Tag Archives: dubai
Dubai International Airport braces for summer surge
Dubai International Airport braces for summer surge Lily B. Libo-on / 29 June 2013 Summer is here again, the time when a lot of expatriate families pack their bags and fly home, and residents visit cooler climes. Once again, airport authorities and travel advisors are bracing for the busy days ahead and reminding passengers of those dos and don’ts to make travel a smooth rather than harrowing experience. Dubai International Airport is preparing for the rush of not just outbound passengers but also tourists coming in as their numbers grew 18.9 per cent in May. Smart tips for travellers Say goodbye to loved ones at home to save time and avoid congestion at the airport Use online check-in facilities or self-service check-in kiosks in the departure hall to avoid queuing Ensure that each piece of baggage is within the 32kg allowance to avoid delays; you should expect to be charged for baggage in excess of the limit set by your airline Make sure any liquids, aerosols and gels you are carrying are in a clear re-sealable plastic bag. Each item should not be more than 100ml and the total content of all items should not be more than one litre. Unless absolutely necessary during the journey, it is simpler to pack them in your checked-in baggage Remember to put anything metal — watch, jewellery, mobile phone, coins — into your hand luggage well before you arrive at the X-ray machines, and save time at Security Screening As the world’s second busiest airport for international passengers, Dubai International Airport has come up with a number of new initiatives to ease the flow of passengers this summer. Majed Al Joker, vice-president, Terminal Operations at Dubai Airports, said this year was going to the busiest summer at the airport, and it would pose many challenges, “but the entire team at Dubai Airports is committed and ready to keep it smooth and easy for all our customers. Hence, aside from technological solutions, the airport has also boosted the numbers of trained customer service personnel deployed across the facility to assist passengers”. The new initiatives covered all important areas from the kerb to the boarding gates. “To reduce vehicular traffic in the forecourt at Terminal 3, Dubai Airports has rerouted all buses to the car park check-in, while seating capacity of Concourse B has been increased by nearly 30 per cent. Smart e-Gates have been increased to facilitate easy flow of passengers through immigration. Additionally, the introduction of automatic tray return machines in security check areas is also expected to ease the flow of passengers.” Though the fares of most major airlines are rising by 20 per cent, the increase has nonetheless stopped people from travelling to and from Dubai. Liezel Houghes, a British-American consultant in Dubai for the past five years, says that she has accumulated air miles that enable her to get a free air ticket to Turkey and neighbouring European states this Ramadan. “I travel annually towards the end of July and most of August where business slows down a bit due to Ramadan and the heat is soaring high in Dubai. Luckily, this year my travel is free due to my huge accumulation of air miles,” she says. A German specialist, Ludwig Schmidt, who has been here for three years, will go on vacation with his family to New Zealand as soon as the school holiday starts. “The fare is pretty high, yet this is a great chance to see my sisters there. What is important is this summer, we will escape the heat and will be rejoicing in a family reunion out there,” he says. Dubai International has recorded a passenger traffic of nearly five million for six consecutive months, up by 16.8 per cent to 27,124,195 compared to 23,216,893 during the first five months of 2012. In May alone, the airport facilitated 5,218,832 passengers, an increase of 18.9 per cent compared to 4,388,614 in 2012. Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports which manages both Dubai International and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International, says that as a result of Emirates airline’s and flydubai’s expanding network, Western Europe topped the list of regions with the largest increase in total passenger numbers (+208,393), followed by the AGCC (+189,810), and the Indian sub-continent (+131,364). “Following the launch of flights by Qantas in May after the airline’s tie-up with Emirates, Australia was the fastest growing destination with 50 per cent growth in traffic and Saudi Arabia a close second (40 per cent) thanks to the post-liberalisation boom in the kingdom’s aviation sector.” India remained the top destination country in terms of total passenger numbers which reached 728,259 in May. In terms of percentage growth in passenger numbers, Eastern Europe remained the strongest market (87.3 per cent), followed by Australasia (45.6 per cent) and Asia Pacific (29.5 per cent). “Passenger numbers at the world’s second busiest international hub increase significantly during the season, which this year will coincide with the holy month of Ramadan boosting the traffic further,” Griffiths says. – lily@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
DSS brings in hordes of visitors
DSS brings in hordes of visitors Staff Reporter / 29 June 2013 Malls and tourist services in Dubai are reporting customer increases of up to 17 per cent on the same period last year, more than two weeks into one of the city’s major shopping festivals. The month-long Dubai Summer Surprises festival, which will run till July 7 just before the expected start of Ramadan, has seen “tens of thousands” of visitors flood the emirate, organisers said in a Press release. Organisers said they were expecting this year’s festival figures to top those from last year, which featured 4.4 million participants and Dh12.3 billion in sales, based on the strong showing exhibited so far, the release said. “The 16th edition of Dubai Summer Surprises has posted excellent growth in its first two weeks boosted by the arrival of tens of thousands of visitors to Dubai that has led to high occupancy levels at hotels and sharp increases in footfall and sales at over 70 malls and more than 6,000 retail outlets across the city,” organisers said. Meanwhile, Dubai’s malls are reporting positive signs as the festival reaches past the halfway point. Mercato & Town Centre Jumeirah Corporate Communication Manager Nisreen Boustani said there was a 17 per cent in crease in footfall so far this DSS compared with the same period last year, while sales were up 13 per cent. “Thousands of shoppers and visitors have been descending on Mercato to avail themselves of great promotions and prizes that are up for grabs this Dubai Summer Surprises. As a result of all the live entertainment and in-mall promotions, we have noticed an increase in the mall’s footfall as well as in sales during the first half of DSS 2013.” The campaign was an important strategy to keep Dubai recognised as the worldwide tourist destination, she said. Dubai Duty Free executive vice-chairman Colm McLoughlin said his company had also had a high retail turnover in the first half of the festival. “Our sales year to date is up 13 per cent over the same period last year. This is a great indication that successful events such as the Dubai Summer Surprises, which attracts visitors to Dubai, have a positive impact on the retail sector.” Currency exchange Al Fardan Exchange general manager Osama Hamza Al Rahma said the company had registered a 10 per cent increase in transactions during the first two weeks of DSS — “and we expect this momentum to continue until the end of DSS 2013”. With each passing year and successive DSS, Dubai became an increasing global tourist attraction, he said. “All these attractions and activities have had a positive impact on the business of exchange houses. In fact, there is increasing demand for the Emirati dirham from the huge numbers of visitors coming from GCC and European countries.” Hotels were also benefitting from the shopping festival, with visitors, particularly from the GCC region, flooding the emirate this summer. Emirates Grand Hotel administration director Nader Abu El Ezz said the hotel’s occupancy rate had been at 99 per cent since the start of summer, due to various promotions and DSS. The occupancy rate, helped out by many GCC tourists, was a “great” improvement on the same period last year, he said. “Since January due to various occasions and festivities such as Dubai Shopping Festival and the holidays for public schools in the GCC countries, we have had an excellent period in terms of occupancy levels.” DSS 2013, organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, will feature more than 100 events and activities, as well as numerous shopping offers including promotions and discounts of up to 75 per cent. — news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Istanbul Turkey 1 – Collage Video – youtube.com/tanvideo11
Powered by http://www.tanmarket.com – Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country’s economic, cultural, and historic… Continue reading
