Etihad Holidays has launched operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain to provide a wide choice of holiday package options to travellers in the four countries. The move follows the successful introduction of Etihad Airways’ holiday division in the UAE, UK, Germany, India and North America. Launched in 2004, Etihad Holidays offers dynamically packaged holidays in innumerable countries at exceptional rates. The packages enable travellers to get their hotel, rental car and tours and activities booked along with their flight tickets in Etihad Airways or any of its partner airlines.  Moreover, guests can design their dream holidays from the comfort of their own home on the Etihad Holidays website and avail tailor-made packages to suit their individual needs. A team of travel professionals is only a phone call away for assistance and provides a Concierge Service for the discerning travellers.

Gold Medal, a leading UK travel company, has heralded Abu Dhabi as one of the most popular destinations for this summer, following a surge in the number of British holidaymakers visiting the United Arab Emirates this year. Offering a variety of online travel services and products, including airfares, hotel reservations and car rentals to travel agents, Gold Medal has reported a 294 per cent year-on-year increase in the summer 2017 holiday bookings than 2016 holiday bookings from the UK to the UAE capital. British travel agents will get to sample for themselves the many attractions of Abu Dhabi when Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA) host a large familiarisation visit to the emirate in September. They will be able to sample the cultural attractions, beaches, sports facilities and excellent hospitality for which Abu Dhabi is increasingly renowned.

Emirates has announced that effective October 2017, it will introduce its A380 carrier on the double daily service between Dubai and Moscow. It is with the purpose of boosting the seat capacity on this route. This aircraft upgauge sees an increase of over 1,000 seats per week. Come October and flights EK131/132 and EK133/134 will be operated by Airbus A380, in a three-class configuration, with 14 Private Suites in First Class, 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 427 comfortable seats in Economy Class. In all cabins, passengers will enjoy access to Wi-Fi and over 2500 channels of films, music and games, more than 60 in Russian, through ice Digital Widescreen, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system

The Retreat Palm Dubai MGallery by Sofitel, the newest addition to AccorHotels’ distinctive MGallery by Sofitel collection of contemporary boutique hotels, has become a member of the esteemed Healing Hotels of the World. With this membership in Healing Hotels of the World, this invite-only ‘club’ will be globally recognised to be featuring beautiful accommodation and architecture, cutting-edge holistic healing therapies achieving visible results, caring and thoughtful services, healing cuisine and a natural stunning location.

Etihad Airways will be adding year-round flights between Abu Dhabi and both Cairo and Lagos later this year to cater to the growing demand of travel on these routes. A fifth daily scheduled service will be introduced on the Cairo route, effective October 1, 2017, taking the frequency to the Egyptian capital up from 28 to 35 flights a week. This service will include mid-morning departure from Abu Dhabi and return from Cairo in the afternoon and will also provide convenient connections between Abu Dhabi and key cities in North and South Asia, including Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. For Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos, Etihad is launching a new Saturday flight from December 2, 2017, which will increase the frequency of its services on the route from four to five each week. The flight will leave from Abu Dhabi early morning and return from Lagos in mid-morning. This service will also provide convenient connections to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur in the Asian continent.

Kuwaiti airline Jazeera Airways recently launched a twice weekly service to Azerbaijan’s capital city, Baku. The inaugural flight (Airbus A320) landed at the Baku airport earlier this week and was received by the customary water arch. Being one of the first to provide non-stop flights of extended frequency to this emerging holiday destination, Jazeera Airways will offer a frequency of two flights every week, on Mondays and Fridays, taking off from Kuwait at 09:00 am and arriving at Baku at 12:10 pm and then departing from Baku at 13:10 pm on the same day and landing in the home country at 14:25 pm.

Etihad Holidays has launched operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain to provide a wide choice of package holiday options to travellers in the four countries. The move follows the successful introduction of Etihad Airways’ holiday division in the UAE, UK, Germany, India and North America. Launched in 2004, Etihad Holidays offers dynamically packaged holidays at exceptional rates at many of the world’s leading hotels. Guests can now book their flights with Etihad Airways and its partner airlines together with their hotel, rental car, tours and activities, with real-time availability, at the best available prices.  From family, beach and luxury holidays to sporting breaks, fly drives and city stays, the choices to destinations across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australia, Africa and across the Middle East are endless. Guests can design their dream holiday from the comfort of their own home on the Etihad Holidays website and avail tailor-made packages to suit their individual needs. A team of travel professionals is only a phone call away for assistance and provides a Concierge Service for the discerning travellers. The Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Stopover Programme can be combined with any Etihad Holidays package, allowing guests to break their journey in Abu Dhabi and take the advantage of the special 2-for-1 night accommodation offers in the capital city.

The Sizzling Summer app, which helps users to find deals and offers at Meraas destinations quickly and easily, is soon going to collaborate with Careem to provide its customers an enhanced experience. Customers will now be able to see the estimated time of arrival of their closest Careem and also the approximate journey time. Careem, the region’s leading ride hailing app, has revealed that users of the Sizzling Summer app can now book a ride directly through the app, using a new feature designed to make it easier to redeem hundreds of summertime offers at various destinations in Dubai. With new deals being added all the way until the end of September, there is no shortage of promotions at the participating outlets at Meraas’ destinations: City Walk, The Beach, Boxpark, Last Exit, The Outlet Village, Kite Beach and Jumeirah Bay. The seasonal promotion will encompass a variety of offerings from Galeries Lafayette, Valiant Clinic and Nikki Beach to The Green Planet, Leopold’s of London and Qasr Al Sultan, allowing people to eat, shop and relax for less this summer. The Sizzling Summer app will be free to download for iOS and Android via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

AVANI Hotels & Resorts announced the development of its first hotel in Mauritius along a stretch of the island’s unspoilt south coast by 2021. The 150-key beachfront AVANI Bel-Ombre Mauritius Resort & Spa will offer the best of both worlds – stylish accommodation coupled with an untouched beach paradise. Only 30 minutes from the international airport, AVANI Mauritius Bel-Ombre Resort & Spa will comprise 150 guest rooms, including 134 Standard Rooms and 16 AVANI suites. The new upscale resort will offer a specialty restaurant as well, along with an all-day dining restaurant, a large, multi-functional meeting space catering to MICE and weddings, an AVANI spa and an AVANIFIT gym, an AVANI pantry, AVANI kids club, a beach activities centre and two swimming pools.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts recently signed a new agreement to build a five-star property on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah, in partnership with SuperCasa Development Limited. Operating under the Millennium brand, the 339-key beach resort is scheduled to open in 2020. The resort will be situated on a 75,000-square-foot plot on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah’s first man-made island project. Located only 30 minutes from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport and 50 minutes from Dubai International Airport, Al Marjan Island is set to redefine Ras Al Khaimah’s hospitality sector, with large-scale developments comprising hotels, villas and residential units, in addition to marinas, retail and recreation facilities. Boasting a unique and iconic design, the Millennium resort will enjoy panoramic views of the Arabian Peninsula and access to a private beach. World-class facilities include two swimming pools, a fitness centre, treatment rooms and meeting and event spaces. The resort will also host all-day dining, poolside restaurant, specialty restaurant and a sky bar.