Jetsettersblog

Offer ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Packages

Tournament Runs from 19th February to 2nd April 2011

DUBAI, UAE – 30th January 2011 – Emirates Sports Travel has joined forces with TUI Travel PLC’s Sports Division, a leading sports tour operator, and Gullivers Sports Travel, the UK’s leading cricket tour operator, to offer competitively-priced packages to the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

The cricket matches kick off on 19th February 2011, when hosts Bangladesh and India meet in Dhaka, and the final match will be played on 2nd April 2011 in Mumbai. A total of 49 cricket matches will be played by 14 teams, over 43 days in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. All ground arrangements will be handled by TUI’S Indian-based operation, Le Passage to India.

Emirates, an Official Partner of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, offers 184 weekly flights to 10 Indian destinations, as well as flights serving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Packages include an Emirates flight (Economy Class or Business Class) from Dubai to the Indian sub-continent, hotel accommodation and match tickets. Land packages start at 310AED (85 GBP) per person, per night (based on double occupancy with a three-night package) for hotel and match tickets. Airfare is not included in this price. Single room supplements are also available.

“The ICC Cricket World Cup is the first major sporting event available with Emirates Sports Travel, a new division at Emirates. The packages have been designed to make it easy for ardent cricket fans to attend the matches. This year’s tournament promises to be an outstanding event, celebrating a sport with a rich history and culture,” said Russell Sheldon, Senior Vice President Network Passenger Sales Development, Emirates Airline.

Packages can be purchased through Emirates offices worldwide. Price includes hotel accommodation, breakfast daily and a match ticket. All passengers, regardless of airfare or class of travel, can purchase the packages. All taxes and service charges are included in the prices.

For bookings or more information, visit http://www.emirates.com/icc

Butterfield & Robinson is offering the opportunity to join B&R co-founders George and Martha Butterfield on their private expedition to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Two rooms have just become available on this unique departure, which was designed by George Butterfield for a group of like-minded travelers he’d met during his travels last year.

As he describes it, “I’d just returned from our fantastic Wine Grand Journey with a wonderful group of people who love travel as much as I do. Conversations turned to where to go next (as they always do on a B&R trip) and the idea of biking and walking through Jordan, Syria and Lebanon was born.”

The itinerary outlines an epic journey that you won’t see in any brochure or on the company’s website.

Tour dates are March 10 to 22, 13 days/12 nights, activity level is moderate, and the tour starts in Amman, Jordan, and ends in Beirut, Lebanon.

The price is $14,995 per person ($2,500 single supplement).

To receive a copy of the itinerary and for more details, contact Jeneen Sutherland, director of bespoke custom travel, at 800-387-1147, ext. 222, or

jeneen.sutherland@butterfield.com

For more information, visit

www.butterfield.com

Jumeirah Group has signed a letter of understanding with Souria Holding to manage Jumeirah Abraj Souria, a newly planned hotel development located in the Baramkeh area of Central Damascus, Syria. Jumeirah Abraj Souria will be part of Abraj Souria, a mixed-use development covering 300,000 square meters that will also contain commercial and retail components, including a shopping mall and an office tower.

It is expected the development will take four to five years to complete. Jumeirah Abraj Souria will have 350 luxury guestrooms and 100 luxury serviced apartments.

The hotel will also include a Talise Spa, several restaurants and extensive conference, banqueting and leisure facilities.

The development is in a prime location two kilometers from the Damascus old town. For more information, visit www.jumeirah.com

DUBAI, U.A.E,: Emirates’ Economy Class passengers residing
in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi can save themselves a busload of hassle as Emirates increases the frequency of its free of charge bus service, to and from Emirates Terminal 3 in Dubai.

The new frequencies have been implemented to help passengers reach Emirates Terminal 3 conveniently and with no added stress.

In addition to the increased services Emirates has also invested significantly in revamping the bus, both inside and out. The bus interior is well air-conditioned with new more comfortable seating, whilst the exterior features an impressive Emirates aircraft decal, designed to stand out on the UAE’s busy roads.

Khalid bel Jaflah, Emirates Vice President Commercial Operations UAE said:

“We have a significant number of passengers that travel to Dubai from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to avail of Emirates’ world class services. As an airline we are all about connecting people and this value added bus service is just another aspect of our dedication to get passengers to their destination, with minimum hassle and maximum comfort.”

With an estimated travel time of less than two hours the newly designed bus has the capacity to seat 49 passengers comfortably.

A single, dedicated pick-up and drop-off point has been identified in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, to help cut down on passenger travel time.

Dubai will have two collection/drop-off points to account for arrivals and departures at Emirates Terminal 3.

