Dubai Festivals and Events – Vital for Dubai Tourism

Tourism in Dubai is one of the major contributors to the overall development of Dubai’s economy. This city-state in the United Arab Emirates makes huge efforts towards keeping the city desirable for tourists so as to earn more revenue year on year through this source. And one of the main factors chipping in to the overall tourist attraction is the large variety of festivals and events that keep taking place month on month all around the year.

However, only adding occasions to the list is not important. The Dubai government along with the hospitality industry together ensure that all festivals are celebrated with a lot of pomp and show and prove to be an unforgettable experience for the visitors from within and outside Dubai.

Dubai festivals generally comprise of occasions, events and activities based upon shopping, sports, food, music, health and business. These events not only play a key role in upping the city’s potential to bring in more revenue from travel and tourism industry, but also provide residents and travellers with a chance to experience the feel of various international festivals with different cultures, which is also a significant attribute of Dubai. In fact, it would be appropriate to say that Dubai's festival industry has successfully transformed from merely entertainment to a crucial sector of the economy. 

Especially with the onset of the Dubai Shopping Festival in 1996 and Dubai Summer Surprises in 1998, Dubai started gaining the reputation of an international tourist destination. The DSF and DSS events worked as trailblazers for many more events that followed soon after. All these developments have been very well supported by the airline industry as well, such as the Emirates, thereby promoting Dubai as a favoured global destination. Air lines also launch special packages during various Dubai festivals in association with a multitude of travel and tourism agencies.

Tourists and travellers are often most attracted towards Dubai for its world class lavish hotels, trade centres, excellent infrastructure, skyscrapers, and the fascinating man-made beaches. Thanks to the endless efforts of the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing that today Dubai has emerged as one of the most happening tourist destinations in the world with its unique events. 

Some of the most popular festivals and events held in Dubai are as below:

• Gulfood Exhibition in Dubai
• Dubai Shopping Festival
• Dubai Summer Surprises 
• Dubai International JazzFestival
• AEEDC Dubai
• World Discovery Fest in Dubai
• Arab Health Exhibition Dubai
• Intersec Middle East
• Arabplast in Dubai
• Dubai World Cup
• DIHAD
• Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday
• Dubai World Cup
• Bride Show Dubai
• Dubai Derma

New Chef Takes Charge At The Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha

Sandeep Kamal is the newly-appointed Executive Chef at Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha. An Indian national, Chef Sandeep has worked in the Arabian Gulf hospitality sector for 10 years , starting his career in the region as part of the pre-opening team of Grand Hyatt Dubai.

Holding a diploma in hotel management from a prestigious college in New Delhi, India, Sandeep served an internship at the Leela Kempinski, before moving on to spend three years with Taj Hotels as Chef de Partie at various locations throughout India.

Most recently he worked with the Carlson Rezidor Group launching food and beverage operations at the Park Inn Muscat as Executive Chef.

In his new role at Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha, Sandeep is responsible for a team of 51 members, eight food and beverage outlets and six meeting rooms with a capacity of up to 400 people, as well as outside catering services.

A senior member of the Emirates Culinary Guild, and founding member of the Oman Chefs’ Guild and Oman Food and Beverage Guild, he has received several awards for his restaurant concepts, according to the General Manager of Holiday Inn Dubai - Al Barsha, JS Anand.

“Sandeep is a very welcome addition to our team,” Mr. Anand said.  “Under his direction, we look forward to expanding our culinary menus and enhancing the reputation of the hotel as a dining destination with unique food and beverage concepts to suit a wide range of tastes.”

Holiday Inn Dubai - Al Barsha supports vulnerable school children through world food programme

As part of its 'Holiday Inn Loves You Campaign', Holiday Inn Dubai - Al Barsha Hotel made a donation to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to provide 100,000 school meals to children in the Middle East.

The CEO of Holiday Inn Dubai - Al Barsha Ms. Roxana Jaffer presented the funds to WFP Head of Partnerships & Business Development for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia & Eastern Europe, Mr. Ashraf Hamouda.

To read the full article click here.

Bringing Up a Child with Special Needs

Parenting a child with special needs is a special task for parents, essentially a challenging one!! The unusual level of energy, fortitude and emotional balance that one has to maintain when raising a special child is tough task, often accompanied by medical appointments, therapies and special education. As much as the child struggles to learn something new, the parents have to put in that extra effort to hand-hold their child to make them successful.

There are many help centres set up by affected parents nowadays to assist other parents in a relatively smooth upbringing for their special children. For instance, Carolina Tovar, an American expatriate living in Dubai quit her career as a lawyer to set up the Child Early Intervention Medical Centre (CEIMC) at Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), after her son Rafael was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. The medical centre offers guidance and help to distressed families, having an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Apart from the basic challenges that parents have to face in making their children learn to read, write and behave properly, a major concern that all of them have is regarding the future family life and whether the child would be able to live independently as they grow older.

However, Arif Khan, a Pakistani expatriate in Dubai, feels fortunate in this case. His youngest son Rafay, now 24 years old, was diagnosed with Down Syndrome as an infant. Still enrolled with the Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs for learning basic arithmetic and vocational activities, Rafay now also has a job to go to. He is doing an internship in the laundry section of the Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha where he works three times a week.

