قطاع الضيافة في الشرق الأوسط قد يواجه نقصًا في الكوادر

توصل تقرير جديد إلى أن قطاع السياحة في الشرق الأوسط قد يواجه نقص حاد في كادر العمل على خلفية تضاؤل تدفق الكوادر من أسواق تقليدية مثل الهند ودول جنوب شرق آسيا.
وفقاً لموقع (Hozpitality.com) الالكتروني الذي مقره دبي فأن الحاجة ستبرز لخدمات أكثر من مليوني موظف في قطاع الضيافة في المنطقة بحلول عام 2020 وسط التوسع الكبير الحاصل في جميع أنحاء المنطقة ووصول الاستثمارات إلى مليارات الدولارات.

وحذر “راج بات” مدير الموقع من أن بعض الأسواق التقليدية الرئيسية التي يحصل قطاع السياحة في الخليج منها على القوة العاملة تشهد تباطؤ كوجهات لتوظيف الكوادر.

فقال “لقد أصبح من الصعب الحصول على كادر ضيافة متمرس من دول جنوب شرق آسيا والهند، وهما السوقين اللذين كانت دول الخليج توظف منهما، نتيجةً لازدياد الفرص في أسواقهم المحلية”.

Exotic Dubai Tours Wins UAE Web Award

Awar Ceramony Photo at Jumeirah Beach Hotel

Exoticdubai.com the most trusted and dynamic web site of Dubai travel and tourism wins the UAE awad from oer a 1000 web sites reviews by a Jury comprising a group of Design and Technical professors specialists in different fields.

The Award was prestented in a lavish ceramoney in Dubai at Jumeirah Beach Hotel Safina Ballroom on 29th Novembe 2008.

“We are pleased and thankful to Pan Arab Web Awards fore chosing us to be one of the prestigious winners” said Mr. Suhail Agha while receiving the awar.

The UAE Web Awards Committee is associated with MSN Arabia, Microsoft, BSA and Gowealthy

UAE Web Awards was created to recognize excellence in web design and development skills. to showcase their creativity in a competition for the best website in UAE .

Click here to see the list of all the winners of UAE Web Awards

Bngkok Airport remains closed till Monday

The Bankok airport which has been closed since last 4 days will still remain closed till monday. Bankok Arport being one of the largest airports of the world is under siege At least 2,000 anti-government protesters who have tightened their siege of Thailand’s main airport on Saturday, forcing dozens of riot police to abandon a checkpoint at the airport.

Airport director Serirat Prasutanont said the standoff has forced the airport authority to extend the airport’s closure until at least 6pm Monday.

The confrontation has severed the capital from civilian air traffic and stranded some 100,000 tourists.  The protesters are seeking to oust Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat in the latest escalation in a long-running political crisis.

Commanders on the ground said they would not yet try to evict by force the thousands of protesters at Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports.

PAD supporters deflated the tyres of ambulances and police vehicles at the police checkpoint, while 2,000 police were deployed around the Suvarnabhumi international airport.

Some Asian airlines on Friday began sending flights to Bangkok to carry passengers stranded there.Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific said it would operate two flights on Friday and Saturday to pick up passengers and crew stranded in Bangkok, While South Korea’s Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines said they had begun sending flights on Thursday to carry up to 1,100 stranded passengers.

Malaysian Airline has also put on flights to Bangkok and is to decide on whether to send a military flight.

Like most carriers, Taiwan’s two major carriers—Eva Airways and China Airlines—cancelled their flights into Bangkok on Wednesday.

The Philippine’s Cebu Pacific Air said it has cancelled all its flights to Bangkok until next Wednesday. Another carrier of Philipines, the Philippines Airlines said that it had also stopped flights but it would be reviewing its decision on daily basis.

Itehad Airways sent a flight to bring stranded passengers.

David Lloyd Plans To Make Holiday Home club in Dubai

David Lloyd, the upmarket sports club entrepreneur and former tennis player plans to bring a new holiday home club venture to Dubai. He already has a club in UK (davidloyd.co.uk)

David Lloyd The was former captain of the British Davis Cup team, is poised to open a string of clubs around the world in 2009 including sites in the emirate, Morocco, St Lucia and Phuket in Thailand.

Over the next 10 years, Lloyd aims to add a total of 20 locations to the choice of holiday homes. No details have yet been released about the Dubai operation but it is one of the first four to be developed, according to a David Lloyd Resorts website.

Lloyd has reportedly put in £3 million of his own money to start the business and former tennis star Greg Rusedski has also agreed to join him in the new venture.

The business venture aims to offer fractional ownership within a specific holiday home for between £36,000 and £40,000, which buys a month’s holiday every year for a decade.

In comments published on UK website APlaceInTheSun.com on Friday, Lloyd disagreed that the current global financial crisis would affect the popularity of the business proposal.

“The low entry cost will appeal to a much wider audience,” he said, adding the deal would also come with a get-out clause during the first three years of the project, which should also alleviate some buyer’s fears.

Lloyd added that after the 10-year period finishes, the investment can be converted into an equity ownership and sold.

