Travel & Aviation Report

The global aviation industry is slowly taking off as passenger demand jumped by a significant 11.9 per cent while cargo traffic soared 26.5 per cent in June compared with the same period in 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata) latest figures. While most of the regions worldwide managed to post double-digit gains in June, Europe – which was badly hit by six days of ash cloud-related flight disruptions in April – still experienced turbulence as ...

A 30-something cruise neophyte stood agape before the 610-foot splendour of the Silver Whisper in the unassuming surroundings of a Dubai cruise terminal. She was ill-prepared both for the scale of the vessel and the extent of the onboard opulence. Yes that neophyte was me, and I spent five days and four nights with Silversea Cruises' world-beating crew wondering how they managed to cram the facilities of a small town into what I could not help ...

The fundamentals of Thailand’s economy remain strong, with the country achieving a robust GDP growth of 12 per cent in the first quarter of 2010, the Consul-General Pasan Teparak, has said. While launching an aggressive wave of campaign promotions aimed at marketing Thailand as “the original home of smiles”, Teparak said the country has learnt from its mistakes and assured travellers that “we are back to business.” Consequently, the UAE Foreign Ministry has lifted a warning recently ...

Luxury hotel chain Viceroy Hotel Group, which is 50-per-cent owned by UAE investment firm Mubadala Development, aims to develop several hotels in key cities across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia in the next 10 years through their second home base in Abu Dhabi. Currently, Viceroy manages around 14 high-end hotels and resorts in the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, but will soon launch operations outside the Americas starting with its Viceroy Maldives project scheduled to be ...

Tourism officials of Thailand have expressed confidence that its travel and tourism industry will rebound very soon following news this week of a reconciliation dialogue initiated by the Thai government with the opposition party. Suraphon Svetasreni, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), admitted that the country’s tourism sector had been badly affected by the recent political situation, which resulted to violent protests in April that left at least 21 people dead and nearly 900 injured. ...

Amidst the backdrop of a credit crunch-hit global economy, the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) opens on Tuesday with over 2,100 exhibitors from 72 countries – the largest delegation it has managed to attract since the show was launched in 1993. Organisers are hopeful that ATM could help boost a flagging global tourism industry, an initiative that is undoubtedly very timely considering that last month’s six-day shutdown of most European airspace, which caused thousands of flight cancellations, ...

Global passenger demand for air travel has grown for the third consecutive month in March, but the figures for April are likely to suffer due to the six-day flight disruptions caused by volcanic ash from Iceland, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) reported on Wednesday. Latest figures from the aviation watchdog showed that passenger traffic in March rose by 10.3 per cent, while cargo demand increased by 28.1 per cent compared with the same period in 2009. The ...

Just when it thought it was about to take off after enduring a turbulent journey, mired by soaring oil prices and a worldwide economic crisis, the global airline industry faces new mounting losses to the tune of $1.7 billion (Dh6.2bn) due to six days of flight disruptions across Europe last week. International Air Transport Association (Iata) director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani describes the recent air travel crisis as “devastating” considering that it hit one of the world’s ...

While full-service commercial airlines may still dominate the Middle East skies, low-cost carriers (LCCs) have been showing vigour as their regional market share steadily widened in 2009, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) noted in an analysis released late-March. The agency reported that regional budget carriers accounted for 8.3 per cent of the total seat capacity of flights operated within the Middle East in 2009, rising slightly from the 7.4 per cent market share recorded a year ...

Outlook for the Middle East aviation sector remains rosy for 2010 as air traffic demand is expected to post a double-digit growth of 15.2 per cent, but low returns on long-haul flights connecting to the region’s hubs will likely drag overall annual revenue by $400 million (Dh1.5 billion), the International Air Transport Association(Iata) reported on Thursday. In its Industry Outlook report published on March 11, the association confirmed that it had slashed by 50 per cent its loss ...