Market Update 2International 3Accommodation News 4Air & Transport Travel News 6Travel Talk 8Travel Tips 10Who’s Moved 12International 13Rendezvous 14Events 16

Middle East and North Africa Edition

apriL 3, 2010 issue 21 www.traveltradeweekly.travel

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capacity upswingglobal airline capacities have outstrippedpre-downturn levels, oag aviation hasrevealed.

accor has flagged accelerated expansionin turkey, doubling its portfolio in thecountry in 2010.

In This Issue

RendezvousFRANCE

Atout France and the French Government arecounting on national tourism industry reforms and

visitors from emerging markets, including theMiddle East, to protect the country’s place as the

world’s number one tourism destination. Travel Trade Weekly reports from the French Riviera.

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accor turkey

a ccording to ghanim binsaad al-saad, managingdirector of Qatari Diar, theinvestment signals hiscompany’s commitment to

expansion in seychelles.“we look forward to expanding ourcommitment to the people of seychelles andthroughout africa in the years to come,” hesaid.“we are excited to be a part of the country'sgrowth, not only through Maia Luxury resort,but also through our own recently launchedresort project.”Jabulane Mabuza, group ceo of tsogo sunHoldings, said the agreement reflected the

shared outlooks of the two firms.“we each believe in respectingthe communities we enter andnurturing their growth,” he said.“The partnership between QatariDiar and tsogo sun Holdings inMaia is one that will serve tostrengthen our commoncommitment to creating andoperating developments that

enhance the natural beauty, traditions, andcultures of the african people.”

apriL 3, 20102

COUNTRY CURRENCY 1USD=uae (aeD) Dirham 3.67egypt (egp) pound 5.5saudi arabia (sar) riyal 3.75Lebanon (LBp) pound 1501Bahrain (BHD) Dinar 0.37Jordan ( JoD) Dinar 0.70syria (syp) pound 46kuwait (kwD) Dinar 0.28Qatar (Qar) riyal 3.64oman (oMr) rial 0.38tunisia (tnD) Dinar 1.4Morocco (MaD) Dirham 8.27iran (irr) riyal 9970yemen (yer) rial 206.27algeria (DZD) Dinar 73Libya (LiD) Dinar 1.27

MENA Exchange RatesAccurate as of 30/3/2010currencies shown in red are fixed against the us Dollar

TRAVEL TRADE WEEKLYDeputy EditorLaura warne

JournalistLouis Dillon savage

Design & Layoutelina pericleous

Sales & MarketingJane DavidsonMarianna tsiamasDanielle Bragg tina georgiou

Directorsandreas constantinidesMary kammitsi

Headquartersp.o. Box 25255nicosia 1308 cyprustel: +35722820888Fax: +35722318958

Websitewww.traveltradeweekly.travel

Emailsinfo@traveltradeweekly.traveleditorial@traveltradeweekly.travelsales@traveltradeweekly.travel

Airline Capacity Exceeds Pre-Recession LevelsGlobal airline capacities have outstripped pre-downturn levels, oag aviationhas revealed.according to oag’s figures, the total number of seats available worldwide inMarch 2010 was 303.1 million compared to 289.8 million in 2009, and 299.6million in 2008.peter von Moltke, ceo of oag’s parent company, uBM aviation, said thenumbers indicated a strong rebound in the travel market.“March capacity is rebounding and 2010 exceeds not only that of a year ago,but of the same month in 2008, before the start of the global recession,” he said.“This growth in worldwide capacity signals increased confidence in traveldemand.”africa led the charge in terms of post-recession revival, with a 19 percent yearon year increase, followed by south america (18 percent) and the Middle east(17 percent).

Qatari Diar Continues Expansion in SeychellesQatari Diar, a real estate investment subsidiary of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund,has acquired a 50 percent stake in Tsogo Sun Holdings’ MAIA Luxury Resortand Spa property in Seychelles.

