Atlantis, The Palm Launches Iftari Recipe Online Competition

To celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan, the master chefs at Atlantis, The Palm, the leading entertainment resort destination in the Middle East, has decided to reward household chefs through the “Iftari Recipe Competition”. This competition asks people to send in their recipe to win Iftar at the Asateer tent with 4 friends, as well as a private cooking session at Atlantis, The Palm.

Participants only need to send their recipe to: iftari@atlantisthepalm.com with the full details of the creator of the recipe and attach a photo of the dish. A selection of entries will be posted on the Atlantis Facebook page, and each week, a committee of leading chefs at Atlantis will choose f the best dish.

Overlooking the Arabian Gulf and The Palm, Asateer evokes sensations of nostalgia for the golden era of Arabia. Meaning ’myths’, Asateer provides an ambience filled with traditional activities, including card games, chess and backgammon. For a contemporary twist, each Majlis has a playstation and a large television. Throughout the stunning design and contemporary folkloric atmosphere of the tent, guests will be entertained by Oud and Tableh players playing timeless Arabic favourites.

Atlantis guests can enjoy Iftar at Asateer at AED 165 per person, inclusive of water and Ramadan juices. Children below the age of three years are admitted complimentary, while those children between three and 12 years of age are invited to enjoy Iftar at Asateer for AED 80 per person.

For those who are looking for a great Suhour experience, Suhour will be offered nightly at Asateer from 9pm with an extensive a la carte menu offering classic favourites and new surprises, as well as fresh Ramadan juices.

Guests can also enjoy Iftar and Suhour at Levantine which offers a true taste of Arabia and a variety of cuisines from the region. The set menu can be enjoyed for AED 165 per person inclusive of Ramadan juices and soft beverages. The panoramic show kitchen and elegant atmosphere provides a perfect setting to break the fast.

Kaleidoscope, which features a primarily Mediterranean menu with North African and Indian speciality dishes, will also be offering traditional favourites alongside a range of international dishes. The interactive, open kitchens feature live cooking stations and an impressive Iftar buffet for just AED 185 per person. The restaurant offers an inviting environment that is perfect for families looking to spend Ramadan together.
 

Copthorne Dubai Offers Free Internet For Online Bookers

Copthorne Hotel Dubai, the downtown Deira business hotel, has today announced it is offering free internet access to all guests who make their room bookings online.

People who book online, whether directly on the www.millenniumhotels.com website or through a third party booking engine, are highly likely to be active internet users. The hotel is offering free internet access in a bid to add value where it is most appreciated by its guests.

The Copthorne Dubai is committed to meeting the needs of business travellers and offering outstanding value and quality. The free internet offer is designed to respond to changing consumer behaviours with self serve booking patterns being a key development in the past year.

In 2011 year to date, online bookings for the Copthorne Dubai have increased by 62% when compared to the same period in 2010, clearly showing a strong trend for consumers choosing to book online.
 

Visa Partners With Emirates NBD To Support Online Debit Transactions

Visa, one of the world’s leading payment solutions providers, has partnered with Emirates NBD for the launch of a service that allows Emirates NBD Visa debit cardholders to make online transactions. The move sees Emirates NBD, which is the UAE’s largest provider of Visa debit cards with over one million cardholders, become the first bank in the region to offer debit cardholders the opportunity to enjoy the peace of mind offered by Verified by Visa, Visa’s innovative e-commerce security solution.

Emirates NBD’s adoption of Verified by Visa signals a joint commitment towards providing cardholders with yet another level of security and delivering unprecedented online safety and convenience to Emirates NBD Visa cardholders, enabling them to make online purchases directly from their bank accounts rather than on a credit card. The partnership will further help drive the use of online payments over cash on delivery for goods bought online, helping to further ensure transaction security and reflects the increasing importance of e-commerce within the UAE, as highlighted by the Government’s current drive to increase online Government sector payments.

Emirates NBD went live with the globally trusted Verified by Visa programme for its Visa debit cardholders earlier this month, making it the first bank in the region to offer this enhanced security tool to both Visa debit and Visa credit cardholders.

Mr. Kamran Siddiqi, General Manager Visa Middle East, said: “Visa is delighted to have Emirates NBD as the first bank in the GCC to take forward the Verified by Visa programme for both debit and credit cardholders, working with Visa to protect cardholders and instill confidence in the e-commerce environment. Emirates NBD is the first bank in the region to pioneer this enhanced security for all cardholders.

He added: “We have seen a significant growth in debit transactions and payments in the region. Visa debit cards have become the card of choice for many cardholders and now outnumber credit cards by four to one. The online space is also a more sophisticated and accessible commercial landscape now and our research has shown that 83 per cent of UAE residents have purchased something online. It is therefore even more important for consumers to have the choice of using either their debit or credit card online and with Verified by Visa, we are adding an extra layer of protected security for our customers.”

