Propelled by strong growth throughout the first three quarters of the year and anticipation of an exceptional surge in guest numbers in the final quarter, Dubai Airports is forecasting annual passenger traffic at Dubai International (DXB) to reach 86.8 million – surpassing 2019 traffic.

DXB commenced the second half of 2023 with its growth story continuing unabated, with average monthly traffic reaching 7.6 million, tracking pre-pandemic levels throughout the third quarter. The world’s largest hub recorded 22.9 million passengers in Q3 – the highest quarterly traffic since 2019, taking the total year-to-date traffic for the first nine months of the year to 64.5 million passengers, up 39.3% compared to the same period in 2022 and 1% above 2019.

Dubai Airports is expecting record-breaking numbers to continue in Q4 and 2024. To accommodate growth and to achieve the company’s ambition of revolutionising the guest journey at DXB, Dubai Airports is undertaking a strategic project to expand infrastructure capacity while enhancing operational efficiency. With a current capacity of 100 million passengers annually at DXB, the deployment of innovative technology, expansion and refurbishment of existing infrastructures and more efficient use of its space and resources is expected to propel the airport’s capacity to 120 million.

As Dubai tops the list of cities with the highest spending by international visitors with a total earning of $29.4bn , and the Emirate at the forefront of deploying the latest technologies, Dubai Airports has continued to work closely with its stakeholders to provide guests the experience they expect from Dubai.

With 8.9 million passengers in the first nine months of the year, India was DXB’s top country destination in terms of traffic volume, followed by Saudi Arabia with 4.8 million passengers, and the UK (4.4 million passengers). Other country destinations of note include Pakistan with 3.1 million passengers, the US (2.7 million) and Russia (1.8 million). The top cities by traffic were London (2.7 million passengers) and Riyadh (1.9 million), closely followed by Mumbai (1.8 million) and Jeddah (1.7 million passengers).

DXB’s baggage handling system processed a total of 57.5 million bags in 2023 with a success rate of 99.8% – a rate of 2.5 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers – no mean feat for the world’s biggest hub for international traffic. In terms of baggage delivery on arrival, 91% of all baggage was delivered within 45 minutes to the guests. The baggage volume in 2023 represents 106.07% of the 2019 baggage volume at DXB.

The average waiting time at passport control queues was less than 11 minutes for 96.4% of the arriving passengers and 95.1% of passengers queued for less than six minutes at departure passport control. The average queue times at security-check on departures was less than four minutes for 98.4% of total passengers.

Cargo continued to gain momentum in the third quarter registering a surge of 12.3% year on year, to reach 446,400 tonnes. The strong performance this year has helped level out a double-digit contraction in cargo recorded at the end of last year. The hub recorded 1.3 million tonnes of cargo in the first nine months of the year, registering a minor decline of under 1%.

Flight movements in Q3 surged by 5.1% in the third quarter to reach 106,000. DXB handled 308,000 in total flight movements between January and September, up 25.2% year-on year.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is poised to make a significant impact at the forthcoming World Travel Market in London, with a high-powered delegation of over 75 key stakeholders set to highlight the Kingdom’s growing tourism sector.

The Saudi Tourism Authority will lead the delegation to the influential global travel and tourism event, which runs from Nov. 6 to 8.

The panel will include industry leaders representing destination management organizations and hotels. It will also encompass tour operators, airlines, and cruise companies.

Some of the prominent participants include Riyadh Air, Almosafer, and the Tourism Development Fund. Additionally, Red Sea Global, Diriyah Co., Royal Commission for AlUla, and NEOM will also represent the country.

WTM London is known for connecting the global leisure travel community, with around 4,000 exhibitors expected to gather at ExCeL London during this year’s show.

This participation underscores Saudi Arabia’s commitment to showcasing its diverse tourism offerings, with the STA exhibition stand highlighting the sights and sounds of the world’s fastest-growing tourism destination with various activities and immersive experiences. Establishing partnership agreements to enhance opportunities, as well as networking with leading global travel and tourism organizations, will be a focus during the event.

Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Board Member of the Saudi Tourism Authority, said: “Saudi’s expanded and record-breaking participation this year mirrors our expanded targets and accelerated growth, 150 million visits by 2030. I look forward to being in London once again to continue strengthening existing partnerships and cultivating new ones to reach this goal.”

He added: “We believe the best way to share Saudi with the world is by inviting the world to come see it for themselves and there is no better time than now. Trade shows are a very close second where we make new connections and agree new business opportunities across the tourism value chain, making it more competitive than ever for our trade partners to introduce visitors to the wonders of Arabia.”