MAIA Luxury Resort and Spa, Seychelles

3apriL 3, 2010

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

HVS Reports Hotel Investment Boom inLebanon

Lebanon is experiencing a boom ofinvestment in the hospitality sector,according to the HVs consultancycompany.HVs listed 17 hotels scheduled to open inLebanon between 2010 and 2013.However, that figure excludes propertiesthat have not yet contracted managementagreements.although only two openings each areplanned for 2010 and 2011, 2012 will seeeight properties launch in the country,followed by five in 2013.Hotels opening between 2010 and 2013are slated to add more than 2,000 newrooms, with the majority of developmentcentred on Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.according to HVs, solidere, the companyresponsible for developing Beirut’s centralDistrict, has earmarked four percent of itsreal estate in the central District for hoteldevelopment.

Accor Doubles Turkish Portfolio

n ew ibis and novotelproperties will openin both gaziantepand kayseri this year,boosting the number

of accor hotels from four to eight.accor indicated that new properties atgaziantep and kayseri were a sign of the

company’s stepped up interest in thecountry, and a new ibis at Bursa has alsobeen slated for a 2011 opening.Bruno coudry, managing director foraccor’s central and eastern europedivision, said the cities had beenstrategically chosen, and that gaiziantepin particular would attract business from

the Middle eastern market.“kayseri is both a business and a leisuredestination close to cappadocia, andgaziantep, which is turkey’s cottoncapital, has become the country’s port ofentry by road from the Middle east eversince the frontier with syria wasreopened,” he said.

Accor has flagged accelerated expansion in Turkey, doubling its portfolio in the country in 2010.

Beirut, Lebanon

H ilton Zamalekresidence cairo isscheduled to open inJuly 2010, and hasbeen developed by

the safir el Zamalek Hotel company.Mahmoud Mokhtar, vice president ofoperations in egypt for Hiltonworldwide, cited research by BusinessDevelopment research consultants thatindicated Hilton was the leading hotelcompany in egypt.Further figures from Lodgingeconometrics, showed that Hiltonoperated the largest number of hotels androoms within egypt.Mokhtar said Hilton would continue toexpand in the country, in order tomaintain its position.“egypt is a key development market forHilton worldwide and the Hilton brandin the Middle east,” he said.as an upscale residential area anddiplomatic quarter, the Zamalek district isan ideal location to increase our presencein the capital and to support our positionas the leading hotel brand in egypt.”

Mishal abdallah almasad, chairman ofsafir el Zamalek Hotel company, saidHilton had been chosen to manage thenew property in light of its place in themarket, and in response to an upswing invisitor numbers.“as we face a surge in domestic andbusiness travel across egypt, Hilton'sestablished credentials and well positionedbrands will help us manage demand andmeet travellers' high expectations for thisnew conversion,” he said.

apriL 3, 20104

ACCOMMODATION NEWS

Hilton Signs New Cairo Property to Open in JulyHilton Worldwide has signed a management agreement for a property to open in Cairo later this year.

Hilton Zamalek Residence Cairo

Cairo

Radisson Tops European Hotel and Room CountRadisson has claimed theposition of top upscale hotelchain in europe, according tonumber of both hotels androoms, figures from MkgHospitality have shown.according to olivier Jacquin,senior vice president for sales,marketing and distribution atrezidor Hotel group,hegemony in the europeanmarket had been a long termgoal for the radisson brand.

“we are proud to finally havereached this leading positionwhich is a result of our strategicand ambitious businessdevelopment; our creativemarketing campaigns and ourinnovative service concepts atour hotels,” he said.radisson continues to expandin the greater european region,with the radisson royalMoscow scheduled to open inMay.

Radisson, Lucerne Switzerland

5apriL 3, 2010

Bahrain’s New Port Could Boost Tourism, Oxford Business Group ReportsBahrain is well positioned to challenge its larger rivals in the Gulf for passenger shipping, according to a reportby Oxford Business Group (OBG).