The Verified by Visa service ensures that the person using the Visa debit or Visa credit card online is the genuine cardholder. The easy-to-use function invites registered users to use a personal password to confirm their identity before the transaction is finalised, providing Visa cardholders with greater reassurance and security every time they use their credit or debit card online.

Siavaram R, Head of Cards Business, Emirates NBD, said: “The adoption of the Verified by Visa programme is in line with Emirates NBD’s strategic vision to create a safe e-environment for our customers that will allow them the flexibility and the opportunity to make online transactions with secure and convenient technologies. As pioneers of the UAE banking sector, it is only fitting that Emirates NBD is the first bank in the region to offer this enhanced security service for all its cardholders while helping to promote e-commerce and further consolidate the e-marketplace offering in the region.”
 

Atlantis, The Palm Launches Online Competition That Will Make You A Celebrity

Dannii and Kylie Minogue have interviewed X-Factor finalists at Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, legendary artist Usher has partied there and Denise Van Outen has holidayed at the iconic resort. Now it’s your turn to be spotted in Atlantis with an exciting new online contest launching today. ‘Spotted in Atlantis’ gives you the chance to cast yourselves and three friends into a video as celebrities who are spotted at different locations around Atlantis, The Palm – the Middle East’s leading entertainment resort destination.

The competition could win you one of hundreds of weekly gift certificates in addition to the chance to follow in the stars’ footsteps and win the grand prize of an utterly glamorous five-night stay for four people at Atlantis, The Palm including flights from anywhere in the world. The grand prize winners will also enjoy an Atlantis dolphin encounter at Dolphin Bay, dine like celebrities with a complimentary meal for four at uber stylish Nobu and Ronda Locatelli, enjoy unlimited access to Aquaventure – the Middle East’s largest waterpark and discover 65,000 marine animals in the underwater world of The Lost Chambers.

Other celebrities that have been spotted at Atlantis, The Palm include Justin Timberlake, Tess Daly and Vernon Kay, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, Lily Allen, Naomi Campbell, Agyness Deyn, Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson, Charlize Theron, and Gary Linekar and Danielle Bux.

To feel you’re a similar celebrity at Atlantis, The Palm, simply upload a picture of yourself and three friends at www.spottedinatlantis.com, click on “create your own video” and sit back and enjoy. It is quick, easy and takes less than a minute. The video will show the impact you and your friends have as you take an exciting adventure throughout the resort from the heart-stopping Leap of Faith at Aquaventure to the iconic Bridge Suite, soaring 22-storeys over The Palm. The video shows you and your friends having the same impact as a celebrity leaving the staff and guests in awe of you. The 65,000 marine animals are mesmerised by your presence, the Aquaventure lifeguard is stupefied by the way you brave the Leap of Faith slide and the spa therapist is enthralled by your aura.

To increase the fun and your chances of winning, you can enter as many times as you like*, include different groups of friends and share it with your friends through www.spottedinatlantis.com, or through links on the Atlantis website: www.atlantisthepalm.com, www.Facebook.com/atlantisthepalm or www.youtube.com/atlantisthepalmtv The competition closes on 30th September 2011.
 

Dubai Trade Introduces Value Addition With New Online Services For Emirates SkyCargo And RTA

As part of its commitment to continuously improve its e-services, Dubai Trade, the premier trade facilitator under Dubai World, announced yesterday (June 4) the introduction of new value-added services for the portal’s users, both registered and unregistered.

The new offerings include real-time access to the e-services of its partners, Emirates SkyCargo and the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

Dubai Trade customers seeking air freight services would now be able to check Emirates SkyCargo’s flight schedules and space availability, get price quotes, make bookings and track up to 10 shipments by airway bill or job reference numbers. Uploading shipment related documents through the highly secure portal enables distribution to any other party in the supply chain. Customers can also download software for Barcode Label Printing to generate industry standard labels for their cargo and print them.

Dubai Trade’s partnership with the RTA allows the portal’s users, including unregistered visitors, access to a wide range of services including renew of vehicle registration, which can be done in minutes. As many as 100 vehicle registrations can be processed in a single transaction. The applicant can pay Online using a credit card or e-Dirham card and a temporary Vehicle Registration approval is printed by the company on-the-spot. The vehicle is registered as soon as the temporary Vehicle Registration approval document is printed and it can immediately be driven.

