India’s oldest hotel operator has added a second property in Dubai as the emirate attracts rising numbers of tourists from the subcontinent.
The Taj Group opened the 296-room luxury hotel in Dubai Downtown – 14 years after opening its first property in Deira.
It comes as the number of Indian passengers passing through Dubai International Airport rises steadily. In February, 809,129 passengers from India passed through the airport, representing the largest group of passengers by nationality.
“The Indian leisure market has taken off, and that’s certainly a factor but also there are more opportunities for the Indian brands now,” said John Podaras, a Dubai-based partner at the hospitality consultancy Hotel Development Resources. “Expo 2020 is also a factor, and already the Dubai machinery is gearing up for that.”
Rising salaries over the past decade and of disposable income in India have led to an increase in overseas travellers, including those from smaller cities.
The GDP per capita in India was last recorded in 2013 at US$1,165, well up from $740 in 2006.
The UAE is the single largest country for air ticket bookings for outbound travel from India with the online travel agent ClearTrip.com. “We have seen this increase over the last three to four years with the increase in air capacity to the UAE from India,” said Amit Taneja, Clear-Trip’s chief revenue officer. “From the tourism perspective, Dubai is giving Singapore tough competition.”
Dubai is the single largest market for hotel bookings on ClearTrip, followed by Singapore.
Both the Taj and Oberoi, the other grand old hotel company from India, have had mixed success with hotel projects with some earlier announced projects yet to be opened. They include a Palm Jumeirah development for the Taj, and hotels slated for Yas Island and Al Raha Beach for Oberoi.
Oberoi opened in Dubai’s Business Bay in 2013 and plans to open in Ajman this year.
The Mumbai-based property company Hiranandani Group is working on a budget hotel with Accor in Dubai’s Business Bay that is expected to open in 2017. Also based in Mumbai, Suba Group of Hotels opened its first four-star property in Deira last year to tap into the Indian business traveller market. It expects to have a property near Dubai World Central’s Al Maktoum International Airport.
Tourist numbers from India are forecast to grow to 50 million by 2020, having risen from 3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 million in 2007, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
Travel agencies such as Thomas Cook have started to offer package holidays from India for as little as 35,000 rupees (Dh2,056) for a five-day tour of Dubai that includes flights, hotels and sightseeing.
India was the second-largest source market for Dubai and the largest for Abu Dhabi last year.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
DC%20League%20of%20Super-Pets
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jared%20Stern%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Dwayne%20Johnson%2C%20Kevin%20Hart%2C%20John%20Krasinski%2C%20Keanu%20Reeves%2C%20Olivia%20Wilde%2C%20Kate%20McKinnon%2C%20Jameela%20Jamil%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
The biog
Marital status: Separated with two young daughters
Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo
Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian
Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness
Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