The service will now depart Abu Dhabi four times daily from the Emirates Town Office located at Khalidiya area, Corniche at 0330 hours, 0930 hours, 1600 hours and 2130 hours.

It will depart Al Ain three times daily from the Emirates Office, Emirates Commercial Complex in Khalifa Street at 0330 hours, 1000 hours and 2100 hours.

The return journey from Emirates Terminal 3 will depart outside the arrivals hall to Abu Dhabi four times daily at 0200 hours, 0800 hours, 1430 hours and 2300 hours.

Return services to Al Ain will depart Dubai three times daily at 0200 hours, 0800 hours and 1430 hours.

This service is available only if an Emirates flight into/out of Dubai has already been booked.

New bookings can be made via the link above for Emirates, or Emirates’ offices.

Dubai, U.A.E – Underlining their relentless commitment to offering the best inflight entertainment in the air, Emirates has won the ‘World’s Best Airline Inflight Entertainment’ award for the sixth year running at the 2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards.

Emirates faced stiff competition from other leading airlines to win the accolade at the 2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards which took place in Hamburg on 20th May, 2010.

In an extremely competitive marketplace where many airlines are spending significant sums in their inflight entertainment (IFE) products, Emirates has maintained its leadership position by concentrating on technical innovation and quality content. Since developing ice (information, communications and entertainment), its ground-breaking audio and video-on-demand system, in late 2003, Emirates has continually improved and expanded its IFE offering and has become the benchmark for all other airlines.

Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Vice President Corporate Communications (Product, Publishing, Digital & Events), who received the award, said: “When we won this prestigious award for the fifth time in a row last year we knew that we could not rest on our laurels, and we immediately focused on improving ice even further. We’re thrilled that so many Emirates passengers have recognised this by voting for us.”

ice, which is available on over 80 per cent of the Emirates fleet, offers a staggering choice of up to 1200 channels of entertainment including 230 movies from around the world.

In 2009-2010 Emirates selected movies from over 15 countries that were available in over 20 languages, as well as many with the option to choose Closed Captions for the hard of hearing, still a first in the airline industry.

Since becoming the first airline in the world to install TVs on every seat, on every aircraft in 1992,

Emirates has made significant investments to offer the widest range of entertainment to passengers.

Edward Plaisted, Skytrax Chairman said: “Emirates continues to excel in this category, and yet again are a repeat winner of the Best Airline Inflight Entertainment Award.

This aspect of the travel experience gains in importance each year as customers become more demanding, and Emirates are clearly matching these expectations to have been voted the world’s best by passengers.”

The awards follow a 10 month survey between July 2009 and April 2010 of 17.9 million air travellers from over 100 different nationalities.

The survey measures over 38 different items of customer satisfaction for each airline’s product and service standards.

Hotel expects to boost sales by 10 per cent in 2010 through new sales and marketing partnership with Preferred Hotel Group

April 1, 2010

Cristal Hotel and Resorts, a luxury hospitality company, has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Preferred Hotel Group (PHG), a global sales and marketing conglomerate, in a move that will significantly expand Cristal Hotel’s global market presence and boost sales by an estimated 10 per cent in 2010.

The agreement also makes Cristal Hotel and Resorts the first Middle East hotel to become a member of Sterling Hotels, as part of the Sterling Design category, which is a worldwide collection of fashionable, affordable hotels that appeal to both business and leisure travellers.

The partnership agreement was signed on the sidelines of Cristal Hotel and Resorts’ participation in the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) that was held recently in Abu Dhabi.

Cristal Hotel and Resorts has revealed that it intends to leverage PHG’s 28 international sales offices, over 60 dedicated industry sales specialists and more than 300 major corporate accounts worldwide to cultivate new markets and broaden its target audience.

Furthermore, Cristal Hotel and Resorts disclosed that both parties have agreed to expand the partnership with upcoming projects.

Peter Blackburn, CEO of Cristal Hotels & Resorts, said: “The partnership with PHG provides greater leverage for Cristal Hotel and Resorts to sustain our market expansion program.

Being the first in the Middle East to be recognised as a Sterling Design Hotel will also greatly enhance our reputation as a world-class hotel destination, which is crucial in an increasingly competitive market environment. We are confident that the partnership will deliver immediate results, as we forecast an increase in sales of up to 10 per cent this year.”

John Ueberroth Chairman and CEO Preferred Hotel Group, said: “Cristal Hotel and Resorts exemplifies the ideals of the Sterling Design Hotel, which focus on modern and contemporary style, distinct architecture, bold interiors and state-of-the-art technology.

oreover, through this partnership, PHG will help enhance the business performance of Cristal Hotel by providing support in branding, global sales and marketing, and integrated reservation services, which are all designed to increase revenues and reduce overall costs.”

