15 March, 2017

The world's best airport terminal is in Munich


Munich Airport and Lufthansa chosen for major honor

Munich Airport and Lufthansa can bask in the glory of a highly coveted accolade: At the 2017 World Airports Award, announced by the London-based Skytrax Institute, Munich Airport's Terminal 2 was honored as the world's number one terminal. The rankings are based on a survey of 14 million passengers around the world. Terminal 2, which opened in 2003, now includes the new satellite facility that went into operation last April. The completion of the expansion project has increased Terminal 2's capacity from 11 million to 36 million passengers per year. The new building has 27 pierside stands, providing passengers with direct access to their aircraft with no need for a bus transfer. Terminal 2 is jointly operated by Munich Airport and Lufthansa as a 60:40 partnership.
Terminal 2 is the Munich home base of Lufthansa, its partner airlines, and the Star Alliance. "I'm thrilled that we have gained this excellent recognition along with the airport. Praise from our customers is the biggest compliment we can get. Terminal 2 offers our guests an excellent travel experience, and the results show that our passengers also feel that way. A terminal like this is brought to life only through the staff, who make the top-class service possible day in and day out," said Wilken Bormann, the CEO of Lufthansa's Munich hub. Munich Airport CEO Dr. Michael Kerkloh was called to the stage once more at the award ceremony to accept the prize for Europe's best airport. Commenting on Terminal 2 being voted the world's best terminal, Kerkloh said that this was not just an award, but also the start of a mission: "I see this accolade as an inspiration for us to maintain the excellence of our service and the overall passenger experience in the terminal and to improve it wherever possible."
The outstanding results achieved by Terminal 2 in the World Airports Awards are rooted in a number of areas. Along with impressive scores in the passenger experience and overall comfort categories, the terminal achieved top ratings for the entertainment options and the quiet zones where guests can relax, read or work. T2 also won plaudits as a transit terminal: Right from the drawing board, the building was designed to keep connecting times to a minimum. The addition of the midfield satellite terminal has enhanced Terminal 2 in terms of quality as well as capacity: As one of the world's most advanced airport buildings, the satellite offers passengers a wide range of shopping and dining options amid pleasant surroundings flooded with natural light. The total retail and dining space in Terminal 2 has nearly doubled with the addition of 7,000 square meters of new restaurants, cafés and stores. Also winning rave reviews is the decor in the satellite, with the many details inspired by local sights and culture, leaving passengers in no doubt that they are in Munich.
The gates are designed as future-ready waiting areas tailored to travellers' needs. Everywhere in Terminal 2, passengers can find quiet zones where they can sit back and relax in comfortable lounge chairs. And those who want to use the time productively will appreciate the free WLAN access, electric outlets and USB connections. The family waiting areas are set up so that the little ones can expend their excess energy before boarding. In addition, the satellite terminal offers shower facilities outside the Lufthansa lounges for the first time. They are located on the Non-Schengen level for those who wish to freshen up before departing on long-haul flights.
Passengers looking for a special oasis of quiet can visit one of the 11 Lufthansa lounges in Terminal 2. They include five new ones now open in the satellite building affording spectacular views of the airport apron. For the utmost in comfort, the roof terrace of the first class lounge features exclusive amenities right at the heart of the airport. The lounges for passengers with mobility limitations and the unaccompanied minors lounge all have special facilities geared to their guests.
Passengers not scheduled to depart from the satellite can also sneak a peak at the new building. All passengers with a boarding card are welcome to take the short trip to the satellite with the underground people mover.

Digital Shadows Expands Visibility into Evolving Mobile Driven Risks



New capability will protect businesses from the threat posed by mobile apps




Dubai, UAE, March 15, 2017 – Digital Shadows today announced new enhancements to its SearchLight™ digital risk management service helping organizations detect and respond to mobile application threats against their employees and consumers. SearchLight now offers identification of malicious and unsanctioned applications in official and third-party application stores. This new capability also identifies impersonated or spoofed mobile applications that could damage an organizations’ brands or compromise sensitive information. The new capability around mobile application protection extends the capabilities of Digital Shadows’ flagship service which monitors the Internet to identify digital risks to organizations, including cyber threats, data leakage, and reputational risks.

