Dubai Travel Guide - A Guide to the City of Contrasts

Dubai Travel Guide takes you to the exciting city of Dubai, one of the seven emirates of UAE, located in the Persian Gulf. This welcoming and prosperous city is increasingly becoming well known worldwide amongst tourists. The Dubai Culture is one of the important things that lure people to this lovely place.

Of late, this city has emerged as a dream destination for leisure and business travelers across the globe with different Dubai Attractions. The city is also popularly known as city of Gold because of its open gold markets.

Dubai is known as the shopping capital of UAE. In fact, shopping is one of the favorite pass times for people in Dubai and for travelers alike. Guests here can experience the magic of glitzy Dubai malls known for their international brands. Dubai Shopping Festival, held in the month of March, is a very popular festival among people from all over the world. The major highlights of this festival include discounts, Raffles, prize draws, cultural events, street entertainers, spectacular fireworks displays and so on. Another festival celebrated in Sharjah is the Ramadan Shopping Festival.

Besides, other Dubai Attractions include rocking nightlife, numerous shops and markets, entertainment and amusement parks, gardens and lot many other recreational activities.

Tourism is one of the backbones of Dubai and the state generates large amount of revenue from this sector. A Dubai Travel Guide is incomplete with visiting some of the fascinating places in Dubai including Dubai Museum, Jumeirah Mosque, Shindagha District, Bastakiya District, and Al Ahmadiya School in Old Dubai. Similarly, places that can not be missed out in New Dubai include Burj al-Arab hotel, Burj Dubai, Palm Islands and so on.

Other interesting things that the Dubai Map features include Beaches and sea, Desert Safari or Dune Bashing, Skiing, Dubai Creek Cruise, Golfing, Hot Air Ballooning and so on. With the availability of Business Class Air Tickets, a smooth trip to Dubai is increasingly becoming easy.

Dubai is the most populous emirate of UAE and one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the world. It is a place of harmonious existence of tradition and modernity. Dubai Travel Guide also features some mesmerizing sky scrappers that attract the attention of the travelers.

Dubai is truly believed to be the ideal place to be in and enjoy. Dubai Travel Guide offers travel packages and other facilities to different tourist destinations for rich as well as budget travelers alike. For accommodation, Dubai has a great number of options for affluent and budget people. Along with luxury resorts and 5-star hotels, Dubai also offers numerous budget hotels lodges for accommodation.

These days, there are many different tour and travel agencies, which offer great service including Business Class Air Tickets, accommodation, sightseeing, food etc. at discounted rates for travelers. With these services around, one can simply go ahead and have a wonderful vacation in the city. Dubai Travel Guide is easily available for tourists who can avail its facilities at low cost and have an unforgettable experience of a lifetime.

Mike Federer is an associate editor for the website Lowest-ticket.com. It is committed to providing visitors with complete information on Asia, Africa, Europe tourist attractions, lowest ticket deals, cheap Asia flight tickets, travel information through Dubai travel guide, airfare to Dubai, Manila and around the entire world.

Source from Travelzones.net

Burj Dubai to be taller than originally planned

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based real estate giant Emaar Properties has announced that the final height of its skyscraper Burj Dubai, set to become the world's tallest building, will be more than what was originally envisaged.

As such, the opening of the tower here has been pushed back till September 2009. The original deadline was December this year but was then pushed back to April next year. The company said in a statement that the final height of the tower, till now a closely guarded secret, would be known only at the time of its opening.

According to the statement, the height enhancement work was already being executed and two additional communication floors were being added. "The enhancements on Burj Dubai are being enabled through the advances in technology as well as qualitative improvements," Emaar chairman Mohamed Ali Alabbar said in the statement.

"Several aspects of Burj Dubai, especially with respect to the interiors, were decided as early as 2004. With the current enhancements we are bringing in the latest in quality considerations that will keep Burj Dubai truly exclusive," he added.

Assuring that the project execution would be speedy, he said: "We believe that a completion date of September 2009 is possible and reasonable for a project of this global magnitude and significance."

Along with height enhancement, the interior finishes have also been upgraded with international designers from California visiting the project site over the last three months.

Burj Dubai is already unofficially the world's tallest manmade structure at over 636 metres (2,063.6 feet) and 160 floors completed till now. In April this year, it surpassed the height of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota in the US to become the world's tallest manmade structure.

The building will be officially recognised as the world's tallest structure only when the construction is fully completed. Then the skyscraper will be the tallest building in the world in all four categories recognized by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which ranks buildings on the basis of spire height, the highest occupied floor, roof height and pinnacle height.

Burj Dubai is the centrepiece of Emaar's flagship mega-project, the 73-billion dirham ($20 billion) downtown Burj Dubai, billed as the world's most prestigious square kilometre.

The super-tall structure will have residences, commercial space and retail space and hospitality elements including the world's first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences. Around 7,500 professionals and skilled workers are currently employed at the site.

Source from Timeofindia.com

New visa regime will not affect tourism: UAE

The recent changes introduced in UAE's visa laws aimed at fighting violations and tightening controls on visa issuance, will not have an adverse effect on tourism, the country's visa regulatory body has said.
The new amendments to tourist visa regulations, which are part of the stricter visa regime to come into force from August this year are aimed at combating visa trading and would not impact tourism, Brigadier Nasser Awadh Al Minhali, Director Gen of Abu Dhabi Naturalisation and Residency said.

"Restricting the issuance of tourist (visit) visas for only licensed tourism operators would give them the opportunity to grow and receive all tourists who were coming to the country via unspecialized bodies or individuals," he told the official Emirates news agency.

As per the new law, all visitors to the UAE will be required to have health insurance once the new visit visa rules are enforced from August 1, said a senior official.

Also, a Dh 1,000 (Rs 11,600) deposit will be collected by the Naturalisation and Residency Department before issuance of any type of visit visa. This will be refunded once a visitor exits the country. PTI
Source from: Ptinews.com

Abu Dhabi Decides to Classify Hotels, Dubai Plans Reclassification

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has decided to classify hotels and hotel apartments in Abu Dhabi by the end of this year.

Hotels will be classified on a sliding scale of one star to five stars and hotel apartments will be classified as either deluxe, superior or standard, said a statement issued by ADTA yesterday.

“This is a major step forward in the delivery of destination integrity,” said Mubarak Al-Muhairi, director general, ADTA.

“It will provide much-needed consistency to tour operators selling the destination, successfully manage the expectations of our respected visitors and ultimately ensure a level of quality performance from accommodation providers in line with the development of a world-class destination,” he added.

The ADTA’s classification inspection team will begin its reviews of Abu Dhabi’s 49 hotels and 49 hotel apartment facilities within the next two months.

“The system will also provide a framework for hotel investors when designing their properties to include the necessary facilities and services to attract their desired market groups. It will also act as an incentive to hotel owners and managers to upgrade their facilities,” said Al-Muhairi.

“This is a world-class system which will be upgraded every two years in accordance with prevailing international market standards and to reflect the increasing status of Abu Dhabi as a global destination of distinction,” explained Nasser Saif Al-Reyami, director, Licensing and Classification Division, ADTA.

Meanwhile, the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is set to launch a new classification system later this year, as the industry matures. Dubai’s hotel classification system will undergo an overhaul this year with new criteria and standards to be applied across the hospitality sector.

The new system is expected to be introduced in the second quarter of this year. The previous classification system was introduced in 1998.

According to sources, the planned classification system will encompass several areas of hotel operations, including new medical and disability access requirements, and applying standards to a property’s conference and banqueting, spa and leisure, and business center facilities.

Sharjah has already implemented hotel classification law from January this year.

Source from: Menafn.com