Latest Audio

Audio: The Qatar Airways owned Oryx Rotana hotel in Doha is now two years old and is the transit hotel for the airlines business and first class passengers. In this edition of Travel Talk Phil Blizzard meets Kevork Deldelian, GM, Oryx Rotana who talks about their quest profile which is now 90% corporate travellers, the changes in travel trends and the importance of the MICE market. He also the benefits of their check-in service which is available on arrival at Doha International Airport.

Audio: The regions largest technology retail extravaganza, Gitex Shopper, is expected to see more than 175,000 visitors attend the consumer IT and electronics show at its new home - the Dubai World Trade Centre. Phil Blizzard talks to Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, DWTC about the event and what can be expected this year. Gitex Shopper runs from 29th September through to 6th October 2012.

Audio: In this edition of Executive Views Phil Blizzard talks to Akbar al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways about their expansion plans, the delivery and problems associated with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the impact of high oil prices and the possibility of joining one of the three global alliances. He denies the airline is in talks with IAG, the parent body of British Airways, and gives his views on the venture between Emirates and Qantas. He also eludes to where his airline will be in 5 years' time, when they will be 20 years old.

Audio: A little over a year since its inception, e-commerce website JadoPado has already relocated to a larger office and is looking to expand beyond the UAE into neighbouring GCC countries. Now well on the way to notching up 1,000,000 unique visitors within a year, Dhs9.3m gross sales and 4,483 orders, company founder Omar Kassim talks to Steven Bond about breaking ground in UAE, where giants such as Amazon have not dared to set up shop, and the challenges of tackling multiple Middle East markets.

Audio: Property Talk looks at the new hotel to be developed by Emaar in the Downtown Burj Khalifa distirct in Dubai. Phil Blizzard talks to Arif Amiri, CEO, Chief Executive Officer, Emaar Retail and Head of Sales, about the key aspect of the 200 room hotel and its 542 serviced residences, along with the investment opportunities the development will offer.

Audio: The long awaited arrival of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to a Middle East carrier has been delayed due to "problems, both technical and quality of the cabin" says Akbar al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways. Talking to Phil Blizzard, in Qatar, the CEO outlines those problems and the processes which will, eventually, see Qatar Airways become the first carrier in the region to receive the Dreamliner.

Property Talk with Federico Tauber, President, Tameer continues as he talks to Phil Blizzard about the development of Princess Tower, the world's tallest residential building, as well the investor market. He also states his outlook for the real estate market over through to the end of 2013.

Audio: The reveal in San Fransisco by Apple of their newest iPhone shows that the new device will have a larger screen, lesser weight and greater connectivity. Phil Blizzard provides an insight into the 6th generation Apple iPhone 5 as we hear from Phil Schiller, Snr VP, Apple talking about the new device and in particular the Lightning connector. This report was recorded on the iPhone 4.

Audio: Property Talk comes from the world's tallest residential building, the Princess Tower, Dubai Marina which stands at 414m. Phil Blizzard talks to Federico Tauber, President, Tameer, developer of the tower about the real estate market in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi and what he sees as the hot locations - Downtown Burj Khalifa, Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina. He also expresses his views on the state of the commercial sector and in this part provides an overview of the Princess Tower.

An overview of corporate governance for SMEs is provided by finance expert Khaled Mersi, Chief Business Officer & Chief Corporate Governance Officer, Just Falafel. Talking to Phil Blizzard he explains the importance of corporate governance for SMEs and how it should be implemented.

Audio: Gourmet food retailer and restauranteur Jones The Grocer have just opened their 7th store and are eyeing rapid expansion across the UAE. Phil Blizzard joins Yunib Siddiqui, MD, Jones The Grocer, UAE to find out more on the origins of this Australian brand, its growth across UAE and their 900 plus product range.

Audio: With mobile phone penetration soaring to over 200% in most of the GCC it seems remarkable that brands and advertising agencies are slow to strategise for mobile marketing. Steven Bond speaks to Sagar Shetty, founding partner of Clique Media and organiser of the 5th Bar Mobile Marketing Forum, about the opportunities and challenges of moving forward, despite the expectation that the industry will soon begin booming. Shetty also speaks of the need for education across the board in terms of how to implement effective campaigns - and the importance of moving away from spam SMS messages.

Audio: Sam Alkharrat, MD, SAP MENA talks to Phil Blizzard about their expansion plans across the region which is required to match up supply with demand and how the training and development institute with Dubai Silicon Oasis will see around 2000 consultants being trained over the next three or four years.

Audio: TravelTalk with Phil Blizzard at the new Anantara Abu Dhabi Mangrove Resort starts with a round-up of regional news which includes new routes for Emirates, the opening of the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Dubai, along with record breaking results for both Air Arabia and Dubai Airports. TravelTalk also looks at Rotana Jets and their domestic air service to Sir Baniyas Island.

Audio: After the dust has settled regarding 'Gauss', the cyber-threat targeting Middle East web users, Kaspersky's Head of Global Research and Analysis, Dmitri Bestuzhev discusses how the 'huge industry' of cybercrime has permeated social media. Steven Bond spoke to Bestuzhev at a press summit in Moscow where the cybercrime expert drew a clear line between oversharing on social media and classic crime, such as fraud and burglaries - and also shared tips on how to stay safe online.