Dubai, United Arab Emirates: With just four months to go until the start of Expo 2020 Dubai, New Zealand is unveiling more detail, and a new video trailer, about how the nation’s theme of Care for People and Place will guide all the engagement, activities, and events undertaken at the mega event inside the New Zealand pavilion and beyond.

The theme is inspired by the indigenous environmental ethos of “kaitiakitanga,” the understanding that humans and nature are inextricably connected. It is a deep belief that humans have a responsibility to care and protect the land, sky and water and that nature will, in turn, provide and care for humans to sustain and safeguard a future for all. This Care for People and Place forms the theme for New Zealand’s pavilion and activities at Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Our new video is a teaser as to what visitors can expect when they come to the New Zealand pavilion and an insight into our theme. As an inclusive and multicultural society, New Zealand takes a long-term, multi-generational view to both social and environmental issues, some of which can be seen in the footage,” said Clayton Kimpton, New Zealand’s Commissioner-General to Expo 2020 Dubai.

He added: “Our pavilion experience at Expo 2020 will demonstrate how we apply Care for People and Place to all facets of life, particularly when it comes to business, social inclusion, women’s empowerment, youth development, food production and agriculture, our primary export sector. We believe this approach is helping to unlock significant economic advantage for New Zealand to leverage at Expo 2020.”

The visitor experience within the New Zealand pavilion has been inspired by a key example of kaitiakitanga as in 2017, a world-first legal status was accorded to the Whanganui River in New Zealand. Under the legislation, the Whanganui River was and is recognised as a living entity, called Te Awa Tupua. The innovative legislation obligates the government, local authorities, and all communities of the river to work together under Tupua Te Kawa, the innate values of Te Awa Tupua. This important historical move from leading indigenous communities within New Zealand will form the base of a beautiful, immersive visitor experience which will leave guests with a deeper understanding as to why kaitiakitanga is so important to the planet. The experience will also show how and why New Zealand continues to push innovation and technology across a range of important business sectors such as agtech, healthcare and food and beverage production in order to care and protect.

The New Zealand Pavilion will also feature a full-service restaurant operated by Emirates Flight Catering, where visitors can taste the outstanding quality of the country’s food and beverage offering. Named “Tiaki” meaning to care, safeguard, protect and preserve in te reo Māori, the restaurant demonstrates New Zealand’s special connection to the land and sea – a relationship founded on respect and understanding that when nature thrives, we all thrive. The country’s lush, green pastures, fertile soil and cool, clear waters combine to grow outstanding, great-tasting, nutritious produce, from a trusted and safe source.

Beyond the design, experience and restaurant in the New Zealand pavilion, Care for People and Place lives throughout the country’s programming, entertainment and business interactions at Expo 2020.

In another world-first, New Zealand is leading on, and working with, international Indigenous and Tribal peoples to deliver the first ever Global Indigenous Symposium at a World Expo.  Known as Te Aratini, it will be a culturally significant moment, which is set to elevate the contributions, unlimited potential, and insights that Indigenous Peoples offer in solving current and future global issues. The symposium will be held in November 2021, during Expo 2020’s Tolerance and Inclusivity Week. In the spirit of inclusivity, Te Aratini will support attendees to develop a deeper and more holistic understanding of Indigenous Economic Inclusion and the converging roles of culture, community, commerce and conservation in the protection, maintenance and resurgence of the world’s indigenous economies from an indigenous perspective.

Expo 2020 Dubai presents a monumental opportunity for New Zealand to build on its already reputable international brand and generate economic benefits through increased trade and investment, particularly for its rapidly growing export sectors of agritech, healthcare, manufacturing and food and beverage.  New Zealand exporters are expected to travel to Dubai during the six months of Expo 2020 to engage with international business leaders, promote innovations and seek investment.

By Joshua Trias

Dubai, UAE: There are good chefs and there are really good ones.

“The question is,” Uwe Micheel, president of the Emirates Culinary Guild (ECG), said during a chat with Dubai Vibes Magazine, “what makes a top chef ?”

