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Dusit International makes its grand debut in Qatar

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With a view to capture major market share in Qatar’s hospitality sector, Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, is set to make its Qatar debut with the launch of Dusit Doha Hotel on 25 April 2019.

Located in the heart of Doha’s vibrant West Bay area, adjacent to the breezy Corniche, Dusit Doha Hotel is a five-star modern oasis only 20 minutes by car from Hamad International Airport, and just a five-minute walk from Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre, the City centre Mall and The Gate Mall, making it a perfect stopover for business and leisure travellers alike.

Designed to provide luxury experiences at excellent value, the full-service property comprises 261 well-appointed guestrooms and suites and 96 elegant apartments for short- and long-stay guests. Dusit’s unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality, honed and developed over more than 70 years, ensures guests can expect memorable, personalised service delivered with genuine care, warmth and respect. Rooms and suites at Dusit Doha Hotel are designed to provide the utmost in comfort and convenience, with expansive living areas ranging in size from 41 sq m for a Superior Room to 131 sq. m for a Suite. Apartments are available in one-to three-bedroom configurations and provide spacious living areas ranging from 95 to 193 sq. m.

Leisure and recreation facilities include a rooftop swimming pool, children’s pool, and a sundeck area offering panoramic views of West Bay. Guests will also find a wealth of dining outlets to choose from, including three restaurants, a classic French café, and a relaxing rooftop lounge.

Ready to welcome guests by the hotel’s opening date is Taste, a contemporary all-day dining restaurant serving tantalising dishes from around the globe and also hosting regular theme nights. This will soon be joined by Dusit’s signature Thai restaurant, Benjarong, which serves Royal Thai cuisine made using the finest local and imported ingredients.

Other upcoming outlets include Antoinette’s Café, bringing a taste of Europe to Doha via fresh French pastries and other baked treats, and The House, offering premium steaks and seafood.

Ideal for weddings, corporate meetings, and memorable social gatherings, the hotel also offers a versatile 574 sq. m ballroom which can accommodate up to 500 people. Spacious and bright with abundant natural light, this atmospheric venue features its own private terrace and can be divided into two smaller venues, each with a separate entrance.

Dusit’s signature Devarana Spa is also set to open at the hotel, offering a wide range of luxury massage therapies and wellness treatments conducted in elegant, private treatment rooms. Designed to promote maximum relaxation, the elegant spa will occupy the entire 29th floor of the hotel, offering separate male and female sections.

“A modern oasis for people to meet, dine, stay and relax, Dusit Doha Hotel delivers the ultimate in luxury and comfort for locals and international visitors alike,” said Mr Gerhard Stutz, Cluster General Manager, Dusit Doha Hotel. “Qatar is one of the fastest growing countries in terms of tourism, and its reputation as a destination of choice is only set to be cemented further when the FIFA World Cup is held here in 2022. As such, there could not have been a more opportune time to launch Dusit Doha Hotel. We now look forward to delighting guests with our unique brand of Thai-inspired gracious hospitality while positioning the hotel as the market leader in Doha.”

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Oxford Economics: Brand USA’s marketing initiatives drove record international visitor spending

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Today, Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, announced that a study by Oxford Economics shows Brand USA’s marketing efforts are generating a high return on investment (ROI) and driving significant incremental international visitation and spend, which is helping to fuel the nation’s economy. The report shows Brand USA has consistently driven strong results over the past six years, including record results in Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018) for incremental international visitor spending, tax revenues generated, and total economic impact.

Highlights of the study show Brand USA’s marketing efforts in FY2018 alone (October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018) helped drive:

• 1.13 million incremental international visitors to the USA who spent
• $4.1 billion on travel and fare receipts with U.S. carriers, and generated
• $1.17 billion in federal, state, and local taxes and
• $8.9 billion in total economic impact, and supported
• 52,305 incremental U.S. jobs

The resulting FY2018 marketing ROI was 32:1—meaning that every $1 Brand USA spent on marketing generated $32 in spend by international visitors.

The study also shows that the cumulative results of Brand USA’s marketing efforts over the past six years (FY2013 through FY018) has helped bring:

• 6.6 million incremental visitors to the USA who spent
• $21.8 billion on travel and fare receipts with U.S. carriers, and generated
• $6.2 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and
• $47.7 billion in total economic impact, which has supported, on average,
• Nearly 52,000 incremental U.S. jobs each year

The six-year results equate to an average marketing ROI of 28:1.

“International visitation is an important driver for the nation’s economy—benefiting a wide range of industries well beyond travel and tourism,” said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, international travel to the United States is the nation’s top services export and represents 11 percent of all U.S. exports, contributing a $77.4 billion trade surplus.

“The FY2018 ROI study reinforces the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns and how our efforts are supporting communities and employment throughout the country. The United States provides international travelers more value in its diversity of experiences than any other place in the world, and we look forward to continuing to work with our partners to market the USA as the ultimate travel destination,” added Thompson.

Each year, Brand USA deploys a number of market-driven platforms and programs as part of its mission to increase incremental international visitation, spend, and market share for the United States in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the USA with worldwide travelers.

Brand USA also collaborates with federal partners to communicate U.S. visa and entry policies and correct misperceptions about those policies as required by the Travel Promotion Act.

The Oxford Economics study includes an analysis of Brand USA’s work in nine markets – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the United Kingdom—and also considers the organization’s total impact in other international markets where Brand USA’s marketing was active during the year via consumer, trade outreach, and cooperative marketing programs.

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The Travel & Adventure Show San Francisco, USA

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The Seychelles Islands marked its presence through its marketing body Seychelles Tourism Board (STB), as it exhibited at the Travel & Adventure Show 2019 edition.

The event took place in the city of San Francisco, in Northern California, on March 21-22, 2019.

The STB team was represented by the Regional Director for Africa & the Americas, David Germain, was present at the Show on the organisation’s behalf to showcase Seychelles as an extraordinary holiday destination to the 9,500 consumers, travel trade and Media who visited the exhibition at the Santa Clara Conference Center.

Mr. Germain mentions STB’s participation to the event is in line with its marketing efforts in the USA for increased arrivals from North America in 2019.

“Destination awareness and visibility is central to all we endeavor to do as Seychelles Tourism to grow our country’s market share in North America, and on the entire continent,” said Mr. Germain.

The annual participation by the STB at the Travel and Adventure shows in different cities of the United States each year, allow the STB to showcase Seychelles to a wide audience of consumers in the United States, creating awareness of the destination.

Viewed as one of North Americas largest consumer show for tourism and leisure, it is the place for holidaymakers to find information and offers about the latest travel trends, new destinations, among others.

In the prospect of raising the destination’s profile, the STB continues to increase its marketing efforts in North America during 2019, with marketing activities in different major cities in the United States during the year.

Mr. Germain further mentioned that as part of the marketing activities planned for the market for the year, media trips and agent’s familiarization visits to Seychelles would take place during the year, in collaboration with airline partners.

Mr. Germain explained that through the current available flight connectivity between North America and most major airlines, the destination has become even more accessible with easy connections to the archipelago via either Africa, Europe or the Middle East.

“Through our constant presence on the United States Market, Seychelles is today more known to the affluent North American travellers than in the last decade and the current visitor arrival figures from the Americas to the archipelago confirm that the North American market is one with great potential” said David Germain.

For the past 15 years, the Travel & Adventure Show has conducted more than 80 events in the major cities of the United States of America, connecting over 1.5 million travel enthusiasts, with over 3,700 unique travel professionals, facilitating face-to-face dialogue, which has resulted in more than 2.1 billion dollars in travel bookings worldwide.

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Which is the top US airline in North America? Depends on how you look at it

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In a recent new study, a detailed analysis of the US airline market-share domination in North America, ranks and lists results by factors such as passenger numbers and miles flown. This particular study focused solely on domestic passengers flying within the US, and depending on how you look at the numbers, the top airline changes over the various categories.

Methodology

The Most-Traveled Domestic Air Carrier (with % market share)

The Top Domestic Carriers by Passenger Count

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) maintains current data that sometimes runs on a three-or-four-month delay, depending on when it is compiled and uploaded. This new study conducted by Upgraded Points represents analyzed data from January 2018–October 2018.

The study also uses a specific table from BTS that contains domestic, nonstop segment data reported by air carriers. This includes carrier name, origin, destinations, as well as other information concerning transported passengers. Finally, data from the BTS directly reflects the number of passengers and the distance flown. This particular information was used to create the concluding graphic featured in the study.