Drawing on figuresreleased by Bahrain’sgeneral organisationof sea ports (gop),oBg reported that the

country’s new khalifa Bin salman port(kBsp) has exhibited steady growthsince its opening last year.gop statistics indicated that since theport began operations, there has been anaverage increase of 14.9 percent permonth in the number of vessels using thefacility.growth culminated in 62 vessels berthingat the facility in January this year; a recordfor kBsp.according to oBg, the new portquadrupled the capacity of Bahrain’sprevious port infrastructure, and wouldplay an increasingly important role asother development projects came tofruition.although kBsp has been primarilyoperated as an industrial port, the facilityis also equipped to handle passengertraffic, general break-bulk and roll-on/roll-off cargo vessels, giving it aversatility many of its regional rivals lack,according to oBg.The oBg report concluded that this

versatility, combined with road andrail links to both saudi arabia andQatar, expected to be completed inwithin the next five years, placedBahrain in a position to challengelarger rivals for dominance in thegrowing Middle eastern passengershipping market.

apriL 3, 20106

AIR & TRANSPORT NEWS

Air Arabia Extends European Network with Montpellier Route

Sixt Car Rental Opens in LibyaThe Sixt car rental brand hasexpanded its activities in northafrica, branching into Libya in March.sixt has begun operations fromtripoli and Detlef krehahn, vicepresident of sixt international, saidthe company was seeking to preemptcompetition by entering the marketearly.“The development of the Libyan

market and current investmentprojects by multinational companiesexhibits for us the best argument toenter the market,” he said.“together with our new franchisee weare confident that we will be able tobenefit from this development anduse the first mover advantage to defineinternational service standards inLibya.”

a ir arabia haslaunched flightsfrom its secondaryhub in casablanca,Morocco, to the

French city of Montpellier.The low cost airline will operate tri-weekly services between the twocities.adel ali, group ceo of air arabia,said the new route was an extension

of his airline’s ongoing networkexpansion into France and widereurope.“our new flights to Montpellierreflect the ever growing network wehave established in France andeurope over the past year,” he said.“we are glad to extend air arabia’sunmatched services, frequenciesand value for money air travel to thenew city of Montpellier.”Adel Ali

Jazeera Declares Losses, But Claims Dominance of Kuwaiti MarketKuwaiti low cost carrier, Jazeera airwaysexperienced losses amounting to kwD8.2million (usD28.3 million) over thecourse of 2009.

in response, the airline will pursue verticalintegration strategies to ensure futureprofitability.The airline’s strategy incorporates plans for

infrastructure investments, acquisitionsand strategic partnerships.Jazeera has already taken steps to acquiresahaab aircraft Leasing, an alreadyprofitable leasing company with a fleet ofnine airbus a320’s.Marwan Boodai, chairman of Jazeera, saidthat despite losses, Jazeera made progressin 2009.“we entered 2009 knowing it would be achallenging year not just because of thefinancial crisis alone, but also because of theextra capacity that entered the region,” he said“Looking back at 2009, it was a year ofcontradictions; we navigated through atough business environment and cameout the with largest market share in ourairline’s history.”

apriL 3, 20108

Travel Talk is your space – this is a casual forum for travel industry professionals to discuss current issues and share stories. We want to hear from you, so send your comments, questions, frustrations and observations to editorial@traveltradeweekly.travel

Emel AttikanGeneral Manager, KempinskiResidences and Suites, Doha“The state of Qatar is expected to seefurther development across varioussectors, which will have positiveeffects on hospitality and residentialproperty. For kempinski, Qatar isone of the primary growth markets inthe Middle east.”

Kempinski Residences and Suites, Doha

Abdulrazaq Alraisi General Manager of Worldwide Sales,Oman Air“oman is a superb destination foreuropean travellers. we offer year-roundsun and breathtaking scenery; includingan unspoiled coastline, and renownedomani hospitality.”

Mohamed A Al Noman Director General, SharjahCommerce and TourismDevelopment Authority“Business tourism – which includesmeetings, exhibitions, seminars,forums and workshops, among otherbusiness-related activities – is a veryimportant tourism product due to thehigh revenue it generates and its roleas a key to larger scale tourismmarketing. Business tourism is ahighly rewarding investment becauseit targets high net worth individualsand businessmen who spend a lot onhotels, luxury transport and shopping.Mice visitors spend, on average, 30percent more than regular tourists, afigure that reflects the importance ofMice as a revenue-generating sector.”

