Emirates has opened its first travel store in the Far East in the hope of building a new customer base in an increasingly important market.
Emirates selected Hong Kong as the location for the new store but has signaled that the opening is only the start with other locations in the Far East set to be announced in the future.
The Emirates Travel store was officially opened on July 17, 2024, with Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations in the Far East, Shaikh Saoud Al Mualla, the UAE Consul General and Sultan Alriyami, the Emirates Area Manager for Hong Kong, all in attendance.
In the 1,500 square feet store, visitors will be able to book tickets at four dedicated customer service counters, speak with experienced travel consultants about flying itineraries and even test out Emirates’ Premium Economy Class seats that are on display for a limited time.
“We are delighted to inaugurate the first Emirates travel store in the Far East region, in Hong Kong, to deliver an enhanced and exceptional service to our valued customers. The city has always been strategically important for us and by launching our first travel store in Central Hong Kong, we aim to offer our valued customers an elevated travel retail experience, and better deliver Emirates’ hospitality at every step of the customer journey,” Orhan Abbas said in a statement.
Emirates currently operates 21 flights per week between Hong Kong and Dubai and recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Hong Kong Tourism Board aimed at boosting inbound tourism to the city.
This week talks are taking place between the United Arab Emirates and China that could allow Emirates to increase operations to the region.
According to Bloomberg, Orhan Abbas said in an interview during the store opening that if the opportunity was available “we would love to expand” further into the Chinese market.
Currently Emirates can only operate 35 flights a week to China, but it is unclear how many it is looking to extend this by or whether it would include services to new cities other than Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
