EMIRATES airlines is offering First and Business Class passengers flying to or via Dubai special super value packages from 15 June to 31 August as part of the Dubai Summer Surprises.
First Class passengers will receive two complimentary nights in a deluxe room at the Ritz Carlton Dubai while Business Class passengers can stay overnight in a deluxe room at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers. Both classes of travellers can also choose between $100 credit at their hotel or a Sundowner dune dinner Safari. The offer also includes a 96- hour visa.
The offer applies to First and Business Class passengers travelling exclusively on flights operated by Emirates to or via Dubai from various points on Emirates' network. Travel must originate outside the UAE and turnaround passengers, or those travelling on frequent flyer redemption tickets, cannot apply. Accommodation must be pre-booked but need not be used immediately on arrival in Dubai.
"Emirates has put together these unbeatable packages as part of our worldwide drive to bring more overseas visitors to Dubai. Special deals like these reinforce our commitment to Dubai's trade and tourism initiatives and we have been successful in attracting huge numbers of visitors to Dubai every year," Ghaith Al-Ghaith, executive vice-president of commercial operations worldwide, said.
For more information visit emirates.com
Hotels & resorts
Diplomatic chef
JAPANESE chef Yoshinori Mizutani recently joined Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence's food and beverage team. Guests will be able to experience Chef Yoshi's exquisite maki and sushi in the hotel's Tea Lounge, Library Bar and Poolside Grill.
Chef Yoshi joins Four Seasons from the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, where he was serving the ambassador of Japan and his guests the finest traditional Japanese cuisine. His three years of service to the ambassador were commended for his contribution to Japan's diplomatic activities. Chef Yoshi also worked for the same ambassador at the Japanese Embassy in Singapore from 2001 to 2004.
Prior to joining the Japanese Embassy in Singapore, Chef Yoshi spent 20 years honing his culinary skills at various hotels and restaurants throughout Japan. The companies he worked for include Konpira Corporation, Hasshokan Corporation and Shfukuro Corporation.
David Lynn at Taba Heights Golf Resort
TABA Heights Golf Resort and Golf Management International has announced that European tour player David Lynn will represent the resort as the official tour professional of the exclusive golf destination.
Lynn won his maiden title on the European Tour at the KLM Dutch Open in 2004. He followed that success with a number of top 10 finishes on the tour including third place in the 2006 Volvo China Open.
"I am delighted to represent Taba Heights Golf Resort in tournament golf," Lynn said. "It is a fantastic opportunity to promote this picturesque desert style course which is unmatched by any other in the region".
Taba Heights is a complete resort town in Sinai, only 450km from Cairo, featuring five luxury hotels, beaches, spas, an 18- hole championship golf course and various other activities.
Summer nights at Four Seasons
IT'S SUMMER time and Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza is celebrating the season with an enchanting Arabian Nights atmosphere. Every night during the summer, guests can enjoy the cool summer breeze at the pool as the 1001 nights come alive under the stars. Guests can also savour the many enticing flavours of the Orient including Middle Eastern, Moroccan, Indian and barbecue specialties.
The diverse and experienced team of chefs who oversee the kitchens guarantee true authenticity in the preparation of mouthwatering appetisers, breads, mezzas, soups, grilled dishes and desserts. The chefs include Lebanese Najwa Al-Zarif and the latest addition to the team, Moroccan chef Amina Saleh.
"We are always looking for new ways to make our guest experience memorable and unique. For the first time this summer, lady chefs will be presenting the best mouthwatering specialties in the Middle East," says Olivier Masson, general manager of the hotel.
El-Gouna tennis club opens
TENNIS lovers can practise their favourite hobby while vacationing in El-Gouna starting 21 June in El-Gouna tennis club. The club is the latest addition to the sports activities on offer in El-Gouna. Comprising four clay tennis courts with floodlights for evening play, the club also features a mini-tennis court and a multi-purpose basketball, volleyball and mini-football field.
Lessons are given by the ACE International Tennis Academy from Belgium, welcoming families with group and individual lessons for children starting from the age of four, as well as individual lessons for adults.
For more information about the International Tennis Academy call 002010 502 1604.
Hyatt's awards
GRAND Hyatt Cairo was selected Egypt's leading hotel at this year's World Travel Awards Middle East and Africa awards ceremony.
The event was broadcast by BBC World and covered by a number of travel publications including Breaking Travel News, Conde Nast, the Herald Tribune, Khaleej Times, Gulf News and TTN.
The World Travel Awards are the most comprehensive and prestigious awards programme in the global travel industry today. They were established in 1993 to acknowledge and reward the achievements in all sectors of the global travel industry.
Candidates for nomination are based on the previous year's voting. Voting is cast by travel agents in over 200 countries. Regional geographical categories are broken down from the Whole World category into eight smaller areas -- Africa, Asia/Pacific, Caribbean, Central & Latin America, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America.
Voting was conducted by 167,000 travel professionals worldwide, including more than 110,000 travel agents.