Mohamed A Al Noman

Abdulrazaq Alraisi

For Kempinski, Qatar is one of

the primary growthmarkets in the Middle East

MICE visitors spend, on average, 30 percent more than regular tourists,

a figure that reflects the importance of MICE as a revenue-generating sector

Oman is a superbdestination for

European travellers

a l nuaimi emphasised theimportance of developing sports,Mice, and international co-operation, in order to boostQatar’s leisure market.

He said that 90 percent of travel to the country wasbusiness based, but the country planned to expandits share of the leisure market.He listed the oil and gas, real estate, banking andfinance, education, research, sports andentertainment sectors as the dominant draws forQatar, and said that travel to the country had greatlybenefited from a development boom in recent years.However, al nuaimi pointed out that the dominanceof business travel needed to be supplemented by theleisure market, and outlined plans to increase tourismby 20 percent in the next five years.“we recognise that our country needs to bepositioned as more than a destination for businesstravel.” he said.He pointed to Qatar’s position as a crossroads ofthe east and west as a major benefit to the countryin developing its tourism sector and widereconomy, and named strengthened internationalties as integral to Qatar’s strategy.

in an effort to increase international interest, Qtahas recently undertaken a promotional roadshow,culminating in several Mous with europeannations, outlining plans for closer co-operation onmutual tourism development.Qatar has also recently revised its laws on foreigninvestment, increasing the permissible level ofownership in tourism projects by internationalinvestors to 100 percent, up from 49 percent.sport was also picked as a focus sector forencouraging tourism.

9apriL 3, 2010

Qatar to Pursue International Leisure TourismAhmed Al Nuaimi, chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has laid out plans for the expansion andpromotion of tourism in the Qatar.

“Qatar is quickly becoming aninternational sports capital, hostingimportant global championshipevents, in addition to our bid to hostthe world cup in 2022,” al nuaimisaid.“Qatar has become prominent on thecultural itineraries of travellers,especially coming to see theoutstanding landmarks in Qatar. weare encouraging visitors to takeadvantage of these exciting events.”The Mice sector formed the finalpillar of Qatar’s tourism strategy,

according to al nuaimi, and he saidthe country would actively courtMice business through a programmeof infrastucure development.“Qatar will harness its resources tobuild modern, sophisticated world-class facilities making it the bestdestination for conferences andinternational exhibitions,” he said.“Massive investments by thegovernment in the tourism sectorhave helped Qatar become a globalhub for quality and excellence at theinternational level.”

We recognise that ourcountry needs to be positioned

as more than a destination for business travel

t he alliance is comprisedof independent andbranded memberproperties around theworld, including several

in the Mena region.according to gHo, bookings in the earlymonths of 2010 tended towards bookingmargins of two weeks or less – a decreaseof 66 percent compared with the sameperiod of 2009.However, research undertaken by theorganisation shows that consumers aretrending towards booking further inadvance of their trip.“Last year, because of the unstableeconomic outlook and unsettling jobprospects, travellers favoured last minutebooking deals,” gHo reported.“However, as the economy slowly starts toemerge from recession, consumers arelooking to travel in more cost effectiveways, fuelling a rise in early bookings asthis is when savings can be made.”Vanesha ramsamy, strategic revenuemanager at gHo, said that in order tomaximise revenue and profit, hoteliersneed to adjust their pricing strategies andcosts according to booking trends.“if booking lead time is increasing,hoteliers need to ensure they have plentyof early booking discounts with the rightrestrictions in place,” she said.

“an early booking offer can be used tobuild occupancy and can also have aminimum length stay imposed to justifythe discounted rates.“The value-conscious consumer issearching for the best deals around andhoteliers should be aware of the rise inprice comparison and consumer reviewwebsites where consumers can compareand contrast a large number of hotels.” “sharpen your hotel’s online strategy andfocus on building brand loyalty bykeeping rate parity across all yourchannels.”

“as the economy pulls itself out of recession,the success of a hotel is determined byeffective crisis management and theflexibility to adopt short-term strategies andimprovements”, gHo’s report advised.“Hotels need to emerge from a recessionwith their reputation intact. “some hotels may even see themselves ina stronger position having secured newand loyal clients found through a changein pricing strategy.”

apriL 3, 201010

Roll With the Punches, Move with the TimesLondon based marketing alliance, Great Hotels Organisation (GHO), has reported that its members haveexperienced lengthened booking windows; responding to the shift is crucial.

