Coral Beach Resort Sharjah has won the Sustain Sharjah award for Hotel Properties at the Sharjah International Travel and Tourism Forum 2026, organised by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). This marks the resort’s second consecutive recognition under the initiative.

The accolade acknowledges the property’s progress at Level 2 of the programme’s Explorers journey, structured around four core pillars: Guest, Experience, Local, and Story. Across each pillar, the resort has prioritised measurable, practical measures that engage guests, support the surrounding community, and ensure transparent sustainability reporting.

Central to this achievement are three primary operational initiatives:

• Onsite water bottling plant: Replaces single-use plastics with reusable glass bottles, eliminating approximately 300,672 plastic bottles annually.
• Winnow AI food-waste system: Weighs and monitors kitchen waste in real time, enabling culinary teams to curb excess directly at source.
• Onsite biodigester: Installed in 2026, making the property the first hotel in Sharjah to process organic waste entirely on site.

Commenting on the achievement, Iftikhar Hamdani, Area General Manager of Coral Beach Resort Sharjah, said: “Securing the Sustain Sharjah award for the second consecutive year is an honour for our entire team. Initiatives such as our water bottling plant, AI-driven waste monitoring, and onsite biodigester reflect our daily operational commitment—one shared with our guests, partners, and the local community. We thank the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority for this recognition and for their steady leadership in advancing sustainable tourism across the emirate.”

Coral Beach Resort Sharjah is a signatory to the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism and continues to align its operations with broader international climate targets.

Qatar Airways has inaugurated its new twice-weekly service connecting Doha with Caracas and Bogotá. The service represents a significant milestone for the airline, as Qatar Airways becomes the first Gulf carrier to serve Venezuela, and the first airline to operate nonstop services from the Middle East to both Bogotá and Caracas. The new route underscores the airline’s commitment to strengthening global connectivity for the region and is operated on Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

Qatar Airways flights to Caracas (CCS) and Bogotá (BOG)

Qatar Airways’ flight schedule has been designed to provide smooth onward connections through Hamad International Airport to key markets including Australia, China, Japan, Lebanon, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates. This offers passengers greater flexibility and seamless transfer options across Qatar Airways’ global network of over 170 destinations.

Departing every Wednesday and Sunday:

Doha (DOH) to Bogotá (BOG) – Flight QR783: Departure 07:35; Arrival 16:25

Bogotá (BOG) to Caracas (CCS) – Flight QR783: Departure 17:55; Arrival 21:00

Caracas (CCS) to Doha (DOH) – Flight QR783: Departure 23:30; Arrival 20:35

The addition of Caracas and Bogotá marks the 16th and 17th destinations in the Americas served by Qatar Airways. The airline began serving South America in 2010 with its inaugural flight to Brazil’s São Paulo.

The airline has recently expanded its partnership with LATAM to include LATAM Airlines Colombia, offering travellers greater access to the region. Qatar Airways will place its code on LATAM-operated flights between Bogotá and key domestic destinations including Cartagena, Armenia, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Leticia, Medellín, Montería, Neiva, Pereira, Pasto, Riohacha, San Andrés Island, Santa Marta, and Yopal.

Qatar Airways continues to strengthen global connectivity, serving more than 170 destinations this winter. Bookings can be made at qatarairways.com or through the airline’s mobile app.

IDeaS, a SAS company and the world’s leading provider of hospitality revenue management software and services, today announced it will reconvene its Resorts Revenue Council on February 10th, 2027 at the SUNRISE Arabian Beach Resort in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The event will bring together commercial leaders from resort organizations, technology providers, and industry experts from the Egyptian Hotels Association as well as the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International – Egypt (HSMAI) chapter to discuss emerging revenue management challenges and help inform future innovation priorities for the resort segment.

The commercial realities of modern resorts extend well beyond room revenue, requiring organizations to account for diverse accommodation types, package offerings, ancillary revenue opportunities and evolving guest behaviors. Through the Resorts Revenue Council, IDeaS continues to engage directly with resort revenue and commercial professionals to better understand the operational realities influencing strategy across the segment.

“Resorts are often at the forefront of some of the industry’s most complex commercial decisions,” said Sanjay Nagalia, co-founder, chief technology officer and chief operating officer, IDeaS. “As guest expectations and business models continue to evolve, it’s important we stay closely connected with the operators navigating those changes firsthand. The Resorts Revenue Council ensure their perspectives inform where we focus our innovation efforts.”

Originally established to create a dedicated forum for resort-focused commercial discussions, the Resorts Council provides participating organizations with an opportunity to share perspectives on emerging trends and operating challenges while helping IDeaS validate and prioritize future areas of innovation.

Since the inaugural Resorts Revenue Council meeting, IDeaS has continued to advance capabilities designed to support increasingly sophisticated resort commercial strategies, including enhancements that help organizations better manage:

• Complex inventory types and accommodation configurations
• Package, all-inclusive and per-person pricing structures
• Forecasting for longer stays and changing booking patterns
• Balancing negotiated group and transient demand
• Profitability considerations beyond room revenue alone
• Competitive pricing visibility for resort-specific market conditions
• Strategic trade-offs between occupancy, rate and profitability

As resorts increasingly look beyond traditional room-rate optimization, commercial teams are seeking greater visibility into the full value of the guest relationship, including ancillary revenue streams, package performance and overall profitability.

“Many resorts already have access to strong demand,” Nagalia added. “The opportunity lies in understanding how to optimize the value of that demand across the full guest journey. Revenue management continues to evolve from focusing primarily on room pricing toward supporting more informed commercial decisions across the organization.”

The February Resorts Revenue Council meeting in Sharm al Sheikh, Egypt will continue IDeaS’ commitment to incorporating client insights into its resort innovation strategy while helping ensure future developments reflect the realities of modern resort operations.