The WTM serves as a significant platform for engaging in discussions on tourism development and will include the participation of various decision-makers and experts in the travel industry.

Participating has been a key part of Saudi Arabia’s tourism strategy since opening its doors to international visitors in 2019. The Kingdom has been instrumental in securing agreements with vital international trade partners as part of its commitment to boosting the global tourism ecosystem.

iGA Istanbul Airport is celebrating successfully hosting thousands of senior executives, tourism delegates, airline suppliers and presidents of the world’s leading airlines at the 28th edition of Routes World 2023.

The annual conference was held in Istanbul from 15th – 17th October, in partnership with the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA).

Known as the most prestigious event in the civil aviation industry designed to provide a platform to discuss the future of global air connectivity, Routes World offers an opportunity for airlines and airports to establish new routes that will enhance relationships in trade, tourism and diplomatic fields.

This year’s event in Istanbul brought together more than 600 senior executives representing approximately 260 airlines as well as over 3,300 aviation professionals, reaching a record number of attendees for Routes World.

Acting CEO of iGA Istanbul Airport, Selahattin Bilgen, said: “Observing a wealth of new partnerships forged in just three days and witnessing first-hand the strategic foresight and productivity employed in shaping our industry’s future was truly invaluable.”

This year’s event in Istanbul brought together more than 600 senior executives representing approximately 260 airlines as well as over 3,300 aviation professionals, reaching a record number of attendees for Routes World. During the course of the three-day event, which included exhibition stands, panel discussions and speeches from leading aviation experts as well as one-to-one meetings and interviews, more than 13,000 collaboration meetings are said to have taken place, showcasing the extensive potential impact of this event.

Among the attendees from the event included airline companies such as easyJet, Delta Air Lines, Air France, Emirates, IndiGo, Japan Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Qantas, Turkish Airlines and Wizz Air, to name a few.

His Excellency Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority graced the launch and commended the unwavering commitment to sustainability of Coral Beach Resort Sharjah.  He reiterated, “Let me congratulate Coral Beach Resort Sharjah for taking a leap in sustainability as a property in Sharjah. I would like to commend everyone in your team for believing in the importance of sustainability, its impact in our day today life in general. We are very glad that you started this and looking forward to having more companies to follow the initiative.”

Plastic waste reduction has become a primary focus at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, with plastic bottles constituting a significant portion of the property’s plastic waste, particularly in food & beverage outlets and guestrooms. By implementing this unique water bottling plant, the resort is on its way to eliminating single-use plastics, contributing to a cleaner and greener future.

Iftikhar Hamdani, Area General Manager at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, said, “We are dedicated to reducing our overall environmental footprint while maintaining exceptional guest experiences. Our water filtration system ensures the production of high-quality water, meticulously bottled in our onsite bottling plant room, and made available in hotel guestrooms and food & beverage outlets.”

The plastic-free project is part of the resort’s ongoing sustainability efforts.  In March 2021, HMH launched “Be Green, Go Green” across all its managed hotels, energizing its CSR program and took positive actions for environment.  Some of the activities that Coral Beach Resort Sharjah performed are planting of 110 trees around the world, the resort even has its own Coralganic Farm. The resort also converted the discarded linen into reusable bags and distributed them to its staff.  On waste management system, the resort reduces waste to landfill through collaboration with local organization who help convert recyclable wastes like cans, cartons, gadgets and used oil.  While the other wastes go to the onsite compactor machine.

Coinciding with its official launch, Expo City Dubai heralds a new chapter with a revival of Expo 2020 Dubai’s nightly “Awakening of Al Wasl” at 18:15 (after evening prayer) – a celebration of the collaborative, creative and optimistic spirit of this innovation-driven city of the future.

The beating heart of Expo 2020, and now Expo City Dubai, Al Wasl’s 360-degree projection surface will immerse visitors in a spellbinding visual theatre, merging awe-inspiring technologies with some of the world’s most creative minds and demonstrating the deep-rooted values and vision of the UAE.

Al Wasl projections will take place five evenings a week from Wednesday to Sunday and are open to all visitors, free of charge.

Iftikhar Hamdani Area General Manager Northern Emirates Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel and Coral Beach Resort Sharjah moderated the event with seven panellists. Among the panellists were Khadija Mohammed Turki – Tourism Marketing & Promotion Expert – Ajman Department of Tourism Development, Roxana Jaffer – CEO – Sovereign Hotels Ltd, Sanith de Silva Wijeyaratne – Director Climate and Conservation Consortium, Shubhojit Mahalonobis – Director and Managing Partner -Danube Home and Hospitality Solutions, John Horgan – Director – Eco Burner, John Whaley – CEO – Integrity Business Solutions and Amish Choksey – Partner and General Manager – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco.

