RTA awards contract for constructing internal roads at Al Warqaa costing AED156 m

RTA awards contract for constructing internal roads at Al Warqaa costing AED156 m

The Roads and Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:
In a meeting chaired by H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), the RTA Board of Directors has recently awarded a contract for the construction of internal roads at Al Warqaa 1, 2, 3 and 4 against a total cost of 156.631 million dirham. The Contract comes in line with RTA's efforts to improve roads network and serve the needs of urban & demographic expansion in the Emirate under its vision of Providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All.

"The Internal Roads Project at Al Warqaa 1, 2, 3 and 4, which spans an area of 1,545 hectares, comprises road construction and lighting works extending 125 km; which cover improvements of existing roads stretching 36 km. works also include the construction of roadside parking slots, and car parks for some mosques and government schools in the area along with all necessary works such as road marking and traffic signals," said Al Tayer.

"Al Warqaa is characterized by a uniquely active urbanization rate coupled with the existence of the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Project which contains 500 residential units; hence urbanization rate has so far exceeded 65 per cent. Last March the Contractor started the construction works in the Project which lasts about 30 months, thus penciled down for completion in the last quarter of 2014.

"The RTA is currently constructing several internal road projects in various areas in Dubai Emirate. In early January this year the RTA embarked on the construction of internal roads at Al Khawaneej 1 at a cost of 100 million dirham. The project comprises the construction of 69 km-long roads, half a meter-wide roadside shoulders, and car parks at certain locations. Al Khawaneej 1 is among the densely populated areas with urbanization rate hitting 65 per cent and is continuously on the rise.

"Work in internal roads projects at Al Barsha 1, 2 and 3 is progressing according to the approved schedule and the completion rate is approaching 25 per cent in the project in which work started last July. The project, which is situated in an area spanning 1300 hectares, includes internal road works as well as lighting works along 115 km of which new roads account for 63 km, and improvements of existing roads account for 52 km.

"The importance of the project is underlined by high urbanization rate in the area which has exceeded 85 per cent, and availability of commercial & business centers. The project is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2014," elaborated Al Tayer.

It is noteworthy that HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, endorsed last January the 5-Year Plan (2012-2016) for paving internal roads in a number of residential districts in Dubai Emirate at a cost of about one billion dirham in a move signaling the attention paid by HH for the improvement of roads network to meet the needs of demographic & urban expansion in the Emirate.

The 5-Year Plan encompasses pavement of internal roads in about 16 areas where urbanization rate ranges from 20 to 80 per cent but in some areas is as low as 5 per cent. Phase I of the project, which started this year at a cost of about 150 million dirham, spans 5 districts namely; Hatta, Al Qusais 3, Al Qouz 2, 3 and 4. Phase II, which will start in 2013 at a cost of about 140 million dirham, covers three residential districts namely; Muhaisna 2, Al Barsha South 1 and 2. Phase III, which starts in 2014 at a cost of about 130 million dirham, covers Al Mamzar, Al Nahdah 1, and Oud Mateena 2. Phase IV, which starts in 2015 and costs about 140 million dirham, covers the construction of roads in 3 districts at Nad El Sheba 4, Oud Mateena 1, and Khawaneej 2. Phase V, which starts in 2016 at a cost of 250 million dirham, covers road works in three districts that include Jebel Ali Industrial Area 1, Al Qusais Industrial Areas 3, 4 & 5, and Al Awir 1.

Captions:
- Mattar Al Tayer
- Layout of internal roads project at Al Warqaa.

RTA inaugurates 10 bus routes including Dubai-Abu Dhabi shuttle service

RTA inaugurates 10 bus routes including Dubai-Abu Dhabi shuttle service

The move aims to support internal & external networks, feed the metro stations

The Roads & Transport Authority – Nashwan Attaa'ee:
The Public Transport Agency – Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has recently inaugurated 9 new internal bus routes within Dubai Emirate in addition to one inter-city service shuttling between Dubai & Abu Dhabi to boost the bus transit network and keep up with the rising demand for mass transit means in general and public buses in particular.

