2015: Year of rapid growth

The year 2015 has been eventful around the globe with many unprecedented market changes; there has been slow movement in certain months resulting in market fluctuation. However, the feeder markets in the GCC region are stable. In terms of hospitality, rebranding is the modern trend of the day as most partners opt for re-branding their image to increase business potential.

There are notable differences in the hospitality industry today. In the UAE, most hotels are performing well in terms of occupancy but how well are they with their revenue levels? It is a cause of concern for the decision makers and a key factor to focus for the next year where the trade partners need to take some collective action to address these issues. United Kingdom has emerged as number one in the UAE travel market in the recent months; with Asian markets like India and China the market expectations for 2016 is definitely on a higher level in groups and MICE market.

In the aviation industry, Dubai airport has emerged as the busiest airport this year with the influx of tourists; next year it is estimated to sky rocket even further. Government, IATA and other controlling bodies are working together to address all issues with a broad perspective towards the next 15 years. A pressing concern facing air transport in the region is Air Traffic Management (ATM).

As the gulf is strategically located with significant volumes of transiting air traffic from various destinations, it has reported more than 13 per cent growth per annum over the last five years, according to reports. Next year there will surely be more national projects implemented to integrate and collaborate among aviation stakeholders. Technology trends will contribute fairly well to solve the immediate problems in the region.

There were some very good partnerships agreed upon during the Dubai Airshow, making it over US$30 billion worth deals.