Business Traveller Middle East articles from May 2009

Business Traveller Middle East archives from May 2009

Hotel staff redundancies could impact service standards.(Upfront)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A new report has shown that 21 per cent of staff in MENA hotels have been made redundant in the last 12 months but three quarters have found work again, suggesting that the streamlining cuts that have been made could be...

Singapore rooms for $1 per night.(Upfront)
May 1, 2009... In an effort to stimulate tourism demand during the economic downturn, the Singapore Tourism Board has joined up with Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport to offer transit passengers a chance to stay in the city for just $1 for the first night....

Lost luggage.(Upfront)
May 1, 2009... A report by the Air Transport Users Council (AUC) has revealed that in 2007, airlines 'mishandled' 42 million bags, of which more than one million were lost irretrievably. Figures published in the report showed 42 million bags were mishandled in...

InterContinental launches Twitter campaign.(Upfront)
May 1, 2009... Harnessing the power of the latest web trend, InterContinental Dubai Festival City has launched a Twitter treasure hunt. In a method that has been used by celebrities elsewhere, the hotel chain is posting online clues to its followers leading to...

Etihad raises the bar with its new first class cabin suite.(Upfront)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Abu Dhabi's leading airline used the platform of this year's Arabian Travel Market show to unveil its new first class cabin suite as part of its fleet overhaul. The new first class cabin contains 12 suites with an...

London tailor launches shirt for travellers.(Upfront)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Need a travel-friendly shirt? In light of research that revealed senior business people take more than 12 flights and spend 70 days on work trips abroad each year, shirtmaker Thomas Pink has developed a dedicated shirt...

Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach, set to open in Summer 2009, is the French luxury hotel group's first property in the city and in the UAE. Located in the marina, the hotel will offer 438 rooms, as well as five meeting and function rooms. ...

Shangri-La.(Hotel news update)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Shangri-La has opened properties in Tokyo, Japan and Boracay in the Philippines, bringing the total number of hotels in the group to 62. The 202-room hotel in Tokyo is adjacent to Tokyo Station and has views to Tokyo Bay to the west, while the...

Six Senses.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Six Senses is in negotiations to open a property in Petra, Jordan, supplementing its existing property at the hot springs of Ma'in, by the Dead Sea.

Marriott International.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Marriott International is to open a 370-room hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli in 2011. It will be the hotel's first in the country and will be one of 25 new properties that the brand plans to open between now and 2013, bringing the total...

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Rosewood Hotels & Resorts is to open a property on Sowwah Island, Abu Dhabi at the centre of the city's new business district. The luxury business hotel will have approximately 190 rooms and is set to open in early 2012. [ILLUSTRATION...

The Address Hotel.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... The Address Hotel in Dubai's Old Town has introduced a new 24-hour stay. The service will be available in all of its hotels and means that guests in Suite or Club rooms can stay for 24 hours from their time of arrival instead of being...

One&Only Cape Town.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Sol Kerzner has added another hotel to his growing portfolio with the opening of the One&Only Cape Town. In contrast to the glitzy star-studded opening of the Atlantis Dubai, this property opened with a day of lower-key private events.

Swire.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Dubai-owned Swire hotels has announced a new property in Hong Kong--The Upper House--complementing its first hotel in Beijing, The Opposite House.

Jumeirah.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Dubai-based hotel chain, Jumeirah, has announced plans to open a five-star property in the PalaisQuartier development of Frankfurt, Germany. Located near the financial district and stock exchange, it is anticipated that the new property will...

Pullman Hotels.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Pullman Hotels--an Accor brand--are to move into the Middle East market in 2010 with a hotel at Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. The upscale brand has specific features to suit it to business and MICE guests.

Coral Hotels & Resorts.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Coral Hotels & Resorts has inked a deal to open a 610-room five-star property in Marrakech as part of its geographical diversification programme. The brand currently has 2,500 rooms and expects to add 1,200 by the end of the year.

Hyatt Regency.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Hyatt Regency has debuted in Tajikistan with a 202-room hotel in the capital, Dushanbe. It is the first international brand to open in the city and hopes to attract business and leisure travellers with its city centre lakeside location. ...

Rezidor's Park Inn.(Hotel news update)
May 1, 2009... Rezidor's Park Inn brand has opened properties in Saudi Arabia and Oman. The Park Inn Al Khobar in Saudi has 148 rooms aimed at both MICE and family parties. The Muscat property is situated in the city's business district and has 175 rooms and...

nasair.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Saudi Arabian carrier, nasair, has begun to operate daily flights between Jeddah and Abu Dhabi in response to growing demand from business, leisure and religious tourists.

