News
AAT & The First Group Are Transforming Hospitality For Deaf Tourists
The collaboration will bring several innovative solutions to existing MENA establishments, including accessible booking and comprehensive sign-language support.
Amsaan Accessible Tours (AAT) is the first company in the MENA region to specialize in unique tourism experiences for Deaf people. Now, the company has joined forces with The First Group, one of the MENA region’s fastest-growing hospitality investors and providers, in a bid to enhance accessibility across its chain of hotels for Deaf tourists staying in Dubai and beyond.
AAT’s standout product is an accessible booking platform that includes comprehensive sign-language support. Deaf tourists using British Sign Language (BSL) can use the system to easily make reservations, smoothly check in to hotels, and even request room service or emergency assistance through the AAT mobile app.
The First Group, a brand renowned for its upscale properties, including The First Collection Business Bay, Wyndham Dubai Marina, and TRYP by Wyndham Dubai, will integrate AAT’s cutting-edge accessible booking platform with all its existing hospitality brands in Dubai.
“The First Group and Amsaan Accessible Tours share core values of inclusivity, diversity, and equal opportunities in hospitality for all. We are driven by our commitment to provide exceptional experiences to our guests, and we look forward to championing responsible tourism and reinforcing our dedication to state-of-the-art hospitality”, explained Karim Abdelhamid, Vice President of Hotel Operations at The First Group.
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Oleksandr Koltsov, Chief Executive Officer of Amsaan Accessible Tours, added: “This partnership represents a monumental step forward in AAT’s mission to break down barriers for Deaf travelers. Our accessibility solutions will reach a wider audience, making a positive impact not only on individual guests but also on the broader hospitality industry. It should serve as a model for other hotels to follow suit in prioritizing universal accessibility. With The First Group, we are reshaping the hospitality landscape with the power of innovation and technology, ensuring Deaf guests can explore the world with ease and confidence”.
The collaboration with First Group comes as AAT is poised to expand further across the UAE and beyond, with future partnership options being negotiated with hotel chains, tourist attractions, and even airlines.
News
Nano Banana 2 Arrives In MENA For Google Gemini Users
Google brings its latest image model to Gemini and Search, adding 4K output and tighter text control for regional users.
Google has opened access to Nano Banana 2 across the Middle East and North Africa, pushing its newest image model into everyday tools rather than keeping it inside the exclusive (and expensive) Pro tier.
The rollout spans the Google Gemini desktop and mobile apps, and extends to Google Search through Lens and AI Mode. Developers can also test it in preview via AI Studio and the Gemini API.
Nano Banana 2 runs on Gemini Flash, Google’s fast inference layer. The focus is speed, but also control. Users can export visuals from 512px up to 4K, adjusting aspect ratios for everything from vertical social posts to widescreen displays.
The model maintains character likeness across up to five figures and preserves fidelity for as many as 14 objects within a single workflow. This enables visual continuity across scenes, iterations, or edits — supporting projects like short films, storyboards, and multi-scene narratives. Text rendering has also been improved, delivering legible typography in mockups and greeting cards, with built-in translation and localization directly within images.
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Under the hood, the system taps Gemini’s broader knowledge base and pulls in real-time information and imagery from web search to render specific subjects more accurately. Lighting and fine detail have been upgraded, without slowing output.
By embedding the model inside Gemini and Search, Google is normalizing advanced image generation for a mass audience. In MENA, where startups and marketing teams are leaning heavily on AI to scale content across languages and borders, that shift lands at a practical moment.
The move also folds creative tooling deeper into search itself, so that image generation is no longer a separate workflow. It now sits right next to the query box.
