CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI

CROWN PRINCE OF DUBAI

 

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, has issued a decree in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, appointing His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured second from right) as Crown Prince of Dubai.

 

He also issued a decree, naming H. H Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (pictured second from left) and H.H Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum as Deputy Rulers of Dubai, as of February 1.

 

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed is the chairman of the Dubai Executive Council which is entrusted with the task of overseeing Dubai Government entities.

Under his leadership, the council has achieved a number of significant milestones including the announcement of the Dubai Government strategy in February 2007, which laid the roadmap for the emirate’s development.

 

H. H Sheikh Hamdan is mandated to ensure proper implementation of government projects within the agreed deadlines. In addition to overseeing different movement committees and following up on the daily functions, his responsibilities include giving direction to the government’s drive to enhance performance.

 

Born on November 14, 1982, H.H Sheikh Hamdan studied at the Rashid Private School, Dubai. After graduating, he went to the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy in the United Kingdom, one of the finest military schools in the world. He has attended specialized courses at the London School of Economics and the Dubai School of Government.

 

Sheikh Hamdan possesses statesmanlike characteristics and unique leadership qualities that he has acquired from his father H.H Sheikh Mohammed. He is also the president of Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Autism Centre and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Young Business Leaders. An accomplished horse-rider, he has won several awards at local and international endurance races, including the gold medal at the Asian Games. He has a passion for poetry.

 

H.H Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was born on November 24, 1983. He completed the Secondary education at Rashid Private School in Dubai, and graduated from the American University in Dubai with B.Sc in Business Administration. He attended many training courses at Dubai College for Government Administration and Harvard University.

 

He has been holding the posts of Chairman of Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority (DTMFZA) since 2002 and chairman of Dubai Media Corporation, and has contributed to putting the name of the UAE on the world map of technology and media. DTMFZA has managed to set up a number of significant projects, foremost being the Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and the Knowledge Village.

 

H.H Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum enjoys the qualities of young, open-minded leadership. He has taken important humanitarian initiatives, foremost being the Dubai Cares fundraising initiative aimed at providing the basic education to more than million children in the developing countries.

 

The position has been vacant since Sheikh Mohammad succeeded his older brother as Dubai’s ruler two years ago and was the crown prince since 1995.

 

The appointment of H.H Sheikh Hamdan as Crown Prince of Dubai was hailed by government officials, business leaders and educationists as a progressive step that will give fresh momentum to the emirate’s dizzying development. UAE nationals and expatriates praised the appointments of saying the journey to progress will continue.

Al Siraaj at the Heritage Village

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has organised a unique exhibition, Al Siraaj (The Guiding Light) at the Heritage Village in Al Shindagha as part of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF-2008). The special exhibition is designed to clear misconceptions about Islam, the Muslims and the Arab world. 

Being held in Sheikh Obaid and Juma bin Thani Al Majid, the exhibition is open to the public from 5 pm to 10 pm daily during the period of DSF-2008.

Khalid bin Gharib, Chairman of DTCM’s DSF-2008 Committee, said: “The Al Siraaj Exhibition is one of the events that the department has organised for the DSF-2008. As the Al Shindagha heritage site complex attracts thousands of visitors and residents from various nationalities, it is an ideal venue to reach out to public to enhance their knowledge about Islam and clear misconceptions. Scientific discoveries and the teachings of Holy Quran on a number of interesting topics is the focus of this exhibition.”

Mohammed Al Hashimi, Al Siraaj Exhibition Manager, said daily competitions are taking place offering participants the opportunity to win AED25,000 worth vouchers.

Featuring lectures and interactive sessions for the public the exhibition is gaining popularity with a cross-section of audience representing various nationalities and religions. 

Arshad Khan , one of the organizers of the exhibition, said volunteers well-versed in various languages including English, Arabic, German, Hindi and Urdu were briefing visitors from different cultural and religious backgrounds about the exhibits and relevance of Islam and the Holy Quran.

The topics covered by the exhibition include the creation of Adam and Eve, the conversion of people after Adam from monotheism to polytheism, the day of resurrection, resurrection from the grave, call of the prophets, prophecy of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) and other holy scriptures, Explosive elements in water, the lowest point on earth, effects of high altitude on the human body, fertilizing rain, origin of the universe, creation of the earth and heavens and the Big Bang theory.

