The Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing, Government of Dubai launches new Representative Office in Australia & New Zealand at AIME

For the 13th successive year, the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Government of Dubai participated in the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne Australia from the February 15th - 16th, 2011.

The DTCM delegation this year, led by Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry, DTCM Director Overseas Promotions and Inward Missions, comprised of 14 representatives from the tourism sector. The Department's exhibition stand at the event covered an area of 180 square meters.

"Australia & New Zealand is a very important market for Dubai, the number of guests in Hotel establishments from Australia in 2010 rose to 158,907, a 5.9 per cent increase over 2009 and in New Zealand this figure rose to 31,904 representing a 15.2 per cent increase said Saleh Mohammed Al Geziry.

"Our presence at AIME 2011 also marks the launch of DTCM's new Australia & New Zealand Representative Office, based in Sydney, headed up by Julie King as the Director of this office. Julie has extensive experience of over 24 years in the Hospitality & Tourism Industry and having lived and worked in Dubai for the past 14 years, she will contribute greatly to the strengthening of Dubai's position in the Australia and New Zealand market."

Veronica Rainbird has also been appointed as Manager, Trade, Training and Promotions and brings a wealth of experience from Hotels, Convention Bureaus and Tourism Boards to her role whilst also having excellent relationships in the Australian Travel Industry, and Sue Ann Miller has also re-joined the team as Information Officer, having worked with DTCM for the past 8 years.

Geziry said, "Airlines are also adding more capacity to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha providing more frequencies and choice to the Consumer and providing more flexibility for the Meetings and Incentive Segment. Emirates Airline now operates 63 weekly flights between Australia and Dubai, including thrice daily services from Melbourne and double daily flights from Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. Emirates also operates 28 flights per week between New Zealand and Dubai. Effective 24 February 2011, Etihad Airways will operate a total of 24 return flights per week between Australia and Abu Dhabi. (including a double-daily service between Sydney and Abu Dhabi in conjunction with Virgin Blue's international arm V Australia); daily flights between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi; and three services per week between Brisbane and Abu Dhabi. Qatar Airways now operates daily flights weekly from Melbourne to Doha."

"Since launching flights from Australia 15 years ago, Emirates has steadily grown its services between Australia and Dubai from three flights per week from Melbourne to 63 weekly flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Onwards from Dubai, Emirates now flies to more than 100 cities in over 60 countries, including 13 destinations in the Middle East," said Barry Brown, Emirates Vice President Australasia.

"Dubai, apart from being a unique stopover destination has become a must see for Australian and New Zealand travellers as well as a holiday destination in its own right. Emirates looks forward to continuing this in the future with the addition of seven more flights from Sydney next October bringing the total to 70 flights per week ," added Brown.
The rapid growth of Emirates Airline and flydubai helped to push Dubai International Airport's passenger traffic up to a record last year, with 47.2 million travellers passing through the hub in 2010. The figure, a 15.3 per cent jump from 2009, also underscores the popularity of foreign airlines that serve the Dubai and Sharjah metropolitan area under the UAE's liberal open skies policy.

Dubai Airports lists 133 airlines that fly into Dubai International contributing to the airport's status as the fifth-largest international air hub.

Paul Griffiths, the chief executive of Dubai Airports, said last year was notable for its milestones. "We surpassed our growth projections, ushered in Dubai's status as a twin-airport city with the opening of Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International in June and celebrated Dubai International's 50th anniversary," he said. "The growth story continues in 2011 with passenger numbers expected to surge another 11 per cent to 52.2 million.

New Tourism Developments & Achievements

This year Dubai is adding more accommodation capacity to its tourism offering with 1137 more hotel and hotel apartment rooms opened in January 2011 and a further 11,530 rooms planned to open this year. This increases Dubai's total accommodation inventory to 82,485 hotels rooms and serviced apartments, up from last year's 70,995 and 573 hotels and serviced apartments allowing much more options for the MICE segment.

The Dubai Convention Bureau (DCB), a division of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, secured a total of 11 congresses in 2010 which will all take place in Dubai from 2011-2013. These are expected to deliver over 20,000 delegates to the emirate and anticipated to generate AED162.88 million (approximately AUD 45 million) in economic impact to Dubai.

The conferences cover a wide range of topics, from IT, Medical, Environment and Sport. These conventions will continue to position Dubai as the premier meetings destination that it is.

