capacity of 3800 passengers and 1110 crew. Aida Blu is a new ship from Aida Cruises, a German cruise liner, with a capacity to carry 2050 passengers and 607 crew members.
Costa Favalosa and Aida Blu will operate weekly cruise itinerary in the Arabian Gulf with Dubai as their home port. Favalosa will bring more than 100,000 passengers in 19 calls to Dubai and Aida Blu will account for more than 50,000 cruise passengers to Dubai in 13 calls to Dubai in the 2011/12 cruise season.
Dubai will close this year by receiving 135 cruise ships with 375,000 tourists while 2012 is expected to bring in 150 cruise ships with about 425,000 passengers.
A tour of the ships was also organised for media representatives. Addressing a Press conference, Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Executive Director for Business Tourism, said: “It has been over a decade since DTCM began to promote cruise tourism to Dubai. Our continued efforts in conjunction with our 18 overseas representative offices and the opening of the first state-of-the-art cruise terminal in Dubai in 2001 began to draw the attention of the cruise lines around the world when we received 17 ship calls and 6,900 passengers in the first year.”
He said DTCM was already in collaboration with its partners, DP World, to build additional cruise terminal facilities to cater the anticipated growth of the business. We forecast 150 ship calls with a passenger turnaround of more than 600,000 passengers by 2015, he added.
© Emirates 24|7 2011
Article courtesy Bing
QE2 which had been standing in Dubai for last 3 years has been put up for use for this new year’s eve as a vanue for the most exclussive xmas bash.
The event marks the first time the ship’s government owners are throwing down the gangplank for a large group of visitors since the vessel pulled into port in November 2008.
An Emirati event planning company said Wednesday it’s throwing a New Year’s Eve bash on the ship, complete with live music, fireworks and a laser light show.
The company, Global Event Management, said most revelers will be invited guests, though a limited number of tickets will also go on sale.
The event’s billing is quintessential Dubai. The black-tie evening is being described as “one of the most exclusive New Year celebrations in the world.” Stepping aboard the ship will be “royals, dignitaries, celebrities and VIPs,” the company said, though a spokeswoman wasn’t yet able to say who exactly would be coming.
Prices for tickets also haven’t been released.
Dubai’s state-run Istithmar World bought the QE2 from the Cunard cruise line for $100 million in 2007. It originally planned to turn the luxury liner into a floating hotel docked alongside one of the city-state’s manmade palm-shaped islands. Those plans were shelved when Dubai’s economy tumbled into crisis.
The ship’s fate has been the subject of intense speculation as it sat docked, unused, in the city’s downtown Officials have kept tightlipped about the ship, and reporters have been denied access.
Rob Lightbody, a QE2 enthusiast in Scotland and founder of a website devoted to the ship, is one of the few people who has been allowed onboard since its arrival in Dubai.
He said it has been frustrating to see the QE2 sit unused, so he is “extremely enthusiastic” about the party plans — even if he doesn’t expect to be invited.
“When I was on board the ship in April this year, she was in fabulous condition. But without any guests, parties, food and entertainment, she lacked the buzz that she had for 40 years on the seas,” he said. “This will all return for one fabulous night, by the sounds of it.”
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II herself launched the QE2 in 1967. Since it went into service in 1969, the QE2 has made at least 26 round-the-world voyages and weathered a 95-foot wave during an Atlantic hurricane.
Article courtesy Bing
Cruise tourism is gaining momentum in the UAE as
Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah have been adopting drastic steps to attract big players of the industry, experts say.
All three emirates have been making significant investments in infrastructure to support cruise tourism facilities and services in the country. Abu Dhabi has erected a new tented cruise terminal at Mina Zayed, Dubai is reshaping Port Rashid and Sharjah is focusing on Khorfakkan to attract around 700,000 cruise visitors during this season.
Dubai will take the lead in total cruise visitors as it is expected to welcome 475,000 passengers at Port Rashid during this season. The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, or DTCM, forecasts a steady growth for the next four years with 625,000 passengers by 2015, a 38 per cent increase over 2010 figures.
Realising the potential in cruise tourism, DP World is expanding Port Rashid cruise terminal facilities to continue its leading position as the largest cruise centre in the Middle East. It will expand the current facilities by the end of 2012 to cater for as many as five cruise ships at one time, against its current capacity of accommodating only two ships.
