Barclays Bank announces promotional campaign for Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships

New customers applying for a Priority or Prestige Barclaycard between 21 January and 21 February will get a chance to win a number of ticket packages for the Tier II Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and the ATP International Series Gold tournament matches. Individuals approved for personal or small business loans and those opening a current or fixed deposit account with Barclays will automatically receive a pair of tickets to the event.

By using their Barclaycard three times over the same period, existing Barclaycard holders also will be eligible to win ticket packages to the event. Winners for both promotions will be announced on 24 February, one day prior to the beginning of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

The promotions are part of a multi-faceted marketing campaign that Barclays has launched in conjunction with the recent announcement of their US$ 9 million agreement with Dubai Duty Free, the owner and organiser of the annual tournament, that will see Barclays become the title sponsor of the Dubai Tennis Championships for the next three years.

The announcement marks Barclays' first foray into professional tennis sponsorship in the Middle East. Amin Habib, Managing Director of Barclays UAE and Gulf, sees the move as a natural extension of Barclays' involvement in major sporting events around the world, including the Barclays Premiership, the world's most watched Football League.

"Historically, Barclays has been associated with key sporting events world-wide," said Habib. "With eight out of the top ten ranked men and nine out of the top ten ranked women attending this year's tennis tournament in Dubai, it was incredibly clear to us that this was one of the premier events in the region. We also see a great benefit in supporting the community spirit this event has fostered since it began in 1993."

The tournament has generated massive media exposure for Dubai over the years and its popularity is reflected in the box office where, in 2007, finals tickets sold out within hours of going on sale. Over 120,000 spectators watched the live action at the Dubai Tennis Stadium last year, while a global audience estimated at 400 million watched the TV coverage from around the world.

"For 15 years, this event has been an integral part of the Dubai community, and Dubai Duty Free have done a great job in raising the profile of the event to an international audience," said Habib. "For Barclays, this is an opportunity to support an event with enormous social value, raise our profile within the community and thank our customers by offering promotions in the month before the event."

In addition to ticket based promotions, Barclays is also offering discounted rates on processing fees for approved mortgages until the close of the Championships on 8 March.

Two weeks of star-studded competition begins on 25 February with the Tier II Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournament and is followed by the ATP International Series Gold event from 3 - 8 March.