Flydubai airline canceled a part of its flights to Russia. This is stated in the message on the official website of the carrier on March 13.  The reason for this decision was the ban of the operation of Boeing 737 MAX8, issued by the UAE aviation authorities. The airline promises to contact by phone with those passengers whose flight is canceled to determine further action. If the call is not received, it means that the board was replaced by an older version of Boeing 737-800. Flight status can be checked independently on the carrier’s website. 

Russia showed the most impressive growth rates - the Dubai Government's Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing announced this assessment based on the results of statistics. According to the statistics, the flow of tourists from Russia to Dubai in 2018 increased by 28%. Russian tour operators confirm this data. 

Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an intergovernmental agreement on mutual abolition of visas for their citizens for short tourist travels, Regnum reported.  UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation announced that starting on Sunday, UAE citizens will be able to travel to Russia without pre-entry visas, and will be issued the document upon arrival in the country. 

For January - October 2018 the number of tourists from Russia to the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (UAE) amounted to 41 thousand people, which is 37% more than during the same period last year. In the Emirate, this is mainly connected with the direct charter programs of Coral Travel tour operator from Moscow to Abu Dhabi.

Around 460,000 holidaymakers from Russia have visited Dubai in the first nine months of 2018, a 60% increase compared to the same period last year, the emirate’s tourism authority has said. An increase in Russian overnight guests was the result of 19% growth in air capacity across non-stop flights, as well as ease of travel following the introduction of visa-on-arrival facilities in the last two years, the authorities said.

Demand for tours to the UAE, which noticeably intensified last year, when visa formalities were abolished for Russian tourists, continues this year. However, if the UAE last winter showed the most robust growth (53.7% in 2017 compared to the previous year), there are fears that this winter will not be able to achieve such success.

“Nowadays the experts are noting a robust growth in demand by about 10% for winter holidays in all destinations,” the executive director of ATOR, Maya Lomidze said. Data from ATOR Analytical Service allows us to talk about the increased demand for winter destinations. Totally, the growth in demand for winter tours in all areas (domestic and outbound) currently exceeds by 10–15% the last year’s indicators.

Russia will remain one of the leading source markets for the UAE, as well as for other countries of the Persian Gulf. And by 2023 the Russian market will grow by 125% from 933,000 in 2018 to 2.1 million. As a result, Russian tourists will be able to “provide” another 2.9 million additional hotel rooms.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has launched a new brand platform: ‘Choose Well’. The airline’s new customer proposition is an invitation for all to make choices about how they travel and to journey on their own terms. It is also a validation that Etihad’s customers, partners, guests and employees are at the heart of every good choice it makes.

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the leading travel and tourism event for inbound and outbound tourism professionals in the Middle East, has renewed its host hotel partnership with Emaar Hospitality Group. Emaar Hospitality Group, the hospitality and leisure subsidiary of global developer Emaar Properties

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the GCC is expected to increase 125% from 933,000 in 2018 to 2.1 million in 2023, according to data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2019, which takes place at Dubai World Trade Centre from 28 April – 1 May 2019.

Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) showcase, hosted their inaugural Advisory Board Meeting at the Address Boulevard, Downtown Dubai, bringing together travel and tourism leaders to discuss the untapped opportunities and key challenges facing the industry.

UAE-headquartered hospitality company, TIME Hotels, has added to its growing list of accolades with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Dubai Chamber) CSR Label Award for the fourth year in succession. Launched in 2010 to reward corporate commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the CSR Label is awarded based on performance scores across seven different criteria including human resources

On September 4, tour operators announced about the expansion of flight programs to UAE for upcoming winter season. So, ANEX Tour will perform charter flights to Dubai from 20 cities of Russia (including Moscow) instead of 16. The company also intends to increase the frequency of flights from the capital - instead of 2 times a week, the tourists will be sent to Emirates daily. This decision the tour operator explains by increasing of the demand for the direction.

“For the first half of 2018 the Emirate hosted 405 thousand Russians, which is 74% higher than for the same period of the last year” - said Issam Kazim, The General manager of Dubai Tourism and Commercial Marketing Corporation during a press conference in Moscow. The top manager noted that for the first time for eight years the growth rate is so significant.

According to the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Government of Dubai (DTCM), in the first six months of this year 405,000 Russian tourists visited Dubai, which is 74% more than in the same period of the last year. This is the most significant growth among incoming markets in Dubai.

Emirates Airline has announced the launch of the third daily flight from Moscow Domodedovo Airport (DME) to Dubai since October 25, 2018. Emirates has been flying to Russia since July 1, 2003 and already carries out two daily flights from Domodedovo by Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER, as well as daily flights from St. Petersburg (LED).

Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), organiser of the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) showcase in Dubai, has boosted its executive team with the appointment of Danielle Curtis as regional Exhibition Director for the Middle East Curtis takes on the overall responsibility for ATM, IBTM Arabia and all associated travel projects throughout the region.

Emirates airline will launch the third daily flight from Dubai to Moscow on October 25, 2018”, - reported the carrier's press service. The flight will be performed by Boeing 777-300ER with a three-class configuration (8 seats in the first class, 42 in business class and 310 in economy class)

Low-cost Pobeda airline requested permission for daily scheduled flights on the route Moscow - Sharjah. This follows from the materials of the interagency commission on admissions. As Director General of Space Travel Arthur Muradyan believes, if the carrier's application is satisfied, the tour operators of the direction will not extract dividends or will not suffer losses from this fact.

“The Russian tourist flow to Dubai continues to grow, in the first quarter of 2018 it increased by 106% - up to 260 thousand arrivals”, - reports the Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing of the Emirates (DTMC). In total, Dubai hosted 4.7 million foreign tourists in the first quarter, 2% more than a year earlier.

In the first quarter of 2018 the flow of tourists from Russia to Dubai is 106% more than last year. Now Russia is on the fourth line in the list of incoming countries to this emirate. Such statistics was provided by the Department of Tourism and Tourism Marketing of Dubai. Russian tour operators confirm the increased demand - not only for Dubai, but for the entire direction as a whole.

“About 995 thousand Russian tourists visited the UAE in 2017, which is 108% more than a year ago”, - said the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Russia Maaded Khareb al-Hayly. "The number of visitors from Russia has more than doubled primarily due to the simplification of the visa regime.

“From January to September 2017 Dubai was visited by twice more Russian tourists than during the same period of the last year”, - informed the electronic newspaper of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RCT). "The flow of tourists from Russia to Dubai grew by 95%. Absolute figures for nine months are not given, but it is known that in January-August 263 thousand Russians visited Dubai. The main reason of the growth of the flow from Russia is the simplification of the visa regime", - the report said. From the beginning of 2017 Russians can gain UAE visas for 30 days just upon arrival with the possibility of extending it for another 30 days.