“Development of the cruise terminal facilities at Port Rashid supports Dubai’s long-term strategy to stimulate growth and development in the traditionally strong tourism sector,” DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem recently said in an e-mailed statement to
Khaleej Times. He said the new facility will help Dubai tap into the rapidly-growing cruise sector and will continue to be a major destination for the finest cruise ships in the world.
Cruise tourism is a key growth segment which will bring great economic benefits to the region, increasing overall expenditure in the tourism sector and boosting the economy. According to DTCM, cruise tourism saw an annual income of Dh338 million in 2010 and is estimated to grow to Dh837 million in 2015. This will see a yield of Dh3.5 billion into Dubai’s economy over those years.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, or ADTA, in collaboration with industry stakeholders Abu Dhabi Ports Company, or ADPC, and Abu Dhabi Terminals, is also increasing investing in cruise terminal facilities. The ADTA has prioritised cruise tourism as one of its five 2011-2012 strategy pillars and likely to receive around 170,000 tourists before the season ends in April next year. In line with its long-term cruise ambitions, the ADTA is planning to replace the tented terminal with a purpose-built cruise terminala at Mina Zayed as the emirate realises its aim to become a regional cruise hub.
“Cruise shipping has enjoyed strong recession-proof growth for many years,” ADTA director-general Mubarak Al Muhairi told Khaleej Times at the launch ceremony of new cruise terminal at Mina Zayed in October.
Capt Mohamed Al Shamisi, ADPC’s vice-president (operations) of ports unit, hoped the cruise business will continue to grow to 300 calls and 600,000 passengers by 2030.
“Ultimately, our capacity to build the cruise tourism business will rely on a combination of good planning, good infrastructure, strong marketing and industry co-operation,” Al Muhairi said.
Sharjah makes for an ideal destination for luxury cruise liners due to its strategic location, overlooking both the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf Coast, as well as the natural splendour of the East Coast. The emirate’s picturesque East Coast is getting ready to welcome thousands of cruise passengers aboard some of the biggest and celebrated luxury cruise liners in the next few months. The third-largest emirate is expected to receive 67,000 cruise passengers during this season.
Sharjah, which has been attracting an extraordinary number of European tourists in recent years, is looking forward to receiving more international visitors as major cruise liners target the region. The first Costa Classica ship arrived at the Khorfakkan port last week with 1,700 passengers onboard, heralding the arrival of new season of luxury cruise liners and thousands of international tourists to Sharjah’s East Coast. Another large vessel, the Costa Favalosa, will make its maiden call at the Khorfakkan port on December 19 with 3,800 passengers.
“Between November and May 2012, two major cruise liner operators, Costa Cruises and Seabourn, will bring an estimate volume of nearly 67,000 international cruise passengers to Sharjah’s golden beaches, blue waters and breathtaking landscape,” according to a statement by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.
The cruise tourism sector in the Middle East is seeing a steady increase in passengers as the sector gains traction in the region. Countries in the region are increasingly investing to support cruise tourism facilities and services. The Gulf is also witnessing a rise in cruise ships, with Costa Cruises, the first major line to introduce Gulf itineraries, upping capacity by 16 per cent this winter season. Other major cruise lines such as Costa, Royal Caribbean and MSC also plan to expand thier operations in the days to come.
Worldwide, the cruise industry has had an annual passenger compound annual growth rate of 7.67 per cent from 1990-2011, according to Cruise Market Watch. Last year cruise industry recorded 15 million guests and this year it is expected to achieve 19 million cruise guests. The UAE, with increased investment in cruise terminals, is expected to grab a major slice of this market by attracting big players of the industry.
— muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com
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The Italian charm awaits
DUBAI, Dec 11, 2011 (Khaleej Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) –
Tour operators in the UAE and other GCC countries met with their Italian counterparts on Saturday at a workshop organised by the Italian State Tourist Board in collaboration with Dubai Government’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) to receive information on less-known destinations in Italy.
“The workshop was finalised to let operators promote Italy as a tourist destination for people in the UAE. The Alps mountains, for instance, is not much known as an Italian tourist destination. People know Switzerland and Austria but the other side of the Alps is in Italy which is very beautiful. Tour operators from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE have all gathered to meet travel agents, operators and hotels from Italy to discuss the wonders waiting there,” said Jessica Scopacasa, a representative from the Sharjah-based Italian State Tourist Board.
