Targeting the European market

Germany is a key source market for both Ajman and Sharjah tourism since both emirates share pristine beaches and properties. Iftikhar Hamdani, Area Manager, Northern Emirates who looks after two of the most prestigious properties, Bahi Ajman Palace in Ajman and Coral Beach Resort in Sharjah speaks with TRAVTALK about his plans to attract more visitors from Germany.

TT Bureau

Iftikhar Hamdani, Area Manager, Bahi Ajman Palace in Ajman and Coral Beach Resort in Sharjah said it is important for us to participate in ITB Berlin this year after a period of almost three years. “This year we are participating in ITB Berlin under the umbrella of Ajman Tourism and Sharjah Tourism.  ITB Berlin since these years kept its position as one of the most important travel fair for us. We are all set to meet our existing partners and find new partners from Europe, particularly Germany.”

“We will showcase our two resorts during the show. At the same time, ITB is a forum to see new trends in technology that are transforming our industry faster. This is a perfect platform to meet the best of the industry minds and to forge partnership with them,” he said.

Hamdani said, “Traditionally, northern emirates are heavily dependent on the CIS market; Germany is important for the beach properties. Our marketshare has increased year-on-year since 2021 from West Europe, particularly from the Germany. The GCC, the UK, Belarus, Czech Republic, and Scandinavian countries, and Baltic have made their contributions (marketshare) to our hotels in Sharjah and Ajman.”

In the UAE, Hamdani is known for his efforts to bring in sustainable practices to the hospitality industry. He said, “We will soon start zero plastic at our properties. We are actively taking part in accessible tourism, our staff is well trained, taking part in new initiatives, and creating more activities to involve local communities to take part along with us.  We will announce more initiatives soon.”

He reiterated, “In-house training is important and our EHS team is working actively in imparting training to our staff at our HMH level properties. Green certification checklist is a blessing to implement practical lessons than take only theory classes. We make sure that we are in practice to maintain our sustainable actions during operation at our both properties, on job interaction with guests and continuous monitoring by team leaders.”

Another focus area is accessible tourism, although we have the necessary infrastructure, training of staff is imperative, Hamdani concluded, “Our staff makes sure our guests enjoy  equally their stay in the hotel. The EHS team imparts training to keep our staff well trained and updated with new techniques to serve our guests.”