Vanesha Ramsamy1

Hoteliers should be aware of the rise in price

comparison and consumerreview websites where

consumers can compareand contrast a large

number of hotels

apriL 3, 201012

uk based low cost carrier, easyJet, hasnamed a new ceo. carolyn Mccall will take over at theairline, moving from her previous positionat the guardian Media group newspapercompany.according to easyJet, Mccall was chosenfor her experience in consumer-facingmanagement.

she has held various positions withinguardian Media group since 1986,including commercial director guardiannewspapers; ceo guardian news andMedia; and group chief executive officer ofguardian Media group.

peter carmichael has been named assenior vice president for the anantarahospitality brand.He will assume responsibility for allexisting anantara properties, as well asthe brand’s 30 pipeline projects that areexpected to be completed within thenext decade.carmichael moved to anantara fromthe intercontinental Hotels group,where he was corporate vice presidentfor south east asia and Maldives.He will report to Dillip rajakarier, chiefoperating officer of the Minor Hotelgroup, who own the anantara brand.

Carolyn McCall

JumeirahDubai Holding subsidiary, Jumeirah, hasannounced the appointment of two newgeneral managers for hotels in Dubai andabu Dhabi.Doris greif will return to Jumeirah from an18 month absence, during which she servedas the chief operating officer of cityoperations at Dubai international Financialcentre.she will assume management of Jumeirahetihad towers, scheduled to launch in abuDhabi in 2011, and will head the pre-openingteam of that hotel.grief first joined Jumeirah in 1999 andbecame the general manager of the JumeirahBeach club resort and spa in 2000, going

on to manage Jumeirah emirates towers andthe pre opening team of Jumeirah’s firstchinese property.prior to her work with Jumeirah, griefworked for Hilton international in variousfront office roles at Hilton Munich.andy cuthbert will take the reins ofJumeirah Bab al shams Desert resort & spa.cuthbert has been employed by Jumeirah for10 years, working as executive assistantmanager in Jumeirah emirates towers anddirector of operations for JumeirahHospitality.He has more than 30 years of experience inthe hospitality industry and has worked forhotels throughout australia, uk and uae.

Peter Carmichael

Doris Greif Andy Cuthbert

Carolyn McCall

Anantara properties

Rendezvous France Targets Emerging MarketsAtout France and the French Government are counting on national tourism industry reforms and visitorsfrom emerging markets, including the Middle East, to protect the country’s place as the world’s number onetourism destination.

apriL 3, 2010 13

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Hervé novelli , France’s Ministerfor tourism  , outlined thecountry’s reform strategy atthe opening of rendezvousFrance – the country’s largest

international trade fair .France’s hotel classification system is set to beoverhauled in the next few years, with the introductionof a new voluntary star rating system.Five star hotel ratings are a new introduction to theFrench market – and one that novelli said had been along time coming.“This reform had been expected within the industryfor nearly a quarter of a century,” he said.“international tour operators were surprised not tohave five star hotels in France. ”several hotels have now been reclassified as five star,with more expected to alter their ratings as the reformis rolled out throughout the country .novelli said he expected the reclassification to takeseveral years, after which a new logo would be launchedto represent the new one to five star hotel rating system.travel agencies are also part of the government’s reformprocess; all travel agents are now required to beregistered with atout France.novelli said the tourism industry was in a state ofevolution,, with a growing trend towards shorter, morefrequent holidays.“By 2020 everything will have changed,” he said.

“tourists will be coming fromemerging markets like Brazil and india,and if we can’t attract those tourists, wewill lose our position as the world’s firstdestination.”atout France has been given a globalbudget of eur82 million (usD110million) to strengthen its presence ininternational markets.christian  Mantei,  ceo of atout

France, said the organisation’s aim wasto develop a lasting presence and newpartnerships within the 35 countriesthat host atout France offices.in 2010, he predicted that the topdestinations in France would includethe alps and urban centres. Five percent of the 900 participantsat rendezvous France were travelprofessionals from the Middle east.

apriL 3, 201014

Q&A with Mohammed Arkobi The much anticipated launch of Fairmont’s Makkah Royal Clock Tower hotel is growing closer by the day.Travel Trade Weekly caught up with the man in charge: Mohammed Arkobi, general manager of the property.

