Tourism, Organisations & Operators,

The United International Baseball League (UIBL), the first-ever professional baseball league created to serve India, Pakistan and the Middle East, announced today its partnership with Dubai Sports City and Dubai International Stadium as the official venue for the UIBL’s Inaugural Showcase from February 23 – March 5, 2023.
The venue will play host to nine games and one exhibition featuring four of the league’s initial franchises. Dubai International Stadium is an anchor of the Dubai Sports City complex, the premier multi-purpose sports development in Dubai. The stadium, which opened in 2009, has hosted several high-profile International Cricket Council (ICC) and Indian Premier League (IPL) tournaments, including last year’s IPL Final between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders. The venue will also be home to the inaugural season of the International League T20 (ILT20), the UAE’s professional cricket league that begins play in January 2023.
“It’s an honor for our league to begin play in one of the world’s most storied stadiums,” said Kanwal S. Sra, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, of the UIBL. “Dubai International Stadium is one of the jewels of the region, and it will be an incredible launchpad for the UIBL as we bring professional baseball to fans across the Middle East and South Asia. We greatly appreciate the support and partnership of Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Sports City, and the entire Dubai International Stadium team.”
A key part of the UIBL’s growth strategy and intellectual property is the league’s proprietary process of transforming cricket fields – plentiful across the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East – into baseball fields. This includes formulation and transportation of the infield dirt, design and implementation of the fencing, and customization and build-out of the dugouts, bullpens and pitching mound. In addition, the UIBL team is creating first-of-its-kind seating options that will get fans closer than ever to the action.
“In the U.S., we have baseball fields in nearly every neighborhood,” said Kash Shaikh, President, and Chief Marketing Officer, UIBL. “In India and the Middle East, you can drive thousands of miles without seeing one. While we work at the grassroots level to help expand that infrastructure, we are simultaneously creating our own proprietary process to transform world-class cricket stadiums into hotbeds of professional baseball. And, since we are starting with a blank canvas, we also get to reimagine how fans can experience the game. I’m really excited about the game innovations, fan experiences, and new seating concepts we have in store.”ADVERTISEMENTThe UIBL plans to share the stadium designs and new fan seating options – including new premium and corporate seating – in the months ahead. In addition to the UIBL’s innovation plans, Dubai International Stadium is world-famous for its “Ring of Fire” – a special system of 350 floodlights fixed around the circumference of its round roof. The lights minimize the shadows and replace the need for traditional light towers.
“We are honored to host the UIBL at Dubai International Stadium,” said Khalid Al Zarooni, President of Dubai Sports City. “This event continues our stadium’s tradition of hosting world-class international sporting events. We support the UIBL’s vision to bring baseball to our region, and we’re excited to offer fans across our city – and the world – the chance to experience America’s pastime.”

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The CTO described Solomon as “a longtime friend of our organization and a champion of tourism across the Caribbean. He enjoyed a long and stellar career in tourism, spanning product development, marketing, hospitality and sales, which made his contribution to the regional sector as far-reaching as it was influential.”
Solomon served as Montserrat’s tourism director from February 2019 to February 2022. Prior to that post, he was director of tourism at the Tobago House of Assembly, vice president and tourism director at the Tourism & Industrial Development Co. of Trinidad and Tobago and marketing manager at the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.

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NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau, in partnership with Mastercard®, today announced that the fall iteration of NYC Broadway Week will return for the first time since 2019, offering 2-for-1 tickets to 21 Broadway shows, available for purchase now at nycgo.com/broadwayweek. The popular biannual program, now in its 11th year, will run September 6–25, 2022.
“Since its launch in 2011, NYC Broadway Week has offered visitors and locals alike the world’s best theatrical experiences at a remarkable value,” said NYC Company President and CEO Fred Dixon. “After a three-year hiatus, we are proud to bring the fall edition of our signature NYC Broadway Week program back to audiences September 6–25. With choices ranging from Tony Award winners and kid-friendly favorites to new productions and beloved classics, there is something for everyone.”
Participating shows in NYC Broadway Week fall 2022 include:
1776** Aladdin A Strange Loop** Beetlejuice The Book of Mormon Chicago Come From Away Cost of Living** Death of a Salesman** Funny Girl* ** Hadestown Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Into The Woods** The Kite Runner** The Lion King MJ: The Musical Moulin Rouge! The Musical The Phantom of the Opera The Piano Lesson** Six** Wicked