“Mobile is no longer a niche or isolated part of an organizations’ digital footprint. New devices and applications are the status quo and organizations must be able to identify the digital risks associated with them,” said Alastair Paterson, CEO and co-founder of Digital Shadows. “But we know that a large percentage of mobile applications will fail basic security tests and this digital risk presents enterprises everywhere with brand protection and data risk threats. In an increasingly mobile-first world, our customers now have the ability to precisely account for evolving threats jeopardizing irreplaceable reputations and information. “

Digital Shadows has been trialing the new service with some key clients and within one week, for just one financial services client, we identified 39 incidents of mobile applications posing a risk to their organization. This included mobile apps with malicious code, impersonation and unauthorized use of the company brand. While many of these came from third party application stores, some were from official stores. 

With Digital Shadows’ mobile application monitoring, customers can detect a wide range of threats including: Suspect application behavior and code, such as self-signed certificates or the presence of malware; versions of application that have been modified by a third party; copies of application on stores that are not actively managed; impersonating or spoof application that mimic brands and affiliate links that mislead or confuse users. Monitoring even extends beyond customer mobile application, to internal company mobile apps.

Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission warned that ‘as more consumers are shopping with mobile apps, fraudsters are following the money. There are fake phone apps popping up that impersonate well-known retailers to steal your personal information. Their names were like well-known brands, and their descriptions promise enticing deals or features.

Updates to SearchLight and Digital Shadows’ capabilities include these enhanced features:
  • Mobile App Monitoring; Identifies malicious mobile apps and analyzes the application’s code to classify the level and type of threat it poses – including intellectual property infringement, malware delivery and phishing
  • New Asset Registration of Mobile Apps; Ensures an application is accounted for and actively managed, including company-specific recommendations.
  • Improved dashboards for executives and security teams; Intuitive visualizations provide faster, actionable at-a-glance views of data exposures and other risks from Digital Shadows’ unique “attackers’-eye-view” perspective, ranked according to severity

Mobile application monitoring is available to customers now. To learn more about the offerings please visit www.digitalshadows.com

14 March, 2017

Creativity and Innovation Highlighted as Game Changers for MICE and Luxury Travel from GCC


This year’s edition attracted over 60 global suppliers and over 150 buyers signaling the potential of the GGC’s MICE market

Dubai, 14th March, 2017— The 5th annual MICE Arabia and Luxury Travel Congress (MALT) concluded on a strong and positive note highlighting value-for-money, creativity and innovation as business game-changers for MICE and Luxury Travel from the region.

There was a positive increase in the number of suppliers representing global and emerging destinations, and in the number of influencers and decision makers from corporate organizations, travel agencies as well as luxury representatives attending the event, thereby creating an optimistic outlook for the overall development of outbound travel from the region.

It is undoubtedly the only MICE platform in the region to bring buyers and world class suppliers in a one-to-one format. The congress, a closed door, by—invitation only platform, delivered more than 1800 mutually matched and pre-selected appointments over the two days.

“This year’s figures mirror the increase, both in confidence and business levels across major industry sectors in the GCC. We have had an exciting two days, a clear pattern of business game changers emerged over the course of the event, and these we see as imminent and important characteristics in the world of MICE and Luxury Travel. Exclusivity continues to be a defining attribute of luxury travel from the region. We are now in the process of condensing the lessons we have learnt from experts, and drafting these into actions plans. There was great feedback from our participants and sponsors that will help us plan for the next edition of the MALT Congress,’’ commented Sidh N.C, Director of QnA International.

From North America to Asia, from the African continent to Europe and Middle East, the event boasted of suppliers from every corner of the world including but not limited to Dubai, Zurich, Davos, Switzerland, India, Japan, Italy, Montenegro, Azerbaijan, UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Croatia, Morocco, Anguilla, Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, Seychelles, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, France, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, California, Fort Lauderdale, China, Spain, Germany, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iceland, Tanzania, Kenya, Philippines, Canada, and Uganda.

