ArabWeeks

A Mauritius tourism mission, headed by the Honourable Anil Kumarsingh Gayan, Minister of Tourism, and joined by His Excellency Mohamed Iqbal Latona, Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority officials and tourism stakeholders, have launched a series of roadshows, workshops and events throughout the Kingdom to promote the island nation as an ideal holiday destination for Saudi families, honeymooners and adventurers seeking a safe, friendly, welcoming and multi-culturally diverse destination, full of unique cultural festivals and exceptional culinary offerings all set amongst spectacular natural settings for both travellers seeking ultimate luxury experiences and those wanting quality experiences with great value for money.

The mission commenced with promotional roadshows on April 7th and 8th, 2018 in both Jeddah and Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, where a delegation of 10-companies and tourism stakeholders from Mauritius meet with over 70 leading Saudi tourism partners in each city, in order to create new travel packages to Mauritius specifically for Saudi travellers.

From April 10th, 2018 the delegation moved to the Kingdom’s capital where a Mauritius promotional pavilion was opened as part of the four-day Riyadh Travel Fair event, which is opened to the public and will take place at the Al Faisaliah Tower Hotel from 10 – 13 April, 2018. Here, people interested in travelling to Mauritius, or learning more about the destination, can visit the Mauritius stand and meet directly with members of the delegation to find out more as to why Mauritius should be their next holiday destination of choice, as well as avail of some great travel offers.

On April 11th, the Honourable Anil Kumarsingh Gayan, Mauritius Minister of Tourism, then meet with 50 of Riyadh’s leading travel agencies, media representatives and social media influencers, at a private venue within the Al Faisaliah Tower Hotel, to provide the select invitees with further updates and information on destination Mauritius. The day was concluded with a special evening event hosted by His Excellency Mohamed Iqbal Latona, Ambassador of the Republic of Mauritius to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Ambassador’s official residence, where leading Saudi media and press representatives, as well as special Saudi dignitaries where invited for an informational session followed by a welcome dinner.

Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Anil Kumarsingh Gayan commented, “The response from the Saudi Travel agents and public has been overwhelmingly positive throughout this mission. It is clear that Mauritius can very quickly become one of the preferred destinations for Saudi tourists, as we offer a distinctive, luxurious, romantic, eco-friendly, family-focused experience and offering. Our rich natural wonders and exotic location, year-round schedule of festivals and special events, numerous kid-friendly eco-parks and beautifully designed hotels and resorts are just a few of the many reasons for Saudi families, honeymooners, adventurers and groups to come and visit Mauritius.” The Minister continued: “Our touristic offering has been extremely well received by the Saudi Travel agents that we have met. We expect that following this mission there will be many new Mauritius holiday packages and special offers made available to Saudi travellers, and that the number of visitors from Saudi Arabia to Mauritius will continue to increase significantly.”

From January to December 2017, Mauritius received a total of 5,142 Saudi tourists visiting the island nation, an increase of 62.5% compared to the total number of Saudi visitors that visited in 2016, which in turn was a 10% increase compared to the total number of Saudi visitors that visited in 2015. By conducting the tourism missions to Saudi Arabia, it is expected that this increase in Saudi visitation will continue well into 2018, especially with the launch of direct flights from Riyadh and Jeddah to Mauritius with Saudia Airlines. The opening of the Mauritius Embassy in Riyadh in 2017 is also expected to aid in the building of economic, tourism and cultural ties between the two nations.

A total of ten industry partners from Mauritius-based tourism and hospitality entities joined the Saudi Arabia Mission, each promoting their own unique tourism products, hospitality services and attractions. These included; Akqua Sun, As-siyaaha Tour Operator, Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels, Heritage Resorts / Veranda Resorts, Over The Horizon Mauritius, Promo Tour, Seaside Holidays Ltd., Lux Resorts & Hotels, YU Lounge, and Sunway Residence.

The Honourable Anil Kumarsingh Gayan added, “Saudi Arabia remains an integral emerging target market for Mauritius’ tourism development. This tourism development mission is one of many major activities MTPA has planned to ensure that key international travel agents maintain a close awareness and link with Mauritius’ tourism industry partners, in order to mutually expand the business opportunities between both, while offering their clients quality tourism experiences. Our expectation is that travel to Mauritius from Saudi Arabia will continue to grow and thrive, reinforcing Mauritius’ status as a world-class aspirational destination for luxury travel, honeymooners, groups and family tourism.”

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) is spearheading a delegation from Abu Dhabi at this year’s Riyadh Travel Fair, which is taking place between 10th – 13th April in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capital.

Now in its 10th edition, the trade show plays a strategic role in gathering major travel, tourism, and hospitality decision-makers from both the public and private sectors to discuss issues facing the global tourism industry. Featuring more than 270 exhibitors from more than 50 countries, the 2018 edition is anticipating an increase in both exhibitors and visitor numbers from last year.

