WRLDSPAN
FIRST EMIRATI ASTRONAUTS TO
TRAVEL IN SPACE
OYO VENTURES IN CHINA
50 years. The recruitment
process is rigorous and
detailed. Citizens first fill out
an online form, the required
additional information and
supporting documents to the
UAE Astronaut programme
at the Mohammed Bin Rashid
Space Centre (MBRSC). Men
and Women aged above
18 are welcomed and have
to go through a screening
process which involves basic
psychometric tests and medical
examinations to determine the
fitness of the candidate. Once
shortlisted, more advanced
and elaborate psychometric
examinations will be taken,
followed by a final interview
round.
The qualified 4 candidates
will be sent to the International
Space Station (ISS) to carry out
vital experiments and work that
will contribute to the scientific
community’s understanding
of human space flight to meetfuture challenges as a part of
their training. The selected
candidates will be a part of the
Astronaut Corp of 2019.
Currently, there are over
2,000 applications received
from people aged 18 to 60.
This is a very exciting phase
for the citizens of the country
and their enthusiasm will
accelerate the Prime Minister
Mohammad Bin Rashid’s
goal of launching the first
unmanned Arab probe to Mars
in July 2020. The orbiter will
be called “Amal” or “Hope”. In
the far future, UAE also has
plans to builds what it calls a
“Science City” to replicate life
on Mars and aims to create the
first human settlement on the
red planet.
A new online portal, called
the I-Shuttle, has also been
launched by the UAE Space
Agency for the citizens to
engage with and drive their
interests in space.U
nited Arab Emirates is
planning to expand its
horizons and fly its first
astronaut into space by the
year 2021, when it completes
50 years of its foundation. By
the end of 2018, Emirates will
have its first astronaut titled,O
YO rooms, more
commonly known as
OYO, have extended
its presence in the Chinese
economy.
This expansion is the third
overseas expansion after
Malaysia and Nepal for the
Gurugram-based startup.
OYO is an Indian hospitality
service and budget hotel
network, founded by Ritesh
Agarwal in 2013 and is
exploring the two big markets
of India and China, alongside
other Eastern countries like
Indonesia. It is also set to take
its enterprise in United Arab
Emirates. In September 2017,
OYO had signed a 5 year MoU
with the China Lodging Group
to facilitate and strengthen
collaboration in order to buildrecruited and trained to make
history.
This is the first ever space
programme to be launched
by the UAE and a realization
of UAE’s pledge to become
a global leader in space
exploration over the nexta worldwide market leading
hospitality business. The MoU
signed is for both parties
to explore opportunities for
mutual collaboration in fields
like knowledge and technology
sharing, strategic alliances –
including but not limited to
local sourcing and procurement
and joint loyalty programs
and investments. The multi
brand hotel group had made a
$10 million equity investment
in OYO to become a minority
shareholder (less than 5 per
cent).
Currently, the chain
comprises of over 11,
exclusive or franchised rooms
in 26 cities including Hangzhou,
Xian, Nanjing, Guangzhou,
Chengdu, Xiamen and Kunming
among others.It has also launched its
services in Shenzhen, also
called the silicon valley of
China, and is considered one of
the busiest and fastest growing
ports in the world. It has
covered 8 hotels with a room
count of around 400.
AsiaOne believes that the
reason behind this move is the
massive prosperity China’s
tourism Industry is witnessing.It enjoys an influx of both
domestic and International
tourists and their market is
considered as fragmented as
the Indian hotel market.
The firm has reportedly hired
around 60-70 employees to
run its operations in China.
Furthermore, a substantial rise
in the number of hotels and
headcounts is expected in the
near future.JULY-AUGUST 2018 | ASIA ONE | 19