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news to use MIDDLE EAST Oman has reasons for a stopover


BY LAURA GELDER Oman Air, Oman’s Ministry of


Tourism and other tourism stakeholders have joined forces to launch an incentive giving visitors ‘one free night in Oman’, when they make a stopover in the Sultanate. Until December 22, 2012, anyone booking a stopover on Oman Air’s international routes will receive a free night and breakfast for bookings of two to three days. Some participating resorts and hotels are also offering further incentives such as third night discounts and free airport transfers. Hotels in the scheme include Muscat


hotels Al Bustan Palace, The Grand Hyatt Muscat, Intercontinental and Shangri La hotels Al Waha, Al Bandar and Al Husn, Radisson Blu and Tulip Inn. Out of Muscat participating hotels include Jebel Shams Resort, Salalah Marriott Resort and the Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve Centre. The Omani government has recently changed its visa fees, which now include


Jebel Ali gets watercooled


Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa has


signed a deal with Watercooled Watersports that brings the specialist company’s high-tech watersports equipment and top-quality instruction to the sports-focused Dubai resort. From this month Watercooled’s new watersports beach ‘Club House’ will provide tuition and training from experienced and qualified instructors, with the accreditation of internationally recognised qualifications also available. The range of watersports on offer includes dinghy sailing, hobie catamarans, stand-up paddle boards, windsurfers, kayaks, kite-surfing, water-skiing, wake boarding, Zap Cat thrill rides and towed inflatables. Courses for 'yoga on a stand- up paddle board' are also available. A programme of sailing events with a


racing schedule for enthusiasts is currently being planned, together with a variety of improver sailing courses and workshops for beginners. www.jebelali-international.com


12 March 2012 • www.sellinglonghaul.com


Dubai hotel sector booms


Twenty seven new hotels are due


to open in Dubai this year, including properties from Hilton, Marriott, Starwood Hotels and Resorts. and InterContinental Hotels. Others include those from Meliá Hotels International, Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Tiara Hotels and Resorts, Kempinski and the Taj Hotels Resorts Group. Mövenpick will open the 180-unit Residence the Square Dubai in the first quarter, along with a 324- room Oceana Hotel and Spa in the Palm Jumeirah. www.dubaitourism.ae


an OMR 5 (£8.20) fee for a single-entry tourism visa for up to 10 days, which is a decrease of 75 per cent (Group One countries include the UK). Cruise arrival visas are free for up to


24 hours or OMR 5 for multiple visits. The existing fee of OMR 20 (£32) for a single entry visa for up to a month remains in place. http://holidays.omanair.com


Jumeirah guests dive for pearls Hospitality group Jumeirah is now


offering its guests in Dubai a new pearl diving experience where they can learn about the pearling traditions that once provided the main source of income for people living in the region. Guests will be briefed at Palm


Jebel Ali and provided with diving gear before boarding a dhow boat. After enjoying singing, storytelling and


a Emirati fish and rice lunch onboard the vessel, participants will dive to depths of up to five metres in search of pearls that can be kept as souvenirs. www.jumeirah.com


MIDDLE EAST IN BRIEF


Emirates correction In our Dubai feature in February's


Selling Long Haul we stated that Emirates is launching two new daily flights from Heathrow to Dubai (January 24 and March 24.) This is incorrect: the airline will continue to operate five daily flights from Heathrow but two services will be operated by A380 aircraft. www.emirates.com


Dubai Mall gets bigger The world’s biggest mall in Dubai is to expand by a further one million sq ft. The growth, which comes on the back of plans to build a pedestrian footbridge from the mall to the metro station, will add new hotel rooms, restaurants and shops. Dubai Mall has over 1,200 stores and 160 food and beverage outlets. www.dubaitourism.ae


Shop to Dubai with Travel 2 Travel 2 has teamed up with Definitely Dubai and Emirates to offer travel agents the chance to win £1,000 of shopping vouchers. Until the end of March, agents who book a holiday to Dubai, flying with Emirates, with a minimum five nights' accommodation will be in with a chance of the top prize. www.travel2.com


Abu Dhabi's new St. Regis


The St. Regis Abu Dhabi hotel


will open this August on the Corniche in downtown Abu Dhabi, featuring Rhodes 44, a restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Gary Rhodes. The hotel is scheduled to start


serving on August 15 as part of the Nation Towers development The restaurant will offer cuisine


with Arabic influences and follows Rhodes’ two other restaurants in the region, both in Dubai. St. Regis Abu Dhabi will feature


283 rooms, including 40 suites, eight restaurants and bars, a spa, more than 4,800 sq m of meeting and event space, and over 3,000 sq m of dedicated beach and health club facilities, including two outdoor swimming pools and the signature St. Regis Butler Service. www.stregis.com/abudhabi


Keep up to date with all the news, views and new hotel openings in the Middle East by regularly visiting www.SellingLongHaul.com


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