An official from COX & KINGS commented “It’s a good platform for B2B buyers and sellers to meet in a focused format as well as an excellent opportunity for people to come under one roof, there are some serious business conversations happening during the meetings and networking. So the objective of coming to the event was met”

Interwoven in the event agenda were panel discussions, keynote presentations and round table discussions that focused on the tremendous potential of the GCC outbound market cutting across luxury, MICE and sports sectors and bought back the confidence of the suppliers in the region’s robust economy
  
“It been a very well organized event, from the minute we got here till the end of the event, the appointments were well done, pre-qualified and very engaging. I see a good ROI coming from the event,” commented another sponsor from Sofitel, Los Angeles.

تسليط الضوء على الإبداع والابتكار كعوامل تغيير لقطاع سياحة الأعمال والسفر الفاخر من دول الخليج
نسخة المؤتمر لهذا العام استقطبت أكثر من 60 مورد و 150 مستخدم، مما يشير إلى إمكانات قطاع سياحة المعارض والمؤتمرات في دول الخليج
 
(دبي، 14 مارس2017)  ــ اختتم مؤتمر مايس أرابيا لسياحة الأعمال والمؤتمرات والسفر الفاخر ( إم آيه إل تي) فعاليات دورته الخامسة من المؤتمر السياحي الأضخم في المنطقة، وأدرجت الجلسات الختامية توصيات قوية وإيجابية تبرز القيمة أو الخدمة التي سيحصل عليها السائح مقابل المال، وتركز على الإبداع والابتكار كعوامل تغير وتحدث قطاع سياحة الأعمال والسفر الفاخر في المنطقة.

وحضر المؤتمر عدد من الموردين الممثلين للجهات العالمية والناشئة في قطاع السفر، وعدد من أصحاب النفوذ وصناع القرار في المنظمات والمؤسسات المعنية، ووكالات السياحة والسفر، بالإضافة إلى ممثلين لقطاع السفر الفاخر، حيث كانت نسبة حضور هذه الفئات للمؤتمر أعلى من السنوات السابقة، مما ساهم في خلق وجهة نظر متفائلة نحو التنمية الشاملة لقطاع السفر الصادر من منطقة الخليج العربي.
ومما لا شك فيه أن مؤتمر سياحة الأعمال والمؤتمرات، يعد المنصة الوحيدة في المنطقة التي تعنى بجذب المشترين والموردين على مستوى العالم للتمتع بلقاءات عمل فردية. حيث قام المؤتمر المغلق المخصص لأصحاب الدعوات فقط ، بارسال ما يزيد عن 1800 دعوة لحضور اجتماعات عمل متفق عليها مسبقا خلال يومين.
وحول هذا الموضوع قال مدير شركة كيو إن آيه إنترناشونال سيد إن سي: " الزيادة في أرقام هذا العام، تعكس ارتفاعاً بمستويات الثقة والعمل في مختلف القطاعات الصناعية الكبرى في دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي. فقد أمضينا يومين مثيرين، أظهرت النقاشات الدائرة خلالهما نمطاً واضحاً لمغيري قواعد لعبة سياحة الأعمال، وهو ما نراه خصائص أساسية ومهمة لعالم سياحة الأعمال والمعارض والمؤتمرات والسفر الفاخر. ويعد التفرد بعقد هذه المنصة السمة المميزة لشركات السفر الفاخر من منطقة الخليج. ونحن الآن بصدد تلخيص الدروس التي تعلمناها من الخبراء، وصياغتها في خطط عمل فعالة. كما كان هنالك ردود فعل كبيرة من المشاركين والرعاة للحدث من شأنها أن تساعدنا على التخطيط  لعقد النسخة القادمة من مؤتمر (إم آيه إل تي) لسياحة المؤتمرات والسفر الفاخر".
يذكر أن الحضور لم يقتصر على الشركات والمعنيين بالمجال السياحي من دبي فقط بل استقبل المؤتمر مشاركين من كل ركن من أركان العالم ومنها (زيوريخ، دافوس، سويسرا، الهند، اليابان، إيطاليا، الجبل الأسود، أذربيجان، المملكة المتحدة، السويد، النرويج، الدنمارك، كرواتيا، المغرب، أنغيلا، جمهورية الدومينيكان، وسري لانكا وتايلند، تركيا، قبرص، اليونان، سيشيل، جنوب إفريقيا، السعودية، جورجيا، فرنسا، أبو ظبي، سنغافورة، أندونيسيا، تايوان، كاليفورنيا وفورت لودرديل، الصين، إسبانيا، ألمانيا، مصر، الأردن، لبنان، أيسلندا، تنزانيا، كينيا، الفلبين، كندا، وأوغندا).