Travel Trade Weekly: What market isFairmont targeting in Makkah?Mohammed Arkobi: primarily, we aretargeting all Muslims from around theworld, including of course, islamiccountries and the gcc; and needless to saythat we will receive a big number of guestsfrom within the saudi market.

Travel Trade Weekly: Please tell me alittle about the tourism industry inSaudi Arabia- I understand thattourism is mostly domestic andreligious; are there any other segmentsof note? Mohammed Arkobi: you are correct,but the saudi government is encouragingand growing  domestic and internationaltourism as well. i believe the hospitalityindustry around the world was generallyaffected by the economic crisis, but thesaudi market was less affected compared tothe other countries. in addition to this, the tourism industry isfacing significant growth in ksa, whetherit is inbound, outbound, or domestictourism. There are some very good andinteresting touristic places to be seen andothers that are currently underdevelopment.

Travel Trade Weekly: There also seemsto be a greater acceptance of budgethotel options in the country than inDubai (for instance) can you say whythis is?Mohammed Arkobi: Basically we aredealing with religious travellers and aspiritual product; for us we put that as apriority, hence we have set our pricesreasonable vs. the quality and services weoffer. our guests are guaranteed value fortheir money.

Travel Trade Weekly: Fairmont seemsto be expanding its presence in SaudiArabia; can you tell about this initiative? Mohammed Arkobi: saudi arabia is thefastest developing market in the Middle eastand north africa when it comes to ourindustry. accordingly, our company isconsidering opening more hotels especiallyin the big cities such as al riyadh, Jeddah,and al Madinah. after thorough marketstudying, research, and analysis, we havediscovered that these cities have a lot ofpotential for prosperous hotel business.

Travel Trade Weekly: What are themain destinations in Saudi Arabia, andwho do they attract? Mohammed Arkobi: The maindestinations are Makkah and Madinah, beingthe two Holy cities and the dream of allMuslims worldwide to visit. in addition, Jeddah and riyadh are keydestinations; Jeddah is known for tourismand business, and riyadh –being the capitalof saudi- flourishes in business, commerce,and conferences.

Travel Trade Weekly: Can you tell meabout any upcoming developments andattractions? Mohammed Arkobi: There will be lots ofdevelopment in saudi’s key cities: Makkah,Madinah, riyadh, and Jeddah in the coming5 years. However, i can tell you about ourFairmont royal clock tower in moreelaborate detail. we are doing our best tomake it the preferred destination of all

visitors due to its location and importance.The Fairmont royal clock tower Hotel willhave the first and largest islamic museum inthe world and will also have the biggest clockever, which is 5.7 times the size of  Big Benand can be seen from 11 km during the dayand 17 km during night time. it will also bethe minaret for the unified azan in Makkah.

Travel Trade Weekly: Do religioustourists only pursue pilgrimageactivities, or is there cross over withleisure/business travel? Mohammed Arkobi: usually, peoplecome to Makkah for religious reasons;however, sometimes pilgrims have tightschedules and  come with their families;hence, you will find our hotels ready to caterto our guests who are in need of services otherthan those of  umra and Hajj. we havemeeting rooms, over 20 function halls forevents and weddings, health clubs segregatedfor men and women, and needless tomention, high tech systems that you will notfind in any other hotel. in addition to that, thevariety and selection of our restaurants is amajor attraction, where we have for the firsttime a saudi r estaurant in addition to manyother fine cuisines.

