RIYADH, 30 October 2004 - Hotel Al Khozama, a Rosewood hotel, renowned as the businessmen's first choice in Riyadh, has announced the completion of the second phase of a major refurbishment program. The process has included the installation of new ceilings, lighting, carpets, furniture and fabrics in 115 rooms and seven suites. In addition to this upgrade with an investment of SR4 million, the hotel has also transformed a selection of rooms into double or twin connecting bedrooms. "The new additions and latest upgrades to our rooms and suites are designed to enhance the guest experience," hotel manager Hussein Hatata said. "It has always been, and always will be, our endeavor to reward our loyal guests a truly unique product that is unmatched in the capital for quality and levels of guest service," Michael A. Gibb, regional vice president and managing director of Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, said, adding that there is a commitment to complete the third and final phase of the renovation during 2005. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Rosewood Hotels & Resorts manages properties worldwide including the Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh, the Mansion of Turtle Creek in Dallas, the Carlyle in New York, Las Ventanas al Paraise in Los Cabos, Mexico, Hotel Seiyo Ginza in Tokyo, and a triumvirate of world-class Caribbean properties - Little Dix Bay on Virgin Gorda, Cancel Bay on St. John and Jumby Bay on Antigua.
Sheraton Jeddah Observes Housekeeping Week
JEDDAH, 30 October 2004 - Sheraton Jeddah Hotel celebrated its housekeeping week earlier this month. The week long program created by Syed Rizwan Haider, supervisor, and encouraged by Daniel R. Marcellana, executive housekeeper, aimed to thank all housekeeping associates for their work and daily efforts to keep Sheraton Jeddah's guestrooms clean and to ensure that the guests are fully satisfied. Resident Manager Mohammed Hawash said the project is meant to encourage, motivate and reward its housekeeping associates for a job well done. "It goes a long way in building morale and team sprit among associates," he said. Activities during the week included entertainment, training seminars in cleanliness, grooming, sanitation based on the guidelines of Starwood ABC's of housekeeping.
Singapore Airlines Tops in Travel Polls
JEDDAH, 30 October 2004 - Singapore Airlines (SIA) has clinched the top spot in surveys conducted by several influential publications in the UK, Germany, Japan, the United States and Hong Kong. "The awards are a recognition of the effort of staff across the SIA Group who consistently pushed the service boundaries for their traveling guests," SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng said. "We don't set out specifically to win awards. We simply aspire to provide our passengers with the very best airline service. These awards are received by SIA as tributes to all our staff for the good work hey do," Chew said. In the UK, readers of the Daily Telegraph voted SIA as the "best scheduled airline" in its 7th annual travel awards survey. Its 8.5 million readers participated in the exercise. In the business traveler UK awards, the airline won the "best cabin crew" title. Readers of Executive Travel magazine ranked SIA as the top airline in the categories of "best first class service (international)" and "best airline for flights to Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand). Analysts and editors of Euromoney voted SIA as the "best managed airline in Asia, while readers of Conde Nast Traveller UK named it as the "best business airline." In Germany, the travel magazine Reisen Exklusive surveyed the product offerings of all major airlines and gave SIA the bet first class award. The airline also received awards from the US-based Travel & Leisure magazine, Hong Kong-based Business Traveller Asia-Pacific magazine and Japan's AB Road magazine.
Tourism Breaks Australia Olympic Record
JEDDAH, 30 October 2004 - Travelers to Australia from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab world have increased by 16 percent during the last financial year. "This confirms the growing interest in Australia as a tourism destination for visitors from the region," Rodney Harrex, Tourism Australia's business development manager for Western Hemisphere, said. For the first half of 2004, the number of international visitors to Australia grew to 2.4 million providing good reason for the industry to be cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the remainder of the year. "In the first six months of the year, tourist numbers have grown by 15 percent compared to the previous year," he added. As for the Arab world, the growth has been phenomenal, with a 24 percent increase, he said, adding that the latest figures highlighted the importance of international tourism marketing to ensure a strong recovery for Australian tourism. The industry has produced a record result off the back of one of the most challenging periods for tourism to Australia. This remarkable recovery highlights Australia's resilience as a destination and the importance of our post-SARS marketing efforts internationally to ensure travelers continue to travel to and experience Australia. During 2003-04, Australia received around 400,000 more international visitors than the previous year, which equals around $1 billion in export earnings for the country's economy.
Skywards Extends Charity Miles Donation
DUBAI, 30 October 2004 - Skywards, the award-winning frequent flyer program of Emirates and SriLankan Airlines, has extended its charity donation initiative throughout Ramadan. To mark the program's one millionth member, Skywards had donated one million miles each to UNICEF and CARE International, and invited members to get involved and make a difference by making their own donation of miles through the Skywards website. Brian LaBelle, Skywards' vice president, said CARE International and UNICEF were chosen by Skywards from among a number of goodwill organizations that operate on a global scale. The charities will each receive miles equivalent to 25 return economy class flights between Dubai and any Western European destination or 20 return economy class flights between Dubai and the Far East. The miles can be used for flights worldwide to speed volunteers, aid workers and medical personnel to places where they can help those in need.
Gulf Air BMI Conclude Codeshare Accord
BAHRAIN, 30 October 2004 - Gulf Air and British carrier BMI have concluded an expanded codeshare agreement. For the first time, the British carrier will place its code on Gulf Air-operated flights. Specifically, they will place their marketing code on Gulf Air flights between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Muscat. The expansion, which comes into effect tomorrow, extends the existing codeshare arrangement whereby Gulf Air places its marketing code on bmi flights operating to 10 destinations - between London Heathrow and Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, Teesside, Leeds Bradford, Aberdeen, Dublin, Brussels and Amsterdam. "This agreement will allow passengers holding tickets of either airline to travel on the flights of the other carrier and will facilitate an increased choice and service offering for premium passengers and the general public," said Fareed Al Alawi, vice president network at Gulf Air. "It means that BMI passengers will be able to travel seamlessly to and from the Gulf from anywhere on the BMI network by using Gulf Air's extensive operations from the Gulf into London. This is the first time that an international European airline will place its code on Gulf Air operated services to the Gulf," he added.