Eisa Abdul Rahman Al Dosari, CEO of RTA Public Transport Agency, said: "The new routes will start off trips from various stations within Dubai Emirate, and the tenth route will be kicked off Ibn Battuta Metro Station in Dubai and head towards Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station and vice versa.

"These routes comprise Route # 29 starting off Al Ghubaiba Bus Station heading to the Mall of the Emirates; passing through several districts & metro stations which include Al Fuhaidi, Khalid bin Al Waleed (A1) and (B2), Karama (seaside) and Jafliah (seaside). Route # 55 starts off Satwa Bus Station and heads to the International City via several stops at Satwa Mosque (2), Satwa Post Office and others. Route # 83 starts off Al Guhbaiba Bus Station and runs up to Nakheel Metro Station while passes through several metro stations including Al Fuhaidi (1), Al Fuhaidi (2), subsidiary power station of the Dubai Internet City among others.

"Route # 85: starts off the Dubai Internet City Metro Station and heads to the Discovery Gardens, covering many stops en route from (1) to (15) in addition to other areas including the BBC World News. Route # 91A starts off the Gold Souq Bus Station and heads to Jebel Ali Bus Station, passing through the Union Metro Station, Al Maktoum Road, Jebel Ali Free Zone, and Trade Center Intersection among others. Route # 96 starts off Al Quoz Bus Station and heads to the Dubai Investment Park, passing through Al Khaleej Times newspaper, and a number of points at Jebel Ali Industrial Area, and Galadari Printing & Publishing, among others. Route # 97 starts off Al Qusais Bus Station and heads to Jebel Ali Industrial Area; passing through a number of areas including Al Qusais workers accommodation as well as Algeria and Tunisia streets.

"To promote the integration of mass transit network, the Agency will also launch two bus feeder services for the metro stations; the first is Route # F22; which starts off Al Qusais Industrial Area and heads to the Union Metro Station; passing through a number of areas including Al Qusais Bus Depot, Man Engines, and Sahara Centre among others. Route # F40 starts off Jumeirah Lakes Towers Metro Station and heads to Nakheel Metro Station; passing through a number of areas including; Dubai Marina Metro Station (residential buildings side), Dubai Media City and Arenco Tower,"he added.

"46 bus routes will be rerouted; notably Route # 11A will head directly towards Al Aweer, and Route #31 route will be re-routed to run from Salah Uddin Street to Ghubaiba Station. Route # 48 in Rashidiya area will be revised, and Route # 53 will be re-routed such that it will not pass through the Fruits and Vegetables Market. Routes # C55 and C5 will be merged whereas Route # F2 will be re-routed to Nad Al Hamar, and Route # F10 will be rerouted to Warqa. Route # F46 will no longer reach Dubai Media Production City. The path of Route # F 54 will be modified at Jebel Ali Free Zone (South), while Routes #F1, C2 have been cancelled as of May 1st," he added.

To enhance the inter-city transport between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the CEO of Public Transport Agency said that as of May 1st, the Agency will launch the Route # E101 from Ibn Battuta Metro Station to shuttle to Abu Dhabi Central Bus Station, where the first trip from Dubai sets off at 5 am and the last trip moves up at 9.15 pm. The first trip from Abu Dhabi starts off at 6.50 am and the last trip is at 11.50 pm (on Saturday to Thursday evenings). On Fridays, the first trip starts from Dubai at 06:00 am and the last trip starts at 11 pm, whereas the first trip from Abu Dhabi starts at 7.50 am and last trip is at 12.50 am (after midnight).

