Airlines & airports Express goes regional STARTING September, Express Company, EgyptAir's new company for domestic and regional routes, will start its regional trips from Alexandria to Beirut three times a week. Also starting October, there will be daily trips between Sharm El-Sheikh and Jeddah and Sharm El-Sheikh and Amman. Express Airlines started operating in June. New Emirates Airbus EMIRATES, the Dubai-based international airline, will purchase eight additional Airbus A380s, bringing to 55 its total order of this advanced double decker aircraft. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, signed a letter of intent with Airbus President and CEO Louis Gallois at the Paris Air Show. The deal is worth an estimated $2.6 billion in list prices. "The A380 is a technologically advanced aircraft that fits perfectly with our projected growth strategy," said Sheikh Ahmed. "The A380 will be instrumental in helping Emirates meet its growing passenger demand using one of the most efficient, quietest and greenest aircraft ever produced. It will give us some of the lowest seat costs in the industry, and will allow us to offer more passenger comfort and amenities on board." Emirates will take delivery of its first A380, powered by GP7200 engines, in the third quarter of 2008. The eight additional aircraft ordered are expected to be delivered over 16 months, starting from July 2011. Cairo Airport receives charters MINISTER of Aviation Ahmed Shafiq recently approved the opening of Cairo International Airport to weekly charter trips of foreign companies as part of the gradual implementation of Egypt's open skies. Shafiq said an earlier decision not to open Cairo International Airport for charter flights was taken to prepare for the open skies policy gradually and to maintain Egypt's national company and airports as well as to increase Egypt's potential before converting Cairo Airport to an international hub to attract the transit movement. Hotels & resorts New appointments in Hilton HILTON Hotels in Egypt has expanded its team, with the appointment of Noha Bassily as regional public relations manager based in the company's new regional office in Cairo. In her new role, Noha will be responsible for directing the Hilton's PR and Communications strategies, closely working with the regional marketing and PR team directed by Rasha Azab, regional marketing and PR director for Hilton Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Africa. She will play a key role in strengthening Hilton's brand awareness in Egypt, positioning the company as the "First Choice of the World's Travellers". Bassily joins Hilton from Rotana Egypt where she was area marketing and communications manager, and prior to this she was managing the PR departments of Sheraton Soma Bay and Sheraton Miramar resorts. She is a graduate of the American University in Cairo, majoring in mass communications with a specialisation in public relations and advertising. Seafood delicacies at Zitouni THIS SUMMER, the Lebanese restaurant Zitouni, at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza, is offering its guests an unforgettable dining experience. With its experienced team of chefs, led by Lebanese chef Najwa Al-Zarief, Zitouni offers power breakfasts, buffet business lunches and casual dinners. With the many tantalising flavours of Lebanon that come alive at Zitouni, the Friday Brunch Buffet is a perfect way for everyone in the family to get together. Especially made for seafood lovers of the Mediterranean, Zitouni has added several new seafood specialties to its popular Friday Brunch Buffet. This is in addition to the mouthwatering appetisers, breads, mezzas, soups, grilled dishes, and desserts already offered. With two new stations solely dedicated to seafood and salmon, diners can choose from a diverse range of delicacies which include shrimp salad with tomatoes stuffed with lobster tartar, hamour terrine with eggplant and mozzarella cheese, gravlax salmon with asparagus, salmon en Bellevue and a lot more. Climate changes at Cairo Marriott CELEBRATING World Environment Day and following Marriott International's slogan, "Environmentally Cautious Hospitality Operations", the Cairo Marriott Hotel recently held an awareness seminar called "Climate changes" for its associates. Attendance was high as among the topics discussed were the causes of climate change, its impact, what could be done to reduce its severity, global warming, the relationship between environmental pollution and tourism and environment friendly measures that the hotel will apply in the near future. "We as Marriott's associates should take care of our hotel's environment to keep up its standard and satisfy our guests," Ulrich Huth, the general manager of the Cairo Marriott Hotel, said in his address at the seminar. "People are seeking a pure and clean environment and guests feel satisfied on seeing a clean place and beautiful scenes. This way we will be presenting