Best Holiday Lettings

Category: Holidays

  • Abu Dhabi tourism investment continues to pay dividends

    Figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority have revealed Abu Dhabi’s 141 hotels and hotel apartments have turned in a promising quarter one performance with around the board growth in guest numbers, guest nights, average length of stay and revenues.

    During the primary three months of 2013 some 631,417 guests checked into accommodation during the emirate – a six per cent rise on quarter one 2012.

    Guest nights rose 23 per cent to two,119,016, the typical length of stay was up 16 per cent to three.36 nights and total revenues climbed 15 per cent on 2012.

    The UK maintained its position because the emirate’s leading overseas guest source market delivering in quarter one some 39,841 arrivals, up seven per cent on quarter one 2012, a complete of 186,882 guest nights, a rise of 17 per cent and a mean length of stay of four.69 nights, up nine per cent at the comparative period.

    The quarter one results were aided by a healthy March performance when guest arrivals rose nine per cent at the same month in 2012 to face at 230,974 which translated into 761,834 guest nights – a 26 per cent month on month increase with total revenues climbing 18 per cent, average length of stay edging up 16 per cent and occupancy rising seven per cent to 74 per cent.

    The results were also delivered against a background of rising room supply with four new hotel facilities – two resorts, one in Abu Dhabi city another in Al Ain, and two hotel apartments within the UAE capital – opening during quarter one and bringing another 706 rooms online.

    Major events also helped drive March’s performance with the emirate hosting Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, Abu Dhabi Festival, Abu Dhabi Air Expo and Qasr al Hosn Festival in addition to welcoming performances from Sting, Andrea Boccelli and Guns N Roses.

  • United Arab Emirates joins rejoins United Nations World Tourism Organisation

    UNWTO secretary general, Taleb Rifai, has announced the United Arab Emirates has rejoined the organisation 26 years after leaving.

    “The Middle East is without doubt one of the fastest growing tourism regions on the earth regardless of facing countless challenges; much of this dynamism have been led by the strong political commitment awarded to tourism within the region and the vision that tourism is a key pillar of development within the Middle East of which the UAE is an ideal example,” said Rifai. 

    “The UAE play a central role not just within the development of tourism within the region but additionally in linking the center East with other regions and we think that by working together we are going to enhance tourism within and to the Emirates in addition to increase regional cooperation,” he added.

    The UAE and UNWTO will work on several initiatives including the measurement of the commercial impact of tourism, statistics and human resources development.

    The Middle East is among the fastest growing tourism regions on the earth.

    Between 1980 and 2010, international tourist arrivals within the Middle East rose from 7.1 million to 60.9 million, an ordinary annual increase of seven.4 per cent compared with an international average of four.2 per cent.

    According to UNWTO’s long-term forecast, Tourism Towards 2030, this growth is decided to continue; in 2030 arrivals to the center East are expected to succeed in 149 million, a normal annual increase of four.6 per cent compared with a worldwide average of three.3 per cent.

  • European visitors flock to Central America

    Central America was an enormous hit with European visitors in 2012 consistent with new figures released by the ministries of tourism of the seven Central American countries.

    In total Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama – received 832,567 European visitors last year, a rise of nearly 16 per cent compared to the former year.

    The German and British markets experienced the most important growth last year, and were up by nine per cent and 7 per cent respectively. 

    Spain is still the most European outbound marketplace for Central America with 151,202 visitors in 2012, followed by Germany (120,911 visitors) and the united kingdom in third place (107,101 visitors).

    While Costa Rica remains to be the preferred destination for British visitors, a growing interest inside the Maya culture and the celebration of the beginning of a brand new era consistent with the Maya calendar led to a major surge in visitors to Guatemala, which received 31,286 British visitors in 2012, 27 per cent greater than in 2011. 

    Honduras, another destination with an enormous Maya heritage, attracted four per cent more British visitors than within the previous year.

    The total collection of visitors from all over to Central America in 2012 was 12,545,313, an overall increase of one.36 per cent when compared with 2011.

  • UAE escapes Middle East tourism slump

    International arrivals to the UAE increased healthily in 2012, reaching an estimated 11 million tourists, delegates heard today on the latest WTM Vision Conference – Dubai held at Arabian Travel Market.

    Overall performance of inbound trips to the center East region were down five per cent last year mainly because of the decline of arrivals to these countries hit by the Arab Spring, which occurred in 2011 effecting countries together with Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Syria.

    However the UAE witnessed a considerable increase with an estimated 11 million tourist arrivals visiting the Emirates; over eight million visiting Dubai, two million to Abu Dhabi and the remaining to the alternative five emirates.

    All states continuing to expose the right hotel occupancy rates due their strong leisure appeal and robust MICE sector.

    Of the 11 million arrivals to the UAE, neighbouring country Saudi Arabia made up the highest source marketplace for inbound tourism, with 1,500,000 tourists coming from Saudi Arabia alone.

    Visitor numbers from the most important Arab state to the UAE are predicated to double over the subsequent five years to greater than 3,000,000 arrivals.

    Speaking on the WTM Vision Conference – Dubai, Euromonitor International senior research analyst Sana Toukan explained that the UAE offers a culturally similar but more relaxed tourist destination for Saudis and is especially popular amongst the growing young population.

    Toukan explained: “The UAE promotes itself as a luxury shoppers’ paradise, with elaborate destination malls, shopping festivals, no sales tax and lower prices than in lots of surrounding countries.

    “Luxury brands are a big focus for incoming tourists from everywhere in the globe.”

    Another Middle Eastern country to prosper for the reason that 2011 Arab Spring was Egypt, recording a robust 18 per cent growth in 2012, although arrival numbers are still faraway from the 14 million recorded in 2010.

    Also, as highlighted on the earth Travel Market 2012 Industry Report, Libya has vast tourism potential with its long Mediterranean coast and Roman antiquities, nevertheless it has yet to realize much progress for the reason that revolution finished in 2011.

    Reed Travel Exhibitions director World Travel Market Simon Press said: “It is superb to listen to that recovery was seen in quite a few Middle Eastern and North African countries equivalent to the UAE, Egypt and Tunisia.

    “However the risk still remains with the unrest and on-going violence in Syria which might affect neighbouring countries.

    “The content delegates have heard today confirms the growing importance of the center Eastern market, particularly the UAE, taking into account the pressures and conflicts that countries have witnessed over the past few years. 

    “I’m sure the research revealed to delegates at WTM Vision Conference – Dubai will enable them to get a head start in their competitors in maximising their future potential.”

  • DNA Health Corp to reinforce medical tourism in Abu Dhabi

    US-headquartered integrative health and wellness specialists, DNA Health Corp, is about to open its first overseas flagship center on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island in June, targeting both the region’s residents and visitors searching for a special method of personalised health and wellness.

    The DNA Center for Integrative Medicine & Wellness, so one can be inaugurated by HH Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE minister of culture, youth & community on May 14th was showcased during a press conference at Arabian Travel Market, where a panel of senior executives, led by DNA Health Corp chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf, introduced the company’s 21st century model for preventive healthcare.

    “Abu Dhabi is step one of our phased five-year plan for global expansion, and we’re observing opening similar DNA Centers in Saudi Arabia and Turkey inside the next 12 to 18 months.

    “We chose to launch within the UAE capital because it is a hub for the region, is definitely served by numerous international carriers and an emerging destination of distinction for health and wellness tourism,” said Dr Ashraf.

    According to hospitality research consultancy SRI, the worldwide wellness tourism market is estimated to be worth greater than US$106 billion.

    DNA Health’s philosophy is to deliver the best standards folks healthcare protocol in keeping with integrative, functional and lifestyle medicinal approaches for the treatment of chronic disease, healthy aging and lifestyle management.

    The centre will offer personalised lifestyle medicine programmes in accordance with a holistic approach uniting leading-edge Western medicine, advanced diagnostics and clinical therapies, complemented by centuries-old Eastern healing traditions and philosophies.

    “Our main target markets are the GCC countries, with a powerful concentrate on Saudi Arabia, followed by inbound business from Russia, the previous CIS countries, Germany and China; and we’re already seeing strong advance interest within the UAE,” said Ashraf.

    “We are committed to establishing a centre of excellence for health and wellness inside the region, and proactively complementing the local healthcare infrastructure, by providing the top standards people healthcare protocols for the treatment of chronic diseases, lifestyle management, bio-aesthetics and healthy aging,” he added.

    The name behind the center’s exclusive number of non-invasive bio-aesthetic therapies and anti-aging treatments, here’s the primary time that Jamie Sherrill’s range of signature treatments and wonder products was available within the region.

    DNA’s portfolio of foundational ‘DNA 4 Life’ personalised lifestyle medicine packages, inclusive of five-star hotel accommodation, are in response to each individual guest’s genomic and DNA profiles, and key laboratory tests, giving a comprehensive assessment of every guest’s current state of health.