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NEWS


JUMEIRAH GROUP TO OPEN SEVERAL NEW HOTELS BY END OF THE YEAR


Hospitality and hotel manage- ment group Jumeirah is marking its show presence with a medley of new hotel openings. The company opened the doors to two properties in the first quarter of 2011 Jumeirah Zabeel Saray in Dubai and the Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel in Shanghai and is on track to open several more globally before the end of the year. These include Jumeirah Vittaveli and Jumeirah Dhevanafushi in the Maldives, Jumeirah Frankfurt in Germany, Jumeirah Bilgah Hotel in Baku, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi and Jumei- rah Creekside in Dubai (Garhoud). "We are also promoting summer offers for our Dubai portfolio, in particular, the 'Summer Flavours' half-board package including complimen- tary breakfast with a choice of lunch or dinner across Jumeirah's 34 participating restaurants throughout their entire stay," explained Christian Pertl, who recently joined Jumeirah Group as vice president sales and marketing, Dubai.


"Jumeirah is on a very exciting journey. Since the opening of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in 1997, followed shortly by the grand opening of the Burj Al Arab, the world's most luxurious hotel, we have redefined luxury travel and shaped the tourism industry in the region. And this year our


portfolio of hotels and resorts will expand tremendously," said Pertl. His aim at Arabian Travel Market, therefore, is to "maximise client interactions and engage- ment, learn and gain new market intelligence and meet new clients". Pertl said Jumeirah was also "working hard" to reverse the


current late-booking trend by introducing "attractive early booking offers that reward those who reserve our rooms early". "We expect further growth into our Dubai-based five-star deluxe hotels from emerging markets such as China, India and South America to complement our existing strong repeat business from the UK, CIS and Germany," Pertl continued. "In addition, we are currently working on dedicated strategies in order to penetrate the GCC market where we see major growth potential for Jumeirah." From a geographical


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perspective, Jumeirah's most important target markets for its Dubai hotels are the UK, Germany, the GCC and CIS markets. "Besides our continued focus on these existing key source markets for Jumeirah, we will be looking at emerging markets for our hotels in Dubai, London, New York and Shanghai including the USA, China, Japan, Asia Pacific, Russia and other countries in Europe such as Belgium, Italy, Spain and Switzerland," Pertl said.


ARAB VISITORS VITAL FOR EGYPTIAN TOURISM HOPES


Egypt's tourism authority will target Arab visitors this summer with a range of advertising campaigns and incentive programmes in the UAE, Kuwait and KSA. During a press conference on Day Two of the Arabian Travel Market, Hesham Zaazou,


first assistant minister of tour- ism, highlighted the efforts by the Egyptian tourism and cultural sectors to develop a rich programme of cultural and artis- tic activities during the summer months, particularly the Holy Month of Ramadan.


The programme includes more than 100 activities, spiritual songs, sofi dances, traditional performances and modern singing by top Egyptian and Arab singers in Cairo, Alex- andria, Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada in July and August.


"A warm welcome awaits visitors in Egypt, with a host of breathtaking destinations combin- ing exquisite nature and luxurious resorts, inspiring many memora- ble experiences and moments," Zaazou said.


The Egyptian Tourist Authority hopes to build on the success of last year's Fawanees Ramadan Festival, which targeted tourists from Arab countries. "[It aimed to] promote the Ramadan spirit and traditions," he said. Zaazou said visitor numbers from the UAE topped 54,000 last year and he hoped to build on that by between 15 and 20 percent this year "Tourism is an importa nt pillar of the Egyptian economy. One in seven people in Egypt work in the tourism industry," he stressed. "Egypt is 18th in the top 50 destinations in the world and it is the top destination in the Middle East, North Africa and Africa." He said there had been a negative effect on tourism following the January 25 uprising, but stressed the Egypt Tourist Authority was doing its utmost to counter this.


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"The revolution finished in 18 days and now most of Egypt is under control, safe and secure."


ABU DHABI REPORTS RISE IN BOTH GUESTS AND PASSENGERS


Abu Dhabi has reported a 10 percent rise in hotel guests in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, with increases also recorded for guest nights, occupancy levels, revenue and length of stay.


Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) also announced more than 2.8 million passengers passed through Abu Dhabi International Airport during the first quarter of 2011. This represents an increase of 9.4 percent year on year. "It's been a sterling first quarter performance much of which can be attributed to the dynamic programme of events, both business and leisure, which have taken place in the emirate over the past three months," said Abu Dhabi Tourism Author- ity (ADTA) director of strategy and policy Lawrence Franklin. "These, combined with the pull of the Yas Island Show Weekends, which are serving up an enticing mix of entertain- ment, hotel deals, golf and visits to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, have kept the momentum going with the impact evident in the 13 percent rise in average length of stay to just over three nights. We have also benefited from our reputation as a safe and stable destination during the period of uncertainty being experienced by some Arab nations." According to the latest ADTA figures, some 510,114 guests stayed in Abu Dhabi's hotels in the first three months of this year producing 1.56 million guest nights Ð up by a quarter on 2010. While the Q1 mainstay was the domestic market, the UK


came in as the top overseas producer with some 37,710 guests during the quarter Ð a 20 percent rise on 2010. Regionally Saudi Arabia proved to be the top GCC source market with some 13,119 guests Ð up 44 percent on 2010 producing 29,327 guest nights Ð a rise of 69 percent on last year and leaving the Kingdom in sixth place in terms of the inter- national market rankings. Abu Dhabi's occupancy rate for the quarter was a healthy 72 percent - up 10 percent on 2010 with room revenue climbing six percent to AED679 million. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi International Airport welcomed 28,724 flights carrying 2.82 million passengers in the first quarter of 2011.


Eng. Ahmed Al Haddabi, senior vice president, Airports Operations at ADAC said: "The first quarter of this year has been yet another display of the positive progress Abu Dhabi Airports Company has been making. The continuous flow of passengers through the emirate remains strong and we expect momentum to remain as we draw closer to the busier summer season.


"Preparations for this season have commenced with the addi- tion of direct flights to Hong Kong, via Cathay Pacific starting in June, to the list of destinations served by the airport and the completion of the Terminal 1 refurbishments later this quarter."


London, Bangkok, Doha, Manila and Jeddah rank as the top routes thus far, accounting for 21 percent of the total traffic.


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