Lloyd already owns a number of homes around the world and he added: “A lot of my wealth has been invested in property and although they’ve increased in price over the years I’ve discovered how expensive and time-consuming owning overseas can be, which is why fractional ownership is such a good idea.”

Middle East flight continue to rise

IATA The International Air Transport Association has shown that Middle East region is one of the two areas where the Air traffic is rising while there is a down turn in the Air passengers globally.

The region’s airlines saw a 3.5 percent growth in traffic compared to the same month in 2007 and alongside Latin American carriers (up 4.5 percent) were the only positives in a report full of negatives. But while better than the September traffic figures, both regions remain well below the double-digit growth rates experienced over the first half of the year.

Economic forecasts for both regions see considerable slowing of GDP growth over the next 12 months to the two to four percent range and the IATA said airlines in both regions can expect a continued slowing of growth.

The Middle East fared better than most in the October figures which showed a second consecutive month of global decline.

International passenger traffic declined by 1.3 percent compared to the same month in the previous year – a smaller decline than the 2.9 percent drop experienced in September.

The October load factor was 75 percent, approximately two percent below the previous year’s levels. meanwhile, international air freight traffic contracted by 7.9 percent in October – the fifth consecutive month of increasingly severe drops.

Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO, said: “The gloom continues and the situation of the industry remains critical. While the drop in oil prices is welcome relief, recession is now the biggest threat to airline profitability.

“The slight slowing in the decline of passenger traffic is likely only temporary. The deepening slump in cargo markets is a clear indication that the worst is yet to come.”

World New Tallest Tower Not To Be Delayed

Dubai is every developing even though the world is facing a big economic downturn. Nakheel one of the major developers in Dubai has said it will not delay the construction of its mega project Nakheel Tower previously called Al-Burj. The tower will be the tallest building of the world at 1.4 kilometers height.

The tower was originally proposed in 2003 as the centrepiece of Palm Jumeirah, one of the world’s largest man-made islands. It was to be named “The Pinnacle” and rise from the centre of a canal on the trunk of the island. The height was to be 750 m (2,461 ft) tall and consist of 120 floors of luxury apartments but it was replaced by the Trump International Hotel and Tower and moved to the Dubai Waterfront. Although ground leveling and land reclamation has begun on the Dubai Waterfront, construction of the tower never started because of the proximity to the Al Maktoum International Airport, which is currently under construction.[2]

The location was also changed again to a plot near Jumeirah Lake Towers and Dubai Marina, and soil testing has begun. The tower will be the focal point of Nakheel’s plans for the Ibn Battuta Mall development next to Jumeirah Islands and Jumeirah Lake Towers. It will be the center of the Nakheel Harbour and Tower complex, which will include about 20 smaller towers of up to 90 stories, a marina, and part of the Arabian Canal. The development will be next to the revamped shopping mal.

Hospitality Sector will grow 20%

Job opportunities in the GCC’s hospitality sector is predicted to grow at a rate of 20% over the next four years time, according to new Dubai-based hospitality networking and human resources portal Hozpitality.com .

There are about 240 projects expected to become operational between 2008-2011 in the GCC, an estimate that 90,000 additional staff will be needed to cater for more than 69,000 rooms.

The UAE leads these developments with 133 new hotels to come to add about 42,400 more rooms leading to need of 56,000, people this was stated by Raj Bhatt, director of Hozpitality.com.

“The financial crisis may have its impact, but we do believe that what is happening in the regional hospitality industry right now is an unprecedented opportunity and Hozpitality.com stand to gain from it,” added Bhatt.

In GCC, Saudi Arabia has the second largest number of new hotel developments having 45 projects to come up with a need for 13,300 new hands, while Oman and Qatar with 23 and 21 new projects would need 7,345 and 8,100 staff respectively during 2008-2011.

Bahrain would need some 4,517 new recruits with 12 new developments expected to come on stream and Kuwait 1,700 staff with six projects.

Jamal Panhwar
Exotic Dubai Tours

Gary V Of Philippines live in Dubai

Dubai: One of the PPhilippines’ top performers, Gary Valenciano known as “Gary V.” will energise Dubai on today November 27, by performing at the Aviation Club.

Gary V. is a Filipino musician, composer, actor, producer, and gospel singer who is best known for many songs, especially those that became theme songs for movies. His energetic dance moves also garnered him the nickname “Mr. Pure Energy.”

Gary V: Live at 25 will serve as a family affair as well, with Gary’s sons Paolo and Gabriel performing together with their proud father.

Yeng Constantino who won the Pinoy Dream Academy competition will also be performing with Gary V.  Valenciano’s Dubai concert will be held at the Aviation Club. Doors open at 7pm. For tickets call 0507471355.

Al Ain’s Al Jahili fort to be opend on 3rd Dec

Al Ain the garden of UAE will have yet another Historical attraction to see. The Al Jahili fort, one of the oldest buildings in Al Ain will re-open on 3rd December after restoration.

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach) has finished the rebuilding works and developments projects that aim to preserve the historical building and represent it as a cultural and tourist site. The reopening comes on the occasion of celebrating the 37th UAE National day.

“The Al Jahili fort Al Ain was built in 1898 and is an important historical site and one of the biggest forts in the city,” Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman of Adach, told the press.

