The word “vacation” brings a profound sense of excitement and zeal within all of us, especially within expats who work away from their countries of origin. We tend to have the choicest of destinations on our bucket list while planning vacations with family or friends, however, our shortlist mainly revolves around destinations that we frequently come across in different forms of advertisements and promotions. Treading the beaten path, people tend to flock westwards or to naturally blessed destinations in South-East Asia. One key destination that is often overlooked or does not get the attention that it deserves is actually an entire subcontinent in itself – INDIA. It is rather regrettable that despite being home to a uniquely distinct flora and fauna, stunning destinations and cultural diversity, there’s not much that potential travelers know about the country except for the obvious ones including Taj Mahal, Delhi, Mumbai etc. The country’s tourism also gets impacted by adverse news circulating in the media pertaining to women safety issues, overpopulation, hate-politics etc. Unfortunately, sometimes the entire nation is stereotyped with regards to social issues that are quite prevalent in other parts of the world as well. The fact remains that India, which is one of the oldest civilizations of the world, is home to a very welcoming population and destinations of immense diversity and splendor. India deserves its rightful place among the top destinations of the world, with this in perspective, Mr. Gaurang Harit, a Dubai based expat, took upon himself the mammoth task of bringing the colors of this amazing nation to the entire world via his mission “ExperienceBharat”. ExperienceBharat has a fitting slogan “Experience the World in one Nation”. This is true for a country like India wherein one can experience a mix of varied geographical, cultural, heritage and experiential diversity while getting immersed in innumerous things to do across the great country. Cities across the vast geographical expanse of India, from mountains in the north to beaches in the south, have a lot to offer to tourists. Moreover, with more than 65% of the population still staying away from hustle and bustle of the cities, India is home to multiple picturesque locations across its countryside with the potential of offering an equally amazing experience to travelers. Consistent with the vision of Honorable Prime Minister of India – Sh.Narendra Modi, the mission was seeded way back in June 2016 after concluding years of extensive research. The objectives of ExperienceBharat are promoting India as a preferred destination for global travelers, driving investment opportunities in this vastly untapped sector and creating an additional million employment opportunities in the area of tourism development and promotions. Tourism is a labor-intensive and people-driven industry which is why people of different skill sets are required. The ExperienceBharat campaign hopes to foster employable skills among youth belonging to economically weaker sections of the society in the age group of 18- 35 years. The idea is to help reduce the skill gap affecting the hospitality and tourism sector and to ensure the spread of economic benefit of tourism to those who are in dire need of the same. While the mission was initiated under the flagship of Travinspire Tourism India (P) Ltd., soon it joined hands with National Federation of Tourism & Transport Co-operatives of India Ltd. A complete framework along with associated guidelines was laid down by a proficient team of experts coming from diverse fields including Tourism, Engineering, Architecture, Co-operatives and Films who combined their synergies with a unified vision of reinstating the glory of Bharat Varsha (ancient name of India) through ExperienceBharat. As the adage goes, “anything worth doing doesn’t come easy”, Gaurang, being the sole breadwinner of his family, kept his dream alive for almost 7.5 years by taking up engineering assignments working with some of the top ranked airports around the world including Dubai Airport. A pilot project was successfully commenced in 2014 in alliance with the local authorities to develop Manila, a mountain hamlet located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. With its successful launch, the team has already joined hands with the government to further develop 50 villages as sustainable hubs of tourism in line with cooperative engagement to maximize benefit to the masses, while also shouldering the responsibility to connect these new destinations to the mainstream domestic and international tourism markets. After years of hard work, Gaurang finally received validation when, in November 2017,ExperienceBharat was inaugurated at an event held at NCUI Complex Delhi in presence of industry leaders including dignitaries from Ministries, Cooperatives, Tourism, Bollywood and Aviation. The launch saw a rousing response and was attended by around 150 delegates comprising bureaucrats, industry leaders, national cooperative federations, academia and chambers. Going forward, Destination development and Destination marketing are the two core charters of ExperienceBharat. The team has been working on multiple projects including “Flying Fest” that aims to promote destinations using experiential events across the airports and “Tura-360” which is the mission’s research division pooling best technical minds for deploying futuristic tech solutions to resolve on ground challenges. Recently the mission has also joined hands with Invest India to promote investment opportunities in Indian tourism. This year Gaurang was conferred with the NRI Achievers Award 2018 in the category of Business Leaders- Social Entrepreneurship. UAE has been the finest example of tourism growth and development with the right combination of grand vision, right strategy and excellent execution. UAE-India relationship and shared values are unparalleled and ExperienceBharat aims to take these bilateral ties to the next level by establishing a global base in Dubai for promoting Indian tourism and trade. The ExperienceBharat mission is currently focusing on forging strategic partnerships with the best in the region to script a sustainable success story for Indian tourism including firms such as Go-Getters FZE and Gallium Advisors. Led by Mrs. Vinitha Pravin Kisani, Go-Getters serves as the marketing platform for SME/MSMEs looking to promote their business in the UAE and India.  Whilst also helping them in business expansion leveraging their strong linkages through chamber of commerce, bringing together Indian Entrepreneurs with UAE Entrepreneurs with similar interest mainly focusing on Talent, Tourism, Trade, technology & Tradition. Gallium Advisors is a multi-disciplinary management consulting firm providing strategic business and financial advisory services to business leaders and top executives, helping them make sound, data driven decisions and achieve practical, impactful results with presence across United Arab Emirates, India and China. As part of the strategic partnership, Go-getters represents the mission as its media and marketing partner while Gallium Advisors comes along as a strategic partner to drive in investments in tourism sector Together the team is working towards organizing the first ever exclusive Indian tourism and trade focused event next year in Dubai. The event aims to promote and showcase the vivid colors of Indian tourism via experiential engagement while also bringing excellent investment opportunities for UAE investors in state sponsored tourism infrastructure development projects across India. Participants shall be from both public and private sectors including tourism boards, hospitality, handicrafts, micro-industries, amongst others who would be showcasing their region/products/services while providing a one to one business interaction with the potential buyers/partners from the region. This event shall be one of its kind wherein demand based marketing portfolio shall be created for participating states from India, thereby ensuring a win-win situation for all. It is expected to be attended by the top leaders from the country and talks are in progress with the Indian Embassy, Dubai for support. As Gaurang Harit says, “There are more than 600,000 destinations awaiting to be developed and transformed in India. ExperienceBharat doesn’t belong to any individual or organization, rather it belongs to every person who is keen to see India’s progress towards becoming a desired destination for travelers around the world”. With a young and dynamic team at its core, the mission calls on for passionate people who are interested in joining this not for profit mission for working towards a prosperous Bharat for all via Tourism. You may reach Gaurang on : contact@experiencebharat.com