V Australia.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Virgin has launched a new airline, V Australia, ]inking Sydney to LA and making it possible for the first rime to fly around the world on one carrier. Sir Richard Branson controversially said: "As long as we are twice as good as Qantas and a...

British Airways.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... British Airways has announced its 2009 summer schedule which sees the GCC programme increase by 35 per cent from last year. The carrier will operate 66 weekly flights to eight Gulf countries despite anticipate losses for the 2008/9 financial...

Etihad.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Etihad is to add three new European destinations--Larnaca, Istanbul and Athens--to its route map from June this year, supplementing its other new launches to Melbourne, Australia and Astana, Kazakhstan this year.

Emirates.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Emirates has increased its free baggage allowance on all tickets issued on or after 4 May, allowing business passengers to carry 40kg of luggage and first class passengers to check in 50kg.

Aer Lingus.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Aer Lingus boss, Dermot Mannion, resigned from his role as Chief Executive in ah environment that has seen the airline post net losses of $145 million in 2008. His role will be handled temporarily by the company's chairman until a replacement is...

Swiss Air Lines.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Swiss Air Lines is to roll out its new A330-300 aircraft in the Middle East market in June. The new planes will boast all the carrier's latest interior innovations as the airline moves ahead with a $878 million fleet renewal programme. ...

Bahrain Air.(Airline news update)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Bahrain Air has commenced operations to Abu Dhabi International Airport. The carrier plans to operate nine flights a week on its new route between Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, increasing its frequency to double dally in the medium term. It currently...

Qantas Airways.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Qantas Airways has halved its profit forecast and says that it will have to make job cuts to survive the downturn. Five hundred management positions are to be cut and a further 1,250 are threatened as the company struggles to manage falling...

Sun Air.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Sudanese Airline Sun Air has inaugurated thrice-weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Khartoum, the young company's second destination in the UAE. It is hoped that the service will provide more options to the expatriate Sudanese community and...

Jet Airways.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Jet Airways will run daily flights from India to Riyadh and Jeddah from June this year bringing the total number of Gulf destinations served by the airline to eight.

Flydubai.(Airline news update)(Brief article)
May 1, 2009... Dubai's forthcoming low cost airline, flydubai, has announced it will operate from Terminal 2 of the city's airport. In preparation for the summer launch of the carrier, set to fly initially to Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, the terminal has...

Air Arabia Maroc.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Air Arabia Maroc has officially launched with an inaugural flight from Casablanca, Morocco to London Stansted. The service is designed to improve the choice of affordable flights between Europe and North Africa with future potential to link into...

Air India Express.(Airline news update)
May 1, 2009... Air India Express, the LCC subsidiary of Air India, has initiated two new routes from Abu Dhabi to India, adding Tiruchirapally and Chennai to the route map. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

And the winners are ... the Business Traveller Middle East Awards are one of the benchmarks of the travel industry. We invite you to a round up of this year's event.(BTME AWARDS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year's Business Traveller, Middle East Awards took place on the eve of the Arabian Travel Market at Jumeirah's Emirates Towers hotel with a slick ceremony and gala dinner. Amid challenging times for the region's...

The year ahead: Business Traveller Middle East headed to the Arabian Travel Market to gauge opinion among travel professionals for 2009.(ATM)(Viewpoint essay)
May 1, 2009... In trying times for the hospitality sector, especially in corporate travel, and after a reportedly lukewarm ITB show in Berlin, the Arabian Travel Market (ATM)--the region's largest trade exhibition of the year--went ahead in Dubai on 5 May....

Emirates Business Class.(TRIED & TESTED)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] FLIGHT CHECK--DUBAI-LARNACA-MALTA CHECK-IN Emirates' much-vaunted T3 at the Dubai International Airport is everything it was purported to be--a style statement, logistical marvel, convenient and comfortable. It...

Shanti Ananda Maurice.(TRIED & TESTED)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOTEL CHECK-MAURITIUS WHERE IS IT? Somewhere in-between the blue sea and the jungle-clad mountains on the southern coast of Mauritius is Shanfi Ananda Maurice, a spa retreat set on 35 acres of land near St Felix,...

Banyan Tree.(TRIED & TESTED)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOTEL CHECK--JUFFAIR, BAHRAIN WHERE IS IT? Banyan Tree Al Areen is located, unsurprisingly, in Bahrain's Al Areen desert reserve, about 40 minutes from the airport. WHAT'S IT LIKE? As the biggest spa resort in the...

