Invitations have always been an essential part for anyone in the travel business - from air, ship, rail and bus tickets, which are literally invitations to travel - to the various invitations to parties and receptions surrounding such events as the ATM, WTM and ITB.
In fact from our first birthday invitations to our friends and classmates, which we diligently made with crayons (today replaced with a sophisticated computer generated card) to our wedding invites, there is always something special about designing, choosing or receiving these courteous requests..
The ancient Egyptians sent their invitations out on papyrus scrolls, the kings and queens of old, sent their red sealed letters by courier, some went by pigeon post, others by pony express or in the pouch of a royal herald, but all of them generally meant an important date in the diary of the recipients.
Today, I still enjoy receiving a gold embossed card to invite me to a horse race, or a card with an accompanying T-shirt to the Rugby Sevens, or to a tennis tournament - and that is why, I still find it impersonal and quite soulless to print out my own ticket in this paperless society of ours.
Being an impulsive collector of many things including elephants in all shapes and sizes and made from different materials (except ivory), Bakelite items, teapots of the old and also mini variety, as well as old perfume bottles. I have saved a few fancy invitations in my life from flight inaugurals, travel marts, communions and weddings but I have to admit that I have never in a lifetime of travel ever seen an invitation as posh as the one announcing the new Atlantis Hotel in Dubai.
The invitation to the gala opening of this iconic hotel consists of a prestigious blue box containing 12 miniature crystal icons of famous buildings around the world. These are the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt; The Empire State Building, USA; Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, England; St. Basil’s Cathedral, Russia; The Taj Mahal, India; Sydney Opera House, Australia; The Eiffel Tower, France; The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy and The Atlantis, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt would have approved of this invitation, especially as one of their icons, the Giza Pyramids, is one of the twelve icons as would Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, also part of this sparkling invitation.
There is a correlation between the online paper air tickets and the Atlantis invitation. On the one hand, we have an industry, which is losing its allure, as it becomes more and more common place to fly around the world, which I think is a big pity. On the other hand, there are still some entrepreneurs like Sol Kerzner, who has the vision to create the one-of-a-kind hotel, which stands out as a landmark in a sometimes uniform world of mediocrity.
Try thinking of the hotels you best remember and you will find, that it is always the ones, where a magic wand of creativity has been waved over them.
I recall the fleet of boats, which carry one to the lobby and reception desks at the Desert Springs Marriott Hotel or the famous Rolls Royces of the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, the gondolas at the luxurious Hotel Cipriana in Venice and not forgetting the views and top service dripping with quality at the Oriental Hotel on the riverside in Bangkok.
Nearer to home is the Burj Al Arab on its own man-made island with a helicopter pad on top of the hotel, from which golf and tennis stars have launched several “Visit Dubai” campaigns.
In this world of computers, which help the travel industry to move at such lightening speed, there are still many punters, who yearn for the pace of yesteryear and that is the area where I come from - Caribbean luxury cruises, train journeys in Africa and the USA, safaris - luxury, luxury, luxury....
Will the economic and banking melt-down affect the travel trade? Initially, perhaps, there will inevitably be a tightening of belts, but the Middle East has survived many such traumas in the past and fortunately we seem to be in a part of the world, where the airlines are buying new aircraft, as if it was the last day on earth. These aircraft have to be filled with passengers and travellers and we have to help them to make sure that the travel trade flourishes.
“The last thing I am going to cut down on is my vacation after having worked hard all year long”, one of my friends said. I hope that is the sentiment of many nationals and expats living in the Gulf region.
The dictionary states that “an invitation means literally to go somewhere or do something”, but it can also indicate an incentive or an offer - the possibilities are endless and the connotations can be quite alluring.
Speaking Out by Jonna Simon