NEWS FLASH!! – DAY FOUR AT ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2012

NEWS FLASH!! – DAY FOUR AT ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2012

Kids lap up five-star luxury

The rise in demand for family facilities at luxury resorts was highlighted at an Arabian Travel Market seminar yesterday where senior hotel representatives concurred in the need to provide more than just electronic games to keep younger guests amused.
According to Bernard Bohnenberger, president of Six Senses Hotels & Resorts, resorts such as Zighy Bay in Oman operate with nannies for younger children and offer a teen club programme that focuses on adventure and learning: “It is all about the destination, from feeding the resident goats to mini safaris, trying out Arabic cookery or meeting with local children,” he said.

Summarising the lively and informative session, Stephanie Bleakley, marketing executive at Reed Travel Exhibitions, commented: “Some hotels in Europe have opened adult only resorts in recognition of the growing trend for this concept, while other resorts have broadened their dedicated offering to cater for both couples and families.”

“Dedicated registration and check-in areas have also been dedicated to children, they can also have their own mini-bars, turndown service and parents can connect instantly with the family concierge via walkie talkies to check on their little ones.
“Another growing trend popular with Asian families especially, is the family activity programme, particularly those which focus on pursuits encouraging families to participate together, such as kayaking, cooking or even golf,” added Bleakley.


NEWS FLASH FROM ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET!!!

ISO and HitchHiker team up at ATM

Germany’s ISO Travel Solutions and HitchHiker have partnered up at Arabian Travel Market to enable travel companies, especially those in the Middle East, to check out one of the most sophisticated full service solutions for the tourism industry, which includes multiple wholesale content and flight in one package.

Both companies have been partnering and exhibiting together at the annual industry showcase for several years, and have seen an increasing number of customers from the region opt to put their trust – and commit budget – into the companies’ Made In Germany Software.
In addition to its existing web-based PACIFIC tourism suite and EMERALD CRM system, ISO Travel Solutions is showcasing developments in the area of Dynamic Recommendation, which enables tourism companies to include up-and cross-selling logic in their central reservation systems, as well as the B2B and B2C web-front end.
HitchHiker includes offline flight content and an automatic re-booking robot, which enables prospective customers to benefit from a large pool of regular and low-cost carriers, in combination with highly advantageous cost-saving elements.


NEWS FLASH FROM ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET!!!

Hotels urged to take the green path

According to Bradley Cox, Communications Director, Green Globe Certificate: “Green travel is no longer a niche but a pathway to better travel experiences. Well over 80 per cent of tourists want a green solution to their travels and more than 40 per cent of them are prepared to pay more for it.

The biggest challenge facing hotel management when they actively seek to ‘become’ green is user skepticism. More than three in four people are disbelieving of ‘green’ claims posted on hotel websites. But the GGC counteracts this negativity with a marketing reach of over 1 billion consumers worldwide, Cox said.

With the majority of international travellers more conscious today than previous generations of their carbon footprint, veritable sustainable initiatives present the travel and tourism industry with huge business potential.

“The travel experience itself becomes a tangible expression of the travellers desire to be sustainable, and hotels need to match this in order to sustain their future development.
“The GGC, with its exacting protocol, is recognised as the premier worldwide sustainability stamp for the tourism industry and more than 800 businesses in 50 countries signed up to the initiative,” added Cox.

Drake and Scull International Awarded AED 200 million Civil Construction Contract for ‘The Binary’ Tower in Dubai

Drake & Scull International Awarded AED 200 million Civil Construction Contract for ‘The Binary’ Tower in Dubai

[Dubai, 6 May, 2012] Drake & Scull Construction the Civil ( DSC) Contracting arm of Drake & Scull International (DSI) PJSC, a regional market leader in integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of Civil ContractingWater and Power and Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP), has announced that it has been selected as the main contractor for the construction of the Binary commercial tower at Dubai’s Business Bay.

The contract is valued at AED 200 million and the scope includes all associated construction works to complete the tower.
Developed by ‘Omniyat’ a market leading real estate development company based in Dubai, the Binary is a 25-story commercial tower offering grade A commercial space with magnificent waterfront views of the thriving Business Bay area in the heart of Dubai’s Skyline.