من جهته علق مسؤول من شركة (كوكس آند كينغز) على المنصة التي يوفرها مؤتمر مايس أرابيا لسياحة الاعمال والمؤتمرات والسفر الفاخر بالقول: "إنها منصة جيدة، تجمع بين مقدمي الخدمة والمستفيدين منها ضمن طابع عمل مكثف، بالإضافة إلى كونها تمنح فرصة ممتازة للناس ليتمكنوا من الاجتماع تحت سقف واحد، فهناك العديد من الأحاديث المتعلقة بالعمل الجاد تجري خلال الاجتماعات والتواصل مع الآخرين من مختلف الخلفيات، لذلك فإن الهدف من الانضمام لهذه الفعاليات قد تحقق."

 يشار إلى أن التنوع والتداخل في جدول أعمال الفعالية والذي جاء على شكل جلسات حوارية ، وعروض الكلمات الافتتاحية ومناقشات المائدة المستديرة التي ركزت على إمكانيات الهائلة التي تشمل قطاع السفر الفاخر من دول مجلس التعاون الخليجي، وسياحة الأعمال والمؤتمرات والسياحة الرياضية، يصب في خانة كسب واستعادة الثقة مع الموردين من أجل تحسين الاقتصاد في المنطقة.

فيما أشاد أحد أعضاء وفد سوفيتيل في لوس أنجلوس بتنظيم الفعالية بالقول "كان حدثاً منظماُ بشكل ممتاز، من لحظة وصولنا إلى هنا وحتى نهاية الفعاليات، والمواعيد تم تعيينها والالتزام بها بدقة، كما أن كل التفاصيل كانت معدة مسبقاً وشيقة للغاية. الأمر الذي سينعكس من وجهة نظري على إجمالي الناتج المتأتي من الاستثمار بهذا القطاع، نتيجة لهذا المؤتمر المتكامل"



Celebrate Mother’s Day at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah



This Mother’s Day show your mum how much you care for her with a special celebration at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, managed by HMH – Hospitality Management Holding. Take advantage of the hotel’s superb promotion and treat your mum to a memorable lunch or dinner at Cote Jardin, Al Dente (Lunch or Dinner) or Casa Samak (Dinner). Your mum dines free at any of the outlets when you book a table for 4 persons. In addition, get a voucher for 15% discount that can be used on your next visit to Casa Samak or Al Dente.

Haytham Aziz, Hotel Manager, Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, said, “Mother’s Day is an opportunity for all the family to express their affection for the unique individual who is the heart of every household. Allow your mother to relax and be pampered as you shower your utmost affection and surprise her with little things that could add a sparkle to her smile and touch her soul. We will make it extra special for her. So if you are a group of four or more than your mother dines free. Alternatively, thank your mother for all that she does for you with our very special ‘I Love You Mom’ cake available at the Rumours Lobby Lounge”.

Mother’s Day at Coral Beach Resort Sharjah
Your mum dines free when you book a table for 4 persons
  • 21st March, 2017
  • At Cote Jardin & Al Dente (Lunch or Dinner) and Casa Samak (Dinner)
  • Also, get a voucher for 15% discount on your next visit at Casa Samak or Al Dente

Terms & Conditions Apply
For more information and bookings call 06-5229999



احتفل بعيد الأم في
منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة

في عيد الأم اظهر لأمك مدى اهتمامك بها باحتفال خاص في منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة بإدارة اتش ام اتش – إدارة الضيافة القابضة. استفد من عروض الفندق الرائعة وقم بتدليل أمك بدعوة لا تنسى على الغداء أو العشاء في كوت جاردين، آل دينتي (غداء أو عشاء) أو كازا سمك (العشاء). تتناول أمك الطعام مجاناً في أي من هذه المطاعم عند حجزك طاولة لعدد 4 أشخاص. بالإضافة إلى ذلك احصل على قسيمة خصم 15٪  يمكن استخدامها في زيارتك القادمة إلى كازا سمك أو آل دينتي.