The keynote speaker opening the floor was young sustainability advocate Sarim Hamdani who shared that sustainability is the need of the hour as there will be severe consequences for the next generation if we don’t take any action at this point of time.

Iftikhar Hamdani Area General Manager Northern Emirates Bahi Ajman Palace Hotel and Coral Beach Resort Sharjah shared that it was utmost important to get all businesses involved in making a change. Hamdani has been an advocate over the past many years for sustainability. It was not just a mere project, but for him a passion to make that simple change in life to prepare for the future.

Khadija Mohammed Turki – Tourism Marketing & Promotion Expert – Ajman Department of Tourism Development shared the various sustainable tourism practices carried out by the Ajman tourism department as a government entity and the collaboration with public and private sector which is a key important aspect in order to promote the sustainability goals.

Roxana Jaffer – CEO Sovereign Hotels reiterated the necessity to focus on people, planet and profit which are three important aspects to focus on especially in the hospitality industry.

We learnt something really interesting with Shubhojit Mahalonobis – Director and Managing Partner -Danube Home and Hospitality Solutions shared about their global campaign on Aerowater where you can condense water from the humidity and how they are looking at supplying water to the African region as water is a scarcity and it is important that they bring that water to the doorstep of the people. Another example was the oil rigs which need water but they currently helicopter the water hence they are coming up with new methods to deliver that water sustainably. In terms of their hotels they reduced the carbon footprint by 150 tonnes between 15 properties and they are looking at further reducing immensely over the next year. He stated that all this is a possibility with the collaboration of both the public and private sectors and only then can they go forward.

Amish Choksey – Partner and General Manager – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco, shared about the various programmes that he has been working on to ensure sustainable practices especially with different hospitality projects across the UAE.

Sanith de Silva Wijeyaratne – Director Climate and Conservation Consortium, revealed the urgency to address the many issues at hand with climate change and shared examples to engage the audience. He further reiterated that the need of the hour is future thinking and to understand your personal carbon impact. Thus, he shared the various ways that can be measured in terms of the carbon footprint and how they need to be managed and thereafter mitigate for the betterment of society.

John Horgan – Director – Eco Burner reiterated that over the years there has been many challenges, yet they are surely addressing each of these issues as they are more important at this point in time. The main fact is change as it is important that people change now not in another 5 years.

John Whaley – CEO – Integrity Business Solutions and Amish Choksey – Partner and General Manager – Green Gold Eco Tech Fzco, who is involved in training those in sustainability shared about the forgetting curve. When you’re small all the good practices are shared with you however, as you get older you forget those important factors that you once held important.

The partnership marks a significant step forward in their shared mission to transform and elevate the emirate’s vast cultural landscape, with Mubadala Foundation also being appointed as an ‘Education & Community Partner’ of DCT Abu Dhabi’s across the culture sector, including the Saadiyat Cultural District and other similar sites.

The close cooperation between DCT Abu Dhabi and Mubadala Foundation presents an important commitment to fostering cultural programmes and initiatives, including projects with the renowned Louvre Abu Dhabi and the highly anticipated Zayed National Museum.

Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Under-Secretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “At DCT Abu Dhabi, we have cultivated compelling partnerships that are central to community development and fuel economic progress that aid Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions. Our commitment to this is reinforced by the signing of this partnership with Mubadala Foundation, underscoring our promise to transform the emirate into a global centre for culture and creativity. Through this stakeholder collaboration, we are poised to deliver unparalleled experiences to visitors from around the globe and enable the creation of a dynamic cultural ecosystem that invites exploration and engagement.”

The partnership also serves as recognition of the pivotal role played by the public sector in supporting cultural institutions and initiatives to drive their important mission forward. Such collaborations not only fortify Abu Dhabi’s cultural agenda but also seek to create a significant impact on communities.

Homaid Al Shimmari, Deputy Group CEO and Chief Corporate and Human Capital Officer at Mubadala, commented, “We’re delighted to partner with DCT Abu Dhabi to strengthen collaboration across major projects in the cultural sector and to support important initiatives focusing on education, community outreach, youth, senior citizens, Emiratisation and more. By working together alongside Louvre Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum we will promote our cultural heritage to position Abu Dhabi as an international hub for sustainable tourism and culture. We are committed to playing a key role in contributing to Abu Dhabi’s arts and culture ecosystem to drive impactful change locally and globally.

The collaboration encompasses a wide range of initiatives and supports projects involving education, community outreach and engagement, youth and senior citizens, and Emiratisatio