Other leaps forward have seen a dramatic increase in business leads. DCB worked on 109 business leads in 2010, compared to 85 in 2009. In addition, the Dubai Bid Alliance (DBA) program was utilized in 13 international bid submissions in 2010 for congresses taking place from 2011 and beyond.

As part of The DTCM's commitment to excellence, the DCB are delighted to announce the annual post bid and post event surveys results of 91% & 92% respectively.

Hyatt Regency Coolum Joins Golfing Hall of Fame

The legendary 18th hole at Hyatt Regency Coolum has been hailed as one of the country's greatest golfing icons in the inaugural Hall of Fame announced by Australian Golf Digest.

The hole is one of 18 around Australia named in the magazine's March 2011 issue, and the only hole from a resort course. The new Hall of Fame celebrates individual par 3, 4 and 5 holes, complementing the magazine's respected course rankings which name Hyatt Regency Coolum as the best resort course in Australia.

In the magazine, course design consultant and author Darius Oliver says the 18th at Hyatt Regency Coolum has become one of the most identifiable holes in the nation over the past decade.

"What makes this hole so significant to the local golf scene is the role it has played over the past nine years in determining the winner of the time-honoured Australian PGA Championship," Oliver writes.

"We've seen plenty of primetime drama here, including playoffs abandoned because of darkness, champions crowned after holing outrageous bunker shots and wannabe champions having their hopes dashed by approach shots that end up in water," he says.

"By any measure the Australian PGA at Coolum has been a raging success, and it has helped make a celebrity of both the Hyatt Coolum course as well as its famous closing hole."

Created by renowned course designer Robert Trent Jones Jr, the par 72 course at Hyatt Regency Coolum offers 6137m of challenging fairways set between Mount Coolum and the sandy shores of Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The course is supported by Australia's leading golf education centre, offering under-cover tuition and the very latest technology in biomechanic analysis to help refine swing and technique.

For more information contact Hyatt Regency Coolum on 07 5446 1234.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts continue their culinary journey with the NextCourse 2011 in Shanghai

Starwood Hotels & Resorts announces the 2011 Food and Beverage Conference & Expo: The NextCourse from February 28- March 4, 2011 at the Sheraton Pudong in Shanghai. Following the huge success of the inaugural 2007 conference in Bangkok, Starwood Hotels and Resorts continues its journey in culinary and hospitality excellence. This unique event brings together over 300 Executive Chefs, F&B Directors, General Managers and Starwood Executives to collectively define the future of hospitality services at over 180 Starwood properties in the Asia Pacific Region.

Attended by Executive Chefs, Food and Beverage Directors, General Managers and inspirational speakers, this conference promises to motivate all attendees to seek a fresh, contemporary approach to restaurant dining. The conference will expose attendees to inspirational speakers who will cleverly unlock their creativity and will inspire them to think beyond the expected. The program also features exciting individuals leading the way in innovative food & beverage and skilled presenters in the development of personnel potential. The experience also includes cutting edge off-site dining experiences and a trade show that will feature some of the best hospitality products and services from some of the industry's most important players.

"Over the next decade, our business is expected to undergo profound changes and with such growth and diversity, decision makers in each Starwood property must be empowered to respond to the major changes that lie ahead," says Martin Jones, Vice President, Food & Beverage, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts. "It is therefore important that our decision makers are encouraged to think laterally about excellence in all facets of their personal and professional development. It is appropriate that this year's conference is being held in the high growth region of China, where Sheraton Hotels will open another four hotels before the end of March 2011," added Jones.

This year's keynote speaker is celebrated American chef, Charlie Trotter. Charlie likes cooking to an improvisational jazz session; Charlie is supported by a zesty mix of the world's most engaging speakers, including Andrew May (performance and recovery), Bettina Arndt (sex therapist), Jereme Leung (chef), Kevin Arpino (interior stylist), Michael Tchong (futurist), Monte Huebsch (technology), Paul Odom (coffee), Peter Thurin (excellence) and Simran Sethi (sustainability).

This truly international program will be anchored by Master of Ceremonies, Peter Thurin and conference comedian Jonathan Atherton; one of Australia's finest stand-up comedians who delivers his punch-lines in a multitude of languages.

