Cirque du Soleil returns to Dubai
Dubai will host early next year the spectacular Cirque du Soleil for a month long engagement. Nakheel will bring the Cirque du Soleil back to Dubai as a prelude to the resident show that Cirque Du Soleil are developing specifically for Dubai and which is scheduled to open in a purpose built 1,800 seat theatre on Palm Jumeirah in 2011. Next year’s month long run will see Cirque du Soleil showcase it’s highly acclaimed big top show Alegría, which includes a breathtaking performance from artists from 17 countries and some of the most memorable musical moments from Cirque du Soleil’s repertoire. Alegría will be held at Dubai’s Ibn Battuta Mall from March 5 to April 5, 2009.
Kanoo Travel in Qatar expansion
Kanoo Travel has announced the expansion of its Qatar operations with the opening of its new office at Ras Laffan Industrial City and a new state-of-the-art corporate services centre in Doha.
“Kanoo Travel is making infrastructural investments across the region to meet our customers’ needs. By opening the new offices, we want to ensure that we continue to provide high quality services to our customers as well as best price deals in the region,” said Mubarak Kanoo, chairman and CEO, Kanoo Travel.
The new round-the-clock service centre in Doha is equipped with the latest call centre equipment and enhanced management information reporting (MIR) to meet the customers’ needs.
Egypt announces steps to boost tourism
Egypt will exempt hotels from paying contributions to the country’s tourism promotion authority and will cut fees paid by charter flights to help its tourism industry cope with the global financial crisis.
Egypt’s tourism industry, has started to feel the pinch of the global financial crisis, with hotel bookings down 30 per cent in January 2009 compared to the same month in 2008. The state news agency Mena said the ministry of tourism would also set up a working group to deal with the fallout of the crisis, with measures being reviewed and changed every three months. Other exemptions include reducing landing and take-off fees, as well as ground handling fees for charter flights, and waive them entirely for charter flights that make 11 trips to designated destinations in the span of three months. The ministry would also change its broadcast advertisement campaigns to focus on promoting Egypt as an affordable holiday destination.
WTM raises funds for children worldwide
Money raised for water-aid charity Just a Drop during World Travel Market this year will help fund projects in Zambia, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Uganda. The total of £46,000 ($67,000) was the largest amount ever donated to the cause at the event. This money will go towards funding a scheme to bring clean water to 200 children and their families at the Zambian village of Siazibola.
Other Just a Drop initiatives include a sanitation and clean water project to help the endangered Mangyan tribe living on Mindoro Island in the Philippines. In Afghanistan, Just a Drop is helping to fund the building of a fully equipped delivery room complex with clean hot and cold water, powered by solar.
Ten families from the Ugandan village of Mitukula will also benefit from the money raised at World Travel Market. Just a Drop is funding a project providing clean water and latrines.