The unfathomed luxury of a tourism destination with John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global
In an exclusive interview, John Pagano, the CEO of Red Sea Global, gives us a sneak peek into the ground-breaking regenerative tourism destination The Red Sea and discusses a bold plan to forge a new relationship between luxury tourism and the natural world.
An exclusive talk with Berthold Trenkel – the maestro behind Qatar Vision 2030
Berthold Trenkel, COO of Qatar Tourism, has more than 20 years of experience in the travel industry. As a transformational leader spearheading Qatar’s operational and implementation strategy, he provides insights on what the future holds for Qatar and reflects on the overall impact of the 2022 World Cup on the country.
Middle East and Africa region set to return to pre-pandemic levels of business travel spend by 2024
According to Business Travel Index Outlook annual forecast and outlook (2022), the business travel segment in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) is recovering more rapidly than in any other region. MEA business travel achieved 86 percent of its 2019 levels during 2022, outperforming the recovery in Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe.
SEVEN announces entertainment destination in Tabuk KSA
Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN) has announced that it will start the construction phase of its entertainment destination in Tabuk, which has a development value of more than SAR 1 billion. The project is set to transform the entertainment landscape in the region with a wide range of attractions and experiences.
Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning hospitality scene ranks first among Arab nations for inbound visitors in 2022
Saudi Arabia registered more international arrivals than any other Arab nation during the first nine months of 2022, as government officials aim to attract 100 million annual visitors by the end of this decade.
Abu Dhabi houses one of the region’s largest wholesale food trading marketplaces, in collaboration with Rungis
Semmaris, the managing company of Rungis International Market, the largest wholesale fresh food market in the world — hosting around 1,200 companies — has partnered with the GAG Ghassan Aboud Group, one of the largest conglomerates in the Middle East, and KIZAD Abu Dhabi Port Authorities, a group of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, to support the creation of the future agro-logistics hub of Abu Dhabi. After three years of negotiations, the project, which aims at storing food products and deploying a logistic and digital capacity on a regional scale (the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman), is on track.
GCC hotels can achieve net zero emissions by 2050
Hotels throughout the region can create a bespoke roadmap to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. While many independent hotels, three- and four-star properties lack the necessary support of consultants to design, plan and execute a carbon-neutral roadmap, major international hotel brands already have the necessary resources to achieve their sustainability goals. The main challenges are: carbon footprint assessments across the hotel and its value chain; a lack of financial resources, with little or no budget allocated for climate-related activities; higher costs associated with sustainable products; and insufficient regulatory incentives to support a hotel’s net zero transition.
Laurent A. Voivenel’s take on AI during the Hospitality Innovation Summit 2023
During the Hospitality Innovation Summit 2023 panel on “Hotel Innovation: How to ensure relevance today and tomorrow,” Laurent A. Voivenel, SVP of operations and development EMEA and India Group Human Resources and Talent Development of Swiss-Belhotel International, highlighted the potential benefits and risks of AI. The panel was moderated by Christopher Lund, executive director and head of hotels for the MENA region at Colliers International, and other speakers on the panel included Imran Changezi, development senior director of the Diriyah Gate Development Authority; Ian Wilson, regional director for hospitality of NEOM; and Chadi Hauch, regional VP lodging development ME of Marriott International.