good service in a clean environment while serving our community," Huth added. Mövenpick appointments ALAA Mansour, vice-president of finance for Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts in Africa, has appointed Ahmed Salah the financial manager for their Egypt- based office. Salah enjoys more than 18 years of experience, most of which he spent working for Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Salah was previously financial controller for the Mövenpick Nile Cruisers in Egypt. Al-Mandara opens IN SUMMER, Ramses Hilton Hotel opened its open-air terrace Al-Mandara. Every night, guests can enjoy the cool summer breeze with a variety of charcoal grilled meat, delicious chicken, oriental dishes, shisha and drinks. In Al-Mandara, baladi bread is freshly baked as you watch. Beauty at Four Seasons FOUR Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence held its second event for the exclusive First Residence Ladies Club. The theme of the event was beauty and wellness where renowned make-up artist Mahmoud Rashad was invited as host of the day. Rashad demonstrated the newest trends in make-up using the latest products by Christian Berton, Make-up Forever, SLA, Rimmel and Ingrid Millet. Ladies got the opportunity to ask questions and become familiar with the latest tips and hints for beauty this summer. Heba Mohsen, the manager of the spa and wellness centre at the hotel, and her team took guests on a tour of the mystical world of body and soul, getting them acquainted with some of the most ancient massages in the world. Hilton party HILTON Hotels Egypt recently held their annual party on the golf course in Dream Land. On a night of art and celebration, the international Cirque du Soleil performed its magic for the first time in Egypt, marking the outstanding accomplishments of Hilton Hotels Egypt throughout the year. This was followed by a special performance by Lebanese pop star Miriam Fares. Guests were received by members of Hilton's top team including Jean-Paul Herzog, president of Hilton Middle East and Africa, and Simon Hazdell, vice-president of Hilton Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Africa. Among the 2,500 guests were Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana and Minister of Finance Youssef Boutros Ghali, as well as some of Egypt's most prominent businessmen, many valued members of the tourism industry and a select group of distinguished artists and journalists. InterContinental cleaning day AS PART of InterContinental Citystars Hotel's social responsibility, which aims at a cleaner environment for the entire country, InterContinental Cairo Citystars organised an environmental cleaning day at Wadi Degla. Hotel management and staff shared in the occasion during which they helped clean up six kilometres of Wadi Degla. The Greeks are coming SHERATON Montazah Hotel Alexandria organised a Greek night at the Coquillage Café for guests and visitors. Attendees enjoyed a rich dinner buffet of Greek specialties, live Greek songs and folklore shows. At the end, raffle prizes were distributed to the best dance couple. Cristal award AS PART of Cristal's "Check Safety First" global award programme, Le Meridien Heliopolis Hotel was selected the hotel of the year after winning the regional award prize in food safety and general hygiene based on international hazard analysis, or HACCP. The system sees to it that all possible care is taken to ensure that the food served in the hotel is of the highest quality in regards to hygiene and guest safety. Bondoqa on the Nile SHERATON Cairo Hotel recently inaugurated Bondoqa Café on the Nile, characterised by modern light décor and a variety of Lebanese and oriental delicacies, drinks, fresh cocktails and shisha, accompanied by music. PR meeting in Hilton MOUNIR Sami, general manager of Ramses Hilton Hotel, welcomed Samantha Wood, area director of PR and communications Middle East & Africa Hilton Hotels, during her business trip to Egypt, with a special lunch at the Mahraja Indian restaurant. Wood was on a business trip to Egypt where she visited Hilton and Conrad hotels in Taba, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada and also met PR managers of each hotel. Stars in Hurghada Marriott BIDDING farewell to the summer, Hurghada Marriott Beach Resort recently held a Stars Cocktail reception on its breathtaking private island Stars Island. Travel agencies, tour operators, banks, corporate companies and select press contacts were invited. A live band ensured that no one remained seated. Royal visit CROWN Prince of Kuwait Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah chose Grand Hyatt Cairo to meet Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif during a visit marking recent economic progress between the two countries. News Marsa Alam-Edfu opens THE MARSA-Alam Edfu road was recently inaugurated in an attempt to revive tourism in Upper Egypt. The new road links the Red Sea area with the tourist cities of Luxor and Aswan in Upper Egypt and shortens the distance between the two sites. Tourists coming from the Red Sea can now use the Marsa Alam-Edfu-Luxor road instead of the old road of Marsa Alam-Safaga-Qena-Luxor. The first route takes six hours whereas the latter takes only three. Work on the 230km road started in 2005 by the General Organisation of Roads and Bridges in cooperation with the governorates of the Red Sea and Aswan as well as the ministries of tourism and interior. The Ministry of Tourism contributed LE7.7 million to the project. Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana said the new road will increase tourist movement from the Red Sea to Upper Egypt which will help in mixing leisure with culture tourism. Garana added that tourists coming to the Red Sea beaches could visit Egyptian tourist sites in Upper Egypt, without wasting time, by travelling from the Red Sea cities to Edfu, Luxor and Aswan which will increase movement to these cities all year round. Tourist centres in Fayoum THE MINISTRIES of tourism and environment have approved the establishment of a new tourist centre in Fayoum on the northern coast of Lake Qaroun. Magdi El-Qubbeisi, governor of Fayoum, said the centre will be built on 3,000 feddans and will include 18,000 hotel rooms with investments of up to LE3.6 billion. The centre will serve around 100,000 tourists who are expected to record nine million tourist nights. El-Qubbeisi said the development of the northern coast of Lake Qaroun includes the establishment of three tourist centres with investments reaching LE5.5 billion. He said he believed the plan would put Fayoum on the local and international tourist map. Mauritius-Egyptian ties MINISTER of Tourism Zoheir Garana recently met Charles Ga�tan Xavier Luc Duval, Mauritius deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, leisure and external communications, to discuss bilateral ties between the two countries as well as tourism cooperation. Duval told Al-Ahram Weekly that tourism in Mauritius was considered one of the pillars of the economy and that his visit aimed at benefiting from the Egyptian tourist experience in leisure as well as cultural tourism. He said there were promising fields for cooperation between the two countries in tourism and hotels, textiles and food products. Mauritius receives 900,000 tourists annually and tourist revenues are high. It seeks to increase the number of tourists by 10 per cent every year. Events Lawrence meets Cleopatra UNDER the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco and organised by Princess Catherine Colonna de Stigliano, Monaco's annual "Bal de l'eté" held earlier this month, was graced by the world's glitterati. A different theme is chosen for the ball every year, with previous years including Africa (Out of Africa), Polynesia (O Tahiti E) and India (Indian Summer Night). The 2007 theme was "Lawrence of Arabia meets Cleopatra" and was sponsored by the luxurious Red Sea resort of El-Gouna and Orascom Telecom. Princess Catherine, who organises this top notch gala, was inspired by Egyptian heritage and culture from her previous visit to Egypt. An A-list of 900 guests from the greatest families of Europe and the world were exclusively invited to the Ball. Guests of honour representing Egypt included Naguib Sawiris, CEO Orascom Telecom, Samih Sawiris, CEO Orascom Hotels & Development, the owning company of El-Gouna, actress Youssra, businessman Mounir Ghabbour, Yasmine El-Sadat and Farouk Younis. Also among the attendees were Egyptian designer Marie Louis Bishara, Taher Helmi, Ashraf Ramadan and Mayar Abdel-Aziz, VP Marketing for Orascom Hotels and Development, who attended on behalf of Samih Sawiris; Raymond Khalife, chairman of Orascom Hotels Holding; Farag Abaza and Susan Sabet of Pashion Magazine; Sabrine El-Hossami, director of PR at Orascom Telecom; Dina Erfan, actress Bo Derek, actress Ursula Andress, Prince Felix of Luxembourg, Michel Bouquier, director of Tourism and the Congresses of Monaco; Alexander Moghadam; Roger Dubuis; and Peter Deeb, CEO of Hampton and Co. Guests dined around the Monte Carlo Beach swimming pool, enjoyed cocktails in the Sporting Gardens, bid on Christie's auctioned items, dined in the Room of Stars, and brunched at l'Hôtel de Paris. To the rhythm of Ibrahim El-Minyawi's tablah, the enjoyment ranged from Pharaonic deserts to the banks of the Nile, ornamented with oriental carpets, papyrus menus, lotus flowers, and sand decorations, created by Sabine Panizzi and Dior fashion guru John Galliano. All VIP guests who attended this prestigious event were invited to spend a week in El-Gouna. The event succeeded in drawing attention to a very important segment of Egyptian society and to Egypt's rich culture, as well as its modern attractions represented by a business unit like Orascom Telecom and top resort El-Gouna which is comparable to the best holiday destinations in the world.