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The Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) welcomes the decision of the HKSAR Government to reduce hotel quarantine for inbound travellers from seven to three days, followed by four days under medical surveillance at home.  Reducing the number of days for hotel quarantine will help ease the burden on Hong Kong residents returning to the city and incoming international travellers.
However, inbound visitors are not allowed to attend any exhibitions held in event premises, e.g. trade fairs, exhibitions, conferences, etc, during the four days of medical surveillance.  The new arrangement and the reduction of number of days for hotel quarantine thus will make no difference for the exhibition industry.
Mr Stuart Bailey, Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) Chairman, commented that while the HKECIA appreciates Government’s direction of relaxing restrictions, our members and the exhibition and convention industry urge the Government to implement quarantine-free travel as soon as possible. During this interim period, they hope the Government to relax restrictions for business travellers and allow overseas exhibition organisers, exhibitors and buyers with the Amber Code to run and attend exhibitions at event premises with their face masks on and appropriate social distancing and preventive measures.
With decades of effort by the Hong Kong Exhibition & Convention Industry Association (HKECIA) members, Hong Kong has attained its hard-earned reputation as the Trade Fair Capital of Asia.  Some 140 exhibitions were held in a ‘normal’ year at the AsiaWorld-Expo and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, drawing millions of trade buyers and exhibitors from all over the world.  These high-spending business travellers generated tremendous tourism receipts for hotels, restaurants and shops, and hence created tens of thousands of jobs.  The exhibition industry has been an important pillar to Hong Kong’s economy and will be a core engine for the economy rebound.

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Mark Warner has added a resort in Lesbos, Greece to its portfolio for summer 2023.
The Aeolian Village Beach Resort will undergo a €2 million refurbishment this winter, with bars and restaurants upgraded and childcare facilities added to the hotel infrastructure already in place.
Watersports and cycling centres will join the existing facilities, along with Mark Warner’s first padel tennis courts – where players use paddles instead of rackets.
Holidays to the resort, near Skala Eressos village, will go on sale “in a few weeks’ time”, the specialist ski and sun operator said.
Managing director David Hopkins said: “After a successful summer this year, we’re delighted to be growing the programme next year with the addition of the Aeolian Village Beach Resort, which we know will quickly establish itself as a Mark Warner customer favourite.ADVERTISEMENT“We’re particularly excited by the new partnership we have formed with the resort owners who run a portfolio of quality properties in Cyprus, with Aeolian Village being no exception, as can be seen in the excellent customer satisfaction ratings they are achieving this summer.
“We are looking forward to a long and fruitful partnership with owners who really understand the business.”

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WTTC welcomes the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and its numerous business-smart clean energy tax incentives expansions and extensions.
“The Travel & Tourism sector is a catalyst for meaningful climate action and emissions reduction, as evidenced by our groundbreaking Net Zero Roadmap supporting our sector’s drive toward net zero. This bill will help accelerate our Members’ climate commitments with provisions like the sustainable aviation fuel credit, energy efficient buildings deduction, and zero-emission port equipment and technology investments.
“While these are important building blocks for meaningful change, we call on the U.S. to continue putting climate change front and centre of everything they do to help protect life on our planet. We also urge world leaders to give more support to the global Travel & Tourism sector as it continues its journey towards net zero.

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July marked the fifth straight month in which Ontario International Airport (ONT) recorded passenger volumes higher than the same month in 2019, as the Southern California gateway continues to post one of the most impressive post-pandemic recoveries among airports across the United States.
More than 520,000 airline passengers traveled through ONT last month, an increase of 8.8% over July 2021 and 5% higher than July 2019. The number of domestic and international travelers totaled more than 502,000 and 17,000, respectively, in July. Domestic passenger volume increased by 7.4% compared with July 2019 and 8.7% over July a year ago.
From January through July, ONT welcomed 3.1 million passengers, 3% more than the same period in 2019 and 48.8% higher than last year.
The July totals also represented the third straight month in which ONT has exceeded a half-million travelers, and were the most in a single month since at least 2008 – years before the airport’s return to local control.
“Ontario International continues to deliver strong results as demand for air travel in Southern California rebounds. We expect the trend will continue through the summer travel season and into the fall,” said Alan D. Wapner, president of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commissioners and Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario. “The statistics underscore the high level of confidence our guests have in our facilities and services.”ADVERTISEMENT

