Middle East in brief
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England football legends join Ibn Battuta for Euros
Football fans have the opportunity to watch Euro 2012 games with Sir Geoff Hurst and Ron Atkinson at Ibn Battuta Gate, Dubai this year. The two footballing legends will be watching matches in the hotel throughout the tournament, which will also include a ‘funkiest fan’ competition to win signed memorabilia and photos with Hurst and Atkinson. “The ambiance is an integral feature of any sporting occasion, and the Al Bahou hall provides the perfect setting, with its vast capacity and atmospheric acoustics, to come and enjoy a drink and watch some football,” said Phillipe Bonnot, general manager at Ibn Battuta Gate Hotel (pictured). As football fever spreads in the UAE, the hotel has recreated a live sport atmosphere in its Al Bahou grand hall with high-definition televisions and hospitality packages from £30 per person will be available throughout matches.
Starwood plans to temporarily relocate global HQ to Middle East in 2013
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide recently held its company’s annual leadership conference in Dubai for the first time. Top 100 global executives were welcomed underscoring the importance of the region as one of Starwood’s fastest-growing hotel and travel markets. Subsequently, the company also announced that it will relocate its U.S.-based headquarters to the Middle East in 2013 for a month-long managerial endeavour. Starwood’s president and CEO Frits van Paasschen and more than a dozen of its top executives will be headquartered in Dubai to replicate its further success in the initiative with other emerging markets.
Royal Jordanian, Gulf Air enter into full code-share
Royal Jordanian and Gulf Air recently entered into a full code-share agreement to offer passengers 11-weekly flights between Amman, Jordan and Manama, Bahrain. Under the terms of the agreement, the flights will be operated by Gulf Air but marketed by both carriers.
The move comes as the existing bilateral code-share agreement between Royal Jordanian and Gulf Air, whereby the two parties were operating and marketing flights between Amman and Manama, became unilateral.
DoubleTree by Hilton to open in Qatar
Hilton Worldwide and Al Rayyan Tourism Investment Company (ARTIC) announced the joint signing of a management agreement for two new DoubleTree’s by Hilton properties in Doha.
Both developments, the 145-room DoubleTree by Hilton Doha – Al Sadd and the 240-room DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Doha, are expected to open in 2014 and will join a further three Hilton Worldwide pipeline properties due to open in Qatar over the next three years.