The most amazing part is that he is mostly independent now and has learnt how to operate gadgets like computer, cell phone and television. The family is very happy at this achievement as they see a tremendously improved and excited Rafay going to work every morning.

Convenient to Stay at Hotels near Dubai Airport

Dubai is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world both for vacations and for organising corporate meets and conferences. Whichever purpose you are there for, you would obviously need a good and comfortable accommodation. Now, the preference for the location of your hotel will obviously be different as per your purpose. When on a business trip, it makes more sense to stay in a hotel that’s closer to your area of work. This will help you save time from travelling everyday from hotel to office and vice-versa.

If you travel for vacation, then it is better to select a good hotel close to the Dubai Airport. This is because this will save your time from travelling to various places of interest. Tourist attractions are usually all across the city. But if you choose to stay farther from the airport, you will only end up getting too deep in the city and travelling from there may not be convenient for you.

Also, the modes of transportation are more easily available around airport hotels in Dubai. This is because every day there are many people travelling in and out of Dubai and almost all of them take a cab from their hotel to the airport or the other way around. So these cabs are more easily and readily available if you stay in a hotel that’s near the Dubai Airport.

Hotels near airports are also quite luxurious yet value for money. You will notice that the staff is always courteous (not that they aren’t in other hotels!!), and the rooms are quite comfortable with excellent room service. These hotels also have tie-ups with airlines and sometimes the transit passengers are also made to stay in these hotels for convenience sake.

Like any other hotel, you can find fine dining restaurants within the hotel itself so as to make it easy for you to enjoy international cuisine. For instance, a hotel like Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha not only is capable of world class service, but also quite affordable and near the airport. And being near the airport does not mean that the hotel is very far from the city centre. Transport connectivity is good and at least you will stay away from the city’s hustle bustle and enjoy your stay in Dubai!!

Jumeirah Beach Hotels – A Stunning Selection

Dubai is a beautiful city comprising of stunning hotels and beaches and tall buildings spelling architectural galore. The beaches in Dubai are not only well maintained but also a popular area for some of the best hotels in Dubai. One such popular beach is the Jumeirah beach. Full of exemplary hotels and resorts, this beach is quite a happening place to be in Dubai.

The Jumeira Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach named after the Jumeirah district of Dubai and runs along the coast south of the city to meet The Palm Jumeirah and concludes between the southern tip of the Jumeirah Beach Residence. Next to is also the Dubai Marina district and the port facilities at Jebel Ali.

Since it is one of the most popular areas in Dubai, the Jumeirah beach witnesses both leisure tourists and business travellers come in huge numbers, also to stay in the beach hotels as they find this place an ideal one to stay at during their visit to Dubai. You must have heard a lot about Dubai and its luxurious hotels, but once you go to Dubai, you will realise that the beach hotels on the Jumeirah beach. The hotels on the beach are magnificent beyond imagination with excellent architecture, concept and service. 

When you have a fantabulous and competitive range of hotels, it becomes a tough choice. If you wish to be pampered and spoiled thoroughly, then you can easily pick any of the beach hotels or from the area around. If you still think the choice is easy, try choosing out of the Burj Al Arab (Arab Tower) hotel, Wild Wadi Water Park, Holiday Inn, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the lovely traditional styled Madinat Jumeirah, and many more!! Doesn’t it sound exciting? Well, it is. The beach area not only has large hotels, resorts, and housing developments, but also houses shopping arcades.

Don’t forget to visit the attractions around the area including Jumeirah Beach Park, the Zoo, the Jumeirah Mosque, the Emirates Golf Club, Safa Park and the enjoyable Wild Wadi Water Park.

Enjoy Your Dubai Vacation with Affordable Hotel Accommodation in Dubai

Dubai is one of the topmost vacation destinations in almost everyone’s wish list. IT is a perfect destination for enjoyment with its lovely beaches, sports city, bright sun and smart modern skyscrapers. The time when it was considered a desert region is passé now and the city has now emerged as one of the most vibrant cities in this world.

Dubai has a knack for attracting tourists towards its hospitality. And undoubtedly, you can get to know about their hospitality only when you experience it. The hotel industry there is awesome and the choice is exhaustive. But the general impression about the hotels in Dubai is that they are very expensive. Well that’s not completely true.

It is correct that Dubai has some of the finest hotels across the world and the only 7 star (is what it is!) hotel is also in Dubai, the Burj Al Arab. But it’s not that Dubai does not have hotels which can’t fit into budget. If you are planning a budgeted holiday in Dubai, then all you need to do is search for good budget hotels. And believe it or not, there are plenty of affordable ones out there that will perfectly suit your pocket and still give you the experience of ultimate luxury.

3 star hotels and 4 star hotels like Holiday Inn Dubai – Al Barsha, Novotel, Dubai Palm Jumeirah, etc. are names of some of those hotels which are not only known for providing state of the art accommodation and best in class service, but also can easily fit into your budget and make your vacation an affordable one.

It is anyways wise to book a cheap hotel which has all the amenities and is situated at a decent location which is conveniently close to Dubai’s attractions,. IT makes no point spending too much of your travel budget on just the accommodation part and not keeping enough to enjoy the various events that could be going on there. Plus, Dubai is a popular shopping destination. This means that it is a better idea to save for shopping form Dubai instead of a a very expensive hotel. So just spend wisely and book a good hotel. Enjoy your vacation!!