Abu Dhabi is to introduce facial recognition technology across its hotels to help reduce check-in times for guests and strengthen identification measures.
The advanced system is now being piloted at a select number of hotels ahead of an initial roll-out at five-star properties in Abu Dhabi city, Al Ain Region, and Al Dhafra Region.
A second phase of the strategy will target four-star hotels, with the biometric technology to then be gradually deployed at all hotels in the emirate.
Authorities did not provide a time-frame for when the new facial recognition procedures will be fully introduced.
The scheme, announced at the Arabian Travel Market event in Dubai, is being led by Abu Dhabi's Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) and the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security (ICP).
“This initiative reflects our commitment to leveraging innovation to enhance the guest experience while maintaining the highest standards of safety and security for both guests and hospitality sector employees,” said Saleh Mohamed Al Geziry, director general for tourism at DCT.
“By working closely with ICP and our hotel partners and national authorities, we are ensuring a seamless, safer and more connected journey for every visitor.”
In April 2024, Abu Dhabi announced plans to invest more than $10 billion in infrastructure, as part of a new strategy to boost international visitor numbers and cultural activity.
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Strategy 2030 aims to create 178,000 new jobs in the emirate, bringing the total number of jobs in the tourism and hospitality sectors to about 366,000 by the end of the decade. The UAE capital also aims to attract 39.3 million annual visitors as part of the master plan.
How does the technology work?
This high-tech verification process will be used as proof of identification for both guests and hotel employees.
The DCT is providing technical and training support to hotels to ensure the smooth operation of the programme, which aims to streamline both check-in and checkout procedures.
The facial recognition system captures and analyses biometric data during guest check-in. The data is securely encrypted, retrieved from ICP and transmitted to a centralised database managed by DCT Abu Dhabi.
Data will be gathered and used in accordance with the UAE's cybersecurity and data privacy regulations.
This month, Abdulrahman Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention and Minister of State for FNC Affairs, outlined the work to harness biometrics – such as fingerprint and facial recognition technology – as an advanced identification measure for UAE residents, in support of a nationwide digital-first strategy.
At the latest session of the Federal National Council, the minister set out the country's high-tech vision and steps being taken by the (ICP) to modernise identification procedures.
The UAE has been taking steps to utilise new technology to bolster government efficiency and raise customer service standards.
Biometric technology is widely used in airports in the Emirates. In July 2024, Abu Dhabi Airports announced details of a “biometric smart travel” project to automate passenger registration at Zayed International Airport that will eliminate the need for travel documents and significantly cut processing time.
Abu Dhabi Airports is partnering with the ICP to introduce the new system, Abu Dhabi Media office said.
Data from the ICP will be used to automatically authenticate travellers with the help of biometric technology, eliminating the need for prior registration for departing passengers.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
RESULT
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
WHAT ARE NFTs?
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.
An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.
This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.
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.”
