Dubai Hotel Travel

Business for Dubai’s hotel sector has been maintained at record levels as both corporate and leisure visitors continue to stream in to the city, pushing occupancy and average rates beyond budgeted levels.

According to Tony Homsi, General Manager at the Coral Oriental Dubai hotel, expectations are that the bullish results for 2011 will be maintained well in to the future as new markets open up and airline expansion feeds more traffic through Dubai. More Details »

With a surge of visitors expected in Dubai to celebrate Norouz, the Iranian New Year taking place towards the end of March, the festival will top off what has been a remarkable quarter for the hotel sector in the city, underlining the strong return to business for the region’s premier business and retail centre. And Coral Oriental Dubai has been a popular address for travellers with a house-full all through the first quarter.

Just in January alone, occupancies reached nearly 90 per cent across all hotels in Dubai, with major exhibitions, the Dubai Shopping Festival, Chinese New Year and other events all contributing to the positive results for the hospitality sector. “This positive start to 2012 is an encouraging sign that Dubai is moving ahead on all fronts,” said Tony Homsi, General Manager of the Coral Oriental. “We have been busy throughout January and February, and are now looking forward to welcoming Iranian groups to top off an extremely busy first quarter.” More Details »

Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, is proud to announce the winner of its second Arts and Culture Award, presented at the 16th Annual Luxury Briefing Awards, celebrating the best in the luxury industry and taking place last week at The Corinthia Hotel in London.

The Jumeirah Group Arts and Culture Award celebrates leading international enterprises that are supporting artists and advancing artistic practice through innovative creative collaborations in the business arena. The second instalment of the award went to Montblanc and its Young Artist World Patronage. More Details »

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has won the award for ‘Fastest Growing Airline in the Middle East’ at the 2012 Athens International Airport (AIA) Airline Marketing Workshop.

In its 12th year, the annual AIA workshop presents awards to airlines that have demonstrated rapid and successful development over the past 12 months.

More than 150 travel managers, human resource directors, facility managers, and travel buyers of medium and large companies involved in the Greek travel management field voted for the award, which was presented at a gala event held in the Athens Music Hall. More Details »

On the arts and culture front, the past few weeks have been very busy for Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hotel company and a member of Dubai Holding.

Jumeirah Group sponsored a writer in residence for a month by inviting a member of the Beirut39 cultural initiative that brings together 39 of the most promising Arab writers under the age of 39. Sudanese writer Mansour Al Suwaim was hosted in The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management from 25 February to 25 March and participated in a lecture during the Emirates Airline of Festival of Literature. The writer has already published two novels and two books of short stories and recently received a grant from the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture for his current project, a historical novel titled The Last Sultan. More Details »

Jumeirah Emirates Towers, part of Jumeirah Group, the Dubai-based luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, has been awarded the internationally renowned Green Globe Certification (GGC) following a recent sustainability audit.

The five-star Jumeirah Emirates Towers has been consistently developing its green policies in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme and is the first of the Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts to be accredited with Green Globe Certification. More Details »

On 2nd April 2012, Emirates launched a new global brand platform and direction, themed “Hello Tomorrow,” which positions the global airline as the enabler of global connectivity and meaningful experiences. Emirates is embarking on an integrated marketing communications campaign with a new brand promise as the company continues its evolution from a travel brand to a global lifestyle brand.

Designed for the age of consumer engagement and empowerment, “Hello Tomorrow” is about inspiring people to greet tomorrow’s unlimited potential, now. “Hello” is a greeting, an invitation to a person, a place or an experience. “Tomorrow” is a time, a place, a state of mind – the unlimited possibility of the future. Emirates is extending an invitation to try the unfamiliar, create new ideas, and form new visions. The theme encapsulates life’s potential and embracing the future with all the possibilities it holds. More Details »

World Travel Awards (WTA), the “Oscars of the travel industry”, has announced plans to host its Middle East Ceremony at Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa in Dubai on 30th April 2012.

The evening will mark the opening leg of WTA’s 2012 Grand Tour, a global search for the very best travel and tourism organisations in the world, covering five continents with nominees drawn from 162 countries.

WTA’s Middle East Ceremony will be held in Dubai for the fifth year in succession, underscoring how the emirate is driving travel trends not just in the region but throughout the world. More Details »

Ms. Olga Velceva, a receptionist at the Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, has won the prestigious David Campbell Trophy at the an International Presidium of the Amicale Internationale des Chefs de Reception et Sous Directeurs des Grand Hotels (AICR) held in the Czech Republic capital, Prague, from January 18 to 22.

She was chosen from the list of 14 finalists who represented countries like the UK, Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and Spain. The winners for the second and third positions were from Singapore and Indonesia, respectively. More Details »

Dubai has been presented ‘The Most Beautiful Destination’ award by the China Travel Channel after a jury comprising of 100 senior Chinese journalists endorsed the emirate over several other destinations including US, France, Germany, UK and Singapore for the award given to mark the 10th anniversary of the popular TV channel.

The award was received by Mr. Saleh Al Geziry, Director of Overseas Promotions and Inward Missions at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Makreting (DTCM) from famous Chinese TV star, Mr. Hong Jianhong, at a gala ceremony held in Beijing on January 8 and attended among others by actress Kong Lin, Annie Wu, Che Yongli and Wang Liyun. More Details »