Mahmood Al Bastaki, Director, Dubai Trade, said:
“The integration of services offered by Emirates Sky Cargo and the Roads & Transport Authority into Dubai Trade’s online portal is another step towards our efforts to further strengthen Dubai’s position as the regions’ leader in e-commerce and e-services. The value addition introduced by this initiative will benefit all our customers from the supply chain sector, as well as unregistered visitors to our website. We remain committed to enhancing customer experience on Dubai Trade portal through more innovations.”

Ahmed Bahrozyan, Chief Executive Officer, RTA Licensing Agency, said:
"The RTA like Dubai Trade is looking to improve business efficiences, reduce industry costs and improve customer convenience. Many of our vehicle related products are now available Online with more coming in 2011. Improved integration with Dubai Trade will further benefit companies and improve convenience.

Other add-on offered for Dubai Trade clients are Emirates SkyCargo’s BookingsView, which displayes current status of shipments, sends alerts and notifications, and an Address Book offering regular customers to create their own records of bookings and messages.

Dubai Trade Portal (www.dubaitrade.ae) offers a remarkably seamless business flow and has proven to be cost effective for clients using it as the single window which integrates the online services of DP World, Economic Zones World, Dubai Customs, and Dubai Multi Commodities Center.
 

Nissan Announces The Winners Of Online Tiida Competition

As part of its current media activities around the popular Nissan Tiida hatchback and sedan, Nissan Middle East announced the names of its digital ‘Tiida Characters’ competition which ran from October until December 2010. Approximately 3,000 hopeful entrants logged into the special Nissan Tiida website www.Tiida-me.com to answer questions in the on-line competition which followed a raffle draw this month with six lucky winners from the GCC region.

The Nissan Tiida was initially launched in the Japanese market in September 2004, followed by a rollout to the other markets including the Middle East and China in 2005 with subsequent launches in North America and Europe in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The Tiida has achieved strong customer advocacy due to its spacious and modern interior, impressive driving performance and good fuel efficiency.

The Tiida has won numerous awards in 2008 by receiving ‘Car of the Year’ in Thailand and Mexico, ‘Automotive Best Buy’ in the USA and top ranked as an environmentally friendly car by the Ministry of Environment in Taiwan.

Other awards for the Nissan Tiida include the China “Car of the Year 2006” by SINA Corporation, a leading Asian online media company and information service provider based in China and “Inter-American Car of the Year 2007” by FIPA, Inter-American Federation of Auto Journalists, which consists of journalists from 19 countries.

The Nissan Tiida has also received several safety recognitions, which include the highest six star rating for its crash-impact safety by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism of Japan in 2004, highest ratings for front, side and rear impact by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in 2008, and the Safest Car Award by Premiado Auto Mas Seguro Magazine in Argentina in 2007.
 

Online Registration Now Open For Dubai Global Energy Forum 2011

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy announced today that registration is now open for the Dubai Global Energy Forum 2011 on the event’s website; www.dgef.ae. The Forum, held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and with the theme “Energy Challenges and Opportunities for a Sustainable Future”, will take place over three days between the 17th and 19th of April 2011 in Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Registration for the forum has been expertly organized by the council to ensure the process is easy. The Dubai Global Energy Forum 2011, the first global event of its kind in the Emirate of Dubai on energy related issues, aims to provide a platform for energy leaders and experts to exchange views on emerging regional and global issues related to energy policies, programs, technologies and investment opportunities.

H.E. Saeed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council of Energy, said, "A great number of national and top global researchers, scientists and analysts are already set to participate in the Forum. The topics they plan on discussing include policies of energy both regionally and internationally from the technical, commercial, financial and regulatory aspects, energy technologies, investment opportunities, economic diversification, market indicators, maximizing investment revenues in the fields of energy and discussing the most important issues of environment and sustainability.

The Forum will consist of eight major tracks of plenary and parallel sessions addressed by keynote speakers and panellists. Sessions will address specific topics in each track through indepth analyses and will provide the audience with focused presentations and opportunities for discussions. Energy leaders, officials, planners and energy experts from government and private sectors, international organizations and academia from around the world are participating in the event.

H.E. Saeed Al Tayer said, "Organizing such a Forum supports the Supreme Council’s mission to ensure the provision of all of the future needs for energy of the growing economy in Dubai, by securing primary sources of energy at reasonable costs and mitigating the negative effects that causes harm to the environment. The Supreme Council of Energy pays great attention to the important issues of the energy sector.”

Emirates Teams Up With Mastercard For Online Promotion

Emirates’ customers who book their flight on www.emirates.com with a valid MasterCard credit and debit card between 12th April and 10th June 2011 will go into a daily draw to stand a chance to win back the value of their ticket, up to US$ 750*.

A total of 180 winners will be selected throughout the duration of the promotion, with three winners across the Middle East region selected each day. The promotion is open for tickets purchased in Economy Class and Business Class only, for outbound travel on or before the 31st August 2011. As a bonus, MasterCard Debit cardholders who take advantage of the promotion will receive a double entry into the draw.