“I would say there is a difference between a celebrated chef, who is an amazing entertainer, and a celebrated chef, who can cook,” said Micheel.

He said he feels there are a lot of chefs who may not be media-savvy “but they are amazing…they are great chefs (who) understand flavors and do great dishes.”

And Dubai, he said, has an abundance of this type.

“A lot of celebrated chefs are working here definitely,” he said, further sharing that Dubai had “very little in terms of food and beverage when he arrived in January of 1993.

“But now, I think Dubai can compete with all the culinary cities in the world. When I came here, we went to Hong Kong… to Singapore to learn, to see what was going on in the culinary world

“But now, the chefs from Hong Kong, from New York are coming to see what we are doing here because now you can find every concept, every cuisine in the world in Dubai.

“Dubai really is now a culinary city,” said Chef Uwe, who also is Director of Kitchens at Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Deira Creek.

‘Never give up’

Meantime, he noted that the past 15 months have been “very difficult for a lot of chefs,” some of whom lost their jobs to the pandemic.

“Never give up,” he said, when asked what advice he has for them.

“What I want to say is when somebody pushes you down, get up; when you get up you get up stronger. Each time you were pushed back, when you come forward, you become stronger

“Learn as much as you can. Money in your pocket they can take from you, but the knowledge you have, they can’t (because) once you learn, once you have it, once you have enough knowledge, you will always come back.”

Chef Uwe has been active with ECG since 1994.

The group was formed in 1992 with about 15 members and has, in Chef Uwe’s words, “grown with Dubai,” having close to 3,000 members and regularly holding several international competitions, a number of which is scheduled for next year.

“We want to give the message to the world basically that the pandemic has not put our industry down. We are back and we are there. We are ready. The whole city is far ahead than other places in the world,” Chef Uwe said.

Nearly nine in ten (87%) guests who stayed at a Dubai-based property during the pandemic were satisfied with their experience; 85% would return

Half of owner/operators expect occupancy rates above 60% in FY 2021 and 75% expect occupancy to return to pre-Covid-19 levels by 2023

75% of owner/operators anticipate the vaccine to be highly effective in boosting occupancy rates

DUBAI, UAE; 1 June 2021: An overwhelming majority (87%) of consumers in the UAE are satisfied with their stay in Dubai hotels since the beginning of the pandemic, and eight in ten consumers are confident hotels apply the required level of sanitization, according to KPMG’s report on Dubai’s hospitality industry. Despite strong outbound travel restrictions among many of the UAE’s main source markets, Suite success: Dubai hospitality survey 2021 fuels hopes of recovery for the emirate’s hospitality sector. More than half (55%) of consumers surveyed were willing to stay at a hotel in Dubai, notwithstanding Covid-19, with 85% willing to return.

Sidharth Mehta, Partner, Head of Real Estate, KPMG Lower Gulf, said: “Dubai’s popularity as a staycation destination has been key in supporting the emirate’s hospitality sector. Though short- to medium-term challenges remain, Dubai’s successful management of the pandemic and the efforts put in by individual players have helped recovery. New developments, such as Ain Dubai and the Museum of the Future, successful mass immunization, and safety protocols followed by properties will increase Dubai’s appeal as a safe destination.”

Despite the odds, the UAE recorded the second-highest occupancy rates globally (54%), behind China, in 2020. Dubai’s occupancy rates steadily improved since April 2020, touching a 12-month high of 69% last December, dipping to 59.4% this April. While international arrivals plummeted, the number of room nights sold to domestic tourists increased by 107%, surging from 2.74 million in 2019 to 5.68 million in 2020.

Revenue per available room (RevPAR) in Dubai grew by more than 550% during 2020. After hitting a low of USD 17.2 (AED 63.18) at the start of the pandemic, RevPAR reached a peak of USD 114.7 (AED 421.32) in December 2020, coinciding with the holiday period. As of April 2021, RevPAR stood at USD 92.9 (AED 341.22).