Abu Dhabi’s participation at the fair aims to promote the Emirate’s top tourist attractions and further cement its position as a destination of distinction, both regionally and globally. In 2017, Saudi Arabia was one of the Emirate’s top source markets contributing 151,496 hotel guests, which was an increase of 3% from 2016, highlighting the strategic importance of the Kingdom for the Department.   

HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General, DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “We are proud to participate at the Riyadh Travel Fair where we aim to showcase Abu Dhabi as a prime destination for the Saudi market. As the Kingdom’s leading travel event, and one of the most well-respected in the industry, we look forward to promoting the strong cultural attributes and tourist attractions of Abu Dhabi alongside our key partners including Miral, Etihad Airways, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Al Raha Beach Hotel. Saudi Arabia continues to play a big role in fueling further growth in the tourism sector and as such, the trade fair plays an important role in connecting us to leading industry stakeholders. With a diverse range of leisure and entertainment options and a plentiful supply of high-quality hotels and shopping malls, Abu Dhabi will continue to position itself as an attractive destination for Saudi travellers.”

Abu Dhabi is joined by partners including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Yas Experiences, Etihad Airways and Al Raha Beach Hotel. The Abu Dhabi pavilion showcases myriad offerings, including the ‘Yas Island Holiday Package’ that has been especially curated for Saudi visitors, and the much-awaited opening of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi that is scheduled to open its doors in the summer of 2018, and Summer Abu Dhabi 2018, which is set to take place between 15th June and 31st August 2018.

To attract an increasing number of tourists from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi will be hosting three dedicated roadshows from 16th – 18th April in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah. These events will focus on showcasing the Emirate’s rich culture and heritage as well as famous landmarks, giving Saudi tourists the opportunity to closely review their options and choice of services.

Buildings are the largest source of energy demand globally and are central focus in addressing climate change. Heating, cooling, and powering residential, commercial, and government buildings consume 40% of all energy produced worldwide, and as much as 70% in the Middle East. Under the extreme peak summer conditions, HVAC systems are no longer a luxury, rather a necessity to keep key sectors operating.

There are key trends shaping the HVAC sector in Saudi –a greater drive for adopting designs that are energy efficient, the adoption of higher energy performance units and components in order to comply with energy performance standards created by SASO/SEEC and a strong anticipation of growth in residential unit’s sales due to new housing programs.

The global strategy consulting firm Booz & Co has estimated that District Cooling systems are able to reduce up to 25-30% of the cooling requirements of Saudi by 2030.

District cooling (DC), a centralized way to produce and distribute cooling energy solutions for industrial and real estate sectors, is seen one of the most  viable and cost effective  HVAC solution for urban cities with dense populations.  This centralized system eradicates the requirement for a separate system in each building and also provides more economic and environmental benefits than other solutions. This central grid enables adoption of renewable energy sources (such as solar, thermal and biomass) which otherwise would have been difficult to realize in individual buildings.

District Cooling also helps utilize local energy sources and keeps energy earnings in local communities. It increases building space as the system frees up space for rent to generate profits or use rooftops as gardens, while it also reduces maintenance and operating costs, as consumers only pay for what they use. Because it’s a large central system, the total installed capacity is much less than sum of individual cooling loads due to diversity in peak loads, occupancy, usage etc. that would also mean higher utilization of installed capacity.

How A Saudi Company Is Innovating District Cooling Technology

The circumstances of customers, availability of load pattern, tariff pattern, building pattern makes it smart to craft a solution targeting specific outcomes. However many equipment suppliers have limited offering that traps the customer in one size fits all.

A much wider portfolio of solution elements varying from energy sources such as steam, oil, gas, electricity (or) compression technology such as screw, centrifugal (or) methods of heat rejection such as air-cooled/convertible/water-cooled, distinguishes Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK) from others. Depending on the situation the Company can offer appropriate tailor-made solution to engineers/consultants.

Dr. Anwar Hassan, Vice President of Sales and Field Operations, Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK), believes success of such proposals would lead to the adoption of the most appropriate solutions in accordance with modern technology, while contributing to the efficacy goals of the Kingdom’s National Transformation Program 2020. Some of the company’s leading projects in District Cooling include: The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdul Aziz Endowment tower in Makkah (Clock Tower), Jabal Omar area in Makkah, and the third terminal in the Jeddah King Abdul Aziz airport.

Historic experience of many societies in dealing with utilities and retaining high degree of competitiveness resulted in separation of production & distribution utility domains. Al Salem Johnson Controls (YORK) believes that the District Cooling concept is very much applicable. The investment in piping systems to distribute chilled water to facilities shall be regulated and charged as part of the general infrastructure. Issues and disagreements about it shall be arbitrated and regulated by industry bodies, allowing District Cooling companies to utilize the network. This will be beneficial to society apart from offering more competitive rates for consumers (just like power distribution companies or telephone companies), and as a result not everyone has to dig the country.

