The Dope

Novotel’s recent collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a significant step forward in their commitment to environmental responsibility, with a special emphasis on ocean conservation. The three-year collaboration intends to positively impact Novotel’s 580 hotels worldwide by incorporating science-based action and conservation projects into their operations.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has found that Türkiye’s Travel & Tourism sector smashed all records last year, setting new benchmarks in four important parameters. In 2023, the industry contributed TRY 3.11 trillion to the economy, or 12% of total GDP. This represents about a 30% gain above the last peak in 2019.

Alaska Airlines is expanding its long-standing cooperation with British Airways, a founding member of the oneworld alliance, so that our guests may now book simple, nonstop flights to London directly at alaskaair.com. Guests can book British Airways tickets at alaskaair.com for a smooth journey between London Heathrow and Alaska’s gateway airports in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, as well as Chicago and New York JFK.

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has revealed a record-breaking year for Travel & Tourism in Saudi Arabia, with new highs in GDP contribution, industry jobs, and tourist spending. Saudi Arabia’s Travel & Tourism sector is presently breaking all prior records, demonstrating the country’s determination to become a global tourism hot spot.

This Hajj season, Emirates is prepared to service a huge number of pilgrims traveling from the airline’s global network via Dubai to Jeddah and Medina to complete the once-in-a-lifetime Muslim pilgrimage. Emirates has worked hard at every stage of the journey to offer a comfortable experience for pilgrims traveling to Makkah for this important trip, both in the air and on ground.

Virgin Atlantic has announced three new codeshare arrangements that will begin this year, strengthening connectivity and improving passenger incentives, with the airline once again rewarding its most frequent flyers. It also revealed plans to return to Tel Aviv on September 5, 2024. Virgin Atlantic customers flying between the United Kingdom and Israel have been enjoying the experience since its inception in September 2019.

Vietnam Airlines, Vietnam’s national carrier, has officially joined the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) CO2 Connect project to analyze CO2 emissions. Vietnam Airlines inked a partnership agreement to participate in CO2 Connect at the IATA AGM in Dubai, becoming the first Vietnamese airline to do so.

BWH Hotels is focusing portfolio expansion in the Middle East for 2024 and beyond. The company will shortly open eight new hotels and one branded apartment in Saudi Arabia, with further expansion in the region potential in the near future. Four Makkah properties, as well as the BW Signature Collection Jeddah and the Executive Residency by Best Western, Al Shafa Hotel Jeddah, have recently signed management agreements.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and China Eastern Airlines, a leading global airline, have signed a Joint Venture (JV) to further their strategic partnership¹. This historic agreement, signed at Etihad Airways’ headquarters in Abu Dhabi, is the first commercial partnership between a Middle Eastern and a Chinese airline.

Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea are the three wholly-owned brands of Royal Caribbean Group. The company announced that loyalty members from these brands will achieve similar tier status on any of its brands. With more than 50 amazing ships visiting nearly 1,000 locations on all seven continents, this shared status expands on the perks already available to members and opens up new avenues for exploration.