“We have been able to secure some of the key developments that we have been eyeing over the past months as part of our efforts to increase our market share in the civil business across the MENA region. The Binary agreement reflects our successful and continuous growth in this line of business and gives us cautious optimism about the construction industry outlook in the UAE. We have already mobilized on site and commenced work with an estimated completion date in early 2014” said Saleh Muradweij, Managing Director of Drake and Scull Construction.

DSC has achieved strong and consistent performance since its inception in 2010. The company has successfully carried off the transformation from being primarily a UAE based contractor to substantially increasing its footprint in both KSA and Qatar and North Africa within the span of one year. The emphasis on regional diversification has proved to be highly strategic as DSC achieved tremendous progress particularly in Saudi Arabia and just recently through a major breakthrough into the Algerian market with a project valued at AED 845 million.


About Drake & Scull International PJSC

Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI) is a regional market leader delivering world class quality projects via end to end solutions that provide integrated design, engineering and construction disciplines of Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing (MEP), Civil Contracting, and Water & Power Infrastructure, through People, Innovation, and Passion.

DSI established its first office in Abu Dhabi in 1966, and has since expanded operations to encompass offices in Dubai, Egypt, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Jordan and Thailand, as well as managing projects in Europe and other parts of North Africa DSI ‘s main business streams include Drake & Scull International, which serves as the MEP arm, Drake & Scull Construction (DSC), which is the General Civil Contracting unit and Drake and Scull Water & Power (DSWP), which focuses on the Water & Power and Infrastructure sector.
In 2008, DSI offered 55% of its shares to the public and the IPO was oversubscribed 101 times. Ernst & Young ranked the IPO among the top 20 global IPOs in 2008.
DSI has since then used the funds to integrate, establish and acquire businesses that compliment its corporate strategy of expansion into new markets, via organic and inorganic growth.

The fully Integrated Management Systems, certified to ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2005 and OSHAS 18001:2007 standards are compliant with leading building, health and safety regulations, as well as sound environmental and energy management procedures.
DSI is a leader through experience, and has established a regional leadership position over 44 years of successfully completing the most complex projects on time, within budgets and matching set quality parameters.
DSI has completed many prestigious projects in the region for over four decades, and has helped shape the region’s skyline from within.

Region firmly back in business at Arabian Travel Market 2012

Region firmly back in business at Arabian Travel Market 2012

Visitor numbers up 7-10% on 2011 figures with new impetus driven by regional industry performance and renewed B2B focus

Wrapping up four days of travel trade business, Reed Travel Exhibitions, the organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2012, which concludes today (3 May), reported a healthy increase in visitor numbers, driven by the show’s renewed B2B focus and buoyed by positive indicators from the region’s tourism sector.
“The 2011 event attracted over 16,000 trade visitors and indicators for this year show an increase of between 7-10%,” said Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.

The region's leading trade exhibition for travel industry professionals, the 19th edition of the show has also seen a significant rise in decision makers and influencers – up by 35% - from members of its buyers club, hosted delegates, regional and international speakers and hosted luxury travel buyers.
“The initial figures from this year’s show are an endorsement of not only Arabian Travel Market’s continued relevance and structured focus to the regional travel market, but mirror the rebound in both confidence and business levels across the major industry sectors,” remarked Walsh.

Independently ABC-audited, ATM 2012 also recorded a 7% increase in exhibitors for this year’s event ahead of the start of the show, with more than 21,000 square metres of floor space hosting over 2,400 exhibitors and 82 new companies. This increase was also reflected in its international reach with 54 national pavilions and 87 countries represented overall.

“The business buzz is definitely back, the regional travel industry is in an exceptionally buoyant mood and participants are positive and confident. Our decision to reconfigure the floor plan to a more easily navigable and convenient format this year has also helped to facilitate busier appointment schedules,” said Walsh.
Walsh’s comments were echoed by a wide variety of participants, both regional and international, inbound and outbound, right across the industry spectrum.
“This is my second year as a visitor and the new layout is definitely easier to navigate. Our focus was the expanding opportunities in apartment accommodation, and I was very impressed to find an entire section dedicated to this,” said Cori Terblanche, Travel World, South Africa.