The conference and exhibition is proudly sponsored by some of the world's largest culinary and hospitality companies, including Electrolux, Allied Metals and Pernod Ricard. For more information please visit www.thenextcourse.net.

Worldhotels Displays Real Time Rates and Availability of Independent Hotels on Google Maps and Google Places

Worldhotels is the first hotel group to enable independent hotels to display their real time rates
and availability in relevant search listings on Google Maps and on related Google Place pages. The
revolutionary new feature is available as a pay-per-click advertising module connected with the
group's booking engine Resmaster which is powered by Trust International, the leading global
CRS for hotel chains and representation companies. The first independent hotel worldwide to test
the new functionality is the Worldhotels property Georgian Terrace in Atlanta, USA.

Google's service allows users to simply enter their desired arrival and departure dates in Google
Maps and find the best prices and check availability in real time. The Worldhotels Resmaster
system enables independent hotels to display the pricing information of their own website next to
the prices of advertisers such as online travel agencies and drive potential bookers directly to the
hotel's own booking engine.

The service is available now on Google Maps and Google Place pages on many of Google's
domains in the Americas, Europe and Asia. With this new distribution channel, Worldhotels offers
independent hotels a cost-effective, efficient way to drive bookings to their own website.

"We are proud to be the first hotel group to be able to offer this revolutionary new functionality to
our hotels together with Trust International", says Robert Hornman, Managing Director of
Worldhotels. "This valuable tool will drive qualified traffic to the websites of our hotels."

Accor and Interglobe Hotels announce the opening of ibis Mumbai Airport

Debut of the international economy hotel brand in Mumbai, marks a significant development for ibis Hotels in India

Accor, the fastest growing international hotel operator in India, reaffirmed its commitment and confidence in the growing Indian tourism sector by announcing the debut of the ibis hotel brand in Mumbai with the launch of ibis Mumbai Airport. Strategically located at the Domestic Terminal and less than 3kms from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, ibis Mumbai Airport, will welcome guests from today onwards. This is the third ibis to open in India and the first for Mumbai and follows hotels in Gurgaon and Pune.

Mr. Nitin Bhatia has been appointed as the General Manager to spearhead the operations of the hotel. Mr. Bhatia has over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry and was most recently the General Manager of Ibis Cardiff City Centre, UK.

Uttam Davé, President & CEO of InterGlobe Hotels said, "We are pleased with the growth of the ibis network in India, where committed developments have kept pace with our expectations and where we have 17 ibis hotels committed to development. Following the opening of this strategic ibis at Mumbai Domestic Airport, we will add an additional five ibis in 2011 taking the network to network to eight hotels by year." The hotel is located in the vicinity of the Mumbai Airport and features 146 guest rooms. ibis Mumbai Airport is the only international economy hotel at the airport and will re-define the hospitality space in the financial capital of India by providing quality, value accommodation to travellers.

Speaking about the hotel's opening, Jean-Michel Casse, Senior Vice-President – Accor India, said, "We are particularly delighted with the opening of an ibis hotel within the Mumbai Airport Precinct. The ibis Mumbai Airport like all ibis hotels in India will provide guests with the reassurance of one of the world's largest and most respected economy hotel brands. Quality and consistent accommodation at affordable pricing and guaranteed with a "15 minute satisfaction contract" is exactly what is required in the Indian economy hotel environment."

ibis Mumbai Airport will specifically cater to the discerning needs of business and leisure travellers. The hotel offers comfortable, well-designed, fully equipped guest rooms with en suite modular bathrooms, contemporary fit-out including flatscreen TV, Wi-Fi and broadband internet access to suit the needs of business travellers. 24 hour a day services, quality well priced food and beverage including 8-hours non-stop breakfast concept starting from 4 am, unique in the economy hotel industry with competitive, consistent and simple accommodation rates are the key highlights of ibis Mumbai Airport.

Such value for consumers is made possible by a highly efficient design and operational processes that have been perfected in nearly 900 hotels and 100,000 rooms in almost 45 countries globally.

For quality well priced food ibis Mumbai Airport has developed Spice it – a spirited and casual dining space that offers the best of world cuisine: "any flavour, any time" in an interactive kitchen environment with a choice of buffet and a la carte. The Hub, with its energetic ambience, refreshing beverages and free Wi-Fi will serve as a gathering place throughout the day. The first ibis launched in India in 2008, ibis Gurgaon and is already a market leader in its segment, and was judged the best Economy / Midscale hotel in India in 2009.

