It’s been nearly a month since a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, claiming the lives of thousands of people and injuring many more.

The devastating impact of the events, and the aftershocks that have followed, have left many travelers who had been planning to visit the country in the coming days, weeks, or even months, with questions.

Now in a three-month state of national emergency, Turkey is a major tourism destination, attracting 44.6 million foreign arrivals in 2022, according to Turkish government statistics.

Many would-be visitors will have been headed to key resorts and cities, particularly in popular coastal winter sun destinations.

The quake hit near to the town of Gaziantep in southeast Turkey, close to the Syrian border, at around 4.17 a.m. local time on February 6, leading to over 6,000 buildings collapsing.

While international travelers have been advised against traveling to the affected areas, travel to the leading tourism destinations – mostly far from the quake-hit areas – remain unaffected for the most part. But there will inevitably be some impact.

Here’s what we know:

What areas have been affected by the earthquake?

Approximately 10 Turkish provinces were impacted by the quake, which was one of the strongest to hit the region in more than a century – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.

The ancient Gaziantep Castle, one of the Turkish city’s most renowned landmarks, was severely damaged due to the earthquake.

The city of Aleppo, already ravaged by 11 years of civil war, was among the most affected areas of northwestern Syria, where more than four million people were already relying on humanitarian assistance.

Have flights to Turkey been canceled?

International airlines have been operating flights to and from Turkey as normal since the earthquake.

Three airports – Turkey’s Adana Airport (ADA,) Hatay Airport (HTY) and Gaziantep Oğuzeli International (GZT) Airport – were briefly shut after the quake. However, all have since reopened.

Istanbul Airport, Turkey’s main international airport, has continued to operate as normal.

Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier airline of Turkey, is allowing passengers to either rebook, or obtain a refund on domestic and international flights to or from “earthquake afflicted areas”on flights scheduled from February 6 to March 31, provided they were booked before February 9, 2023.

How will vacationers be impacted?

There’s no indication that any travel to Turkey’s major tourism destinations has been majorly disrupted and most are able to welcome visitors as normal.

Ali Kutuk from Likya Nature Travel, a travel agency based in Antalya that offers trekking tours, told CNN Travel that the agency had so far had just one group booking cancellation, and one rebooking as a result of the quake.

“We have [had] some impact on recent tours,” he says, before stressing that he is not expecting the situation to affect summer bookings and local people are still making travel plans within the country. “I continue to have reservations for summer.”

Antalya is around 594 kilometers (369 miles) away from earthquake zone city Gaziantep by air. Istanbul is about 850 kilometers (528 miles) away. Other major tourist destinations such as Cappadocia, Canakkle, Bodrum and Marmaris are also far from affected areas.

What is the current advice for international travelers?

While various governments, including the US and the UK, have urged travelers to avoid specific areas impacted by the earthquake, citizens are not being advised stay away from unaffected areas in Turkey at present.

Should tourists visit Turkey now?

Most of Turkey’s leading tourism destinations are continuing to welcome visitors. For many in the country, the recent earthquake has made it more imperative that people continue to travel to Turkey’s unaffected areas for their vacations.

Many people in Turkey are dependent on tourism revenues and, after being affected by pandemic shutdowns in recent years, were banking on a resurgence in visitors until the quake hit.

In 2021, Turkey’s travel and tourism sector contribution to GDP was $59.3 billion, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

The World Bank says that the quakes have caused around $34 billion of direct damage in Turkey.

What can I do to help victims of the earthquake?

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) have launched two emergency appeals with a total value of 200 million Swiss francs (around $214 million) to help relief efforts in both countries.

There are many other organizations who are also on the ground responding. You can help by clicking here.

Source: CNN

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has announced the relaunch of the pioneering Carbon Calculator tool that measures the carbon footprint within Dubai’s hospitality sector. The tool has now been revamped to track real-time data for carbon emission sources, allowing hotels to identify and effectively manage their energy consumption.

The improvements are part of the Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) initiative that seeks to contribute to the broader clean energy targets and support the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) 2030. The initiative also supports the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, to consolidate Dubai’s status as one of the top three global cities and enhance its position as one of the world’s leading sustainable tourism destinations.

Since its inception in January 2017, Dubai Sustainable Tourism’s Carbon Calculator, part of the Tourism Dirham Platform, has been measuring the carbon footprint of hotels across Dubai. On a monthly basis, hotels are mandated to submit their consumption of nine carbon emission sources, including: electricity, water, district cooling, liquefied petroleum gas, landfill waste, recycled waste, petrol, diesel and refrigerants. This information is aggregated and analysed to provide valuable industry insights on the sector’s collective carbon footprint. In addition, by formulating a baseline along with consistent tracking, this information enables hotels to understand their energy, water and waste consumption and further identify successful cost-saving opportunities.

The data provided helps hotels and resorts implement initiatives to efficiently manage their carbon footprint in line with the 19 Sustainability Requirements put in place to establish a baseline across hotels in Dubai and unify hotels’ environmental practices. The 19 Sustainability Requirements include sustainable management approaches, performance metrics, energy, food and water management plans, guest education, employee training initiatives, the presence of sustainability committees within hotel establishments and corporate social responsibility programmes for local communities. Through improving internal sustainability operations, hotel establishments in turn, will enhance the competitiveness of Dubai’s tourism-linked economy.

Yousuf Lootah, Acting CEO of Corporate Strategy and Performance sector, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, said: “We are pleased to relaunch the Carbon Calculator as part of our ongoing commitment to support the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategy, and align with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33. The upgraded platform also further aligns with the UAE’s commitment to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly as the city ramps up preparations to host the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) this year.”

Lootah added: “As DET continually strives to further enhance its services to stakeholders and partners, the revamped carbon calculator will provide hotels with a user-friendly experience and enable hotels to make informed decisions. By keeping track of their energy consumption, the data provides a baseline for DET to develop strategies for the sector so that hotels and resorts can effectively manage impact, improve the efficiency of managing carbon resources and identify potential saving opportunities. In addition to supporting hotels and resorts within the city’s tourism ecosystem, this initiative has a larger goal: creating a city that is the world’s most visited and the best place to live and work in, as envisaged by the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.”

In addition to relaunching the Carbon Calculator, the Dubai College of Tourism (DCT) and Dubai Sustainable Tourism (DST) have upgraded the ‘Dubai Sustainable Tourism’ course available on DCT’s innovative learning platform – Dubai Way. The course offers a broad range of educational and awareness programmes for people employed in tourist-facing roles across the tourism ecosystem.

The newly relaunched module includes educational segments focused on the Carbon Calculator, water and energy saving, how to establish a ‘Green Team’ and implement green procurement strategies. The course reflects the power of education in driving sustainable tourism and encouraging the implementation of environmental practices, while empowering participants with the knowledge to successfully implement ESG principles across the travel and hospitality sectors, thus creating a network of sustainability champions.

Source: Emirates News Agency – WAM

Business travel in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is recovering more rapidly than in any other region, according to the most recent Business Travel Index Outlook annual forecast and outlook (2022), from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the world’s largest business travel association. MEA business travel achieved 86% of its 2019 levels during 2022, outperforming the recovery in Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.

The strong performance of the sector and future opportunities will come under the spotlight during Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 1-4 May.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said: “The business travel sector is a key component of the Middle East’s wider travel and tourism industry, and it is encouraging to see that it has bounced back so strongly since the pandemic. The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) will present an in-depth analysis of how technology can support this return to travel and the ways in which this can be done sustainably in two education sessions with key insights from leading industry professionals.”

According to the forecast, business travel spending reached $933 billion globally in 2022, 65% of the USD $1.4 trillion business pre-pandemic travel spend, with the MEA region accounting for $23 billion or approximately 2.5% of overall spending within the sector.

“The MEA region is an important growth market for business travel and benefitted from a prompt Covid-19 vaccination roll-out in key markets such as the UAE and Israel, as well as increased economic activity driven by the rising price of crude oil to accelerate the business travel recovery. The region is expected to return to pre-pandemic business travel spend by 2024 and continue its growth trajectory” said Catherine Logan, Regional Vice President EMEA & APAC, GBTA.

GBTA will be hosting two sessions at ATM 2023. The first entitled, ‘All Hail the Innovators’ will be taking place on the Global Stage, discussing how transformational technologies can be harnessed and incorporated into corporate travel program effectively. High-profile speakers include, James Britchford, Vice President Commercial IMEA, IHG, Jordan Bray, Vice President of Plug and Play, and Mohammed Halawi, Global Travel and Journey Risk Management Director, Firmenich FZ LLC.

The second session entitled ‘Implementing Sustainability in your Travel Program’ will be taking place in the brand-new Sustainability Hub and will feature GBTA’s Catherine Logan, Regional Vice President – EMEA & APAC. Logan will provide insights on how corporate travel programs can become more sustainable.

Aside from restricted travel, an increase in remote working globally has had a dampening effect on business travel growth. However, now that travel is almost restriction-free, employees have revealed an increased likelihood to travel more for work, whether long-term or overnight business trips according to the latest business travel outlook poll from GBTA.

Curtis commented: “After the turbulent period we have experienced over the last two years, it will be very interesting to assess current market conditions and find out how business travel can continue to grow, particularly with the recent relaxation of travel restrictions in China.”

ATM 2023 will explore the future of sustainable travel in line with its theme of ‘Working Towards Net Zero’. Having officially initiated its journey to net zero, the conference programme will explore how innovative sustainable travel trends are likely to evolve, allowing delegates to identify growth strategies within key vertical sectors while providing a platform for regional experts to explore a sustainable future ahead of COP28, which will take place in November 2023 at Expo City Dubai.

The conference will also feature a sustainability category at its annual exhibitor awards for the first time. Exhibiting organisations will be recognised based on the extent to which they have considered the environmental impact of their stands, as well as their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

ATM 2023 is held in conjunction with Dubai World Trade Centre and its strategic partners include Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) as the Destination Partner, Emirates as the Official Airline Partner, IHG Hotels & Resorts as the Official Hotel Partner and Al Rais Travel as the Official DMC Partner.

Source: TravelDailyNews

Shayan Zaeem, co-founder and president of Revolving Games, is just one of thousands of remote workers around the globe. He has landed up in Dubai, which is ramping up efforts to pitch itself as a destination for more people like him.

His company, which is currently working on a new BattleStar Galactica game with Universal Studios, is headquartered in San Francisco but due to the pandemic scaled its operations globally.

“Most people prefer working from home in the tech industry, and Dubai was a no brainer for me,” he said, tempted by the infrastructure and facilities of the “vibrant, multifaceted city.”

Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, launched a one-year virtual working program in 2020 that Zaeem took advantage of. It has so far received 30,000 enquiries (a spokesperson didn’t confirm the number of visas approved).

The United Arab Emirates has also introduced a raft of new longer term 5 and 10-year residency Golden Visas, 80,000 of which were issued last year.

Now Dubai’s looking to appeal to a wider demographic following a new partnership with Airbnb, among other initiatives.

Airbnb Backing

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism set up an online remote working hub with Airbnb in December last year. The Middle Eastern city is one of 20 global destinations in the home-sharing platform’s Live and Work Anywhere initiative.

Airbnb also published a guide for governments outlining recommendations for how communities can benefit economically in September 2022.

“We’re delighted to be one of the 20 destinations to partner with Airbnb and we expect to see a positive uplift in remote working,” said Issam Kazim, CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing.

The remote working focus comes as the United Arab Emirates looks to boost tourism’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to $122 billion a year by 2031. Its new UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 also targets 40 million hotel guests in 2031. Dubai alone received 14 million international overnight visitors in 2022, double the amount of 2021.

A ‘Pricey’ Destination

Part of its strategy to draw more people probably also explains why it made alcoholic drinks cheaper, but there are concerns Dubai — like many fast-recovering destinations — may soon start pricing out digital nomads.