“If we look solely at the European exhibitors for example, floor space has grown from last year and we have seen a surge in interest from destinations eager to attract the affluent Middle Eastern traveller,” added Walsh.
Tamara Khalil, Group Director Marketing, Katara Hospitality, in Qatar, reinforced the renewed wave of business optimism. ”ATM was the right platform for us to launch our new corporate identity to the market. The show remains the prime vehicle for the regional industry to share its news, network with the key players and meet potential partners.”

This sentiment was echoed by global exhibitors. US-based tour operator, and first time exhibitor, TeamAmerica CEO, Enzo Perretta, said: “ATM is the only way to go to reach the Middle East and Asian markets, and we’ve had four full days during which we’ve met the key players and decision makers in our target markets.”
“ATM gives us access to high quality Middle Eastern contacts and allows us to conduct face-to-face business, which is highly valued by our regional clients,” added Ahmad Alkatib, Director, Travellanda UK.

The newly introduced Technology Theatre, which ran throughout the four-day show, proved to be a major draw for industry professionals looking to capitalise on market opportunity through the implementation of groundbreaking technologies and new social media channels.

“Not only have we signed a number of new contracts on site, but we have also concluded a number of significant partnership agreements that would not have otherwise been possible,” said Osama Abdulrahman, Manager of Dubai-based cheaperskies.com.

“Being host hotel for this year’s ATM gave us invaluable face time with hosted buyers as well as the opportunity to introduce targeted top international travel writers and key members of the regional media to our property,” added Andrew Hughes, Director Sales & Marketing for the Mövenpick-managed Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel.
“Looking ahead to 2013, re-bookings are already extremely positive and we will continue to develop the show’s offering to reflect regional opportunities as well as global industry trends. Next year ATM will be 20 years old and we are certainly in celebratory mood already,” concluded Walsh.

Arabian Travel Market is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai. Now approaching its 20th year, the show has grown to become the largest showcase of its kind in the region and one of the biggest in the world.



For more information on Arabian Travel Market 2012, please log on to www.arabiantravelmarket.com

About Arabian Travel Market

Arabian Travel Market 2011 boasted more than 2,200 exhibitors and stand-sharers, from 69 countries. Arabian Travel Market is part of the Reed Travel Exhibitions’ portfolio, which includes 15 of the world’s leading travel industry events. For more information visit www.arabiantravelmarket.com

Reed Travel Exhibitions

Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE) is the world’s leading provider of exhibitions in the travel and tourism industry. Its wide-ranging portfolio of events around the globe covers leisure travel, luxury travel, business travel and the meetings and incentives industry.
The 13 events are; World Travel Market (WTM), Arabian Travel Market (ATM), International French Travel Market (IFTM), La Cumbre, International Golf Travel Market (IGTM), International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), International Luxury Travel Market Asia (ILTMA), Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) (owned by Melbourne Convention Visitors Bureau), Global Exhibition for Incentive, Business Travel, and Meetings (EIBTM), Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (GIBTM), Americas Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (AIBTM), China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings (CIBTM) and Business Travel Market.

April 2013 will see RTE will launch World Travel Market Latin America in São Paulo.

RTE is a business unit of Reed Exhibitions. In 2011, six million participants attended RE’s 500 events in 39 countries covering 44 industry sectors from aerospace and aviation to beauty and cosmetics to sports and recreation.
Reed Exhibitions is owned by Reed Elsevier, the world’s leading provider of professional information and online workflow solutions.
www.reedtravelexhibitions.com

Reed Exhibitions

The world's leading organiser of trade and consumer events running over 470 events in 37 countries. Reed Exhibitions excels in creating high profile, highly targeted business and consumer exhibitions and events to establish and maintain business relations, and generate new business.
Reed Exhibitions network of offices and promoters extends to 65 countries. www.reedexpo.com

Reed Elsevier

Reed Elsevier is a world leading provider of professional information and online workflow solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal, Risk Information and Analytics, and Business sectors. Based in over 200 locations worldwide, they create authoritative content delivered through market leading brands, enabling their customers to find the essential data, analysis and commentary to support their decisions.
www.reed-elsevier.com

Boulevard Central photos , Downtown Dubai, April 2012

NEWS FLASH!! – DAY THREE AT ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2012

NEWS FLASH!! – DAY THREE AT ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET 2012

AMAEDUS LAUNCHES MOBILE TRAVELLER

Amadeus, a leading travel technology provider and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, has unveiled its Amadeus Mobile Traveller at Arabian Travel Market. This fully integrated and complete mobile application is designed to support pre-trip, in-trip and post-trip functionalities and enable end travellers to fulfil their on-the-go travel needs.

Developed with the support of MENA region specialist partner Techmaster, Amadeus Mobile Traveller boasts a suite of planning and booking functionalities for real-time flight, car rental and hotel bookings, taking into account social media integration and in-trip assistance services.

“Travellers are becoming increasingly demanding and technology savvy owing to advancing mobile penetration rates. The need to keep pace with this trend and provide travel agents with a competitive edge has never been greater,” said Antoine Medawar, Vice President, Middle East and North Africa, Amadeus.

The application’s unique integration with Amadeus Content Store also means unparalleled access to over 150,000 hotel properties worldwide, sourced from the region’s most popular aggregators and wholesalers at effective prices. Among other features are the click to call agent functionality, instant e-tickets, calendar synchronisation, trip tools including destination services, as well as online and offline payment support.

“Amadeus Mobile Traveller has been specifically designed for the region to enable travel agents to stay at the forefront of new trends and traveller habits. It is the outcome of a thorough analysis of our local and regional customers’ needs as well as key market trends. Currently, the only player to provide an all-in-one GDS-powered mobile application, Amadeus has opened up new avenues for growth and advancement of the regional travel and tourism sector,” added Medawar.



OMAN LOOKS TO ROOM INVENTORY GROWTH

Today at Arabian Travel Market, Her Excellency Maitha Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Tourism for Oman revealed that the room inventory in the Sultanate will rise from 12,000 currently to 20,000 by 2015, while airport capacity will treble both in Muscat and Salalah, reaching 12 million in the capital and three million in the southern city.

While creating jobs for Omanis is a priority, she said the ultimate aim as part of the Vision 2020 strategy was for the travel and tourism sector to contribute three per cent to GDP and beyond.

“One challenge is to change the perception of tourism as a career and to increase vocational training,” she said. “As well as the department for tourism training in Qaboos University and the Tourism College, we are looking to open a technical college in Salalah too.”

While Oman has already appointed overseas tourism representatives in 16 markets worldwide. These include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia plus Australia and New Zealand, the minister said the domestic tourism was also a priority since this market was year-round and can be relied on even during the lean season.

“In areas where we do not have direct access with Oman Air, we are forging partnerships with regional airlines to bring in visitors via Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi – where we have joint visa arrangements - and are now aiming to bring the private sector together to package combinations,” she said.

At ATM, several hotel groups have announced new ventures in Oman, with Shaza signing an agreement to operate its first hotel in Salalah while Swiss-Belhotel reflagging the Beach Bay in Muscat in June and opening a new Swiss-Belexpress Muscat, while InterContinental is expanding with a new hotel at the Muscat Hills Golf resort.


JEBEL ALI INTERNATIONAL REVEALS NEW BEACHFRONT HOTEL

Jebel Ali International Hotels has revealed details of its new four-star Dubai Jebel Ali International Hotels has revealed details of its new four-star Dubai beach hotel at Arabian Travel Market, with the property scheduled to open for business at the end of the year.

Located on The Walk in the Jumeirah Beach Residence area, the unnamed hotel will be the only four-star beach property in Dubai.

