JEDDAH: The newly opened Elaf Jeddah Hotel held its first event with an iftar party for the media on Sunday. “The new hotel, located in the Red Sea Mall complex, is the Kingdom’s 11th property of Elaf Travel, Tourism & Hotels,” Elaf’s President Ziyad Ahmed Bin Mahfouz said. Elaf has eight other hotels in Makkah and two in Madinah. The Elaf Group is part of SEDCO. The hotel’s General Manager for Business Development Ehab A. Eid said Elaf had plans to provide additional 2,400 rooms in the next four years in the two holy cities and Jeddah. “These will increase Elaf’s hotel rooms in these cities to 5,000,” he added. The five-star Jeddah property has over 150 rooms including executive and diplomatic suites. Within two weeks of its opening, the Jeddah hotel is getting busy with Umrah visitors, Eid added.
Gulf Air expands its network into Iraq
BAHRAIN: Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, is expanding its network into Iraq. The airline will commence flights four times per week to Najaf from Sept. 26, which will become a daily service from Oct. 26. Services to Erbil will begin on Oct. 26 with three flights per week, which will also become a daily service in due course. Gulf Air’s service to Najaf, in the south of Iraq, will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using an A320 aircraft. Service to Erbil, in Northern Iraq, will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, also using an A320 aircraft. The announcement follows the successful launch of flights to Baghdad a week ago.
Holiday Inn opens on Jordan’s Red Sea
RIYADH: InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the opening of its second Holiday Inn property in Jordan and its first on the Dead Sea. “The Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea offers visitors to what is widely described as a natural wonder of the world,” said John Bamsey, chief operating officer, IHG Middle East and Africa. “We already have a strong presence in Jordan, so it was a natural decision to extend our portfolio to one of the Kingdom’s most popular tourist sites.”
‘Dollar Deal’ at Coral Hotels & Resorts
DUBAI: The Dollar Promotion, running at Coral Hotels & Resorts across the Middle East, has yielded significant results with hotels seeing a boost in RevPAR compared to the last few months. The Coral properties in Saudi Arabia and the UAE offering the promotion saw a high influx of guests, thus bucking the trend of falling RevPAR being recorded in the industry across the Gulf. The deal gives guests a chance to stay for two nights at a promotional summer rate while enjoying the third night for only $1. This offer is on until mid-September. Rushdi Al-Ashkar, regional director of sales for Coral Hotels & Resorts, and the initiator of the promotion, said: “The Dollar Promotion has been a runaway success at our hotels and is undoubtedly the biggest bargain of the season.”
Air Arabia, Travco Group to launch LCC in Egypt
SHARJAH: Air Arabia, described as the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, and Travco Group, claimed to be the Middle East’s largest travel and hospitality group, have signed a joint venture agreement to launch an LCC based in Egypt. The new carrier will serve Asia, Africa and Europe, and will represent Air Arabia’s third hub after the UAE and Morocco. Building upon Air Arabia’s existing services to 57 destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe, the new airline will contribute to the ongoing development of the Egyptian travel and tourism sector. Hamed El Chiaty, chairman and CEO of Travco Group, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Thani, chairman of Air Arabia participated in the signing ceremony.