The offer is running in several countries across the Middle East including; the UAE, Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.

“Emirates and MasterCard have had a long and successful collaboration and this new promotion is a further extension of this,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Gulf, Middle East and Iran, Emirates. “Emirates has a standing commitment to bring value to our customers and we are confident that this promotion will be well received.”

"At MasterCard, we understand that consumers are looking to maximise the value they get from their payment card," said Eyad Al-Kourdi, vice president and country manager, UAE, MasterCard Worldwide. "As such, MasterCard continuously works with leaders, such as Emirates, to create campaigns that will that will be valued by MasterCard cardholders."

* Terms & Conditions apply.
 

Emirates NBD Introduces Online Utilities Payment For DEWA Services Through e-Channels

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today that it has upgraded its utilities payments service to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) from offline to online, ensuring that payments made through the bank’s electronic channels are instantly credited to the consumer account at DEWA.

The upgrade in the bank’s payments services to DEWA has reduced the time taken to credit payments into the consumer account from three days to same day and time.

“As the largest local financial services provider, Emirates NBD is always on lookout to see how we can provide greater value to our customers with faster turnaround times and greater convenience on essential services,” said Abdulelah AlKindy, General Manager – Retail Banking, Emirates NBD. “Now customers can save time spent waiting in queues and have their payments credited instantly into their accounts.”

This service is available to both Emirates NBD account holders through all banking channels and non account holders through CDMs. Once customers have chosen their preferred mode of payment from the various electronic channels available at the bank, the payment is automatically credited to the consumer account.

The wide range of electronic channels offered by Emirates NBD for utility bill payments include ATMs, CDMs, Internet Banking, SMS banking, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), PDA Banking and USSD mobile banking (*151#)
 

Emirates NBD Enhances Security Of Online Card Transactions With DoubleSecure

Emirates NBD, a leading bank in the region, announced today the launch of DoubleSecure, a new service designed to enhance the security of existing Emirates NBD Credit and Debit Cards. The service, which has been launched in partnership with Visa and MasterCard, enables Emirates NBD Cardholders to use a personal password to further protect online transactions by adding an extra layer of security.

DoubleSecure is available through ‘Verified by Visa’ and MasterCard® SecureCode™ the global anti-fraud systems of Visa and MasterCard, and is available only on merchant sites supported by these systems.

“Emirates NBD is the first bank in the region to launch this feature on both Debit and Credit Cards. With the highest focus on offering extensive protection against fraud on its Debit and Credit cards, Emirates NBD strives to ensure stress-free online transactions and customer peace of mind,” said R Sivaram, Head of Cards Business, Emirates NBD. “Given the increasing use of cards online, we believe it is important to add an extra layer of security to prevent unauthorised use. DoubleSecure requires customers to confirm their identity as the authorised cardholder and ensures that the purchase can be completed only with password identification.

“Even if a customer’s card has been misplaced, DoubleSecure ensures that online purchases can only be completed by the rightful owner of the card, since only the owner knows the personalised password. We believe this will go a long way in building customer confidence to increase use of Emirates NBD Credit and Debit Cards for online transactions,” he added.

Kamran Siddiqi, General Manager for Visa Middle East said: “As one of the world’s preferred form of online electronic payment, Visa is trusted by consumers worldwide when it comes to paying for goods and services online. Innovations such as DoubleSecure enable cardholders to shop without borders, safe in the knowledge that their transaction is secure.”

“For 40 years, MasterCard has pioneered security innovations and we continue to be committed to ensuring MasterCard cards are safe, secure and reliable,” said Eyad Al-Kourdi, Vice President and Country Manager, UAE, MasterCard Worldwide. “At MasterCard, we remain focused on implementing best practices and technologies to ensure that consumers, merchants and our customer financial institutions are better protected from fraud in the online world of e-commerce and that their privacy is respected and protected. We are delighted to team up with Emirates NBD to offer MasterCard cardholders added protection, while at the same time giving merchants the enhanced payment guarantee they need to expand their business and serve their customers."

Customers can enrol into DoubleSecure through any of the participating merchant websites that display the logos: ‘Verified by Visa’ and MasterCard® SecureCode™. Enrolment is a simple one-time process, and can be completed by following instructions displayed while transacting on participating merchant sites. The steps include entering an 8-digit authentication code that is sent to the customer’s mobile number maintained in the bank records, and the creation of a unique 8-character personal password.

Once enrolled into Emirates NBD DoubleSecure, customers will be prompted to enter their password to complete the transaction, every time they make a purchase online. Emirates NBD is offering enrolment in DoubleSecure at no charge to all its cardholders.