For premium class passengers on commercial airlines the Apple iPad is being viewed as a 'state of the art' device for providing infotainment. Howard Clarke, Business Development Director, IFA Services, UK talks to Phil Blizzard on the ways this iconic mobile device may be used by airlines, the content which could be provided and how news is updated on a regular basis.
Audio: The Thai hospitality brand Dusit Thani expands its Middle East presence with the opening of a new property in Abu Dhabi. Phil Blizzard talks to Stefan van der Kruyf, Director of Sales & Marketing, Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi about the expansion of the brand in the region and the key aspects of the new hotel.
Audio: Global Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) totals approximately US$5.3 trillion in assets under management, with the second largest being Abu Dhabi's "ADIA". In this interview, based around a recent report highlighting trends in SWF in the Middle East, Phil Blizzard talks to Vikas Papriwal, Partner & Head of Sovereign Wealth Funds & Private Equity, UAE & Oman.
Audio: The demand for mid-level hotels is likely to be significant as Dubai aims for 20 million visitors per year by 2020. At the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference, organised by MEED and The Bench, Russel Sharpe, COO - Hotel Division, Landmark Hospitality talks to Phil Blizzard about their development pipeline, brand values and the future demand for hotels in the mid-level sector.
Audio: A new hotel brand for the new generation of business executives, entrepreneurs and leisure travellers is how Emaar have described their Vida Hotels and Resorts. At the Arabian travel Market Phil Blizzard spoke with Stefan Viard, GM, Vida Downtown Dubai to find out more on the aims of the new brand and what their first hotel will offer.
Audio: Omar Samra, Founder & CEO, Wild Guanabana in conversation with Phil Blizzard talks about his passion for climbing and what it meant to summit Mount Everest, being the first Egyptian and the youngest Arab to conquer the world's highest peak. He also talks about his major career move, from the coporate world of banking to that of adventure tourism.
Audio: Marc Dardenne, former CEO of Emaar Hospitality who launched The Address and Armani hotels in Dubai talks to Phil Blizzard at the Arabian Hotel Investment Conference about his new venture in Singapore. As CEO of Patina Hotels & Resorts he will be creating a new style of luxury hotels and hopes to bring the brand to the Middle East.
Audio: Omar Samra, Founder & CEO, Wild Guanabana talks about sustainable and adventurous tourism with Phil Blizzard and the locations they visit and how local partners are selected. He also explains the origins of the name for his business which came about during an expedition in South America.
Audio: A look at the key trends in the real estate market for the first quarter of 2013. Phil Blizzard talks to Barat Kumar, Marketing Director, Propertyfinder.ae on the day they publish the first report for the year 2013. Listen to discover what is happening to both the rental and sellers markets in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Audio: The FIFA World Cup is probably one of the largest events in the MICE sector of the travel and tourism industry and with Qatar hosting the 2022 event we speak with Abdulla Malalla Al Bader, Director, Qatar Tourism Authority. He talks to Phil Blizzard about their hotel pipeline, the range of sporting events which they host, the cultural attractions and the importance of the MICE sector.
Audio: Singapore is seeing a substantial rise in visitors from the Middle East due to the increasing number of airlines flying into the island state. Mohamed Hafez Marican, Area Director Middle East & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board talks to Phil Blizzard about key events and attractions which are helping to boost visitor numbers. He explains what Singapore can offer compared with other well know Asia cities, and they talk about the strong ties between Dubai and Singapore, along with the forthcoming 'Art Route' collaboration.
Audio: A significant number of companies don't pay enough attention to corporate information security practices, according to a Kaspersky Lab survey, in association with B2B International. The survey, conducted in November 2012, polled over 5,000 senior IT managers worldwide and found that 35% of companies expose corporate data to unauthorised parties by failing to use encryption technologies. Steven Bond spoke to Nikolay Grebennikov, Chief Technology Officer at Kaspersky Lab, about different types of encryption and how they are effective for enterprise security.
Audio: A forum organised by Emirates for the hoteliers of Dubai has served as platform for the airline to showcase their development strategy, and in particular new source markets. Phil Blizzard talks to Marc Bennett, Divisional Senior VP, Destination & Leisure Management, Emirates about the key messages they are putting to hotel executives in their drive to increase tourism to Dubai.
Audio: "We have big objectives this year, to become global, we want to be in every single continent" say Fadi Malas, CEO, Just Falafel in conversation with Phil Blizzard. He said they are getting strong response from Brazil for future expansion and also talks about new product development and the importance of social media in their growth.
Audio: The newly launched distribution platform from Travelport is aimed at aggregating information from a number of sources to enable travel agents keep abreast of the ever evolving and changing airline landscape. Phil Blizzard talks to Will Owen Hughes, Snr Director, Airline Services, ME&A, Travelport about the focus of the new merchandising platform for airlines in the Middle East.
Audio: Executive Views with Fadi Malas, CEO, Just Falafel starts with him talking about the key elements of their business development in 2012 - a year which saw rapid expansion of their franchises across the Middle East. He also talks to Phil Blizzard about their strategy for 2013 and what it meant to him and his organisation to win a raft of SME awards.
Audio: The Travelport Merchandising Platform has been designed to enable a greater flow of information to travel agents and is aimed a creating a speedier and more content rich solution to the booking of airlines tickets. Phil Blizzard spoke with Ian Heywood, Head of Global Supplier Strategy, Travelport about the key aspects of this platform, how it will assist travel agents, and ultimately passengers, in the rapidly changing airline landscape and the products they offer.
Audio: The 13th World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit took place in Abu Dhabi with the theme "A Time for Leadership". President Bill Clinton was the keynote speaker at the event, which attracted travel and tourism leaders from across the globe. Phil Blizzard reports on the summit which focused on some of the key issues facing the travel and tourism industry. You may watch the video version of this report in our video section.
Audio: Dubai World Central has announced it will commence general passenger operations as of October 27th 2013. In this report Phil Blizzard talks to Jamal Al Hai, Snr VP, International Affairs & Communications, Dubai Airports about their facilities and also talks with Jozsef Varadi, CEO, Wizz who are based in Central Europe and will start services into Dubai from four cities - Budapest, Kiev, Bucharest & Sofia.
Audio: Launch airline for Passengers flights into Dubai World Central (DWC)includes European based Wizz Air and in this part Phil Blizzard speaks to Jozsef Varadi, CEO, Wizz Air their decision to use DWC rather than Dubai International Airport. He also talks about their ticketing structure, the advantages of booking early and despite being a point to point carrier they can connect UAE travellers to a substantial number of European destinations.
Audio: Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central is to open to passenger flights on October 27, 2013. Launch carrier will be Wizz Air, based in Central Europe and in this part Phil Blizzard speaks to Jozsef Varadi, CEO, Wizz Air about the airline and its operations, the tough European market and their 'bold' approach with four services to Dubai.
Audio: Tends in the uptake of e-commerce across the Middle East are highlighted by Emmanuel Durou, Director, Consulting - Strategy, Deloitte Middle East. In this podcast with Phil Blizzard he also talks about the ways e-commerce will evolve in this region.
Audio: "The oil squabbles between Kurdistan and Federal Government have been going on for more than two years" says H.E. Adnan Al-Janabi, Chairman, Oil & Energy Committee, Parliament, Republic of Iraq. In conversation with Phil Blizzard he makes the call for the implementation of the Oil & Gas Law, talks about their vast reserves of oil, said to be more than 300 billion barrels and their strategy for production.
Audio: The latest figures published by Airports Council International confirms that Dubai International Airport (DXB) is now the second busiest international airport in the world. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, in this report by Phil Blizzard, says that London's Heathrow Airport is firmly in their sights now that DXB has overtaken Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
Audio: Whilst the impressive looking superyachts catch the eye and media attention it is the smaller craft which is the main business of UAE manufacturer Gulf Craft. Phil Blizzard talks to Erwin Bamps, COO, Gulf Craft about the significant growth for the much smaller craft, which is the mainstay of the company which is now into its 31st year of operations.
Audio: Phil Blizzard with a round-up of the key stories from around the region and beyond, including the announcement by Boeing of a redesign for the batteries of the troubled and grounded Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The news of the new international airport in Qatar, new routes for Qatar Airways, innovations on-board from passengers of Flydubai and Emirates awaiting the arrival of the first flight by Qantas into Dubai.
Audio: Phil Blizzard talks to Erwin Bamps, COO, Gulf Craft about the global demand for superyachts and how the regional market is maturing and even looking for even larger boats. He also talks about the construction of their largest yacht to date - the Majesty 155.
HP's new business tablet has landed in the Middle East and will soon take off again with Dubai's Emirates airline. Steven Bond spoke to HP and Emirates execs about the device and this special partnership.
Audio: UAE Based satellite operator Yahlive are looking at growing their bouquet of 45 HD TV channels to an 'exclusive club' of just 140 channels. Mohamed Youssif, CEO, Yahlive explains to Phil Blizzard their strategy for restricting the number of channels and also talks about their joint venture with European satellite operator SES, which he views as a collaboration of expertise.
Audio: UAE Based satellite operator Yahlive are looking at growing their bouquet of 45 HD TV channels to an 'exclusive club' of just 140 channels. Mohamed Youssif, CEO, Yahlive explains to Phil Blizzard their strategy for restricting the number of channels and also talks about their joint venture with European satellite operator SES, which he views as a collaboration of expertise.
Audio: Our debit card could soon go the way of the chequebook and become a relic in terms of how we make purchases. RFID (radio-frequency identification technology) will allow us to tap and swipe our way to simple transactions - but is it secure? Nicolai Solling, Director of Technology Services at HelpAG Middle East, speaks to Steven Bond about the RFID trend and potential security issues.
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