If you want to go on an all-inclusive vacation at sea, you no longer need to book an ultra-luxury, ultra-expensive cruise line.
15.04.2024 - 08:47 / forbes.com
Abu Dhabi is having ‘a moment’. Visit the city, the capital of the UAE, in 2024 and you’ll see a skyline punctuated with cranes and hi-rises shooting up like exclamation marks. This is a city in rapid development. In fact, the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) has recently announced that the Abu Dhabi Executive Council has approved the launch of 144 future projects across Abu Dhabi. “These were approved with a total budget of around AED66 billion (US$180 billion) and will span various sectors, including housing and quality of life, education and human capital, tourism, and natural resources.”
This advancement of the destination’s infrastructure is having a huge knock-on effect on the hospitality industry, with investors and developers clamouring over themselves to have a stake in what is being labelled the ‘next Dubai’. With a line-up of big-name openings on the horizon, it is clear that the Emirate is hoping to carve out a name for itself as the next alluring, luxury destination in the Middle East.
Opening this year, for instance, is Mondrian Abu Dhabi, designed by Tristan Du Plessis, and the first property from the brand in the UAE. Located in the city’s downtown area, alongside the Abu Dhabi canal, the 221-room hotel will also have 80 serviced apartments, six restaurants and bars and a lagoon with ocean views.
Set to open in 2027 is Nobu Hotel Abu Dhabi, found on Saadiyat Island, featuring three restaurants, including its famous namesake eatery, and a rooftop Nobu Villa. Hip beach club and hotel brand Nammos is also getting in on the action, following its popular openings in Mykonos and Greece, it will open in Abu Dhabi in 2025.
Meanwhile, owned by Hilton, LXR Hotels & Resorts is planning to launch an ambitious private island resort on Al Nawras Island, with a planned opening date in 2025. The all-villa resort will offer beach or water villas, as well as a two-bedroom Royal Villa surrounding a state-of-the-art golf course.
Carlos Khneisser, Hilton’s vice president of Middle East & Africa development, said of the Emirate’s hospitality scene: “The UAE’s burgeoning capital has established itself as a global hub in recent years and has seen incredible development in terms of hospitality, sports and tourism. I believe Al Nawras Island will complement Abu Dhabi’s luxury hotel landscape perfectly and we look forward to guests experiencing this unique property.”
Abu Dhabi has also made a name as an authentic cultural hub in the UAE, with the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, in 2017, setting a marker in the sand. Found in the Saadiyat Cultural District, it is also where Manarat Al Saadiyat is found, a community cultural and events centre and home to the Abu Dhabi Art Fair. Most notably,
If you want to go on an all-inclusive vacation at sea, you no longer need to book an ultra-luxury, ultra-expensive cruise line.
Travel advisors report that the luxury travel market is booming. Among the top travel trends for these high-end clients are those that focus on spending time with loved ones, including Family travel (immediate family), Celebration travel, and Multigenerational travel, according to the 2024 Virtuoso Luxe Report. Active/adventure trips are also among the top trends reported in the study. In addition, travel advisors are booking more off-season trips and are seeing requests for cultural immersion. The desire for personalized amenities and services is also important to upscale travelers, say advisors.
The Colombian carrier Avianca is partnering with Cardless to release two new credit cards, which will be available in late May. These cards will utilize American Express as their payment processor.
In November, managers at the Arenas del Mar resort near Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica, challenged employees to come up with ways to operate more sustainably. The maintenance crew suggested electric locks on guest room doors. The food and beverage department proposed making jams from fruit peels. And the housekeepers advised: Ditch the slippers.
On International Dance Day, 29 April, world-leading dance organisation Sadler’s Wells in London has unveiled the shortlist of the inaugural Rose International Dance Prize, a biennial prize for new dance creations in any style, showcasing some of the most inventive and daring choreographers around the world at work today. The Rose International Dance Prize consists of the Rose category, for established choreographers presenting a full-length performance of 50 minutes or longer, and the Bloom category, for emerging choreographers with a maximum of ten years’ experience. A prize of £40,000 will be awarded to the Rose category winner and a prize for £15,000 will be awarded to the Bloom category winner.
Cruise vacations are a wonderful way to visit multiple destinations in one trip and unpack only once. And while cruises may not give people multiple days in each destination, it acts as a sampler for people to discover new places that they may possibly want to return to later.
Etihad Airways' beloved Airbus A380 has returned to the US after four years. It landed at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport just after 10 a.m. on Monday after a more than 14-hour trek from Abu Dhabi.
The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) has revealed a record-breaking year for Travel & Tourism in the UAE, with new records achieved across key metrics including the sector’s GDP contribution, jobs and visitor spend.
Before joining TPG in 2021, I was a newbie to the world of points and miles. Despite traveling frequently throughout the previous decade, I was oblivious to the benefits of loyalty programs or how straightforward it could be to earn points or miles for airfare and hotel stays.
Etihad Airways has finally reintroduced its beloved Airbus A380 superjumbo on flights to the US after years of uncertainty.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Karen Edwards , who blogs about her family's travels around the world. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
Eithad Airways' popular Airbus A380 has returned to the US after the pandemic nearly forced it into retirement.