Setting fair and stable rates for District Cooling as a utility and for electricity and other forms of energy such as gas, diesel, etc., is a matter that requires the government to outline transparent procedures for settling rates between consumers and producers. Once this is in place & practiced consistently it will lead to boosting the rate of district energy adoption. Arbitration and standards bodies, in addition to mandatory procedures and processes for setting rates and arbitrating differences, are needed to boost the confidence of investors that the value will surely be harvested.

Dr. Anwar believes government regulations and initiatives can help place greater emphasis on life-cycle cost over initial cost. High efficiency solutions are usually more expensive in first cost and adopting them requires a clear understanding of the value they generate, articulating this value looks shaky if the elements making the value; like energy efficiency performance, power and water, are not on firm grounds. The adoption and implementation is impeded by the lack of clarity on a number of practical considerations, for example:

• Determining whether treated sewage water is available;
• When is it available at a particular location; and
• At what rates it is going to be available.

These are difficult questions, but without clear transparent answer and commitment, and without such knowledge being publicly available, it is difficult for the energy efficiency conversations to progress. “Contractors will remain bound by the contract terms of the project and cannot be expected to advocate more energy efficient solutions unless they are financially incentivized to do so,” he added.

There’s wide acceptance among consultants and owners that District Cooling is an environmentally and fiscally favorable concept and practice. However wide adoption remains elusive. Thus industry awaits the standards & guidelines from government to activate their environmentally favorable decision.

District Cooling is mandatory in government developments requiring 15000 tons or more. We have seen admirable efforts by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) promoting and offering financial grants for the development, research and commercialization of products and solutions supporting the use of renewable energy in HVACR. This is appreciated by companies that wish to play a role in advanced environmental solutions.

The UNEP (UN Environment body) report highlights “District Energy (DE) Champion Cities” which includes Dubai, UAE, as a single largest city adopting District Cooling in the world.  The report highlights that this solution is a part of broader efforts to shift away from fossil fuel to renewable energy technology while saving energy bills.  For example, Kuwait could reduce energy usage by 46 percent if it implements a comprehensive system of DE. DE involves a district cooling and heating, biomass, biogas, geothermal exchange, combined heat and power.

The first edition of the Swiss Fashion Days Riyadh’ organized by Switzerland Tourism took place at the residence of the Swiss Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, HE Mr Heinrich Schellenberg, in Riyadh on the 11th and 12th of April 2018. The famous Saudi designers Aram Designs by Arwa Al-Ammari, La’ Beso by Balqees Alqadeeb, Nuun Jewels by Nourah Al Faisal and Madawi Alissa were joined by the two Swiss Designers Gaia Schenk and Raphael Blechschmidt Haute Couture. The Saudi Artist Khalid Al Sudairy presented a collection of his latest photographs. During the Swiss Fashion Days Riyadh the Swiss destinations Lake Geneva Region, Lucerne, Ascona Locarno, Basel and Bern enhanced the event by showcasing their beauty throughout the venue. HE Mr Heinrich Schellenberg explained: “The fashion show is a fantastic opportunity to inspire our guests by the beauty of Switzerland and at the same time to celebrate the close cooperation between Saudi and Swiss fashion designers.”

Travelling to Switzerland means travelling in style. Next to fresh air, crystal clear lakes and beautiful landscape, Switzerland is famous for its distinguished elegance, inspiring architecture, exclusive brands and refined design. During the “Swiss Fashion Days Riyadh” the essence of this Swiss lifestyle as well as stylish luxury experiences were highlighted:

Basel – Feast par excellence

Anyone who has had the pleasure of enjoying a meal at Cheval Blanc is guaranteed to want to go back. The culinary artistry of the sauce king Peter Knogl has been distinguished with the highest rating of three Michelin stars – and rightfully so.

Les Trois Rois***** in Basel is one of the oldest city hotels in Europe. Its location on the water is as unique as Peter Knogl’s gourmet cuisine. A meal at the round tables of Cheval Blanc promises culinary bliss, a refined ambience and a spectacular view of the Rhine. It is also worth peering through the small kitchen window in the hall to catch a glimpse of the Chef and his team working their magic. It is fascinating to experience how quietly this small kitchen operates. 

Andermatt, Lucerne-Lake Lucerne Region

Speedy drive over the mountain pass and slow-down in the spa

The timeless Alpine landscape around Andermatt can be enjoyed at the steering wheel of a Morgan Plus 4. Final destination of this tour is the luxurious atmosphere of five-star hotel The Chedi.

