Tag Archives: UAE

The number of Indians visiting London is set to increase by 90 per cent by 2025, according to official data released by London & Partners, the business arm of the Mayor of London’s office. Last year, London received 0.27 million Indian visitors which is expected to increase to 0.52 million in the next eight years. In terms of spend Indian visitors to London from India spent 258 million pounds (USD 333 million) in 2016, which is projected to rise to 721.2 million pounds (USD 931 million) by 2025, marking a 180 per cent increase, according to the data. “Visitors to the capital bring huge benefits. The industry boosts London’s economy, as well as supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and showing the world that London is an open, welcoming and diverse city,” said the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan at the launch of a new Tourism Vision for London. Besides India, the other fastest growing markets for visitors to London by 2025 include China (103 per cent growth), the US (43 per cent) and the UAE (43 per cent). For the new Tourism Vision, London & Partners has collaborated with more than 100 of the capitals tourism leaders, including the Greater London Authority, Gatwick Airport, Hilton and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, to define a new vision for the tourism industry. “As a combined force, we believe that if this vision is realised, tourism will drive economic growth and stimulate the city’s cultural scene, support even greater numbers of jobs and strengthen London’s reputation as an open and welcoming city,” L&P said. The vision states that the growth in visitor numbers is not a given with increasing competition from …

The Indian government has reportedly increased the visa fee in different categories for nationals from the US, the UK, Canada, Israel, Iran and UAE. As per a government notification, a tourist visa up to one year will now cost $153 from the earlier $100. The tourist visa for over a year and up to five years will cost $306 instead of $120. Mainly affecting foreigners who work in the country, the move comes about as a reciprocal measure, since countries like the US, New Zealand and Australia have planned or already implemented such processes. However, UK nationals, who used to cough up $162 for a tourist visa up to a year, will now pay $248. And for a five year tourist visa, they will pay $741 instead of $484. For the employment visa, nationals from Canada, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand will now pay $459 instead of $300 for a visa spanning over a year and up to five years. Israelis continue to cough up the most for a short-term visa. They will now pay $1,714 instead of $1,120.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and China Southern Airlines have announced a new codeshare partnership, which comes into effect on June 22, 2017. This increases the number of codeshare agreements operated by the Abu Dhabi-based airline to 53. Under the agreement, China Southern Airlines will put its ‘CZ’ code on Etihad Airways’ daily services between Beijing (PEK)/Shanghai (PVG)/Chengdu (CTU) and Abu Dhabi. The codeshare partnership will give China Southern guests the opportunity to book codeshare flights to and from Abu Dhabi, and connect onto Etihad’s network of over 100 destinations worldwide. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways’ Executive Vice President Commercial, said: “The codeshare partnership with China Southern Airlines is a significant milestone in the airlines’ network development strategy and a key component of its footprint in the China market. This is a further example of our strategy of working with partners to extend our reach, and provide business and leisure travellers with more options. Zhang Lin, China Southern Airlines’ senior management on international cooperation,   welcomed the establishment of the new partnership with Etihad Airways’ management team. He said: “We are excited about the new partnership with Etihad Airways, which will further strengthen the global network of both airlines and provide increased benefits to all our passengers.”

In response to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain breaking diplomatic ties with Qatar over alleged terror links, Qatar Airlines has suspended all flights to these nations until further notice. All customers booked on affected flights will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination. An official document from Qatar Airways addressed most of the concerns that travellers might be having currently. The document mentioned that in case passengers have booked tickets from Qatar on any other airline, the respective airline would rebook the tickets for these passengers. On the other hand, passengers holding confirmed and ticketed Qatar Airways tickets will be re-accommodated according to availability on other carriers at the time of re-issuance as per the IATA Regulations. However, there is not disruption in flights to Europe and US, and passengers on transit from Qatar also remain unaffected.

Tourists and businessmen from India and 17 other countries can now travel to Russia’s Far East without a visa, informed Dmitry Medvedev, the Prime Minister of Russia. In order to boost tourism and investment in the region, the nationals of these 18 countries will have simplified entry procedures into Russia through the free port of Vladivostok. According to Pavel Volkov, Deputy Minister, Development of the Far East, tourists and entrepreneurs will only be required to fill a form on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Applications will be approved within four days. Electronic single entry visas will be issued directly at the Russian border and will be valid for 30 days. The 17 countries apart from India include Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Iran, Qatar, China, North Korea, Kuwait, Morocco, Mexico, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, Turkey, and Japan. “I have recently approved the list of countries, whose nationals can take advantage of the preferential regime. We are proactively forming the modern infrastructure and creating special regimes in the far East; the law on visits to the Vladivostok free port was approved in March. This is not because these states are situated at a closer or longer distance – we are appropriately introducing bilateral agreements on visa-free travel for those ready to use such an approach for us,” said Medvedev. Volkov further said, “We’d like to see an increase in tourism to the region by at least 30 percent. Given the fact that every wealthy tourist spends at least $1,000 in the territory, we assume this will significantly increase the opportunities for the development of the region, trade turnover, and currency flows.” Source: Live Mint  

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has extended its digital reach with the introduction of a new mobile application for Android smartphones, enabling guests to manage their journeys with even greater ease. The new mobile app provides comprehensive trip management and giving guests the information they need in a way that suits them. Guests can now organise their journeys directly on the app, which includes booking flights, checking in for flights, securing a mobile boarding pass, checking flight status, or viewing their Etihad Guest miles balance. Additional key features include a simple flight search function, a credit card scanner for payments, a passport scan facility to check in, and improved flight seat maps. Justin Warby, Vice President of Direct Sales for Etihad Airways, said: “This is a step forward in our innovation strategy to enable a convenient, more personalised digital travel experience.  Our guests are central to how we develop these services, and their feedback has been important in the creation of this latest app. Technological innovation will be vital in the development of our industry, and as a leading airline, we want to be able to provide services that make travel simple for everyone.” The airline recently launched an iOS application for iPhones, and partnered with Abu Dhabi Airports to enable guests to navigate their way around Abu Dhabi International Airport using indoor maps. This was a first for the Middle East and there have been over 350,000 downloads from the App Store since it launched in April of this year. The app has also delivered over 25,000 bookings and 130,000 check ins.

The seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are going to conduct a combined roadshow in February along with OTM Mumbai. Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority, said at an event, “We have signed an agreement with the National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels to do a roadshow with them along with the Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and other emirates to come together and promote the UAE as a destination with its various offer.” Ras Al Khaimah is targeting one million visitors by the end of 2018 and is eyeing the Indian market robustly.