Emirates has signed a three Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on the side-lines of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) with Indonesia, Morocco and Zimbabwe.
Emirates signed the MoUs with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Moroccan National Tourism Office (www.visitmorocco.com) and Tourism Authority of Zimbabwe to promote inbound travel and boost visitor numbers.
The airline is renewing its pledge to support Indonesia’s travel and tourism sector, with its ongoing efforts to promote the country as a varied and exciting travel destination by launching joint marketing campaigns and initiatives. Emirates will further support tourism flows from key markets in its global network – including UK, US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain – to the Southeast Asian destination.
The MoU was signed by Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Far East; and Ni Made Ayu Marthini, Deputy Minister for Marketing, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, was also in attendance during the signing.
Solid framework
Emirates and Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy first launched their partnership in 2021, building a solid framework that enabled the airline to aid Indonesia’s tourism recovery. Emirates also announced partnerships with Garuda Indonesia and Batik Air in 2022, to offer increased connectivity options to 29 additional domestic cities beyond Jakarta and Denpasar for travelers. In line with its commitment to stimulate more inbound traffic, Emirates will be deploying its flagship A380 from June 1, 2023 to Denpasar to serve growing customer demand to the popular destination.
Emirates’ new partnership with the Moroccan National Tourism Office aims to boost the inflow of visitors and strengthen the country’s appeal in new and existing source markets across the airline’s network.
The MoU was signed by Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa, and Adel El Fakir, MNTO’s Chief Executive Officer.
Both parties will map out and explore cooperation around a series of shared marketing activities including familiarisation trips to Morocco, promotional plans and advertising campaigns, and joint activities with trade partners in key identified markets within GCC, West Asia and Indian Ocean, and the Far East.
Significant strides
Morocco has taken significant strides in establishing itself as a popular travel destination and continues to witness an increase in tourist arrivals having welcomed 11 million tourists in 2022 and a 17 per cent growth in 2023 first quarter.
Emirates recently began deploying its flagship A380 to Casablanca to meet increasing travel demand in and out of Morocco. In May 2022, the airline signed a codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc offering customers seamless connections and more choice across both airlines’ networks. Emirates customers can access 17 destinations in Morocco beyond Casablanca, and through the codeshare, the airline has been instrumental in supporting inbound tourism to domestic points in Morocco like Agadir, the historic western city of Marrakech, Tangiers and others.
Recognising the potential and attractiveness of Zimbabwe as an emerging destination that awaits exploration, Emirates will be working with the Tourism Authority of Zimbabwe to further boost inbound tourist arrivals utilizing the strength of the airline’s global network.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Badr Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations for Africa, and Ms. Winnie Munchanyuka, Chief Executive, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA).
Joint marketing
Under the agreement, Emirates along with the Tourism Authority of Zimbabwe, will set in motion a range of joint marketing efforts that include tourism promotions, organizing familiarisation trips for trade and media, among other activities. Both parties will also explore opportunities for joint advertising campaigns in key markets.
Emirates currently operates 28 weekly flights to Denpasar and Jakarta in Indonesia; daily flights to Casablanca in Morocco and seven weekly flights to Harare in Zimbabwe, linked to Lusaka, Zambia.
