Ajman hospitality sector was highly represented as part of the official emirate’s delegation to the 20th International Russian Travel Market, held from September 16th through 19th.
Led by Ajman Tourism Development Department (ATDD) General Manager Faisal Al Nuaimi, the delegation included Kempinski Hotel Ajman, Ajman Saray, the Ajman Palace, Ramada Hotel and Suites Ajman and Tulip Inn Royal Suites Ajman.
ATDD targets a 15 percent increase in Ajman hotel occupancy, Al Nuaimi said. Such a rate should come in line with another increase in the number o f hotel units, he added, noting that the five-star Fairmont Ajman is expected to be inaugurated by March 1st, 2015, according to its General Manager Henny Schaeffer, with 252 units.
Iftikhar Hamdani, General Manager of Ramada Hotel and Suites – Ajman, announced his hotel had the highest occupancy in the northern emirates in the period from October 2013 till May 2014. The hotel had 147,000 guests from Russia and the CIS market, he added, noting that this was the reason behind participation in the 20th International Russian Travel Market.
A new deal with GDS online booking company would target 100 more daily guests for Ramada Ajman; a 500 percent increase compared to 2013, he added.
Olesya Getunova, Assistant Director of Leisure Sales at Ajman Saray, a Luxury Collection Resort and Starwood’s latest Middle Eastern hotel, said this exhibition was highly important to attract tourists who come to the UAE in the winter season, lauding participation as part of a team led by ATDD.
Jennet Yevshanova, Assistant Director of Sales at Kempinski Hotel Ajman, said she continued to meet with tour operators to get posted on the latest developments in the Russian and CIS market as part of efforts to get ready to the new season, starting in October. She praised collective efforts to promote Ajman as a UAE emirate.
Aftab Mukadam, Assistant Director of Sales at the Ajman Palace Hotel and Resorts, said the exhibition was a good opportunity to stabilize presence in the Russian market and establish new partnerships, noting that being under ATDD as an official government authority made clients and tour operators ready to forge new important deals.
Methsiri Ranasinghe, Business Development Manager at Tulip Inn Royal Suites Ajman, said his hotel’s revenues grew by AED 1.2 million in the first half of 2014, compared to the same period in 2013, and that between 65 and 70 percent of guests were from Russia and the CIS market; so that the hotel was keen to take part in this exhibition.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates