Faisal Saeed al Romaithi is a rarity within the Emirati business community.
During breaks from university, shortly after his family opened Cassells Hotel Apartments in Abu Dhabi in 2000, Mr al Romaithi could be found working at the reception desk, booking reservations and checking in guests, or scrutinising rooms as the supervisor of housekeepers.
Over the years he has earned a Bachelor's degree in management and marketing, and a Master's in human resources management, while also working in his family's expanding hotel business as a sales and marketing director and general manager.
"Last week I was bored and I told the receptionist I'm working with you," says Mr al Romaithi, the vice chairman of Cassells Group, which opened a third hotel last year in Dubai. "I like to sit and talk with the guests. I like to get their feedback."
Emiratis including Mr al Romaithi make up only 0.96 per cent of people working in the regional tourism industry, which encompasses hotels, travels agencies and tour-guide outfits.
While 10 per cent of his own staff are Emiratis, he says his target is to quadruple that amount and ultimately have a staff wholly made up of Emiratis.
Mr al Romaithi has been busy tapping into industry data and his business network while researching his PhD thesis, the topic of which is why there are not more Emiratis in this sector, and how to change this.
"I hire locals," he says. "It was challenging at the beginning, especially because the families don't want their daughters and sons to work in hospitality because it's taboo.
"This is changing. People are understanding that tourism is a major contributor to the UAE economy."
Others in the industry have also seen changes. Toufic Tamin, the vice president of sales and marketing for the Middle East at Moevenpick Hotels & Resorts, says its UAE properties have been hiring more nationals for the sales department.
Mr Tamin says locals are also showing interest in working at the front desk and in public relations.
"Perhaps more attention or training should be given to the nationals for the food and beverage department because that is the thing we haven't seen much development in," he says. "But it will come. It should come."
Over the next year, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) is working to more than double the proportion of Emiratis in the capital's tourism sector to 2 per cent.
Atef Abdulla al Bastaki, who heads the ADTA's nationalisation initiatives, also oversees its Ambassador Programme, where university students and workers nominated by organisations, including Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi Police, are taught about local sites and history to help to educate foreign visitors.
"I'm promoting Emiratis in the industry and introducing the industry to the Emiratis," Mr al Bastaki says. "Basically, I'm the middle man."
And as that middle man he has quite a gap to bridge. He says there are 400 vacancies for Emiratis in the regional hotel business.
But while there are 12,000 nationals actively seeking jobs, they often disregard hospitality because the working hours are significantly longer than other sectors and earn lower overall pay.
That is why Mr al Bastaki and the ADTA have been working closely with hoteliers, some of whom have suggested flexible working hours to get more Emiratis into areas such as finance, marketing, human resources and administration.
He is also leading a team of colleagues from the ADTA to research how much Emiratis earn in the government sector compared with the private sector, and specifically within the hotel industry.
At the same time, Mr al Bastaki is working with outside partners to have funding introduced to help fill the salary gap for nationals interested working in this sector but deterred by lower wages.
"It's just going to take some time," he says.
nparmar@thenational.ae
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Mrs%20Chatterjee%20Vs%20Norway
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Company%20profile
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Poacher
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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AL%20BOOM
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Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