Visitors can pick up free books and cassettes about Islam in various languages at the venue. More details about the exhibition can also be had from the website: www.al-siraaj.com   or info@al-siraaj.com  

A variety of other events are taking place at the Heritage Village , Diving Village and Hatta Heritage Village during the DSF-2008 ending on February 24. All events are open to the public. There is no entry fee.

DUBAI PARTICIPATE IN FERIEN & REISELIV

As part of its aggressive tourism marketing and promotional agenda, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) participated in two major travel trade exhibitions in Norway and Austria . 

At the Austrian International Travel and Tourism Fair (FERIEN-2008) in Vienna , the DTCM’s participation was the seventh consecutive year. Dubai Stand measured 77 square metres and featured nine co-participants. The exhibition attracted over 700 tour operators, destinations, airlines, hotels and other holiday-related suppliers from 70 countries.

Dubai Stand at the Norwegian International Travel and Tourism Fair (REISELIV-2008) in Oslo , measured 30 square metres. This was DTCM’s participation for the 14^th successive year.  Reiseliv is the travel trade’s largest and most-effective business-to-business venue in Norway . There were six co-participants from Dubai .

The DTCM at the two exhibitions was represented by Mr. Nayef Ibrahim, Executive Overseas Promotions.

The department is hopeful about generating wider interest in these markets about Dubai as an ideal year-round business and leisure destination.

MONTREUX MAYOR IN DUBAI

The Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, received Mr. Pierre Salvi, Mayor of Montreux City in Switzerland, and Mr. Juma Al Majid, Chairman of Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture, at the DTCM Head Office on Monday.  

During the meeting, Mr. bin Sulayem and the Swiss visitor discussed bilateral issues, especially in the tourism domain, and ways to strengthen relations between Dubai and Montreaux.

Mr. Pierre was also briefed about the DTCM initiatives and the role of DTCM’s Representation Office in Switzerland.

Mr. bin Sulayem informed him about various marketing and promotional programmes of DTCM and measures taken up by Dubai government to strengthen the position of the emirate as the world’s leading destination.

The department also organized a familiarization tour for Mr. Pierre during which he visited various projects of Emaar and Nakheel in addition to touring the Dubai Financial Market and Burj Al Arab.

Mr. bin Sulayem presented him a memento.

Montreux is a resort city on Europe’s largest lake, Lake Geneva.   

NEW ONLINE TRAVEL RESERVATION SYSTEM

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has announced the launch of a new online travel reservation system on its hugely-popular website that will save time and money.

Visitors to www.dubaitourism.ae can shop 24×7 for the best possible travel deals on hotel and hotel apartment bookings. In addition to the hotel and hotel apartment bookings, visitors to the website will soon be able to take advantage of car rentals, airline tickets, and tickets to attractions.

Mr. Suhail Buhelaiba , DTCM Director Information Technology, said: “There has been a tremendous demand for the online reservations facility for all that Dubai offers to the visitors. The DTCM has tied up with the market leader Travelocity to bring the best service.”

Travelocity is working with all the properties in Dubai to guarantee the best room rates.

Travelers can select from over 185 hotels and hotel apartments in Dubai , 28 car rental companies, all major cruise lines and hundreds of airlines to book travel services instantly and securely.

The Dubaitourism.ae hotel booking engine offers the quality and selection of major hotel brands at discounted rates and features full color hotel brochures. To accommodate the needs of global customers, hotel rooms can be booked in 12 languages and in over 160 currencies.

The airlines booking system, to be integrated early next year, is based on Travelocity’s Flight Navigator^sm, which empowers the visitor with the ability to execute advanced searches, scan fares and seat availability, compare dates, airlines and much more. An innovative feature of the airlines search indicates how many seats are left on a particular flight, alerting them that a particular fare may no longer be available soon.

The Car Rental Reservation Service, to be announced soon, will offer price comparisons in from up to five suppliers within the search results. This will include a matrix of available car classes and pricing for easy comparison of rates.

The user-friendly website attracts an average of 1.5 million page views a month. The website offers a wealth of useful information and online services.  The website is available in six languages – English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish and Japanese.

All the brochures and publications are available for browsing and downloading at the website in addition to Dubai map, videos and photographs. A Web camera, the Dubai Map and hotel directory remains equally popular.