The morning saw a video presentation of various locations in Italy followed by business-to-business (B2B) meetings between specialists in the industry from the UAE, GCC countries and Italy. Top 10 Italian representatives from the sector were present to describe about the places of cultural and artistic value to attendees.
“I’ve met one hotel owner who explained about the hotel, location and facilities. He also mentioned falconry in Italy, which made the destination interesting to try and introduce it into our package. It sounds exciting,” said Mohammed Reda, a holiday consultant at Al Majid Travel and Tourism Agency.
Patrizia Cimberio, part of the ‘Lords of the Sky’ falconry project who presented a video about the sport in Italy, said that the country is an ideal place to practice and there are presently about 200 active falconers in the field.
“UAE operators have shown a great interest to meet with Italian ones. Italy’s an excellent tourist destination but still unknown to many in the UAE. It is also one of the leading destinations for winter sports,” Scopacasa concluded.
farhana@khaleejtimes.com
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JEDDAH: The road show for promoting Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), described as the “biggest shopping and entertainment extravaganza in the Middle East” was launched, with Saudi Arabia as the first stop, on Sunday.
The road show tour will cover the rest of GCC, China and India.
While the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), an agency under the Department of Economic Development (DED) and organizers of the DSF, showcased the highlights of the 2012 edition, Emirates airline followed suit with its special DSF 2012 packages for Dubai.
The 17th edition of DSF will run for 32 days from Jan. 5 to Feb. 5.
Ibrahim Saleh, festivals coordinator general and deputy CEO of DEPE, said the regional road show had begun with the Kingdom due to its importance as a strategic target market for Dubai’s tourism, with Saudis representing around 50 percent of all GCC tourists in the city for 2010.
“The 2010 figure demonstrated an increase of 25 percent (for DSF 2010 or the whole year) on the previous year, and we have witnessed a considerable increase in 2011 as well.”
He stressed that DEPE would market and promote the 17th edition of the shopping and entertainment extravaganza to media organizations, travel agents, and tour operators, familiarizing them with the attractions of DSF which is held annually, and this year under the slogan “Dubai at its Best.”
“More than 6,000 retail outlets and around 70 shopping malls will take part in DSF 2012, offering a host of discounts and sale prices of up to 75 percent on a wide range of goods and services. The 32-day event will additionally feature more than 150 activities taking place across the emirate,” he added.
Adil Al-Ghaith, Emirates vice president Saudi Arabia, said: “We are pleased to invite people across Saudi Arabia to visit Dubai during the period of DSF and take advantage of the attractive activities and great shopping deals offered during this important event. Traveling from Saudi Arabia to Dubai has now become easier with Emirates strengthening its services across the country through double daily flights from Riyadh and Jeddah, in addition to a daily flight from both Dammam and Madinah.
Al-Ghaith added: “Saudi Arabia is one of Emirates’ most important markets and we strive to ensure that we are offering the best service to our customers. The operation of our flagship Airbus A380 from Jeddah is yet another example of what we have done to provide our customers with an outstanding travel experience.”
Al-Ghaith also said DSF 2012 will offer a wide range of activities, including daily draws for Infiniti cars, an impressive collection of gold and jewelry, and millions of dirhams in cash prizes.
He said the 2012 show will witness exclusive events, kicking off with a world-class DSF launch ceremony, entertaining activities across main streets, souks and bazaars.
Al-Ghaith said children will love DSF and everything it stands for, with interactive shows, colorful kiosks, and hundreds of street performers and jugglers in a massive carnival during weekends.
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DUBAI – The Hamburg Airport’s chief executive officer Michael Eggenschwiler has said that Dubai and Hamburg airports have excellent tourism potential and Emirates airline played active role to help double Gulf tourists to Germany in the last five years.
Eggenschwiler at the third Dubai-Hamburg Business Forum talked to Khaleej Times about the importance of Dubai Airport and Emirates airline to their business. “For the next two to three years the focus is on stabilising the current capacity increase on Emirates’ Dubai-Hamburg route,”
he said.