Number of Passengers Flown

Looking at the total number of passengers flown during any given time is the clearest indication of market domination. The final results for this time period were surprising: Delta Air Lines and American Airlines were both in the top five carriers, with 16 percent (106,062,211 passengers) and 15 percent (99,857,863 passengers) respectively — but neither ranked as the number one carrier. Each missed that spot by nearly 5 percent. And the clear winner boasted over 132 million passengers.

United Airlines was another major contender for one of the coveted top five spots, sitting at 11 percent of the market share (71,722,425 passengers).

Most Traveled Air Carrier by State

Geography is a limiting factor when people choose a specific air carrier, especially since further limitations are imposed by air carrier availability at each hub. The Upgraded Points study had to factor in this important detail when ranking its list by state. For example, since Delta Air Lines is based out of Atlanta, it is no surprise that Delta is the dominator of the Georgia market.

But for states like Iowa and Arkansas, the dominating airline is a far less-known carrier. And though American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both flew quite competitively from Texas, one did take the edge over the other in the number of passengers flown from that state.

Most Well-Traveled States

Ranking the states by most well-traveled gives another fascinating look at US air carrier traffic. Researchers expected the most populated states to be the clear winners of the top five spots, simply by virtue of sheer volume. And to a degree, that was true. California, Texas and Florida each flew well over 50 million passengers, securing them the top three spots. But other highly populated states, like New York and Pennsylvania, did not rank in the top five at all.

Those states whose populations travel the least include West Virginia, Wyoming and Delaware. Researchers conceded however that the data might be slightly skewed for these rankings, given that not only does Delaware not have a major airport, it is also one of the least populated states in the US.

Conclusions and Other Rankings

The study concluded by sifting the BTS data into percent of market share by carrier, by month, and revenue passenger miles (RPM). RPM is a particularly important metric that shows the number of miles traveled by paying passengers. At high levels, RPM indicates an airline’s overall traffic. And although there are a variety of large air carriers flying in the US, the final results of the Upgraded Points study clearly indicate that passengers are not evenly split among them.

The full study can be viewed here.

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All Nippon Airways takes delivery of its first Airbus A380 Superjumbo

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Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) has taken delivery of its first A380 at a special ceremony in Toulouse, becoming the 15th operator of the world’s largest passenger aircraft. The delivery ceremony was attended by ANA HOLDINGS President and CEO Shinya Katanozaka and hosted by Airbus CEO Tom Enders.

ANA has ordered three A380s and will operate the aircraft on the popular route between Tokyo Narita and Honolulu from May 24. Each ANA A380 will feature a special livery depicting the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle, also known as the Honu. The livery on the first aircraft is painted in blue, while the second will be green and the third orange.

ANA’s A380 is configured in a premium layout seating 520 passengers. The upper deck features eight suites in First Class, 56 Business Class seats that convert to fully flat beds and 73 Premium Economy seats. Economy Class is located on the main deck, where ANA offers a spacious layout seating 383 passengers, including 60 Couch Seats. The aircraft features ANA’s very latest in-flight entertainment systems, as well as full connectivity in all classes.

“We will commit all three of our Airbus A380 to the Tokyo Honolulu route with the goal of introducing a new level of luxury service to our passengers flying ANA on the number one resort route for Japanese travelers,” said Shinya Katanozaka, President and CEO of ANA HOLDINGS INC.

“We believe the A380 will become a game changer for ANA and will enable us to increase our market share by doubling the number of seats connecting Honolulu and Tokyo by 2020,” he added. “The FLYING HONU is designed to offer unprecedented comfort and convenience and a world of new possibilities to ANA passengers, something that would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Airbus and Rolls-Royce teams working closely with the dedicated professionals at ANA.”

“Airbus is proud to deliver this beautiful aircraft to ANA,” said Airbus CEO Tom Enders. “Offering unrivalled levels of passenger comfort, the A380 will enable ANA to increase its capacity on the busy route to Hawaii with maximum efficiency. We are confident that the aircraft will be highly successful in service with ANA and are committed to providing full support to the airline all along the way.”

The A380 offers airlines the most efficient option to meet demand on the world’s most heavily travelled routes. It is also firmly established as the aircraft of choice by passengers worldwide, offering more personal space in all classes, a super-quiet cabin and smooth ride. Around 250 million passengers have already flown on the aircraft.

Following today’s delivery to ANA, there are currently 232 A380s in service with 15 airlines worldwide, flying on 120 routes across the globe.

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