وقال هيثم عبد العزيز مدير منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة: "عيد الأم هو فرصة لجميع أفراد الأسرة للتعبير عن ارتباطهم بأكثر افراد الإسرة تميزاً التي تمثل القلب النابض لكل أسرة. اسمح لأمك بالاسترخاء والتدلل أثناء اظهار تقديرك لها، وادهشها بأشياء صغيرة يمكن أن تضيف البريق إلى ابتسامتها وتلمس روحها، ونحن سنجعلها أكثر خصوصية لها. فإذا كنتم مجموعة من أربعة أشخاص أو أكثر ستتناول أمك العشاء مجاناً. يمكنك أن تقول شكراً لأمك على كل ما تقدمه لك بطريقة أخرى، وقدم لها كعكة "أحبك يا أمي" الخاصة و التي تتوفر لدى رومرز كافيه في ردهة الفندق.

عيد الأم في منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة
تتناول أمك الطعام مجاناً عند حجزك طاولة لعدد 4 أشخاص
• 21 مارس 2017
• في كوت جاردين و آل دينتي (الغداء أو العشاء) و كازا سمك (العشاء)
• أيضا احصل على قسيمة خصم 15٪ على زيارتك القادمة في كازا سمك أو آل دينتي

تطبق الشروط والأحكام
لمزيد من المعلومات والحجز اتصل على 5229999-06

حول منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة
خضع منتجع كورال بيتش الشارقة بإدارة اتش ام اتش – إدارة الضيافة القابضة مؤخرا لعملية تجديد شاملة للغرف والمرافق مما أعطاه مظهرا جديدا وجذابا تماما. يضم المنتجع الفاخر 156 غرفة فسيحة، الكثير منها يطل على مشاهد بديعة للبحر. أحد عوامل الجذب الكبرى بالمنتجع المجموعة الكبيرة من اختيارات المطاعم التي تقدم قوائم تلبي كل ذوق. يقع المنتجع على واحد من شواطيء الإمارة الرملية الرئيسية ويضم العديد من أنشطة الترفيه لكل الأعمار، بما في ذلك نادي رمال، مركز لياقة على أعلى مستوى، حمام سباحة للأطفال، حجرة ألعاب مغطاة ونادي الأطفال المجاني بالإضافة إلى ملاعب التنس (تحت إشراف أكاديمية كلارك فرانسيس للتنس)، كرة الريشة، الكرة الطائرة وحمامين للسباحة خارجيين.

للمزيد من المعلومات حول الفندق، رجاء زيارة الموقع: www.hmhhotelgroup.com/coralbeachresortsharjah
أو https://www.hmhhotelgroup.com/subscribenow


VTT has developed stand-up pouches from renewable raw materials and nanocellulose


VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd has developed lightweight 100% bio-based stand-up pouches with high technical performance. High performance in both oxygen, grease and mineral oil barrier properties has been reached by using different biobased coatings on paper substrate. The pouches exploit VTT’s patent pending high consistency enzymatic fibrillation of cellulose (HefCel) technology.
“One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. Packaging with efficient barrier properties is a crucial factor in the reduction of the food loss. Our solution offers an environmentally friendly option for the global packaging industry”, says Senior Scientist Jari Vartiainen of VTT.
VTT’s HefCel technology provides a low-cost method for the production of nanocellulose resulting in a tenfold increase in the solids content of nanocellulose. Nanocellulose has been shown to be potentially very useful for a number of future technical applications. The densely packed structure of nanocellulose films and coatings enable their outstanding oxygen, grease and mineral oil barrier properties.
HefCel technology exploits industrial enzymes and simple mixing technology as tools to fibrillate cellulose into nanoscale fibrils without the need for high energy consuming process steps. The resulting nanocellulose is in the consistency of 15-25% when traditional nanocellulose production methods result in 1-3% consistency.
The stand-up pouch is the fastest growing type of packaging, growing at a rate of 6.5% per year from 2015-2020. Fossil-based plastic films still dominate the packaging market. However, the development of environmentally friendly new materials is of growing importance. Nanocellulose has been shown to be potentially very useful for a number of future technical applications.
VTT has solid expertise in various bio-based raw materials and their application technologies for producing bio-based coatings, films and even multilayered structures both at lab-scale and pilot-scale. A versatile set of piloting facilities are available from raw material sourcing through processing to application testing and demonstration. 
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