Business & Money | Monday 21 November, 2016 3:51 pm |

Al Rais Travel and Holidays, one of the largest independent travel agencies in the UAE, has extended its reach by opening a new branch in Dubai that will offer full range of travel services.

The opening ceremony of the Al Rais Travel 18th branch in the UAE was attended by Al Rais Travel Chief Executive Officer – Sunder Vasudaven and Deputy Managing Director- Board of Management-Mohamed Jasim Al Rais along with top executives from  tourist offices of Jordan, Austria, Turkey, Malaysia, Spain, South Korea, and regional director of Hamburg Tourism Board for Gulf region.

The new branch unit16 is located in Vita Shopping Mall opposite City  Walk Retail Complex on Al Wasl Road and it will cater to the travel needs of Jumeira and other areas located near the branch.

Al Rais Travel Deputy Managing Director – Board of Management- Mohamed Jasim Al Rais said: “We selected this location to extend our luxury travel services to the residents of Jumeirah.”

Al Rais Travel has recently signed two of the pioneers of the social media personalities Ibrahim Al Thahli and Munther Al Muzaki to promote the company’s latest offerings throughout the year, as said Mohamed Jasim Al Rais.

Al Rais Travel is the General Sales Agent for 19 international airlines including Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Kenya Airways, Continental Airlines to name a few. The company offers complete travel packages including tickets, hotels, cruises, international football games, camping and others.

Top executives, who attended the opening ceremony, said that the UAE is an important market for them for both inbound and outbound tourism to their respective countries.

Yazan Al Khadir from Jordan Tourism said: “Arab countries are most important markets for Jordan for inbound tourism. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are key markets for us in Gulf region.”

Yazan Al Khadir said that Jordan’s extensive media and advertising campaign attracted 10 per cent more visitors in 2016 compared to 2015 from the UAE.

Jordan hosted 20,000 UAE tourists during January to September 2016 compared to same period in 2015. Yazan Al Khadir praised the cooperation of Al Rais in promotion activities to attract UAE tourists.

Salih Ozer, Cultural & Information Attache at Turkish Consulate General in Dubai, said: “Turkey hosted 45,000 tourists from the UAE this year. Total tourist from GCC countries reached 750,000 this year.”

Laura Weiss, Marketing Manager, Austrian National Tourist Office, said: “Austria is the fastest growing destination in Europe where the number of tourists have tripled in the last five years.”

Laura Weiss said that the number of tourists from Middle East reached 338,800 during the January to September period in 2016. She appreciated the role of Al Rais for increasing number of tourists from the UAE.

Kenny Sang, Regional Director for Korea Tourism, said that GCC tourist arrivals in Korean increased to 20,949 during the first nine months of this year compared to 18,166 last year.

“Al Rais is one of our strongest partners in promoting South Korea as a destination for leisure, educational tourism and honeymooners. We also work together in several consumer exhibitions, trade shows, and online campaigns.”