Airlines & airports Egypt's airports open to foreign companies MINISTER of Aviation Ahmed Shafiq has decided to allow foreign and Arab companies to operate flights from and to airports situated in tourist cities in Egypt. The airports are Luxor, Hurghada, Aswan, Sharm El-Sheikh, Taba, St Catherine, Marsa Alam and Al-Alamein. The flights will not be counted among the share agreed upon between the Egyptian civil aviation authorities and the civil aviation authorities of the countries of these companies. The decision aims at increasing the tourist movement to Egypt. New routes PRIVATE Kuwaiti airliner Gezirah will launch a new route to Luxor and Alexandria. Gezirah's network will thus expand to include Damascus, Beirut, Oman, Dubai, Bahrain, Aleppo, Luxor and Alexandria. "This continuous success will enable us to reach our goal, namely to transport 10 million travellers by 2010. We also have future expansionist plan that includes the opening of new stations," said Marwan Boodi, executive manager of the company. The magic of flying ON 10 MAY, British Airways launched its largest brand advertising campaign yet in Africa and the Gulf to increase its appeal in these growing and highly competitive markets. The centrepiece of the campaign is a 30-second television advertisement that aims to convey the anticipation, excitement and sense of wonder that flying can evoke by providing a glimpse of the experience though the eyes of a child. The television commercial will be backed by innovative use of events, direct marketing, PR and online advertising over the next seven months. The integrated campaign will also include a series of below- the-line promotions and events, themed around the magic of flying, to directly engage British Airways Executive Club members, the travel trade and the flying public. Hotels & resorts Royal and romantic pampering TWO special programmes were recently introduced by Four Seasons Resort Sharm El-Sheikh offering guests the royal treatment and an exceptional romantic getaway on the shores of the Red Sea. The Royal Dream Stay is a unique two-night stay in the resort's royal suite, beginning with a personal escort from the airport, and accommodation that features its own courtyard surrounded by greenery. The royal suite offers several terraces, a private garden, its own outdoor pool, whirlpool and private beach. The programme continues with an extraordinary in-suite massage for two, followed by dinner served on the suite's private beach. To complete the romantic ambiance, musicians play discreetly in the background. On the second day, guests enjoy a leisurely lunch cruise on board a private yacht to the nearby romantic island of Tiran. The evening is spent under the stars in the Sinai desert where Bedouins on camels welcome guests to their own candle-lit private oasis. The majestic experience continues with a gourmet Four Seasons dinner. Next morning, either breakfast in bed or breakfast in the suite's secluded garden can be enjoyed before being driven to the airport in a limousine. Romantic Memories is a three-night package for guests enjoying a romantic celebration such as a honeymoon, an anniversary or just time away from the kids. The programme includes luxurious sea view accommodation, limousine transport to and from the hotel, spa treatments, a candlelit dinner for two and a host of other surprise treats to make the holiday memorable. The Royal Dream Stay and Romantic Memories are available until 20 December 2006, subject to availability, and can be made on +2069 3603 555 or by e-mail at [email protected] Check safety first HYATT Regency Taba Heights recently achieved the highest average score in providing safe and hygienic food to its guests. The evaluation was done by the Check Safety First Ltd Organisation that has developed a food safety system called CRISTAL designed to assist hotels in producing safe and hygienic food for consumption by guests. Participating hotels are audited on a regular basis without prior warning and their standards are measured against a 250 points check list. There are currently 369 recommended hotels listed on checksafetyfirst.com drawn from a total of 850 hotels worldwide. Greek night in Alexandria ON THE OCCASION of Greek National day, Sheraton Montazah Hotel in Alexandria recently organised a Greek night in cooperation with a troupe of young Greeks who performed a number of dances. The event was attended by many Alexandrians as well as foreign communities who enjoyed a sumptuous open buffet dinner. In the next few months, Sheraton Montazah will organise regular Egyptian nights with an Oriental theme in which Egyptian food is offered along with belly dancing shows. Business travellers' winners READERS of Business Traveller Middle East magazine nominated Sheraton for 10 awards as best business hotel and runner-up. Nominations went to Starwood Preferred Guest as Best Loyalty Programme; and Sheraton Kuwait and Sheraton Doha as best business hotels in their cities during the magazine's annual award ceremony held in Dubai on 1 May. Sheraton also finished second runner-up for best hotel chain in the Middle East. Sheraton Amman and Sheraton Cairo were first runners up; and Sheraton Abu Dhabi, Sheraton Bahrain, Sheraton Jeddah, Sheraton Oman and Sheraton Riyadh were second runners-up as best business hotels in their respective cities. Four Seasons Golf sponsorship FOUR Seasons First Residence and Four Seasons Nile Plaza sponsored this year's Dreamland Golf Classics. Some 120 golfers participated in the 18-hole tournament held at the Dreamland resort on 27 April. The event, the seventh of its kind, brought together top local enthusiasts up for a challenge and more importantly, a day of fun. The contestants who comprised ladies and gentlemen from Cairo's diplomatic circles, multinational companies and business owners were divided into 30 flights of golfers who competed against each other. The tournament which lasted the whole day ended with an exquisite Four Seasons dinner for all the hungry participants. After comparing scores, prizes were handed out by Randi Shimabuku, general manager of Four Seasons First Residence and Cesare Rouchdi, senior director of Four Seasons Hotels Egypt. US beef promotion GRAND dining takes on a new meaning this June at the Revolving Restaurant at Grand Hyatt Cairo. Not only will visitors enjoy the breathtaking view from the highest located revolving restaurant in the Middle East, but they will also be able to indulge in the new menus, themed around specially imported and exquisite US beef. From 15 June and for 10 days, Grand Hyatt Cairo in collaboration with MIDO and US Meat Export Federation will be hosting a US beef promotion campaign in the revolving restaurant. The festival is a unique opportunity to create awareness amongst Grand Hyatt Cairo guests for high quality American beef. A display of America's delicious cuisine and quality beef will be the menu in the restaurant. New appointments in Rotana ROTANA Hotels Management Company recently appointed Mohamed Khorshed as the area director of sales and marketing, and Noha Bassili as the area marketing and communications manager for the Rotana chain in Egypt. Khorshed's numerous career accomplishments began in 1993 with leading hotel chains like InterContinental, Conrad and Radisson SAS, all leading him to his present post at the Rotana Cairo regional office. Bassili is a graduate of the American University in Cairo majoring in mass communications with specialisation in public relations and advertising. Prior to joining Rotana, she managed the public relations departments of Starwood properties by the Red Sea -- the Sheraton Soma Bay and the Sheraton Miramar El-Gouna Resorts for over three years. News Travco at Moscow's MITT A DELEGATION from Travco travel agency recently headed to Moscow to take part in this year's MITT at Moscow's Expo Centre, one of the five largest tourist exhibitions worldwide. In accordance with the company's regional plan to capitalise on the explosive growth of outbound Russian tourism, Travco has agreed with Mostravel, the company's agent in Russia, to increase the frequency of seven winter flights to 18 weekly flights to Sharm El-Sheikh and 13 to Hurghada as opposed to 14 and 12 weekly flights in 2006 respectively. Travco has succeeded in generating more than 20 per cent of Russian business in the Red Sea region during 2005 amounting to 126,000 arrivals, an impressive 109 per cent increase over 2004. As figures reveal, 46,098 Russian visitors visited Egypt during the first quarter of 2006, already a 45 per cent increase in arrivals over the same period last year. Feature country of MTF 2006 GREECE has been selected the Feature Country for Mediterranean Travel Fair (MTF) 2006, to take place in Egypt from 5 to 7 September. The Feature Country idea was initiated in 2005 by MTF organiser Reed Travel Exhibitions as part of its continued drive to deliver more value to participants. It was designed to achieve maximum visibility for a specific exhibiting destination every year, hence enabling it to capitalise on the full range of opportunities, which the event creates. Greece was selected as the 2006 Feature Country in light of the intensive advertising campaign it undertook prior and since the Olympics to market the country as a premier tourist destination. "We are certain that our participation as a Feature Country will significantly contribute to our ongoing profile-raising tourism campaign in Greece. Egypt is a very important market for us and so is the entire Eastern Mediterranean region and we strongly believe MTF is the right platform to use to access this whole region," a source at the Greek Ministry of Tourism said. Since its inception in 2000, MTF has established itself as a main platform for showcasing the tourism industry in the Eastern Mediterranean region and enhancing awareness of existing opportunities by bringing key industry players face to face under one roof. Arab promotion LAST week, a road show that included a delegation from Egyptian tourist officials headed by Sayed Mehrez, deputy head of the Egyptian Tourist Authority, businessmen and travel agents headed to Bahrain and Qatar. The visit aims at promoting the Egyptian tourism in an attempt to encourage Arab tourists and investors to travel to Egypt for leisure and business through direct contact with the two countries' officials and businessmen. Road safety STARTING 1 January, no tourist bus will be allowed to operate without having installed a special device guaranteeing that all buses adhere to the maximum speed limit. The decision was taken by the Supreme Committee for Preventing Road Accidents, headed by Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garannah. Garannah said measures should be taken to prevent deadly tourist bus accidents and that he would punish any company that neglects the application of security criteria. The minister is working on issuing a ministerial decree to force travel agents to fix a speed limit device in their buses. The deadline for installation is the end of December.
