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Bloomsburg has reported that Dubai plans to announce a strategy in the coming two weeks to attract tourists in the background of the ongoing financial crisis. Khalid Ahmed bin Sulayem, the director general of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commercial Marketing, said that the emirate is gathering information and looking at trends in travel in tourism around the world, and may revise its target of attracting 15…
Dubai, November 25, 2008: InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has announced the signing of an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Seba Properties for the development of the InterContinental Fujairah Resort, a new beachfront property in one of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) most attractive tourist destinations. The 291-room hotel will be the first InterContinental beach resort property to open in the UAE and will…
Set on the banks of one of the most breathtaking waterways in the world, in a town rich with ancient antiquities, Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa reopens for business, following a 30 month and US$45 million dollar master makeover. Located within minutes of the Temple of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, the 236-room Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa has been entirely transformed to emerge as a dazzling new retreat that…
Dubai-based developer Nakheel says it will not operate the Queen Elizabeth 2 when the former luxury liner is transformed into a hotel in three years, a newspaper has reported. Nakheel is in talks with major hotel operators to see which will run the hotel, and it will ‘most likely’ be one that Nakheel has already worked with, said Manfred Ursprunger, CEO of Nakheel Hotels, QE2 Enterprises. Source: www. ameinfo.com
Aloke Dey, the manager of Sharaf Travel Holidays one of the largest tour operators in Dubai told a UAE mewspaper that room rates in the city's four and five star hotels had dropped by up to 30%. However, despite these cuts, he added, demand is still down 10% as compared to the same period in 2007. Source: www.ameinfo.com
Kuwait's fastets growing Airline ground handling company National Aviation Services (NAS) has won a bid to handle passengers and cargo at the Mumbai International Airport in Mumbai, India, for 10 years concession. The announcement was made at a press conference by the newly reorganized top management at NAS, led by Naji Al-Ajmi, President and CEO of NAS Global, Adel Al-Askar; Senior Vice-President of Governance…
Thales, a provider of mission-critical information systems for the aerospace, defence and security markets, plans to open a regional office at Abu Dhabi airport's new Business and Logistics Park. This comes in addition to Thale's recent announcement indicating the establishment of a regional service centre at the same location. This double move of two of its regional units is part of the agreement which recently…
Arab Wings has announced that it has signed an agreement with Abu Dhabi based international executive flight services company Royal Jet to manage jointly, a new Challenger 605. The agreement was signed during the Middle East Business Aviation show held at the Dubai Airport. Ahmad Abu Ghazaleh, General Manager of Arab Wings and Shane O’Hare, President and CEO of Royal Jets Signed the contract. The jointly…
Emirates airlines wants to sharply increase its flight slots at Italian airports, the government said, describing this as a move that could boost tourism to Italy from Asian and Gulf countries. Emirates, which has less than 10 Italian slots a week at present, has asked for slots to cover 21 weekly flights each to Rome and Milan and 14 for Venice. It also plans 28 weekly cargo flights. Source: Emirates…
Vacation services provider, Interval International, said on November 23 that, it is affiliating with Monte Cairo, an urban resort in Cairo, by adding the resort to its global network. The firm said that the new property, situated on top of the Moqattam Hill, comprises 80 timeshare units, with a mix of studio, one and two-bedroom units. "This is our second affiliation in Cairo. This project is in a popular…
According to the latest report by hospitality consulting firm, HVS International, while US and European hospitality sector faces severe economic downturn, the Middle East is still going strong. "We have found that the Middle East continues to be one of the most lucrative markets for hotel developers for the time being. It remains to be seen how much of a knock on effect the predicted downturns in Europe and…
Rolls Royce has signed up with NetJets Middle East for CorporateCare, the engine maintenance and management programme for six Rolls Royce powered aircraft. The aircraft comprise three Tay 611-8 powered Gulfstream GIVs and three Gulfstream G-450s powered by Tay611-8C engines. Source: www.ameinfo.com
Kuwait National Airlines said on November 23 that it will list the shares of Wataniya Airways, its full service luxury airline, on the Kuwait Stock Exchange on December 15. The company's listing on KSE would be managed by Kipco Asset Management Company, or Kamco. KSE raised 500 million Kuwaiti dinars in an initial public offering (IPO) in 2006. Wataniya Airways plans to start operations in February 2009…
Gammon and Billimoria has been awarded the construction contract for the first phase of Forbidden City, Nakheel's new project in International City, a Dubai based newspaper has reported. A top official has mentioned that the 4,000 low-rise studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments will be world class but 'affordable'. Source: www.gulfnews.com
Omagine SOAC announced on over the weekend that they are all set to sign an agreement with the Omani government for a $1.5 billion mega tourism project dubbed ‘OMAGINE’. The project will be spread out over 245 acres of prime beach front land, a stone’s throw distance from the Muscat International Airport. Omagine promises to be an elegant and sophisticated combine of entertainment, hospitality, cultural, retail…
The very first meeting for the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2009 was held on November 20, at Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport. Government dignitaries and officials of the DSF Committee attended the meeting. The 14th edition of the festival will begin on January 15 and continue until February 15. Three new government departments have joined the committee this year -Community Development…
UAE’s national carrier, Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways was voted Airline of the Year at the 2008 Aviation Business Awards at the Le Royal Meridian Hotel in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, November 22. The Aviation Business award, which was hosted by Aviation Business magazine, was attended by more than 250 of the region's aviation professionals. James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways said: "This year has been an exceptionally…
Shrugging off the global financial crisis, Dubai overnight toasted a new luxury hotel with a 20 million dollar bash attended by film stars and sporting greats and marked by a spectacular fireworks display. More than 2,000 world celebrities were invited to the event, which began Thursday night and continued late into Friday. Among those who showed up for the party of the decade were Hollywood stars Robert de…