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced passenger data for June 2022 showing that the recovery in air travel remains strong.
Note: IATA have returned to year-on-year traffic comparisons, instead of comparisons with the 2019 period, unless otherwise noted. Owing to the low traffic base in 2021, some markets will show very high year-on-year growth rates, even if the size of these markets is still significantly smaller than they were in 2019.
Total traffic in June 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) was up 76.2% compared to June 2021, primarily propelled by the ongoing strong recovery in international traffic. Globally, traffic is now at 70.8% of pre-crisis levels.
Domestic traffic for June 2022 was up 5.2% compared to the year-ago period. Strong improvements in most markets, combined with the easing of some Omicron-related lockdown restrictions in the Chinese domestic market, contributed to the result. Total June 2022 domestic traffic was at 81.4% of the June 2019 level.
International traffic rose 229.5% versus June 2021. The lifting of travel restrictions in most parts of Asia-Pacific is contributing to the recovery. June 2022 international RPKs reached 65.0% of June 2019 levels.
“Demand for air travel remains strong. After two years of lockdowns and border restrictions people are taking advantage of the freedom to travel wherever they can,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Air Passenger Market in Detail – June 20221) % of industry RPKs in 2021   2) Year-on-year change in load factor   3) Load Factor Level
International Passenger MarketsAsia-Pacific airlines had a 492.0% rise in June traffic compared to June 2021. Capacity rose 138.9% and the load factor was up 45.8 percentage points to 76.7%. The region is now relatively open to foreign visitors and tourism which is helping foster the recovery.ADVERTISEMENTEuropean carriers’ June traffic rose 234.4% versus June 2021. Capacity rose 134.5%, and load factor climbed 25.8 percentage points to 86.3%. International traffic within Europe is above pre-pandemic levels in seasonally adjusted terms.
Middle Eastern airlines’ traffic rose 246.5% in June compared to June 2021. June capacity rose 102.4% versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 32.4 percentage points to 78.0%.
North American carriers experienced a 168.9% traffic rise in June versus the 2021 period. Capacity rose 95.0%, and load factor climbed 24.1 percentage points to 87.7%, which was the highest among the regions.
Latin American airlines’ June traffic rose 136.6% compared to the same month in 2021. June capacity rose 107.4% and load factor increased 10.3 percentage points to 83.3%. After leading the regions in load factor for 20 consecutive months, Latin America slipped back to third place in June.
African airlines had a 103.6% rise in June RPKs versus a year ago. June 2022 capacity was up 61.9% and load factor climbed 15.2 percentage points to 74.2%, the lowest among regions. International traffic between Africa and neighboring regions is close to pre-pandemic levels.
Domestic Passenger Markets1) % of industry RPKs in 2021   2) Year-on-year change in load factor   3) Load Factor Level
China’s domestic RPKs fell 45.0% year-on-year in June but this was a substantial improvement compared to May’s year-over-year performance as lockdown measures were eased.
Japan’s domestic traffic was up 146.4% in June, compared to June 2021.
Air Passenger Market overview – June 2022
The Bottom Line“With the Northern Hemisphere summer travel season now fully underway, predictions that the lifting of travel restrictions would unleash a torrent of pent-up travel demand are being borne out. At the same time, meeting that demand has proved challenging and likely will continue to be so. All the more reason to continue to show flexibility to the slot use rules. The European Commission’s intent to return to the longstanding 80-20 requirement is premature.
“Just look at the issues that airlines and their passengers at some hub airports are being confronted with. These airports are unable to support their declared capacity even with the current 64% slot threshold and have extended recent passenger caps until the end of October. Flexibility is still essential in support of a successful recovery.
“By capping passenger numbers, airports are preventing airlines from benefitting from the strong demand. Heathrow Airport has tried to blame airlines for the disruption. However, Service Level Performance data for the first six months of this year show that they have failed miserably to provide basic services and missed their Passenger Security service target by a massive 14.3 points. Data for June has not yet been published but is expected to show the lowest level of service by the airport since records began,” said Walsh.

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