Riding on Emirates Airline’s massive international expansion, Emirates Holidays, the airline’s tour operating arm and the leading wholesale tour operator in the Gulf and Middle East has launched its largest-ever range of holidays with the 2008-09 edition of its signature A World of Choice brochures.
A three-day exhibition extravaganza at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City, starting 2nd May, marked the official launch of the new product.
Flexible, affordable and quality holidays to over 120 stunning leisure destinations in almost 40 countries are showcased in four volumes of the Emirates Holidays’ A World of Choice 2008-09 brochures: The Middle East, Africa and Indian Ocean; Europe and The Americas; Asia and Australasia. After its successful debut last year, Dubai and the Emirates, a dedicated brochure on the UAE, was re-introduced featuring updates on the country’s exciting new tourist developments.
The range also comprises an Arabic language brochure for exclusive distribution in the Middle East and Arabic speaking parts of Africa; a Russian language brochure distributed in Russia, a dedicated brochure for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran, and a specific brochure for the Mediterranean. In all, over 500,000 brochures will be distributed to thousands of potential travellers across Emirates’ international network during the course of the year.
The Emirates Holidays brochure launch – one of the most looked-forward-to events in the travel industry calendar – was a resounding success this year, playing host to a full-house of over 400 travel agents from the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa; more than 120 National Tourist Offices and Destination Management Companies from all over the world; and over 4000 holiday-seekers from the UAE.
At the travel exhibition specialists from across the globe assisted visitors, providing them with comprehensive information on specific destinations. Adding excitement to the holiday-shopping experience, Emirates Holidays had also organised a wide range of entertainment and cultural activities, each representative of a country within its product portfolio.
The participating travel agents attended 40 trade sessions to update themselves of the developments taking place at various destinations featured in the new Emirates Holidays product.
John Felix, Senior Vice President, Emirates Holidays noted:
‘As leisure travel escalates across the world, travellers are demanding niche tourism products as well as a wider range of holiday options. Emirates Holidays has significantly ramped up its product, and the entry of Venice, Newcastle, Sao Paulo, and Toronto together with 130 new hotels and more than 100 new excursions in A World of Choice 2008-09 bears testimony to this enhancement.’
New too are jungle trail safaris in Southern India; tours of ancient and modern South Korea; overnight farm stays in Australia; excursions to the white city of Essaouira in Morocco; sparkling Christmas markets in Munich; city breaks in Durban; and spa stays in several countries.
John added: ‘Our Arabic brochure has doubled in size and is now packed with the widest range yet of hotels, resorts, spas and safari lodges, new tours, cruises and honeymoon options.’
‘This year we have revised the layout of all the brochures to place greater emphasis on the country. Every country is introduced through a double-page spread which showcases the most interesting round-trip tours available, as against individual city visits.’
All hotels, apartments, lodges and resorts featured in the brochures have been personally inspected by Emirates Holidays staff to ensure they meet the needs of the discerning traveller.
Last year Emirates Holidays consolidated its distribution channels and served more than 100,000 holidaymakers. Its top-selling destinations include UAE, UK, France, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, Mauritius, Maldives, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia.