Growth in Middle East travel bookings eases



Travel bookings for the Middle East have plummeted 50 per cent in the past two months, according to Travelport GDS, one of the world's largest global distribution system (GDS) providers representing 1,300 travel agencies in the region. Travelport is the "plumbing" of the travel industry, providing online booking capabilities to travel agencies in more than 145 countries and also operating a business intelligence unit that offers consultancy services.

"Over the past months, we noticed that the Middle East has been experiencing double-digit growth in terms of travel bookings, but now it's a single-digit growth," said Gordon Wilson, the chief executive of Travelport. Rohit Talwar, the chief executive of the UK hospitality consultancy Fast Future, was not surprised. "This summer, we have already seen occupancy rates in Dubai hotels dropping by 25 per cent and now, when we are at the height of economic slowdown, Middle East tourism is bound to be affected," he said, adding that both airlines and hotels in the UAE had to consider slashing prices.

During the first six months of this year, the Middle East's revenue per available room (revPAR) grew by 21.6 per cent to US$135 (Dh496) compared with the same period last year, according to a recent study by the research firm Deloitte Middle East. "The region also had the highest occupancy and average room rates in the world at 75.3 per cent and $180, respectively," said Rob O'Hanlon, the tourism, hotel and leisure partner at Deloitte Middle East.

In Dubai, revPAR grew at a slower pace than last year, up 9.6 per cent to $274. The emirate also achieved the highest occupancy and average room rates of any city in the Middle East, at 85.3 per cent and $321. "But in order to sustain this growth, tourism authorities in the country have to realise that people have less money to spend on a holiday now," said Mr Talwar. In an effort to tap into the online travel market, which now dominates the travel booking market, Etihad Airways has signed a partnership agreement with Travelport GDS to provide it with information about its customers. "We are basically IT tools that will help track trends in the market, like the most popular destinations, and this in turn will help boost their growth," said Mr Wilson.

Travelport's new tool combines the ability to analyse booking data from various sources such as ticketing, sales, revenue and cost data in a single tool with a common user interface. Previously, airlines would use one tool to analyse booking data and another to analyse ticketing data. Mr Talwar believes that using IT solutions that would be able to aid the travel industry in the Middle East is a crucial step towards growth. "So far, we have seen a robust growth in the ... region but right now, when the climate is not in favour of this industry, it's time for businesses to move online and use technology to boost their business."

A study by Mintel, a UK-based research company, found that almost 40 per cent of UK holidaymakers now booked their travel independently, via websites - a figure that has doubled in the past five years. abakr@thenational.ae

Uefa Nations League: How it works

The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.

The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.

Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.

The specs

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Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
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Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

The specs

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TCL INFO

Teams:
Punjabi Legends 
Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan

Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5