A raft of measures to support the hospitality sector were set out at Dubai's Arabian Travel Market 2021, including a one-month trial to ease Covid-19 rules for bars, restaurants and live venues. Antonie Robertson / The National
The 2021 Arabian Travel Market exhibition opened at the World Trade Centre in Dubai on May 16. Antonie Robertson / The National
Top industry leaders, ministers, airline executives and hoteliers will meet during the four-day event. Antonie Robertson / The National
Organisers say it is the first in-person travel and tourism event in the world since the onset of the pandemic. Antonie Robertson / The National
This year's event comes at a crucial time as the global aviation and tourism industry battles the Covid-19 pandemic. Antonie Robertson / The National
A man makes handicrafts at the Saudi Arabia stand at Arabian Travel Market exhibition. Antonie Robertson / The National
Coffee is served at the Saudi Arabia stand at Arabian Travel Market. Antonie Robertson / The National
The Emirates Airlines stand at Arabian Travel Market. Antonie Robertson / The National
The Saudi Arabia stand at Arabian Travel Market. Antonie Robertson / The National
This year's exhibition is being held under the theme "A new dawn for travel and tourism". Antonie Robertson / The National
The Morocco stand at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors at the Expo 2020 Dubai stand at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors tour some of the exhibition stands at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
This year's event will focus on the current state of the industry, progress on vaccines and future trends. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors at the Abu Dhabi stand look at a model of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors tour the Dubai exhibit at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
An artisan makes handicrafts at the Saudi Arabia stand at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National
Visitors at the Saudi Arabia stand. Pawan Singh / The National
The Egypt stand at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National.
The Dubai stand, with a model of Burj Khalifa in the foreground, at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National.
The Expo 2020 Dubai stand at the Arabian Travel Market. Delayed from last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Expo 2020 Dubai opens on October 1. Pawan Singh / The National.
Visitors explore the Expo 2020 Dubai stand at Arabian Travel Market. Pawan Singh / The National.
Abu Dhabi plans to remove Covid-19 quarantine restrictions for international travellers from July 1, except for visitors from India, and expand its green travel list to boost tourism in the emirate.
"How we are going to move forward in 2021 … Abu Dhabi will be open for everyone with no quarantine protocol starting from July 1," Ali Al Shaiba, executive director of tourism and marketing at the emirate's Department of Culture and Tourism, told The National on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
“We are going to welcome everybody to Abu Dhabi with a different [travelling] protocol but no quarantine.”
There are 22 countries on the emirate’s green list, which allows quarantine-free travel for passengers from those destinations.
The list will be expanded until the beginning of the third quarter, he said.
A few more countries could be added this week, Mr Al Shaiba said.
Abu Dhabi also plans to ease restrictions on a number of tourism activities.
The move is expected to positively affect the sector as it will increase the capacity of “many of activities and attractions”, said Mr Al Shaiba, without providing further details.
The emirate will have different testing protocols for visitors from low-risk and high-risk countries.
Those coming from countries with higher infection rates will have to undergo two tests – one before they travel and another upon arrival.
“People who will come from low-risk countries will take just one test, either before or after they land in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Abu Dhabi will announce details of travel protocols later when it unveils its summer tourism promotion campaign, said Mr Al Shaiba.
Travellers from India, the emirate’s second-biggest source market after the UK and the world’s second-highest population, will still need to quarantine.
As of yesterday, India had about 24.7 million Covid-19 infections, second only to the US.
Given the current situation in India, the UAE capital will not be able to allow quarantine-free travel by July but may consider changing India’s status in September, said Mr Al Shaiba.
“It also depends on India itself, if they will allow their people to travel,” he said.
The temporary closure of the Indian market poses a challenge for Abu Dhabi and the department is closely monitoring the situation.
“We will see when India recovers, either partially or fully. We will definitely reactivate that market when the time will come,” he said.
“We will see when India recovers, either partially or fully. We will definitely reactivate that market when the time will come,” said Mr Al Shaiba.
To offset the impact, the emirate is exploring opportunities in other markets, said Mr Al Shaiba.
“Africa might be another opportunity for us and also some of the eastern European countries,” he said.
Abu Dhabi will also look at some smaller markets in Asia to boost tourist numbers.
The offer of quarantine-free travel will give people in different source markets a safe destination to visit.
Mr Al Shaiba said there had already been some encouraging indicators, especially from Russia.
From both an infrastructure and safety perspective, the emirate is ready to welcome visitors after its rapid vaccination campaign helped to build confidence, he said.
While the global tourism industry has been the hardest hit by the pandemic, Abu Dhabi responded well to the crisis and performed better than some of its peers last year.
It is adapting to the changed landscape but it will take another two years before inbound traveller numbers return to the 11.35 million visitors recorded before the pandemic, said Mr Al Shaiba.
“Today, let us be realistic ... we are going back to the base of 2019 maybe by 2023,” he said.
The department’s focus will also be on increasing the length of overnight stays to two or 2.6 nights on average over the next three years.
The emirate’s long-term goal is to attract 23 million visitors a year and generate 4 per cent of gross domestic product from tourism by 2030.
Abu Dhabi has about 33,000 hotel rooms, which is more than enough to accommodate the expected rise in tourist numbers when quarantine-free travel begins.
The emirate is also investing in ecological sites as it repositions itself to tap into the eco-tourism market.
A pipeline of more eco-friendly destinations is already being drawn up, said Mr Al Shaiba.
“We will make this part very strong. We will announce a lot of projects very soon.”
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Goalkeepers: Ibrahim Alma, Mahmoud Al Youssef, Ahmad Madania. Defenders: Ahmad Al Salih, Moayad Ajan, Jehad Al Baour, Omar Midani, Amro Jenyat, Hussein Jwayed, Nadim Sabagh, Abdul Malek Anezan. Midfielders: Mahmoud Al Mawas, Mohammed Osman, Osama Omari, Tamer Haj Mohamad, Ahmad Ashkar, Youssef Kalfa, Zaher Midani, Khaled Al Mobayed, Fahd Youssef. Forwards: Omar Khribin, Omar Al Somah, Mardik Mardikian.
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The biog
Name: Maitha Qambar
Age: 24
Emirate: Abu Dhabi
Education: Master’s Degree
Favourite hobby: Reading
She says: “Everyone has a purpose in life and everyone learns from their experiences”
A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors B – Dubai English Speaking College, Repton Royals, Jumeirah College, Gems World Academy C – British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Yasmina Academy D – Dubai Exiles, Jumeirah English Speaking School, English College, Bahrain Colts
Recent winners
2018 – Dubai College 2017 – British School Al Khubairat 2016 – Dubai English Speaking School 2015 – Al Ain Amblers 2014 – Dubai College