Overlooking the Arabian Gulf and The Palm Jumeirah, each of the 341 rooms and suites feature sea views and balconies with interconnecting rooms also available for families. The hotel will offer five restaurants and bars along with an Executive Lounge for guests staying in clubrooms and suites. Other hotel facilities include a temperature-controlled freeform swimming pool with sea views, a spa, health club, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna.

In addition, guests will have the public beach just steps away, and accessible directly from the hotel swimming pool. Alternatively, a complimentary shuttle service to the five-star private beach at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, is also provided.

“Positioning is crucial for any new entrant into Dubai’s maturing hospitality scene and our new beachfront property will fill a very important gap in the market,” said David Thomson, Regional General Manager for Jebel Ali International Hotels.
“The four-star classification, prime beachfront location and relaxed family friendly environment will appeal to a vast cross section of travellers, though still being very specific about what it stands for. The travel trade has long since asked for a four-star beachfront product and we have no doubt that the response will be huge and extremely positive,” he remarked.

The hotel will also cater to business travellers, with a fully equipped conference centre and six meeting rooms, many of which feature natural daylight and shaded balcony space for breakouts.

NEWS FLASH FROM ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET!!!

Global tourism to grow BRIC by BRIC

In its global overview of the travel industry presented as part of the World Travel Market (WTM) Vision 2012 conference series, Euromonitor International revealed its latest research findings at Arabian Travel Market today.

Over the next five years, it is predicted that global growth will decline to an average of just below eight per cent, pulled down by the weakness of the Eurozone economies. This is due in part to high government debt, tight credit conditions and rising unemployment levels.

Worldwide, Euromonitor numbers suggest tourism growth is slowing averaging less than four per cent annually until 2016, whilst the average spend is also flat-lining. However, the new BRIC economies will become the star performers, with Brazilians identified as the highest spending travelers globally with strong increases from the Indian, Chinese and Russian markets as well.

Moving closer to home, with their oil-rich economies and the continuing rise of the three big regional carriers, MENA and the Gulf countries in particular are expected to see positive growth from this year, with visitor arrivals up in across the region – increasing more than 10 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

In terms of the new star-performing cities, the majority of the top 10 were in Asia, with Hong Kong number one with nearly 22 million arrivals and 9.3 per cent growth last year, followed by Singapore and London, the latter with 15 million arrivals but only 2.7 per cent growth.

Istanbul, ranked ninth, recorded a stellar growth rate of 20.2 per cent, with nearly 10 million arrivals in 2011.

With the BRICs now a major target for many destinations, Euromonitor identified the top three preferred destinations for each BRIC market, whose travelers tended to stay close to home during their initial forays.

Brazilian travelers went to the US, Argentina and France; The Chinese chose Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan; Indians opted for Singapore, Thailand and the UAE, while the Russian preference was for Ukraine, Finland and Kazakhstan.

Turning to consumer trends, Euromonitor research demonstrated how economic pressures were fuelling the hunt for bargains in travel, with a rise in the popularity of flash sales and a reversal in the decline of the economy holiday package.

Sectors tipped for growth included medical tourism, rail travel, cruising and shopping, while the rise of the low cost carrier was identified as a continuing trend worldwide – contributing to the expectation that mass market travel will take over from the luxury segment as a growth driver.


NEWS FLASH FROM ARABIAN TRAVEL MARKET!!!

Roar of the dragon

Moderating a seminar on The Rise of the Dragon, focusing on the Chinese outbound market, Lucy Chuang, MD of Global Sino presented its remarkable market potential to regional hospitality professionals at Arabian Travel Market 2012.

Citing figures for the UAE, visitor numbers had grown 50 per cent annually since the country was given approved status in 2009 by Chinese authorities – reaching 300,000 in 2010 with a spend of U$334 million (Mastercard survey figures).