The flights will be operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, featuring 40 seats in Business Class and 340 in Economy Class.

Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We are thrilled to announce more flights to cosmopolitan Toronto, one of the most successful and popular destinations on our global route network. This news has been eagerly anticipated.

“We have welcomed well over a million guests on our flights to Toronto since we launched the service almost 13 years ago. This development is great news for UAE nationals, for who Canada is an exciting trade, touristic, and cultural partner, and for Canadians, including the thousands residing here in the emirates. The UAE is also Canada’s largest export market in the MENA region, so the extra services are a boost for trade to and from the area and beyond.”

Etihad Airways inaugurated services to Toronto on October 2005, and since then the route has proved very successful for the airline, recording consistently strong demand to and from both cities.

Approximately 45,000 Canadian citizens reside in the UAE, with over 150 Canadian companies registered across the country. Citizens of both countries now enjoy visa-free entry for business and tourism on stays of up to six months.

Etihad Airways has a codeshare partnership in place with Air Canada, with the Canadian flag carrier placing its ‘AC’ code on Etihad services from Toronto to Abu Dhabi and from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi. Under the agreement, Etihad Airways places its ‘EY’ code on Air Canada’s multiple daily services from Toronto to points across Canada including Montreal, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, St.Johns, Halifax, Regina, and Fort McMurray.

The additional frequencies will also benefit Etihad Cargo customers who can expect greater schedule flexibility and a 60 per cent cargo capacity increase on the route.

Abu Dhabi – Toronto schedule:

Effective 28 October 2018 (Timings local):

Flight No.	Origin	Departs	Dest	Arrives	Aircraft	Freq
EY141	Abu Dhabi	10:05	Toronto	16:30	Boeing 777-300ER	Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun
EY140	Toronto	22:55	Abu Dhabi	19:40+1	Boeing 777-300ER	Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun

Emirates Skywards today replaced flydubai’s frequent flyer programme, OPEN, officially becoming the loyalty programme of Emirates airline and flydubai. The alignment of the loyalty programme now allows Emirates Skywards members to also earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles when travelling on both airlines. Former OPEN members can enrol into Emirates Skywards to continue earning Miles on flydubai.