Cristal Hotel and Resorts has emerged as one of the top business hotel destinations in Abu Dhabi despite opening just under a year ago.

Cristal Hotel Abu Dhabi features 192 luxuriously appointed and spacious rooms, complemented by a complete range of business facilities and world-class customer service standards.

RCI, a vacation exchange company and one of the Wyndham Worldwide family of brands, announced the addition of two affiliated resorts to its worldwide exchange network –

The Viking Club Hotel in Egypt and The Jdoudna Hotel in Syria.

The Viking Club Hotel in Sharm el Sheikh is situated within walking distance of the Na’ama Bay district and offers a view of the bay.

a’ama Bay features shopping, an array of restaurants and a night scene.

The resort has two swimming pools, a restaurant, dive centre and a private beach accessed by a regular shuttle bus service.

The resort currently operates 180 units with a further 80 under construction as part of phase 2 of its development.

The Jdoudna Hotel is located on the top of Syria’s Bloudan mountains, 1,800 meters above sea level, offering a view of the Bloudan Valley.

The resort offers an indoor swimming pool, hot tub and the Jdoudna restaurant.

For more information, visit

the banner ad below.

Priority Pass, the world’s leading independent airport lounge programme, announces the addition of six new lounges in the Middle East to its worldwide portfolio, making it even more attractive to frequent travellers in the region.

The addition of five new lounges in Saudi Arabia, covering Damman, Jeddah and Riyadh, as well as another in Abu Dhabi, means that coverage is even more comprehensive in the region.

Members of Priority Pass can use any of the lounges in the programme whenever they travel, regardless of which airline or which class of travel they are flying.

For members in the Middle East, this means that virtually all major city airports in the region have lounges available for their use, together with over 600 lounges at airports throughout the world.

Priority Pass now includes the following lounges in the Middle East:

Bahrain Bahrain Dilmun Lounge

Jordan Amman Crown Lounge

Kuwait Kuwait Kuwait Airways Lounge
Pearl Lounge

Lebanon Beirut Cedar Lounge

Oman Muscat Oman Air Lounge

Qatar Doha The Oryx Lounge

Saudi Arabia Damman Al-Fursan Golden Lounge New for 2010
Jeddah North Terminal First Class Lounge
South Terminal Al-Fursan Golden Lounge New for 2010
Al-Fursan Golden Lounge New for 2010
Riyadh Terminal 1 First Class Lounge
Terminal 2 Al-Fursan Golden Lounge New for 2010
Terminal 3 Al-Fursan Golden Lounge New for 2010

UAE Abu Dhabi Main Terminal Al Ghazal Lounge
Airport Hotel Lounge
Dana Lounge New for 2010
Terminal 2 Al Ghazal Lounge
Dubai Terminal 1 Dubai International Business Class Lounge
Marhaba Lounge
Terminal 3 Marhaba Lounge
Sharjah First and Business Class Lounge

Soukalin Ghosh, responsible for Priority Pass business development and marketing in the region, commented, “Priority Pass has an outstanding selection of lounges across the Middle East, and adding six more for 2010 makes it an even more comprehensive selection,”

“Priority Pass membership is not only attractive to individual frequent flyers, but also to banks, telecom companies and others who wish to offer a powerful and highly-valued incentive to attract new customers to premium products, and to build loyalty among existing customer base.”

Armani Hotel Dubai, the first hotel to open under the collaboration between Giorgio Armani S.p.A. and Emaar Properties PJSC, will be officially launched on March 18, 2010, it was announced.

Exclusively housed in the distinctive Burj Dubai tower, the world’s tallest building, the Armani Hotel Dubai is the first of a series of hotels, resorts and residences designed by Giorgio Armani to be opened around the globe and marks fashion maestro Giorgio Armani’s debut in to the world of hospitality. Defined by its unique location, highest standards of aesthetics and service excellence, the Armani Hotel Dubai will be the most exclusive destination in the city.

The online bookings for the Armani Hotel Dubai will go live late January 2010, and prospective visitors can register online at www.armanihotels.com to receive further details about the hotel.

The opening of the Armani Hotel in Dubai will be followed by the launch of the Armani Hotel Milano. Other properties underway include the first Armani Resort, planned for Marrakech, and the first Armani Residences villas, for Marassi in Egypt. Further Armani hotels, resorts and residences will open subsequently in key international destinations such as New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and London.

Armani Hotels & Resorts was established in 2005 under an agreement between Giorgio Armani S.p.A. and Emaar Properties, with the objective to develop, own and operate an exclusive collection of hotels, resorts and residences in the world’s most important cities and holiday destinations. Armani Hotels & Resorts plans to open at least ten hotels and resorts within the next ten years.