Racing up and down the pass in a Morgan Plus 4 is a unique adventure that should be on everybody’s to-do list next summer! For example the breathtaking San Bernardino pass? The Tremola, Furka or Nufenen passes? They are all just waiting to be discovered by car enthusiasts. The crowning experience of such a drive over the best passes in Europe can be found in The Chedi – either in the relaxing spa or in its outstanding restaurant. 

Discover the delights of Lake Lauenen with horsepower 

Gstaad, Canton of Bern

A horse-drawn carriage through the Rohr nature reserve to Lake Lauenen is one of the romantic highlights of a stay in the Gstaad holiday region.

Surrounded by a nature reserve, Lake Lauenen is an enchanted place and an ideal destination for hikers, nature lovers and romantics. What could be more romantic than a ride in a horse-drawn carriage? Stopping for a cup of hot tea along the way makes the trip even sweeter. Not to be missed is the chance to visit the Mattenstübli Beizli restaurant, where guests can enjoy a delicious cheese fondue. 

Ascona, Ticino

JazzAscona 2018 at the Castello Seeschloss

The striking tower of the Castello Seeschloss is one of Ascona’s landmarks. The location by the lake is perfect, two restaurants and a palm-tree dotted garden with a luxurious pool promises relaxing hours. During JazzAscona, the hotel is the perfect spot to enjoy the music along the promenade.

JazzAscona features around 15 concerts each day. The festival offers a unique mix of Jazz and Afro-American music, ranging from New Orleans Jazz to Swing, Blues to R’n’B and Gospel to Soul.

Fish your dish – catch your dinner 

Vevey, Lake Geneva Region

Each day, Patrice goes out on Lake Geneva to catch fresh fish. He works at the five-star hotel Les Trois Couronnes and knows the Swiss Riviera like no other.

With a little luck, it is not long before a fish is on the line or in the net. To pass the time – or simply cool off in the hot summer months – nothing beats a dip in the glorious fresh water. If the trip was successful, the Michelin Star chef Lionel Rodriguez prepares the catch under the watchful eyes of his guests in the evening.

Switzerland, enjoy with style!

As a support to the “#لتبقى” (To stay) campaign launched by the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center, and in line with the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision aimed at creating a sustainable economy by adopting energy efficient solutions, LG, the leader in the innovation of the latest energy conservation solutions, has introduced dual-input technology – DUAL INVERTER which has showed astonishing results, compared to the performance of conventional air conditioners.

The results of the trials were reviewed during LG’s event at the Shaker Academy, in the presence of representatives of LG Electronics and Shaker Group, in addition to the social media ambassador of the campaign “Abdullah Al-Subaie” and media representatives. LG had presented a number of air conditioners with and without the DUAL INVERTER technology to compare air conditioners, assess and calculate the difference in usage and saving on electricity bills.

Eddie Jun, the President of LG Electronics in Saudi Arabia said: “LG is committed to its vision of a smart lifestyle with the introduction of next-generation technology and constantly strives to satisfy the consumers’ needs with products that will help them in their daily lives. This has always been LG’s main objective within the market and industry. Since rationalizing and optimizing energy consumption has become a strategic choice for all institutions and households, commitment to smart living and eco-friendly solutions has also been our main focus to create a rewarding lifestyle for everyone.”

He added :”The importance of this campaign comes at the right time as we are on the brink of summer, where most of the Kingdom’s regions are experiencing high temperatures, some even recording close to 48 degrees Celsius. In addition to the new electricity tariffs in the Kingdom, which have almost more than tripled, these developments require technical and innovative solutions. These solutions do not only include energy saving, but also the usage of devices that comply with the specifications and standards of Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization in the Kingdom and the guidance of the Saudi Energy Efficiency Center.”

Air conditioning consumes about 70% of the total electricity consumption in residential buildings, which is equivalent to more than two-thirds of the electricity consumed in the Kingdom. Especially since the standards for energy efficiency in the air conditioners in the Kingdom before modification were not the highest in the world. The specifications have been modified based on the Saudi Organization for Standardization, Metrology and Quality System, the Commercial Fraud Control System, internationally agreed technical standards and procedures that consider the local conditions of the private sector.

LG Electronics was one of the first companies to invest in technology to address environmental and energy issues. In an effort to provide residents within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia an optimal air conditioning solution that saves energy while maintaining cooling performance, LG is introducing its latest air conditioners using DUAL Inverter technology.

This new technology helps reduce energy consumption and is the ideal solution for air cooling, working at temperatures as high as 65 degrees Celsius. The solution offers 60% faster cooling with high energy efficiency, providing 53% energy consumption compared to conventional air conditioners. Other key features include: quiet and fast cooling, dual protection filter, automatic cleaning, and smart display which allows users to check the condition of the air conditioner easily. It is also Wi-Fi friendly and compatible with smart applications on mobile phones.