We are dealing withreligious travellers and a

spiritual product; for us weput that as a priority

MohammedArkobi

15apriL 3, 2010

WTO’s Findings Mixed on Airbus Subsidy CaseThe World Trade Organisation has handed down a final ruling on subsidies paid to Airbus byEuropean governments.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

the complaint wasbrought against theeuropean communitiesby the us government,who claimed that (ec)

members had provided illegal funding forthe research and development of airbusvehicles.Findings in the case were mixed, withairbus claiming vindication, while majorrival, Boeing, characterised the ruling as a

landmark victory for free competition.according to airbus, 70 percent ofallegations were rejected by the wtopanel, and requests for restitution weredenied.However, the panel found that prior loanspaid to the company had contained anelement of subsidy; a claim that airbussaid it would investigate.Findings are pending a possible review bythe wto’s appellate body.

Copenhagen Tops Out Low Cost TerminalCopenhagen Airport has celebrated thetopping out, or structural completion, of itsupcoming low cost terminal, dubbed cpHswift.according to Brian petersen, ceo ofcopenhagen airports, the new facility willattract more travellers to Denmark when it goesonline in six months time.“it is essential for the region that we attract morepassengers to copenhagen,” he said.“in cpH swift, we create a platform for morelow-cost traffic, and it will attract visitors thatwould not otherwise come to copenhagen.”He went on to say that the travel habits ofconsumers had changed, and that destinationshad to adapt to maintain or expand their marketshare.“The european low-cost market has expandedstrongly in recent years, and the trend isexpected to continue,” he said.“if we want our share of growth, we must satisfymarket expectations and offer the productsdemanded by our customers; that’s why withcpH swift, we’re building a simple and efficientconcept that meets low-cost carriers’requirements and demands.”

apriL 3, 201016

EventsMeeting LuxuryLugano, Switzerland, April 8-10 (www.meetingluxury.com/en)exhibition for top end travel products.

World Holiday and Travel FairJohannesburg, South Africa, April 16-18 (www.worldtravelfair.co.za)split between a business to business exhibition and public access,with the opportunity for on the spot selling to consumers.

China Outbound Travel and Tourism MarketBeijing, PRC, April 28-30 (www.cottm.com)a business to business platform for international destinationsand companies to introduce their products to the chineseoutbound travel industry.

Arabian Hotel Investment ConferenceDubai, UAE, May 1-3 (www.arabianconference.com)interviews with hoteliers, forecasts from economists, paneldiscussions on the latest developments, trends and bestpractice in the hotel and investment industry.

Arabian Travel MarketDubai, UAE, May 4-7 (www.arabiantravelmarket.com)travel and tourism event for inbound and outbound tourismprofessionals, featuring destinations, accommodation, tourismattractions and airlines.

HOTEC Middle EastMuscat, Oman, May 7-10 (www.mcleaneventsinternational.com/events/HotecMiddleEast2010)Business to business meetings forum for hotel owners,developers and operators to meet with suppliers.

Destination Britain and Ireland Dubai, UAE, May 10-13Business to business event showcasing tourism offerings fromthe uk and ireland to buyers from around the world.

The Hotel ShowDubai, UAE, May 18-20 (www.thehotelshow.com)exhibition for hoteliers and suppliers to the hotel industry.

The fourth GIBTM industry reportprojects strong growth for the Micesector in the Middle east.Based on the results of a survey canvassingboth buyers and sellers, the report receivedthe largest number of respondents since itsinception in 2007.according to sally greenhill, managingdirector of The right solution Limitedwho compiled and analysed the report,buyer responses indicated a good year forthe Mena meetings industry, despitecontractions in 2009.

The mean number of events attended bybuyers within Mena dropped by to 4.6in 2009, down from 5.7 in 2008. greenhill noted that the survey pointedto greater interest in a wider range ofdestinations around the Middle east andnorth africa.“clearly 2009 saw a downturn in theregion, however it was lower than thatexperienced in europe and elsewhere,”she said.“according to the predictions made bybuyers, this year will see the region bounce

back with increased numbers of events,using a wider range of destinations.”greenhill said that suppliers were alsooptimistic about the future of meetings inthe Mena region.“overall, suppliers predict that theregion has significant growth potential,"she said.The report showed that Dubai wasexpected to remain the leading regionalMice destination in the coming year,followed by abu Dhabi, egypt, Morocco,oman and Jordan.

GIBTM Survey Shows Optimism for Regional MICE Throughout 2010