Dubai hotels to have special 'DUBAI 2003 information desks'

The branded information desks will be located near the reception area of every major hotel in Dubai that will be providing accommodation for the estimated 18,000 to 20,000 visitors who will be in Dubai for the meetings in September 2003. The desks will be staffed 24-hours a day to provide information and facilitate all the needs of hotel guests surrounding the event.

The Dubai 2003 Accommodation Committee, that met this week to discuss the latest arrangements for hosting the world's financial community, is undertaking liaison between the hotels and the organisation.

Some hotels are already fully booked for the period of the Annual Meetings in September 2003 and contracts between Dubai 2003 and the participating hotels are now finalised.

Dubai 2003 General Coordinator, Mr Ibrahim Belselah, said: "The Accommodation Committee has worked tremendously hard to ensure the placement of delegates as well as visitors to such a prestigious gathering."

Mr Ahmed Al Banna is Assistant General Coordinator of Dubai 2003 and Head of the Accommodation Committee and leads a team comprising senior representatives from the hotel and tourism industry in Dubai.

He said: "There has been a tremendous spirit of cooperation and enthusiasm from the hotel sector in Dubai to ensure the success of the Annual Meetings next year. It is a very complex exercise to ensure we provide the best facilities for our international guests but a challenge that our committee and the hotel and tourism sector in Dubai is able to meet."

The Accommodation Committee is one of 10 committees established by Dubai 2003 to undertake the preparation and planning for this prestigious event.

The Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund were first held in Washington DC in 1946. They are hosted by an international city every third year. Dubai and the UAE were selected because of its highly developed transportation and logistics infrastructure, growing importance as a financial hub and its established position as an oasis of opportunity.

ENDS