UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Hans Olbertz, General Manager of Emirates Palace Another point is that the Emirates Palace has been operated by Kempinski Hotels and Resort, a very established hotel company. At present we have 59 hotels around the world and in the next 2 years we will open another 40. With the network Kempinski we promote the Emirates Palace in our portfolio, plus with all our partners and that in itself is a great deal. I think the destination is much better known then before. Naturally with the destination comes the Emirates Palace.

Le Meridien Al Aqah, Fujairah Top Hotel

July 6, 2008

Patrick W. Antaki, General Manager of Le Meridien Al Aqah In the long term it’s going to impact Fujairah in a pretty serious way. Already in the short term, it’s not even built and already people are talking about moving their houses from Dubai to Fujairah because of the differences in rent. If you imagine people arriving here to this hotel, at the Meridien Al Aqah, they have to come through the Dibba side and that takes about an hour and a half time.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Global Village, Dubai Culture Destination

June 23, 2008

Abdul Redha Ali Bin Redha, Project Director of Global Village As you know, the Global Village has a strong history of bringing all cultures and countries under one umbrella. So, from that concept,Global Village is going to the international market saying that Global Village has different representatives from different countries, retailers and shows representing many countries. All that will be offered under one umbrella to our visitors. Global Village is basically focusing on and promoting the Global Village but at the same time Dubai as a secure and safe city attracting people from all over the world.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

UAE Football Association, UAE Football

June 19, 2008

Mohammad Khalfan Al Rumaithi, President of UAE Football Association The main limitation is the number of players and talents in UAE Football. Still the UAE is not like many countries around us. Many things have been changing: the kids do not play football like they used to do 30 or 35 years ago and UAE Football is therefore reducing its talent pool. When I was young we plaid football the whole day when we wouldn´t have school. But now it is rare to see kids playing football in the neighbourhood.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Sharjah Tourism, Cultural Tourism

May 7, 2008

Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Director General of Sharjah Commerce & Tourism Development Authority Sharjah is well known to be a dry state, hence the Sharjah Cultural Tourism.Having said that, it has nice entertainment developed for families and Culture Tourism. Sharjah tries to have a lot of cultural activities. For example, a while back, four months ago we had Sharjah Heritage Days which coincided with United Nations Culture Days. There is also Sharjah Theatre Days, Sharjah Book Fair, and more.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Dubai Tourism Destination

May 6, 2008

Khalid A. Bin Sulayem, Director General of Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing Dubai Tourism numbers are quite high but Dubai Tourism uses another indicator: the contribution of tourism in Dubai economy is around 30% including both direct and indirect factors. If you take the global contribution of tourism to the economy it’s 10%. In addition, Dubai has one of the highest occupancy rates in the world now. These are strong indicators, which encourage Dubai and people abroad to invest in this sector.

marcopolis UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Dubai Aviation Club, Premier Club in Dubai

April 1, 2008

Gerard Kearney, General Manager of Aviation Club Dubai Aviation Club is a mixing place, it’s a meeting place, people network in Dubai Aviation Club all the time. You know the old story: you go on the golf course and have business done there. We find the same thing here at the Dubai Aviation Club. Arguably the premier leisure facility of Dubai and undoubtedly one of its most popular venues. The Aviation Club has it all. Whether seeking a tranquil oasis to escape the bustle of the city, a state-of-the-art fitness and recreation centre, a lively and entertaining social hub, a myriad of dining options or a chance to relax in Dubai’s newest and most elegant spa, The Aviation Club Dubai always has you in mind.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Coral International Hotels

March 23, 2008

H.E. Sheikh Mohammed bin Faisal Al Qassimi, Chairman & CEO of Manafa & Vice-Chairman of Coral International Hotels, Resorts & Spas My company, Manafa, is a holding company for different investments, it has operations in hospitality – Coral International Hotels we have the HMH which is a hotel management company that manages Coral International Hotels that has 4 brands of varying standards. We have 10 different corporations around the UAE and we hope to expand that to 35 in the future which would add a lot to the tourism industry in Sharjah and the UAE.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Metropolitan Hotel, Habtoor Hotels

March 18, 2008

Janes Warwick, General Manager of Metropolitan – Habtoor Hotels Metropolitan Hotel brand recognition has come over the years, Metropolitan Hotel has over the years built it up. Actually, we just changed, we were known as the Metropolitan and now we’re Habtoor Hotels. With this change in times, we’ve changed our logo and our image. So we’ve gone from Metropolitan Hotels to Habtoor Hotels, our logo has changed, our vision has changed.

UAE Tourism and Culture Interviews

Monarch Dubai Hotel

March 16, 2008

Henning A. Fries, General Manager for The Monarch Dubai and Regional Director UAE for Refad Hotels & Resorts Well, our group has 14 different brands and the Monarch Dubai brand is the high end brand, it is a five star deluxe property. That speaks to a very different clientele than our other brands speak to. Monarch Dubai is a favourite destination for the influential people.