Langham Place.(Langharn Place Hotel)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOTEL CHECK--HONG KONG WHAT'S IT LIKE? Away from the dusty and densely populated streets, the ultramodern main lobby to this hotel, gives visitors an impressive welcome. It's extremely spacious, clean and has ample...

The Connaught.(TRIED & TESTED)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] HOTEL CHECK--LONDON, UK WHAT'S IT LIKE? The Connaught is part of the Maybourne Group, an exclusive clique of hotels in London. Its sister properties, Claridges and The Berkeley, are frequented by the well-heeled and...

More tea? There's nothing quite as refined as attending an elegant afternoon tea party, especially after a hard day travelling. BTME discovers which hotels still serve tea colonial-style, from Cafe Town to Singapore.(AFTERNOON TEA)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Business meetings are often conducted over or around meals--from the venomous breakfast meeting to evening gala dinners. But if you're taking charge of the arrangements, why not spice up your...

The dragon's den: renewed terror attacks in Yemen have made visitors nervous. While the risks are real, the country has plenty to offer the bold traveller, both for business and pleasure, as Laura Collacott discovers.(YEMEN)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Travelling to Yemen has long been considered adventurous, but rogue terror attacks on Korean businessmen recently have put it back on the map for all the wrong reasons. Although the country has long been known for its...

Express yourself: media and artistic freedoms are developing in Qatar at one of the fastest paces in the region. Laura Collacott and Tom Otley find out more.(QATAR)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Middle East is not commonly known for its freedom of expression. Perceptions in the West frequently hold that the media here are as veiled as the women. This may have had a ring of truth in...

Qatar hotels.(QATAR)
May 1, 2009... Qatar Hotels DOHA MARRIOTT HOTEL GRAND HYATT DOHA What it like? Recognised as Doha's The hotel design blends preferred business Arabian elements...

Summer secret: the annual rains turn Salalah into an oasis of greenery during the muggy, hot months that await the rest of the region, Laura Collacott finds it makes for a perfect long weekend.(OMAN)(Travel narrative)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sitting at a roadside stall next to verdant palm groves, supping on coconut and munching fresh papaya, I feel a million miles from my habitual stomping ground of Dubai. Although it is only an...

All atwitter: 'twitter' is the word on everyone's lips--or fingertips--in boardrooms and media channels across the world. But what exactly is it?(TECHNOLOGY)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The internet has become a noisy place. Be on personal websites, blogs, wikipedia, or social networking sites, countless voices are fighting to be heard. Marketers have already begun releasing a stream of modern...

On the crest of a wave: the global tourism industry may be experiencing something of a decline, but the cruising sector remains buoyant, growing by about 40 per cent year-on-year. Colette Doyle steps aboard to find out why an increasing number of corporate clients are combining business with pleasure on the high seas.(CRUISING)(Industry overview)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The choice of venue for the annual company conference is always fraught with difficulty and indecision. Organisers want to take their team somewhere new and exciting, as well as upmarket, in the hope that the company...

Ask Alex.
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] QUESTION: In the old days, when flying from Bangkok, passengers would buy an airport tax voucher from a counter for 500 baht. Today this tax is included in the ticket price, and it seems some carriers have beefed up the...

Hong Kong: mountains, coast and culture--past the neon lights, the international city of Hong Kong has a host of attractions for the avid tourist to explore.
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [1] STAR FERRY One of the quintessential ways to view the rightfully famed Hong Kong skyline is by jumping on a public ferry and sailing...

Shutterbugs: just because you're travelling for business doesn't mean you can't enjoy the scenery. Capture foreign memories with one of these compact cameras.(ESSENTIALS)(Buyers guide)
May 1, 2009... $490 MJU TOUGH 8000 OLYMPUS-GLOBAL.COM Olympus wants to make sure that nothing stands in the way of a good photograph. So it has created this camera which it says is 'virtually indestructible'. For the adventure-inclined, it is the...

Win a weekend stay in Dubai: relax is the refine surroundings of Al Murooj Rotana Dubai.(COMPETITION)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Al Murooj Rotana Dubai is a member of Great Hotels of the World organisation and was crowned as Dubai's Leading Meeting Hotel by World Travel Awards 2008. The property raises the bar of luxury and sophistication to a...

Bells & whistles.(GREAT ESCAPE)(Brief article)(Travel narrative)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Although Romania may normally be associated with the glowering, medieval castles that befit Dracula's birthplace, it is in fact backdrop to an abundance of fairytale villages and residences. Peles Castle is one of the...