Chuang stated a typical Chinese leisure preference as a three-night package with a different hotel for each night – either 4/5/6 (one night in a four-star hotel, followed by a five-star and then six-star (Atlantis The Palm) or a 5/6/7 (finishing off in Burj Al Arab) – and she urged the region to promote this tiered concept to the market, particularly during the off-peak summer season.

A desert safari and shopping were priorities with designer goods high on the shopping list of the brand conscious Chinese travellers, while twin-bedded rooms were the number one request and an essential in that room was a kettle to facilitate the preparation of hot instant noodles or rice.

Underlining the importance of the market, vice chairman of Dubai Duty Free, Sean Staunton said of the annual turnover of US$1.46 billion, some 18 per cent was attributed to Chinese travellers, although they made up less than four per cent of the total numbers. Forty per cent of watch sales, 32 per cent of cosmetics and 20 per cent of sunglasses were made to that market.

29 BD Boulevard photos , Downtown Dubai, April 2012

Claren Towers photos , Downtown Dubai, April 2012

RTA awards contract for constructing 13 pedestrian overpasses, costing AED45 m

RTA awards contract for constructing 13 pedestrian overpasses, costing AED45 m

Al Tayer: The number of footbridges will inch up from 74 to 87

The Roads & Transport Authority – Mohammed Al Munji:

In a meeting held under the chairmanship of H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), the RTA Board of Directors has recently awarded a contract for designing & constructing 13 footbridges at various locations in Dubai at a total cost of 45 million dirham to be completed within 8 months. The step will raise the number of pedestrian overpasses from the 74 to 87 footbridges, including the 34 footbridges of the metro stations comprising 23 footbridges on the Red Line and 11 footbridges on the Green Line.

"The construction of footbridges marks RTA's efforts to provide safe transit means for pedestrians crossing streets, and the new footbridges will be constructed at a number of locations in the light of traffic studies focusing on several parameters including the intensity of people movement between the two sides of roads, availability of markets & establishments, and spots witnessing high proportions of run-over accidents (black points)," explained Al Tayer.

"These pedestrian overpasses include constructing a 100 meter-long bridge across the Emirates Road (near Fruits & Vegetables Market), and a 86 meter-long bridge near workers accommodation at Al Qusais, as well as several bridges stretching 40 to 75 meters across Al Mina Street (near Dubai Ports & Customs), Sheikh Rashid Street (near Deira City Center), Umm Suqeim Street (near Mall of the Emirates), Al Wuhaida Street, Amman Street (near Lulu Village), Latifa bint Hamdan Street (near Gulf Center), Al Mankhool Street (between Sheikh Rashid Street and Kuwait Street), Al Rasheed Street (near Jesco Supermarket), Abu Baker Al Siddique Street (near Al Qabael Center), Al Khaleej Street (near Deira Palm Metro Station), and Jebel Ali Industrial Area Street (near workers accommodation).

"The RTA attaches paramount importance to roads traffic safety. Besides constructing safe pedestrian crossings, the RTA has rolled out a host of initiatives to improve the traffic safety including running awareness-raising campaigns, setting up fences to fend off pedestrian crossing at dangerous spots of roads network, providing more than 100 pedestrian crossings, installing traffic calming means, and setting up cautionary signs in the vicinity of 300 schools, mosques and hospitals.

It also attended to the provision of all the requisite services at the Metro stations such as pick-up & drop off points of passengers of taxis, private vehicles and public buses. Efforts made by the RTA, in collaboration with the General Headquarter of Dubai Police, have contributed to boosting the traffic safety on roads as illustrated in traffic fatalities slipping from 145 cases in 2007 to 78 cases in 2009 and the downward trend continued to hit 43 cases in 2010 and the same number was recorded last year," elaborated Al Tayer.

Concluding his statement, Al Tayer called upon pedestrians to use their dedicated bridges, and exhorted motorists to comply with the speed limits in place, and slow down at pedestrian crossings for their own safety and the safety of road users as well. Captions:  Footbridges contributing to minimizing run-over fatalities  13 new pedestrian overpasses