Ibis Mumbai Airport has released a promotional rate of Rs. 3999/- plus taxes including breakfast for first 20 rooms. For reservations or enquiries visit www.ibishotel.com.

Address: Ibis Mumbai Airport | Junction of Nehru Road & Western Express Highway, Vile Parle (East),Mumbai - 400 099 Tel No: + (91) 22 6708 7777

Need a Venue? Monaco Offers You a Country!

The Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority team will this week be attending AIME exhibition in Melbourne, to present the unique principality as a top class international MICE destination on the stunning French Riviera.

The Monaco Convention Bureau offers a one-stop shop of services, impartially and free of charge to assist with planning your meeting or event in the principality. Monaco lies just 30 minutes by car and 6 minutes by helicopter from France's second-largest airport, Nice, linking more than 80 cities in 26 countries around the world.

The Monaco Convention Bureau has created a Monaco Meetings offer which involves streamlining the hotel tariffs and creating three price categories that include taxes and breakfast in a standard single or double room.

Additional benefits of the Monaco Meetings offer include a free overnight inspection visit for two people, including helicopter transfers from Nice Airport, a discount voucher booklet for all delegates and a free welcome cocktail reception for new events booking 1200 room nights.

Alison Roberts-Brown, Regional Director of Monaco Government & Tourist Authority in Australia invites AIME attendees to their stand for an opportunity to win a bottle of champagne.

"Monaco lies at the heart of Europe and offers global connections, making it an outstanding location for international conventions or high end incentives. The Monaco Meetings offer demonstrates how serious the principality takes the MICE market. Please come along to our stand for a glass of Perrier Jouet champagne, a favourite of Princess Grace, to find out more about making Monaco your next international MICE destination."


For More Information:
MONACO GOVERNMENT TOURIST & CONVENTION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA
c/o AVIAREPS Oceania (AVIAREPS Pty Ltd)
Level 5, 68 Alfred Street, Milsons Point, NSW, 2061 (PO Box 365, Milsons Point, NSW 1565)
Ph: (02) 8666 4696 Fax: (02) 9929 4543

Readers Vote for Their Favourites in Business Event Sector

Award-winning Australian-based business events magazine micenet AUSTRALIA this week announced the winners of the micenet AUSTRALIA Readers' Choice Awards for 2011 in 11 categories.

micenet AUSTRALIA magazine's 54,925* readers were asked to vote for their favourite venue, convention centre, unique destination, incentive destination, meetings/convention destination, PCO/event company, destination marketing/management company, caterer, convention bureau, AV/production company, and product/service provider - companies and destinations that they had used during the past 12 months.

Winners were determined by the number of votes received, with winners in each category as follows:

Best Hotel: Crown Towers Melbourne
Best Convention Centre: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Best Unique Venue: Doltone House
Best Incentive Destination: Queenstown New Zealand
Best Meetings/Convention Destination: Sydney
Best PCO/Event Company: arinex
Best Destination Marketing/Management Company: Destination Marketing Services
Best Catering Company: fresh catering
Best Convention Bureau: Melbourne Convention & Visitors Bureau
Best A/V Production/Staging/Exhibition Company: Staging Connections
Best Product/Service Company: Execugifts

Winners were presented where possible with trophies at the AIME exhibition in Melbourne, held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre between February 15 and 16, 2011.

Publisher of micenet AUSTRALIA magazine, Helen Batt-Rawden, said the response to the awards, now in their second year, had exceeded expectations, and she was positive that the successful organisations would benefit from the additional publicity and marketing opportunities the awards would bring.

"It is great to see that some venues, companies and service providers remain at the top of their game 12 months after they were awarded the top prize in 2010. These include Crown Towers, Doltone House, Sydney, Destination Marketing Services, fresh catering, and Staging Connections," Ms Batt-Rawden said.

"And it is wonderful to see some new winners in 2011. A big thank you to our readers who took the time to vote."

*Micromex Research has determined micenet AUSTRALIA magazine has an average readership of 54,925 people per edition (May 2009). micenet AUSTRALIA magazine's CAB audited circulation is 15,693 (period ending September 2010).