The project includes a new tourist information centre, an auditorium, a permanent exhibition for the traveller Wilfred Thesiger (who is known locally by Mubark bin London) and an audio-video program to display the history of the city and its development over the years.

“The project of developing Al Jahili fort is one of important projects which were launched by Adach in Al Ain to transform the city to a cultural and heritage site,” Shaikh Sultan said.

The local community will play an active role in the cultural seine in the city as deferent events will take place in many sites. Mohammad Khalaf Al Mazroui, General Manager of Asach, said, “Historical sites in Al Ain are being activated to attract more tourists to achieve our strategy to preserve the cultural heritage through using those sited as vinous for artistic and cultural events that will develop the cultural tourism.”

The project includes a new tourist information centre, an auditorium, a permanent exhibition for the traveller Wilfred Thesiger.

For more details on Al Ain Exotic Dubai Tours Runs a daily tour of Al Ain from Dubai which will also include the visit to this for.

QE2 Arrived in Dubai at last.

Queen Elizabeth 2, proudly called “the most famous ship afloat and most successful liner ever built”, has at last arrived in DUbai it last destination of its life.

The QE2, as it is now called, arrived in Dubai on Wednesday evening, exactly 40 years from the day it first went to sea on her preliminary sea trials on Nov. 26 1968.

The ship docked at Mina Al-Rashid at around 6pm UAE time and was greeted by hundreds of cheering wellwishers waving Union Jack and UAE flags. A glittering fireworks display lit up the sky above the QE2, while the Dubai Police band played Scottish bagpipes.

The cruise ship was met by a group of dignitaries from state owned conglomerate Dubai World and real estate unit Nakheel, including Dubai World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Nakheel CEO Chris O’Donnell.

The QE2 was accompanied into port by a flotilla of more than 60 local yachts, boats and leisure-craft, led by MY Dubai – the mega-yacht owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – and Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster.

In the sky above the flotilla, one of Emirates’ new Airbus A380 superjumbos made several passes. Joining the A380 in the sky was several Royal Naval helicopters welcoming the QE2.

Passengers are to spend Wednesday night aboard the QE2 for an exclusive party and then disembark next, for the very last time, after which the QE2 not be a cruise any more. QE2 Will yet enter into an other colorful life of entertainment and hospitality as yet an other remarkable vanture of Dubai a floating hotel that will be docked on the trunk of the Palm Jumeirah, one of three palm-shaped islands Nakheel is building off Dubai’s coast.

Schumacher the QE2 would be positioned at the end of a 300m long T-shaped pier and this will be off the trunk of the Palm. It might take 3 years to actually make it ready as a hotel though.

QE2 would be transformed into a hotel with a theatre and restaurant, and alongside the QE2 there would be a mixed developments, including a museum of the QE2 and restaurants, as well as retail and residential areas.

The ship’s iconic funnel, the subject of controversy in the UK, would be removed. one of the plans for the funnel was to make it the centrepiece at the entry to the QE2 precinct to be built on the trunk of the Palm.

On Thursday, the official flag changing ceremony will take place on board the QE2 when current owner Cunard will formally hand over the ship to Dubai’s gient developer Nakheel.

The QE2 was purchased last year by Dubai World and Nakheel has already commenced construction on the luxury marina development on the Palm Jumeirah.

The QE2 left Southampton in the UK on Nov. 11 on her final journey, a 16-night cruise via Lisbon, Rome and Alexandria to reach Dubai.  The Duke of Edinburgh attended the farewell at Southampton Port, joined by hundreds of well-wishers.

Her overall passenger manifest totals 2.5 million passengers. When the ship is moored at the very tip of the palm-shaped island, it will be converted into a first-class floating hotel, retail and entertainment destination.

More Details of QE2’s last journey | Dubai Hotels

Dubai hotel room rates 30%

Hotel room rates in Dubai have dropped as much as 30% as the global economic downturn sees holidaymakers cut back on spending, tour operators in Dubai have noted.

Aloke Dey, the manager of Dubai-based Sharaf Travel Holidays, said fourstars and five star hotels have cut their room rates by between 10 percent and 30 percent, also the Frre night offers are being offerred from begining of the 2009. This includes the worlds best hotel in DUbai the burj Al Arab which is offerring 1 free night if you book 2 consequetive nights.

Avtar Singh, director of operations at Dubai-based Lama Tours, said room rates had dropped at least 10 percent over all.

Mr. Suhail Agha of Exotic DUbai Tours reported that there had been such feeling starting from August the bookings for 2009 are low and due to this the hotel rates are bound to be low. “The hotels will either need to lower the rates or put in more efforts with tour operators to promote Dubai even more in the foreign world” Mr. Suhail Added.

Mr. jamal panhwar of Travel & Culture said that the rates were already hyped and a correction was always needed.

Recently opened hotel The Atlantis Dubai which spend 22 million on a grad party with hollywood and bollywood actors and actresses is also having dificult time to fill up the rooms. rumors were that Atlantis had reduced rates to about 90% but it was just a rumer however the hotel has reduced rates about 10-15%