Trends remain positive
Research released at the Business Travel Show by YouGovSiraj revealed that regional business travel volumes have remained stable while budgets continue to rise, with little impact from the credit crunch experienced by companies in the Gulf, to date.
According to Jane Wilson, director of Travel & Tourism Research at YouGovSiraj, while the data was compiled over the past month, there might be more dramatic changes as the global uncertainties continue to mount.
"We do expect the region to escape the worst of the credit crunch as trade and business travel continues," she explained.
"Nearly 75% of corporate travel bookers believe travel will increase in the next year - with nearly half saying they think it will increase 'a lot', while travel volumes are also expected to rise."
| Advertisement |
Other findings of the survey included expectations that the UK would experience a resurgence as a business travel destination, as would the US, while Italy and China were cited as ‘emerging' markets.
Baltic boost
Latvian airline airBaltic introduced a twice weekly service from Riga to Dubai (Mondays and Fridays) on October 24. The service is operated by a Boeing 757-200 and fares start from US $267.
Kanoo Centre
Kanoo Travel has opened a state-of-the-art corporate services centre at Kanoo Towers in Bur Dubai. The new office provides corporate travel management, emergency services, 24-hour coverage, key account management and regional travel solutions to large multi-national companies and is the first of many such centres that Kanoo Travel has planned.
RJ Brussels
Royal Jordanian (RJ) will resume flights between Amman and the Belgian capital, Brussels, from April 1, 2009. The Jordanian national carrier suspended the route in early 2003 but for "commercial reasons" has now decided to re-activate it. The service will fly twice weekly on Saturdays and Wednesdays using RJ's Airbus A319s.
GIBTM update
A number of international venues, destinations and services have already committed to next year's GIBTM exhibition, which takes place from March 31 to April 2, 2009 at Abu Dhabi's ADNEC. The show will also feature a Live Production area for the first time.
Lonely no more
Sheraton is to help lone travellers experience its in-house community spirit with the global roll-out of its new Link@Sheraton initiative.
The scheme, developed with Microsoft as part of an effort to revitalise the veteran brand, will see each Sheraton lobby fitted with a communications centre for guests to use free of charge, offering internet-enabled computer stations, WiFi and branded Microsoft webcams. The Link's design will allow groups of guests to work independently of one another within the same space, with the aim of providing ‘a sense of belonging and community'.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
