MUMBAI // Jumeirah Group, the Dubai luxury hotel operator that manages the Burj Al Arab, has signed its first contract to run a property in India and is aiming to secure further deals in the country.
The group has agreed to manage a 470-room hotel in Mumbai, Jumeirah announced yesterday.
"This agreement represents the first phase of Jumeirah Group's expansion into India. The company is currently in advanced negotiations on potential projects for hotels and resorts in other key destinations in India." The hotel, which is part of a new development in the Lower Parel area of central Mumbai, is expected to open in 2017.
Hotel operators have been targeting India as they aim to tap its growing wealth and travel market. With a population of more than 1.2 billion, the potential from the local market travelling within the country is huge. India has relatively few hotel rooms per capita.
"India has attracted global players … in the hospitality industry over the years for its status of being one of the most promising countries in the Asia-Pacific region," Cushman & Wakefield, the property consultant, said in a recent report, adding that Mumbai had the country's highest average room rates at 6,400 Indian rupees (Dh423) by comparison with other big cities in the subcontinent.
The Abu Dhabi-based hotel group Rotana earlier this year announced ambitious plans to break into the Indian market and have 20 hotels in the country within a decade.
Major international operators including Marriott and Hyatt are expanding in India and Fairmont opened its first hotel there in August.
International tourist arrivals are also on the rise. The number arriving between January and July rose 6.6 per cent from a year earlier to 3.76 million, according to data from the tourism ministry.
Last year, 6.29 million tourists arrived in India compared with 5.78 million in 2010.
Foreign-exchange earnings through tourism reached 775.9 billion rupees last year, compared with 648.9bn rupees in 2010.
India is aiming to grow its share of international tourist arrivals to at least 1 per cent over the next five years from 0.64 per cent last year.
Jumeirah Group operates 20 luxury hotels and serviced apartments. These include 10 properties in the UAE, seven in Europe, two in the Maldives and one in China. It has 15 hotels under development.
The hotel operator recently lost the management of Essex House Hotel in New York, which was taken over by Marriott in September after the property was sold by Dubai Group.
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How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
