His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al
Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and
Minister yesterday opened…
His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al
Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and
Minister yesterday opened the ninth
Market
show at the Airport Expo Dubai and unveiled a model
of the emirate`s latest world-class resort development
Madinat Jumeirah.
Being built next to the celebrated Burj Al Arab,
Madinat Jumeirah is designed to be one of the world`s
most luxurious and diverse resorts. It will have two
300-room, five star hotels and clusters of 340 rooms
and suites in courtyard villas, all featuring
authentic architecture reflecting the heritage and
culture of Dubai and Arabia. The first phase is due
for completion by summer next year.
After the unveiling HH Sheikh Mohammed spent two hours
touring the show accompanied by a VIP entourage
including HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al Nahyan, UAE
Minister of Information, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al
Maktoum, President, Department of Civil Aviation,
Government of Dubai and Chairman of the Emirates
Group, HE Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum al Maktoum,
Director General, Department of Information,
Government of Dubai, H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Jassem Al
Thani, Chairman of the Qatar General Tourism
Authority, H.E. Abdulla bin Ahmed al Thani and Mr
Monther Znaidi, Minister of Tourism, Leisure and
Handicrafts of Tunisia.
Accompanied by Khalid bin Sulayem, Director General of
the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing,
Government of Dubai and Tom Nutley, Managing Director
of Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), which organises
Arabian Travel Market, Sheikh Mohammed stopped at
numerous stands inside the two exhibition halls which
feature over 700 exhibitors from 56 countries.
The Crown Prince called at the pavilions of Fujairah,
stopping to talk to HE Sheikh Saeed Bin Saeed al
Sharqi, Chairman of the Fujairah Tourism Bureau, then
at Oman, spending time with H.E. Mohsin Al Balushi,
Director General of Tourism, onto Bahrain, where he
was briefed on latest developments by Dr. Kadhim
Rajab, Under Secretary for Tourism and also Sharjah,
where he chatted with H.E. Sheikh Tariq Al Faisal Al
Qassimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Tourism Authority.
Pavilions from the Far East, Europe and Africa were
also on Sheikh Mohammed’s agenda with the Crown Prince
spending considerable time at the Tanzanian stand
where he met with The Honorable Zakia H. Meghji, the
country’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism.
“The interest shown by Sheikh Mohammed was extensive,”
said Tom Nutley. “He was genuinely keen on learning of
industry developments throughout the world and the
time he spent at the show was sincerely appreciated by
all the exhibitors.”
Arabian Travel Market 2002, which spans 8,500 square
metres, has the first official participation in the
series of Algeria, South Africa, Mauritius, Korea and
Greece. The show features 212 stands Ð 68 of which are
new to the show. The exhibition also features its
first exhibitor from Senegal and the debut
participation of the Palestine National Authority.
Arabian Travel Market 2002 runs until Friday night at
Airport Expo Dubai.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