The emirate is classified as “pricey” by the well-respected Nomadlist, with members reporting an average monthly accommodation spend of $3,652.

“For well-paid remote workers that like vibrant cities, it will be one of the shortlisted countries for sure,” said Mark Phillips, founder of Nomad Stays. ”But for most digital nomads, probably not. It’s just too expensive.”

Phillips also thinks Airbnb is pushing Dubai to move upmarket to compete with Expedia’s VRBO brand.

But for Zaeem, Dubai is a “melting pot” destination that can suit different budgets. “It depends on the person and what kind of lifestyle they want to live,” he said. “Yes it can be expensive if that’s the lifestyle you choose for yourself, however, if you want to live moderately and still want to enjoy a decent lifestyle you can do that as well easily.”

Apartment rentals for locals are also soaring, which could deter many digital nomads who seek out cheaper destinations to maximize their length of stay, as costs creep up to target tourists.

Portugal has seen this recently, and as a result plans to axe its Golden Visa scheme and ban new licenses for Airbnbs and other short-term rentals.

Will Dubai be able to keep its remote work allure if tourism takes over?

Source: Skift

Dubai could become a new center for sustainability and wellness, if developer URB gets its way. The Dubai-based firm has proposed a series of ambitious, environmentally focused designs to transform the emirate – including an indoor climate controlled “sustainable urban highway” stretching over 93 kilometers (58 miles).

If built, “The Loop” would be the “smartest” cycling and running infrastructure anywhere in the world, according to URB’s CEO Baharash Bagherian. “The project aims to make Dubai the most connected city on Earth by foot or bike,” he added.

The massive structure is designed to wrap around Dubai, providing a car-free “green corridor” filled with trees and plants for residents to walk or cycle around the city.

URB has also devised a huge agritourism project for Dubai’s desert which it says could become a new benchmark for sustainable agriculture, environmental education and green tourism in the region, if it were built.

Separate from The Loop, the “Agri Hub” would cover roughly 40 hectares and host spaces for education and research, as well as eco-lodges, farm shops, and farm-to-table restaurants and cafes.

Bagherian says that a visit to the Agri Hub would help guests to understand and engage more in sustainable practices. “It will open people’s minds,” he says. “People may misunderstand agritourism. They think it’s looking at farm equipment, looking at farms, and going to pick fruit. With this project we’re trying to disrupt the agritourism model, so it benefits everyone. Whether you’re a retailer, whether you’re a farmer, especially if you’re the consumer – there’s something of a greener economy for everyone.”

“Moving towards a greener economy”

Bagherian has previously led the designs for Phase 2 of “The Sustainable City” in Dubai and worked on similar green communities currently under construction in Yiti, Oman, and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

“The whole world is moving towards a greener economy,” says Bagherian. “The strongest economies are going to be the ones who are able to transition towards sustainability at the earliest possible opportunity with projects like this.”

The Agri Hub’s snakelike structure would be formed of a huge steel canopy and paneled with pre-cast concrete, with the carbon cost offset by the operations of the site.

URB says the project aims to be zero-waste and on-site transport will be fossil-fuel-free. It would have its own biogas plant to generate energy from organic waste, while parts of the development would be partially underground, to keep buildings cool.

As fresh water is scarce in Dubai, the project is designed to feature bio-saline farming, where crops are grown in salty water, and use recycled gray water from the site to irrigate the public areas. These areas will feature drought-tolerant plants as well as rain gardens and bioretention areas that require no irrigation and create habitat for birds and insects.

Like The Loop, the Agri Hub is designed to use 100% recycled water for irrigation, and be entirely powered using kinetic energy.

URB says the projects will be funded by private investors and that it is currently undertaking feasibility studies to establish the best site for the development of the Agri Hub. Bagherian hopes construction of the Agri Hub will begin in 2024. The Loop, if commissioned, could be ready for Dubai’s cyclists and runners by 2040.

Source: CNN Travel

Set to be held over the coming years, the events will bring in an additional 135,000 visitors including scientists, thought-leaders and business executives to Dubai

Business events are poised to make a vital contribution to Dubai’s economic development and tourism growth, with another exceptional year of successful bids for international conferences, congresses, meetings and incentive travel programmes.

Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s official convention bureau, said it won 232 bids for business events in 2022, almost twice as many as the previous year.

Set to be held over the coming years, the events will bring in an additional 135,000 visitors including scientists, thought-leaders and business executives to Dubai, enhancing the value generated by the business events and tourism ecosystem.

Dubai’s business events and tourism

DBE collaborated with a range of stakeholders for the successful event bids, including Al Safeer Congress ambassadors and the public and private sector entities they represent, industry partners including Dubai World Trade Centre and Emirates, and hotels and professional congress organisers (PCOs) across the city.

Beyond their direct impact, the events, which include flagship conferences and congresses organised by international associations, as well as prestigious corporate meetings held by multinationals, will contribute to the emirate’s growth as a knowledge economy hub.

Dubai won bids for a record 57 association conferences in 2022, the highest achieved by DBE.

The strong performance in 2022 represented a 95 percent growth in the number of successful bids from 2021 and a 92 percent increase in the number of delegates added to the pipeline – all further accelerating the momentum of the emirate’s growth.

Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, said: “The remarkable growth in successful event bids contributes to the goal of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33 to make the city one of the top three global destinations for tourism and business.”

“Our goal has not only been to grow the business events sector and drive further visitation to the city, but also to ensure it can feed into the development of key sectors and professions,” Al Khaja said.

The major association events captured in 2022 included the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine WorldLab Congress 2024, International Congress of Endocrinology 2024, World Sports Medicine Congress 2024, World Congress of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologies 2026, and International Symposium on Dental Hygiene 2028.

The corporate meetings and incentive travel programmes that Dubai won bids for include IBM India and Europe Incentives 2023, Terpel Convention 2023, Envista EMEA Summit 2023 and Mary Kay Mexico Incentive 2024.

Aside from the bidding activity, DBE kept Dubai top of mind among meeting planners and association executives through an intense, year-round calendar of almost 200 global sales activities, including study missions, roadshows and participation in major trade shows.

To build on its 2022 successes, DBE is once again embarking on year-round activities in Dubai to further raise the profile of the city’s strengths and capabilities as a business events destination.

These include sales missions to key target markets and participation in major trade shows including IBTM World and IMEX.

DBE will also join forces with industry stakeholders to host meeting planners in Dubai for a series of study missions that will allow them to see first-hand the emirate’s business events and tourism infrastructure and its rapidly-growing knowledge economy.

Source: Arabian Business

Nairobi — Kenya has unveiled a fresh bid to increase the number of tourists visiting from India as the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) leads travel trade members to this year’s Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) tourism fair in the country.

The expo to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre, in Mumbai from February 2-4, will bring together exhibitors from over 60 countries as destinations globally smart out of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

Over 14 Kenyan travel trade partners will take part in the 3 -day exhibitions with the country seeking to reposition itself in the Indian market whose growth has picked up to about 90 per cent by the close of last year compared to 2021.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) acting CEO John Chirchir says OTM is giving Kenya an opportunity for re-entry into the Indian market that was severely affected with travel because of Covid-19 pandemic.

“India is one of the markets whose travel was negatively impacted with the Covid-19, we are now making a physical presence in the market after about 2 years of absence, and we hope to reap big from the fair,” said Chirchir.

The OTM tourism fair is the largest gathering of travel trade buyers and professionals in India with over 1300 exhibitors from over 60 countries attending.

Kenya’s participation in this event will allow it to tap into the growing Indian tourism market and promote its offerings to Indian travelers.

In 2022, the arrivals into Kenya from the Indian source market recorded a growth of 93.2 per cent from 42,159 in 2021 to 81,458 in 2022.

This is a recovery of 67 per cent compared to the 2019 performance of 120,893.

Chirchir says the growth is a positive indication that the tourism business in India is on the right track to recovery even as KTB rolls out key promotional and marketing campaigns in the market.

Ahead of the expo, KTB will also participate in roadshows in the three Indian cities of Ahmedabad, Bangalore and New Delhi between January 30 and February 6.