The Dubai Assured stamp launched in June 2020, with the goal of assuring visitors that hotels, restaurants, retail outlets and attractions are in line with international health and safety standards and protocols, also served to build guest confidence. More than three-quarters (77%) of those planning to stay in a Dubai hotel would consider whether a property received a Dubai Assured stamp, certifying its sanitization protocols.

According to the KPMG report, 75% of owner/operators surveyed anticipate the vaccine to be highly effective in boosting occupancy rates. In fact, half of those surveyed expect occupancy rates above 60% in FY 2021 and 75% expect occupancy to return to pre-Covid-19 levels by 2023. While leisure travel in the region may bounce back, the shift to remote working may change business travel in the long term. Sixty-seven percent of owner/operators expect the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment to be at significant risk. However, as many as nine in ten (92%) travellers to Dubai saw the emirate as the safest place in the world to conduct business meetings during the pandemic.

Dubai will likely remain a regional and global tourism hub. Leisure and business destinations around the world will only see travel increase, as vaccine rollouts continue and economies gradually recover.

To read the full Dubai hospitality survey 2021, please visit https://home.kpmg/ae/en/home/insights/2021/05/dubai-hospitality-survey-2021.html

‘I have always been great at handling situations calmly thanks to my ability to multitask.’

Dubai Vibes News Team

Dubai, UAE:  Some people buckle under pressure.

Not Mahnaz Faquih, interior designer, who has taken on the task of overseeing, in her capacity as CEO, operations of Clover Medical Centre, one of Dubai’s fastest growing dental clinic chain.

Indeed, it has been an undertaking that tested her mettle and so far proven she’s worth her weight in gold.

“As in any sphere of life,” Faquih tells Dubai Vibes Magazine, “there are always challenges, but therein lies opportunity!”

She explains: “These challenges are stepping stones and I look for solutions for the path forward without dwelling on problems. I have always been great at handling situations calmly thanks to my ability to multitask.”

Faquih, whose husband, Dr. Sameer H Shaikh, a renowned, award-winning specialist orthodontist, opened the dental clinic, said her training as an interior designer has honed her perfectly for the CEO job.

“My training as an interior designer exposed me to various different industries and professions and it’s never a bad thing to keep learning. Various things that one picks up in life may well come into use later in stressful or challenging situations, as they have done!” she said.

No one absolutely knows where she gets her energy from, but Faquih, being a person full of empathy, also finds time for her philanthropic advocacies.

“I have always believed in being connected to those around me. To this end, I feel I was able to respond in the pandemic to the need of hapless people in difficult situations. The Ramadan food drive is somewhat different as it is a continuation of what I have done for most of my adult life quietly and without drawing any attention,” she said.

Faquih worked hard to secure the safe return of children separated from their parents during then pandemic. She has also provided an en-suite dental treatment center to school children in a remote part of India.

Furthermore, she helped repatriate countless workers from developing countries who were stranded abroad during COVID-19, aside from having managed community projects by organizing many generous friends and bring food, shelter, school fee payments and all manner of help to a multitude of needy people.

Additionally, Clover Medical Centre CEO, Faquih has played a huge part in the CSR program instituted by the multispecialty network of clinics. This includes the splendid work done by the clinics to bring dental wellness into the workplaces of hundreds of influential companies in the UAE. Tie ups with schools, summer camps, after school workshops and nurseries were also frequent, with children given complimentary dental check ups to ensure their future dental wellbeing.

“I have always been full of empathy –  and this has kept me going, so I could make a difference,” Faquih said.

Faquih said she and her husband “brought our strengths to the table and the result of this synergy is that we have three branches of Clover Medical Centre in Dubai.”

Being CEO, she said, is “very rewarding” in the sense that it has opened another window of opportunity for her, this time, creating leaders.

“This has allowed me time and mind-space to plan the future of the clinic while the specific people placed in charge ensure the daily running of the clinic without me having to do repetitive tasks too often.

“This also engenders in our leaders that Clover is their family,” she said.