The alignment of the loyalty programme for both airlines builds on Emirates and flydubai’s close partnership which includes code-sharing on an extended global route network and several initiatives including commercial, network planning, and airport operations. “We are pleased to announce the expansion of our loyalty programme to now include two airlines- Emirates airline and flydubai. The strategic move will bring even more benefits to our members giving them opportunities to earn and spend Miles on an extended global route network, as well as select privileges on both airlines,” said Dr Nejib Ben Khedher, Senior Vice President, Emirates Skywards. From today, Emirates Skywards members will earn Skywards Miles and Tier Miles on all flydubai flights. Members can also spend Skywards Miles or a combination of cash and Miles to book flydubai flights*, as well as to pay for optional extras such as pre-ordered meals and extra legroom seats. “We’re bringing together the customers of both airlines under one programme, rewarding their loyalty as they take advantage of the Emirates and flydubai partnership,” said Nahed Al Kheily, Vice President Ancillary Revenue. Emirates Skywards members can use the flydubai Miles Calculator tool on Emirates website to check how many Miles they will earn for each fare type of their chosen flight. When travelling on flydubai, Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members will be able to get select benefits regardless of their class of travel including extra baggage allowances and priority check-in at flydubai’s Business Class counters. New Emirates Skywards members will also receive a first flight bonus when they take their first Emirates or flydubai flight within six months of joining. The Emirates Skywards programme has been continually evolving to provide members greater opportunity to earn Miles and access rewards across its wide range of flights, travel and lifestyle partners. In the last three months, the programme launched ‘My Family’ to enhance pooling of Miles and gave members increased flexibility in managing their Miles by introducing reduced rates for buying, gifting and transferring of Skywards Miles. Emirates Skywards has also expanded its portfolio with strategic UAE partnerships including Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) to launch the Emirates Skywards DIB credit cards and with Emaar Malls to earn Skywards Miles on purchases made at The Dubai Mall. * All flights operated and marketed by flydubai (with FZ flight number)

Emirates today announced that due to strong market demand, it will introduce five additional flights per week from Dubai to Amsterdam. These additional flights will complement its existing double daily services, offer an earlier departure option from Amsterdam that is convenient for visitors to Dubai, and provide enhanced connectivity to destinations on Emirates’ global network.

Four additional weekly services will be started effective 1 December 2018 and the fifth will be added from 1 January 2019, increasing frequency to the Dutch capital city to 19 weekly flights. Outbound, flight EK145 will depart early morning from Dubai on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and arrives at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in time for breakfast, allowing customers to make the most of their day in the city*. The flight schedule is conveniently timed for passengers connecting from Emirates global route network to Amsterdam and will be popular for business travellers to the Netherlands from Johannesburg, Cape Town, Sydney and Bangalore as well as for Dutch leisure travellers returning to Amsterdam from Bangkok, Bali, Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka. The return service, EK146, will depart from Amsterdam on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday late morning time, and arrives in the evening in Dubai*. This service adds more convenience to those visiting Dubai, and offers enhanced connectivity to Phuket and Johannesburg. The new service will be operated by an Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three class cabin configuration, with eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class. This complements the two existing services between Dubai and Amsterdam, flights EK147/EK148 and EK149/EK150, operated by an Airbus A380. From a cargo perspective, the new 777 service will offer up to 20 tonnes of capacity per flight, with popular exports from Amsterdam expected to be flowers, pharmaceuticals and general cargo items. During the year 2017, Emirates SkyCargo uplifted over 90,000 tonnes of exports and imports from Amsterdam. Passengers flying with Emirates can stop over in Dubai for a few days on their way to one of over 160 destinations. Dubai offers everything a visitor could want, from shopping at some of the largest malls in the region to dining options which will spoil anyone for choice. Visitors can also enjoy beaches, family-friendly hotels, theme parks, and even ski slopes at the Mall of the Emirates. Having become the fourth-most-visited city in the world, Dubai is known for its eclectic mix of offerings, from futuristic architecture to vibrant traditional culture. Customers on Emirates flights can enjoy award-winning service and hospitality from the airline’s multinational cabin crew, including Dutch nationals, an in-flight entertainment system with up to 3,500 channels and up to 20MB complimentary on-board Wi-Fi, LIVE TV, as well as regionally inspired meals on-board prepared by award-winning chefs. Families with young children are also well cared for with special services and products to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable flight experience, from free toys to kid’s meals, entertainment and priority boarding. First Class and Business Class customers can take advantage of a complimentary chauffeur driven car to and from both Dubai and Amsterdam airports. For more information on Emirates, including how to book flights, visit www.emirates.com. *Exact timings will be available on www.emirates.com