“These are part of our many initiatives to bring the market back to its performance recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic. Attributes such as ease of access and connectivity, all-weather season as well as tourism offerings that cut across all the segments have continued to pull Indian travelers to Kenya,” said the CEO.

Last year, KTB hosted a familiarization trip in Nairobi for India’s leading travel companies, launched joint promotional campaigns with marketing companies such as FCM Travel Solutions India and Yatra to build traveler confidence.

Source: Capital Business

Dubai: Tourism companies in the UAE are gearing up to welcome back Chinese tour groups who were absent for three years since the pandemic struck. Travel companies are saying that the expected surge in visitor numbers, which reached nearly a million in Dubai in 2019, will begin in March this year. And after a brief slowdown during the summer months, the number of travellers from Asia’s leading economy is expected to spike exponentially after September 2023.

Beijing eased restrictions at borders, that have been all but shut since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, on January 8.

Immediately after, a handful of business and leisure travellers, including those who wanted to meet their families, have booked tickets to the UAE, said Vishwajith Das of Oriental Hope Tourism and Travel. “We are yet to see a huge surge in bookings from China from large tour groups. We are confident activity will pick up in March this year,” said Das.

“Pre-pandemic, there is usually a flurry of tourist activity from China during the Chinese New Year. Celebrated from January 21 to 27, large tourist groups usually come to the UAE during this time,” stated Das. The initial uncertainty, exorbitant airfares and lack of affordable direct flights which connect both countries are reasons for the slow start to tourist activity. “There are limited forward bookings for China-UAE flights as well. But return economy airfares are priced at Dh6,000 and above. Travellers are waiting for fares to come down,” said another travel agent.

High fares deter travellers

A direct Air China flight departing from Beijing on January 19 and returning on January 27 costs Dh6,095. An Etihad Airways direct flight from Beijing to Abu Dhabi is priced at Dh4,165 for the same dates. Connecting flights are relatively cheaper. Egypt Air operates a flight from Guangzhou to Sharjah with a layover in Cairo. Airfares on this route are at Dh3,782. However, this flight has a wait time of 14 hours and 45 minutes in Egypt.

Airfares taper down from Dh4,165 and Dh6,095 to Dh2,844 to Dh3,681 in the first week of March (for a flight from Shanghai to Dubai). However, very few carriers are yet to provide a direct service.

Flag carriers Emirates and Etihad have announced plans to increase their operations between UAE and China in the coming months. That should ease connectivity and boost demand.

Large groups to buoy tour business

Dubai welcomed almost 17 million visitors in 2019, with Chinese visitors making up 990,000 of that number ― an increase of nearly 15 per cent over the previous year. However, the past three years have been tough for companies operating in the Chinese market. “In 2019, we had two large groups of Chinese travellers coming into the UAE almost every day during the peak season, which is from September to March,” said Das. The group size of Chinese tourists ranges from 10 to 30 travellers. They stay for four to eight days, he said.

Das’s company has been operating in the UAE-China tourism market since 2015. “Business has been slow since 2020. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Chinese tourists,” he said.

A mix of business and leisure tourists is expected from China. “The business travellers market is pretty big as many Chinese investors and business persons want to expand their business into the UAE. This category brings in a steady stream of visitors,” another Abu Dhabi-based travel expert said.

“In the leisure sector, large Chinese tour groups who will arrive in March and after September will act as a saving grace for struggling travel companies,” added the source.

Rashid Abbas, Managing Director of Arooha Travels, said, “Chinese travellers have visa on arrival for 30 days, and that makes UAE a desirable destination for them. The leisure travel industry will pick up in demand. However, I predict it will take some time.”

There needs to be more demand for travel towards China from the UAE. “We do not see any leisure bookings for now. There are very few future bookings as well. We suspect traveller confidence should pick up in the coming months,” a travel agent told Gulf News.

Grand celebrations in UAE

The Chinese community in the UAE is gearing up to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Several entertainment activities have been planned for the festival in anticipation of visitors, including a concert with participation from 500 overseas Chinese performers at the Dubai Opera on January 8.