“Whether for Dubai-bound, or for transfer passengers, Dubai Airport is a world class facility, providing good connections into the Asia-Pacific region as well as Africa and the Middle East. Emirates airline is quality and its pricing scheme is very competitive, so business and leisure passengers from Hamburg benefit from this situation,” he said responding to a question on benefits to German passengers.
Citing Emirates airline’s orders for 90 Airbus A380, he said it secures overall 13,000 jobs in Germany. Most of these jobs are located in Hamburg and Northern Germany, he added.
Hamburg Airport is very much interested in keeping a close relationship with Emirates airline. The airline has transported nearly 1,250,000 passengers since taking up the Hamburg service in March 2006. The average growth per year on the Hamburg-Dubai route is a strong 15.6 per cent.
Regarding new markets for the Hamburg Airport, he hoped to see more frequencies and eventually four weekly non-stop flights between Shanghai and Hamburg. Furthermore, Hamburg is aiming to acquire non-stop services to Asian destinations such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore, he said, adding that in the United States further capacity to New York and new non-stop services to Chicago, Washington and Miami are also on the list.
“It is our objective to raise the general awareness of Hamburg’s touristic potential as well as being a flourishing business destination in the northern part of Germany,” he commented on the forum.
In the period, January to September 2005 Hamburg welcomed 4,768 travellers arriving from the Gulf region. In March the following year Emirates started to fly Dubai-Hamburg non-stop. In 2010, between January and September, Hamburg counted 10,778 arrivals. “This means the number of travellers from the Gulf region arriving in Hamburg has more than doubled within five years,” he said. He mentioned that Emirates airline started a second daily frequency flight to Hamburg on September 1, 2011 and to promote this new service Hamburg Airport supports Emirates with marketing measures such as events for travel agencies, PR activities and advertising in the Hamburg market.
“For Hamburg Airport we forecast in total of 13.5 million passengers by the end of 2011,” he said, adding that the Emirates route between Hamburg and Dubai should see 255,000 passengers by the end of this year and next year around 350,000. Emirates is the sixth largest airline in Hamburg. “To secure this growth Hamburg Airport has excellent contacts with Emirates and supports their marketing activities,” he added.
© Khaleej Times 2011
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Kanoo Travel announced recently that it is working closely with American Express to put together a strategy to overcome challenges and deliver product and service excellence in the Middle East region.
Kanoo Travel said it would invest further in technology and increase their collaboration with American Express by sharing global best practices and local expertise to offer customers only the best travel management solutions and services.
The announcement came at the partner conference in Dubai.
Kanoo Travel’s inaugural partner conference titled “The Power of Partnership”, a special initiative taken by Nabeel Kanoo, director of Kanoo Travel to bring together travel agencies and partners within the Kanoo and American Express partner network, was a huge success.
At the conference, Kanoo Travel was able to collect feedback from industry partners and put together solutions to further deliver world-class business travel service in the region.
Speaking on their plans, Nabeel Kanoo, director of Kanoo Travel, said: “Kanoo Travel’s value proposition has been to work closely with our partners to offer our customers only the best travel products and services. To stay competitive and consolidate our position as market leaders, we needed to re-evaluate our position and make decisions on what needed to be done differently. In order to collaborate with our partners and prepare for future growth, we recently held our first Partner conference in Dubai, which was a huge success with some interesting feedback from our partners.”
Kanoo added: “At the conference, we discussed the opportunity of shifting our focus from being a traditional travel agency to becoming a complete solutions provider with greater penetration of the online business, improved mobile solution offerings and increased footprint in strategic emerging markets. Going by the response we received at the conference, we look forward to making it an annual event, where Kanoo Travel and American Express can collectively improve services.”
The Middle East travel market is expanding at an impressive rate with the region recording an 18.1 percent increase in air passenger demand from 2007 to 2010, when the global average was just 7.4 percent.
With more international companies entering this market due to the infrastructure growth, there is a significant potential for the travel industry to grow further.
Over the last few months, Kanoo Travel and American Express have been working on a range of initiatives designed to build on the foundation created with strategic partners in the region.
Kanoo Travel is also working closely with its industry partners to offer innovative travel solutions, deliver premium value and provide a globally consistent high quality of service and advice to its regional customers.
The Kanoo family’s involvement in air travel goes back to 1937 when the company provided refueling facilities in Bahrain for Imperial Airways seaplanes on route to India and Australia.
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