Ninth anniversary
MOBINIL chose the JW Marriott Hotel Cairo to host its ninth anniversary celebration that took place at the driving range in the golf course.
More than 3,000 VIP guests had a luxurious four-course plated meal served by 500 waiters.
The invitees were impressed with the gracious service, the beautiful surroundings of the golf course and the world class hospitality.
Roof lounge opens
EL-MOJITO is Cairo's newest roof top lounge atop the Nile Hilton Hotel.
The El-Mojito Roof Top Lounge is an eclectic mix of contemporary Latino food, drinks and music. Newly created tapas dishes by Nile Hilton chefs are on the menu. There is also a host of fantastic new food ideas: hot and cold fish, meat and vegetarian tapas dishes, tasty Churrasqueira grilled veal, beef, lamb and chicken, Latin American kebabs and sausages.
There's a large dance floor to enjoy live music three times a week. The lounge has seating for 285 outdoors and 44 indoors, including high stools that overlook the River Nile and relaxing seating around coffee tables.
Sheraton Sharm spa joins Starwood
SHERATON Sharm Thalasso Therapy Spa at the Sheraton Sharm Hotel, Resort and Villas has become a member of the Starwood Spa Collection, one the world's largest collections of premier spas. The Starwood Spa Collection comprises more than 50 hotels and resorts from all corners of the globe that are renowned for their incomparable service, luxury and unwavering standards of excellence. Sheraton Sharm Hotel, Resort and Villas is one of the 17 spas to join the Starwood Spa Collection this year, representing an impressive 40 per cent growth of its award-winning portfolio of spas.
The spa is designed to be a first class Thalasso therapy centre that includes an indoor self-hydro massage pool, indoor aquagym pool, facial, massage and marine treatment, cabins, gym, sauna and a dietetic food restaurant.
"The Starwood Spa Collection features some of the world's most renowned spas and we are honoured to become part of this esteemed collection," said Firas Irsheidat, general manager of the hotel.
Ramses Hilton culinary prize
RAMSES Hilton Food and Beverage (F&B) department won a prize in a regional food and beverage contest among Hilton International Hotels in the Middle East and Asia Pacific.
The aim of the competition was to recognise and motivate F&B creativity to deliver the best service to all Hilton guests. For the occasion a party was thrown by Mounir Sami, Ramses Hilton general manager, which was attended by the hotel's F&B team, Jean-Luc Fourrier, vice-president F&B for the Middle East and Asia Pacific Region, and Ashraf El-Nahhas, general manager of Hilton Waterfalls Sharm El-Sheikh.
New appointments at San Stefano
SARA Ibrahim has been appointed director of public relations of the soon-to-open Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria. Ibrahim moves to Alexandria from Four Seasons Sharm El-Sheikh where, for the past five years, she headed the resort's public relations department and was instrumental in positioning the award-winning property as the first Four Seasons Resort in both Egypt and the Middle East. She complimented her professional career with a Masters degree in journalism.
"Sara's experience and knowledge of the hotel industry, in particular here in Egypt, will be an asset to the successful opening and subsequent operation of the hotel," said Ashraf El-Manawati, director of marketing.
News
The last road show
TO PROMOTE Egypt in other Arab countries to guarantee a fair share of the Arab travel movement to the country, the Ministry of Tourism and the Egyptian Tourist Authority (ETA) organises a number of annual road shows to Arab states. This year the road shows targeted 10 countries -- Saudi Arabia, Oman, Libya, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar, Bahrain and Jordan. The last road show, headed by Amr El-Ezaby, head of the Egyptian Tourist Authority, visited Jordan on 22 June. The delegation included officials from the ETA, the Tourist Development Authority (TDA), the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers, EgyptAir and media representatives. Members of the road show held meetings with Jordanian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Osama El-Dabbas, general manager of the Organisation for Promoting Tourism Michel Nizal and head of the Jordanian Association for Travel Agents Heider Ziyadat.
In 2006, the number of tourists from Jordan to Egypt was 147,000, an increase of 17 per cent compared to 2005. Preliminary indications for 2007 emphasis the continuity of growth in the number of tourists from Jordan to Egypt.
Egyptian-Lebanese friendship
EGYPT last year received 9.1 million tourists, an increase of 5.5 per cent over 2005 while the number of tourist nights reached 90 million, an increase of five per cent over 2005. The figures were announced by Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana while addressing the Egyptian-Lebanese Friendship Association. "The number of Lebanese tourists travelling to Egypt increased during the last five years. In 2006 they recorded about 55,000 tourists with an increase of 15 per cent over 2005. The number of tourist nights in 2006 was 590,000 with an increase of 37 per cent over 2005," said Garana.
He added that the Arab world receives only five per cent of the international tourist movement whereas inter-Arab tourism movement is about 40 per cent. "This number could be increased which would be the first step in tourist cooperation between the Arab countries," he said.
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