The Chinese Consul-General to the UAE, Li Xuhang, revealed that Expo City Dubai would host the “Happy Chinese New Year” Grand Parade on January 14, coinciding with the Chinese New Year on January 22.

Source: Gulf News

Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) has announced the launch of the annual Dubai Tourism Summit, a first-of-its-kind travel forum in the region, which will lay the foundation for a home-grown world-class thought leadership programme to boost the city’s resurgent tourism industry and support regional and global tourism.

The DET announced the forum today at its bi-annual ‘City Briefing’ event held during the Skift Global Forum East, the first-ever MENA extension of the Skift Global Forum. The Dubai Tourism Summit will provide a networking platform for industry stakeholders to share their vision, ideas, strategies and best practices, as well as insights on leveraging the latest innovations and trends to create a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future for global tourism.

The DET also shared the latest tourism report for the first ten months of 2022. Data showed that Dubai welcomed 11.4 million international overnight visitors between January and October, an impressive year-on-year increase of 134 percent, taking the city further on its journey to becoming the world’s most visited destination.

The DET’s ‘City Briefing’ was presided over by Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of DET, and attended by more than 1,000 executives from across the tourism ecosystem, including aviation, travel, hospitality and retail sectors. The meeting provided an update and outlook on the industry. It explored ways to continue accelerating the momentum to reinforce Dubai’s position as a global hub for business, investment, talent and tourism.

Helal Al Marri said, “We are grateful to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, for his visionary leadership, inspiration and guidance that has led to several milestones in 2022. Dubai has always been an international icon of innovation and excellence. The Dubai Tourism Summit will see us working even more closely with our domestic and global stakeholders and partners as we focus on pushing the boundaries further to highlight Dubai’s position as the top international destination and the best city in the world to live in, work and invest. With the Dubai Tourism Summit, we will elevate our blueprint for sustainable growth, contributing towards our industry’s continued success and supporting the recovery of regional and global tourism.”

Al Marri added, “Our performance in the first ten months of 2022 indicates that we are on target to achieving our tourism goals, which dovetail with the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to attract AED100 billion as additional tourism investments and 40 million hotel guests by 2031. It is also a testament to our city’s resilience, robust and diversified market strategy, solid collaboration model between the government and private sectors, and the strength of the city’s diverse destination proposition. We are well-placed to end this year on a resounding note and perform even better in 2023 and beyond, steadfastly supported by our aviation, travel and hospitality partners, who continue to champion Dubai’s position as the first-choice destination for global travellers.”

Key markets continue to deliver on tourism volumes
The 11.4 million international overnight visitors who arrived in Dubai between January and October 2022 represented a quantum leap over the 4.88 million visitors that the city welcomed for the same period in 2021. The numbers are close to the pre-pandemic record of 13.50 million international visitors in the first ten months of 2019. Dubai’s international tourism arrivals significantly outperformed other major global destinations, giving Dubai a head start on post-pandemic recovery.

Hospitality sector shines across many metrics
Participants were also briefed on the hospitality sector’s outstanding success, as it played a significant part in Dubai’s impressive rebound. Dubai’s growing popularity among global travellers is evident in the fact that there were 54 million online searches for Dubai per month during Q3 2022, which was close to pre-pandemic levels, with bookings in the last few months surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Dubai shares limelight with other global cities with 71 percent occupancy
Average hotel occupancy in Dubai between January-October 2022 stood at 71 percent, one of the highest hotel occupancies in the world. This compares to 64 percent in the corresponding period of last year and just short of the 74 percent during the pre-pandemic period of 2019. Dubai’s occupancy continues to closely trail the top benchmark cities: Istanbul (75 percent), New York (74 percent), Paris (73 percent), London (73 percent) and Los Angeles (72 percent).

Hotels register strong growth; supply up by 18 percent over pre-pandemic levels
Dubai’s hotel inventory in October 2022 comprised 144,737 rooms at 790 hotel establishments compared with 122,185 rooms available at the end of October 2019 across 724 establishments. The total number of hotels in the first ten months of 2022 saw an 8 percent growth over the same period in 2021, highlighting strong investor confidence in Dubai’s tourism sector.

