Guidelines

---

Guaranteed best rate

A NEW programme, the "Best Available Rate Guarantee", is now in operation at all Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (MH&R). It guarantees customers that whenever they book a room (either on the MH&R home page, at the hotel group's reservations centre, or at the hotel itself) they will not be able to find a better rate elsewhere.

The reason the offer is so attractive is that should the customer find a cheaper rate elsewhere within 24 hours of making the initial booking, he will receive a 50 per cent discount on the lower rate he has found, applicable for a maximum of three days. The package deal concerned must of course be identical.

"We are one of the first European hotel chains to accommodate the customer in this way," says Heiko Siebert, director of Reservations & Revenue Management at MH&R. "It means customers can be certain of getting not only the best and latest information on the hotel of their choice, but the best available room rate too. It will also save them a lot of time looking for better offers."

Conrad's fifth anniversary

CONRAD Cairo celebrated its fifth anniversary on 24 October. The hotel reports a great improvement in the number of visitors compared to last year during the same period, and remains cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year. Based on preliminary anecdotal evidence, 2004 is considered to mark the beginning of the recovery, while 2005 should be the recovery year itself.

This year, Conrad Cairo pioneered Wireless High Speed Internet Access in Egypt's Hotels, which is now available all over the hotel at a speed of 4mb/sec. This innovation demonstrates Conrad Cairo's focus on finding the latest technological innovations specially engineered to make life easier and more efficient for its guests.

Green Globe award

SHERATON Miramar Resort has been awarded the prestigious Green Globe 21 Benchmarked Certificate under the new Green Globe 21 Certification programme, in recognition of the operation's commitment to operating to the world's highest environmental standards.

The resort has spent a considerable amount of time benchmarking its energy and water consumption, as well as waste production and disposal, and on implementing an integrated environmental and social policy. In particular, it has achieved Best Practice in the Energy Consumption, Potable Water Consumption and Social Commitment performance areas. These measures will deliver ongoing reductions in the consumption of non-renewable resources, extensive cost savings and secure a sustainable commercial and ecological future for the business.

Green Globe 21 is the global benchmarking, certification and improvement system assisting the international travel and tourism industry to attain sustainability. Green Globe 21 provides a certification system that responds directly to the major environmental problems facing the planet, including the greenhouse effect, over-use of freshwater resources, destruction of biodiversity, production of solid and biological waste and social issues.

A weekend break

IF YOU WANT to spend an unforgettable weekend lazing around the swimming pool while your children are enjoying an extensive playground area and mini-zoo, why not book a room at the Mövenpick Cairo? For LE250, up to four guests can use the swimming pool and kids facilities from 9am to 8pm. This offer is valid only for Egyptians and foreign residents, and the price includes service charge and taxes.

For more information, contact (+202) 291 9400.

Viva Italia

CAIRO was recently the venue for two Italian food promotions: one organised by the Semiramis InterContinental, and the other by Conrad Cairo Hotels. Semiramis InterContinental Hotel hosted "Il Pozzo del Re" pasta festival at the Pane Vino restaurant. A family business since 1987, "Il Pozzo del Re" has been making pasta in the traditional fashion since 1920. The artisans of this company mix hard wheat dough with spinach, tomato, red beet, curcuma, and pepper, which is what gives it a unique colour and makes their pasta so different.

At the Conrad Cairo Hotel, new Italian Chef Salvatore Coco brought the best of southern Italian cuisine to the Sicilian food promotion at Villa D'Este, blending innovative recipes to suit both the health-conscious and the gourmet.

New hotel opens in Heliopolis

THE INTERCONTINENTAL Heliopolis Cairo opened its doors without great fanfare on 10 October. The hotel is situated in the suburb of Heliopolis, just next to Cairo's largest retail and leisure complex, Citystars. The 790-room property has magnificent public areas, a variety of dining facilities, such as Maestro for Mediterranean delicacies, Fayrouz for Lebanese specialties, Blue Marlin for Pan-Asian cuisine and sea food, and Shogun for sushi, in addition to the Esplanade Café restaurant, an all-day dining restaurant, and the Mondial café.

The hotel boasts a 3,000-square-metre Lifestyle Aqua Spa and Wellness Centre, offering a wide range of leisure facilities, including aerobics, squash courts, sauna, Jacuzzi and indoor hydrotherapy pool.

The InterContinental Heliopolis also offers sophisticated conference facilities, including 19 conference and banqueting rooms that can host a wide variety of events, from corporate gatherings to lavish social celebrations.

Grand Fridays

IF YOU ARE searching for a place for you and your kids on Fridays, then Grand Hyatt Cairo's Grand Friday extravaganza could be the right choice where you can have sumptuous meals and lively entertainment in the various outlets all with the spectacular view of the Nile.

Onboard Marquise, Grand Hyatt Cairo's private yacht, Baccarat restaurant provides a new dinning and entertainment experience upon the Nile, serving international cuisine and authentic oriental entertainment during daily lunch and dinner cruises.

You can also enjoy your Grand Friday in Fontana, Grand Hyatt Cairo's main restaurant as you can select your favourite food from its international open buffet. Guests who fancy a taste of authentic oriental cuisine, will find the Nubian Village, overlooking the Nile, an experience not to be missed.

The Food Court at Galleria Shopping and Leisure Centre adjacent to Grand Hyatt Cairo, is the perfect place to relax over a superb meal from any of its various outlets which serve different kinds of international foods.

BA expands Cairo-London route

BRITISH Airways is adding nearly 500 additional seats between Cairo and London to meet seasonal demand this winter. The introduction of the larger Boeing 747 aircraft that will replace the Boeing 777 from 31 October until April 2005 is part of the airline's commitment to the Egyptian market.

"The increase in the number of seats between Cairo and London is part of our expansion plan for routes between North Africa and London. The region has traditionally been very important for us, and continues to be so," said Chris Phipps, British Airways' manager for North Africa.

Phipps added that the fares on the route to London are very competitive, as they have introduced a new fare for winter starting from LE2,800.

Passengers can make connecting flights from London Heathrow to the rest of the world through British Airways' worldwide route network, covering some 168 destinations in nearly 80 countries, and the Oneworld network that covers a total of over 550 destinations in more than 130 countries. These networks offer a great advantage for travellers flying out of Egypt to the rest of the world.

For more information on British Airways offers and services, log on to www.ba.comwww.ba.com/i>.

Job opportunities

IN A MEETING with the Egyptian Travel Writers Association, Minister of Tourism Ahmed El- Maghraby declared that every million tourists that visit Egypt could generate 300,000 new job opportunities. "This means that if we succeed in attracting two million travellers in the coming few years, we could provide something like 600,000 new job opportunities, about 50 per cent of the current work force demand," he said.

Ping Pong on agenda

MINISTER of Tourism Ahmed El-Maghraby has agreed to add Egypt's International Ping Pong Championship for Pioneers to the national tourism calendar.

The organisation of such a championship is an obvious example of cooperation and coordination between the Ministry of Tourism and other ministries and organisations, including the Ministry of Youth and the Egyptian Ping Pong Federation.