The Dubai Expat Diaries

There’s been quite a lot of coverage as well as rhetoric in the British media of late, regaring Dubai and a possible terror threat, posed to the Palm Jumeirah and the Burj al Arab hotel. Some snippets from various media reports:
From The Telegraph:
Expats – who make up perhaps as much as 90 per cent of [...]

Please be warned! There is a hoax / false email being circulated warning of a Hurricane and possible thunderstorms this weekend in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and most parts of the UAE. Do not take it seriously!!! IT IS A HOAX. Please check weather.com or any popular site for the actual weather forecast and avoid circulating [...]

Westin ATM party draws over 2,000: Pre-ATM bash declared ‘hottest’ party of the year
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 6, 2008 – It was Open House at The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort and Marina last night as the five-star resort flung open its doors to welcome in the world’s travel industry and give them [...]

The Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina showed the Dubai Taxi Drivers the Westin difference, when they invited them to experience a breakfast- to- go compliments of The Westin. Over 500 taxi drivers showed their support ahead of the opening and were met by key management staff of The Westin and handed a [...]

The Bride Show and Emirates Business 24/7 report that the wedding industry grew 20 % in 2007:
The cost of tying the knot can be anything from Dh20,000 for a small expat union to Dh500m for the most extravagant Emirati nuptials. But according to IIR – the Bride Show event organisers – the average cost is Dh300,000. [...]

Twitter has now been blocked in Dubai and the UAE! Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send “updates” (or “tweets”; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via short message service (e.g. on a cell phone), instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterrific [...]

Media reports indicate that popstar Madonna may perform in Dubai in November, with a record $24 million 2 concert deal, that would have her earning over $133k per minute!!! How’s that for a great job!?

Barasti at Le Méridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina is back on tour once again, with the first set of Barasti on Tour winners returning slightly hoarse from a three-day rugby spectacle after attending the Wales Vs France Six Nations match in Cardiff on March 15.

Charl and Eugene Roberts, Robin Ali, Nigel Smith, Stuart [...]

Hotel eMarketing and Internet ‘e’volution – Creating an Online Culture at Hotels: Are you a hotel eMarketer looking for ways to better communicate, educate and develop the role at your property/ies? This article explores some of the issues surrounding these efforts, complemented by a dose of perspective and a generous helping of best practices, all [...]

While rumors were flying thick and fast, the official take on the ”worst car crash / pile-up in the history of the UAE” was that 3-4 people were killed and more than 350 injured in a devastating 60 vehicle pile-up (caused by fog and reckless driving, it is presumed) on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai highway near Ghantoot on Tuesday (11th March 2008). The [...]