The hotel sector outperformed pre-pandemic levels across all other key measurements: Occupied Room Nights, Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR). Despite the significant 18 percent increase in supply compared with pre-pandemic levels, Dubai hotels achieved strong growth across ADR and REVPAR over 2019 levels. Dubai hotel establishments delivered a combined 30.40 million occupied room nights during the first ten months of the year, a 23 percent YTD growth and a 17 percent increase over the corresponding pre-pandemic period of 2019, which yielded 26.01 million occupied room nights.

The ADR of AED506 in the first ten months of 2022 surpassed the ADRs for the first ten months of 2021 (AED384) and 2019 (AED400), with a 32 percent increase in ADR in YTD October 2022 vs YTD October 2021 and a 27 percent increase vs YTD October 2019. The stellar performance of the hotel sector is also demonstrated in RevPAR growth: a 48 percent increase in RevPAR in YTD October 2022 vs YTD October 2021 (AED362 vs AED245) and 23 percent vs pre-pandemic YTD October 2019.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Dubai has topped the list of cities with the highest spending by international visitors this year, pulling ahead of Doha and London in the top three places, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said.

The Gulf tourism and finance hub has raked in $29.4 billion in international visitor spending so far this year, overtaking Doha where tourists spent $16.8 billion and London with $16.1 billion, WTTC said in its latest Cities Economic Impact report.

The cities that have recovered best, compared to pre-pandemic levels of 2019 in terms of international visitor spending, are Doha with a 21 per cent rise in tourist spend, Orlando, Florida, with a 19 per cent increase and Antalya in Turkey with 15 per cent.

“It was in 2022 that cities began their true recovery, as travel restrictions were lifted and demand for international travel returned,” said Julia Simpson, president and chief executive of the WTTC.

“As tourism recovers, overcrowding in some destinations is a risk. It is, therefore, important for cities to have the right policies in place to address it. Such policies ought to be enacted in advance before the problem comes to fruition.”

The report, which was released at the WTTC global summit in Riyadh this week, analysed 82 international city destinations and found that their tourism sectors’ recovery was well under way after the Covid-19 pandemic that paralysed travel for nearly three years.

According to the report, 10 of the 82 cities analysed are projected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in terms of direct travel and tourism gross domestic product contribution to their economies this year.

Doha is forecast for the largest increase from 2019, in terms of travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the city’s GDP, with an expected increase of 21 per cent.

In Europe, Warsaw is expected to record a significant 14 per cent increase, while in the US, Orlando is projected to post a 10 per cent increase over the same period.

The cities forecast to record the largest direct travel and tourism contribution to GDP this year are Paris with $36 billion, Beijing with $33 billion and Orlando with $31 billion, the report showed.

The travel and tourism sector will directly generate up to 8 per cent of all jobs by 2032 in the cities analysed, up from 6.6 per cent in 2019 and a low of 5.1 per cent in 2020, underscoring the importance of city tourism in driving economic growth, the WTTC said.

This year, direct jobs in travel and tourism are expected to return to 2019 levels in 11 cities including Rio de Janeiro with 18 per cent growth, followed by Johannesburg and Chicago with 13 per cent growth each.

The travel and tourism industry will generate 126 million jobs globally over the next decade, becoming a critical driver of economic growth with its contribution to GDP growing faster than other sectors, according to the WTTC.

From this year to next, the strongest annual average growth in direct travel and tourism GDP is expected to be concentrated in the Asia-Pacific with Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta being the top performers, the report suggested.

The Saudi Arabian cities of Riyadh and Jeddah are also expected to register strong growth, according to the report.

“For millions of tourists around the world, major cities remain iconic global destinations. There’s still a strong appetite to experience the history, culture and energy that cities offer travellers,” Ms Simpson said.

“This year cities are recovering around the world, and we forecast that cities will continue to grow and thrive over the next decade.”

Source: The National