The DTCM has been a front-runner among the local government organizations in utilizing the Info rmation Technology to promote tourism and trade to the emirate in addition to e-Services in line with the vision and objectives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Lucimar Ferreira da Silva is in Dubai

World famous footballer and captain of Brazilian National Football Team, Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, is in Dubai on a private visit and celebrated Christmas with his family along with taking a tour of the emirate’s landmarks and upcoming projects in addition to shopping at the Gold Souq.

The 29-year-old celebrity defender said he had visited the emirate before to play football, but this was his first private visit to Dubai . He expressed his admiration for Dubai and its phenomenal growth, especially its fast emergence on the world sporting map. He said he would consider buying a freehold property in order to come to Dubai frequently.

The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), in cooperation with the Dubai Sports Council, played host to Mr. Lucio for the trip and utilized the opportunity to brief him about Dubai ’s plans covering a variety of sectors, including tourism and sporting facilities.

During the visit, Mr. Lucio met young footballers drawn from various local clubs at the Dubai Municipality Club in Al Garhoud in addition sharing time with the local media.

Mr. Hamad bin Mejren, DTCM Director Missions, said the visit was in line with the department’s efforts to familiarize decision-makers drawn from various fields about the Dubai as a world’s leading business and leisure destination.

Lucio is known for being a part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian national team. He is widely considered as Brazil ’s best central defender. In the 2006 World Cup, he set a FIFA record by playing 386 consecutive minutes without committing a foul. In August 2006, L?cio was appointed as captain.

COSTA MAKES DUBAI CRUISE HUB

For the second consecutive year, Europe’s leading cruise operator, Costa Cruises, has made Dubai its regional cruise hub and deployed two ships offering a total of six weekly packages to destinations in the UAE, Arabian Gulf and the Middle East regions.

For the 2007-2008 cruise season, the Italian group has drafted two huge cruise ships – Costa Romantica and Costa Europa- with a combined passenger and crew capacity of 4756. Last year, the company had deployed only one cruise ship.

Mr. Khalid A bin Sulayem, Director General of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) which operates the state-of-the-art Dubai Cruise Terminal, said Costa’s decision was highly encouraging for the regional cruise industry and will also stimulate other cruise operators to utilize Dubai as the regional hub.

The aggressive promotional and marketing agenda being pursued by the department has resulted in significant increase in the number of cruise ships docking in Dubai and the movement was also benefiting other regional destinations, he said. In the near future, the cruise tourism industry in the emirate will witness major growth with more cruise operators coming to Dubai , he added.

Mr. Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, Executive Director Dubai Cruise Terminal, said there has been substantial increase in the number cruise tourists coming to Dubai due to the hard work done by the department over the past seven years. For the 2007-2008 season, the number of cruise tourists is expected to be around 165,000. It will touch the 200,000 mark in 2008-2009 season followed by 350,000 passengers in the 2009-2010 period.

Costa Romantica docked in Dubai on December 21 and will offer weekly regional trips until the end of March 2008. Similarly, Costa Europa kicked off the regional tours on December 22 and will continue until February 25, 2008. Each ship offers cruise packages, using Dubai as the hub.

The regional package covers Dubai , Muscat , Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain . There is complete passenger exchange programme at each ship during the current season.

Costa is one of the world’s leading cruise operators with 11 ships under deployment.

A grand reception was organized on board the Costa Romantica at the Dubai Cruise Terminal in Port Rashid Complex on December 22 to celebrate the inaugural cruises for the 2007-2008 season in the Gulf region.

Held under the DTCM patronage, the reception was attended by a large number of VIPs and officials, including the Italian ambassador to UAE, Mr. Paolo Dionisi, Mr. Awadh Seghayer Al Ketbi, DTCM Executive Director Dubai Cruise Terminal, Mr. Eyad Ali Abdul Rahman, DTCM Executive Director Media Relations and Acting Director Business Development, and Mr. Salah Rashid Al Ansari, DTCM Director Visitors Info rmation Bureaus.

The department thanked various organizations, including the Dubai Naturisation and Residency Department, Dubai Police, Dubai Customs, Dubai Airports , Department of Civil Aviation, Dubai Ports , for their support and cooperation to the Costa Cruises operations.

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