Giorgio Armani Group is one of the leading fashion and luxury goods groups in the world today with over 5,000 direct employees and 13 factories.

It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including apparel, accessories, eyewear, watches, jewellery, home furnishings, fragrances and cosmetics under a range of brand names: Giorgio Armani Privé, Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, AJ | Armani Jeans, A/X Armani Exchange, Armani Junior, Armani Teen, Armani Baby and Armani Casa.

The exclusive distribution network of the Group comprises 75 Giorgio Armani boutiques, 19 Armani Collezioni shops, 166 Emporio Armani shops, 165 A/X Armani Exchange shops, 17 AJ | Armani Jeans shops, 8 Armani Junior shops, 10 Giorgio Armani Accessori shops, 2 Emporio Armani Accessori shops, 27 Armani Casa shops and 14 Emporio Armani Caffés in 46 countries around the world.

Emaar Properties PJSC, listed on the Dubai Financial Market, is a global property developer with a significant presence in key markets world-wide.

Besides building residential and commercial properties, the company also has proven competencies in shopping malls and retail, as well as in the hospitality and leisure, education, healthcare and financial services sectors. Emaar inaugurated Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building and free-standing structure on January 4, 2010, and has opened The Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destination.

In Saudi Arabia, Emaar is developing King Abdullah Economic City, the region’s largest private sector-led project, featuring a Sea Port, Central Business District, Industrial Zone, Educational Zone, Residential Communities and Resort District. Emaar has joined with Giorgio Armani to strengthen its presence in hospitality. The company is also opening educational institutions and healthcare centres in South Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Subcontinent. Emaar holds 30 per cent equity in Dubai Bank, focused on retail and commercial banking. Emaar is also the largest shareholder in Amlak Finance, UAE’s leading Islamic home financing company.

For more information visit www.emaar.com

(Dubai, United Arab Emirates –The Image Maker, a United Arab Emirates headquartered, business development company has announced EmiratesRevealed.com in honour of the seven Rulers of the Emirates and the President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan for the incredible achievements of the nation.

The new interactive online photography portal is the largest photo and video interactive portal ever created that is dedicated to images of the United Arab Emirates.

The announcement coincides with UAE National Day on 2 December. EmiratesRevealed.com forms part of a global trilogy comprising Emirates Revealed – The TV documentary being produced by the prestigious Discovery Channel and Emirates Revealed – The Book, all launching in 2010.

The brainchild of Ms Yasmeen Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, The Image Maker, EmiratesRevealed.com provides a user-friendly site where visitors can both download and upload images and participate in chat forums with instant sharing of these images.

“The site was created out of exhaustive research on what communicates best on a global level. Images and film speak a thousand words and cross all cultural boundaries,” said Ms Stewart.

According Ms Stewart, the site is intended for use by both consumers and professionals.

“The aim is to stimulate the economy of the UAE with this site. First, by showing the diversity of the country by covering all seven Emirates. Further, the site is broken down into all areas of life in the UAE from culture to the UAE global charity vision.” she explained.

Advertising agencies and marketing professionals experience day to day challenges locating high quality images for the development of campaigns and branding. EmiratesRevealed.com simplifies the process, offering a wide selection of only the highest quality images all in one place.

This unique interactive ecommerce portal has been designed to showcase the culturally rich and diverse United Arab Emirates, its extraordinary standard of living and lifestyle, as well as its rapid economic development which promises a future even more exciting and dynamic than its past.

Visitors to the site will be immersed in the visual panorama of the Emirates. Whether a traveler, planning to visit the Emirates who is researching online to get a feel for the destination, a student sourcing images for an assignment or an advertising agency, EmiratesRevealed.com is poised to become the most recognized image library on the UAE globally.

“We are including images of not only Dubai but all of the Emirates equally. There is a focus on the everyday life of the people and as well as art, architecture, history, famous landmarks and cultural events.”

On launch (slated for 31 March 2010) EmiratesRevealed.com will be the most comprehensive collection of images made available at the click of a mouse.

“We are also promoting local talent on the site with direct links to the local photographers, developers and government agencies responsible for the work in the images and footage.” said Ms Stewart.

EmiratesRevealed.com is actively utilizing social viral media as a platform to drive awareness, with links to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

“Search engine optimization is a crucial part of our roll out plan, ensuring a high ranking when users search for the UAE or UAE-related topics; when you use Google search or any other search engine all the UAE images will cover the page. Through this project we aim to introduce an accurate image of the UAE to a global audience, both media and individuals, making the UAE a vision of inspiration in the new Middle East.” she added.

EmiratesRevealed.com has teamed up with industry leaders such as Corbis and local representatives Graph East.