Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited honours regional travel trade with recognition awards for a decade of loyalty

These awards were presented in appreciation of their consistent and loyal support over the past decade. Eight travel agencies were also presented with awards for their valued support for sales in 2003, of which Al Kaatib Travel from Bahrain were honoured with an "Outstanding Sales Support" for the same year.

Opening the award presentation, Dr Abdulaziz Al Oshban, Principal/Managing Director, Royal Caribbean Cruises Middle East, said: "In all our years of presenting these awards, many of the recipients today are no strangers to our genuine recognition efforts that underlines both the consistency and loyalty we share with a small but prized group of travel agents throughout the Gulf. Nine of our clients in this room this morning have been successfully selling and supporting Royal Caribbean Cruise vacations for a decade and will be honoured this morning with an award for their ten years of loyalty and valued support. We hope the recipients feel as honoured with our loyalty awards as much as we are in recognizing them."

Travel industry partners receiving their "Decade of Loyalty" awards were:- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines - AGCC; Al Kaatib Travel - Bahrain; Transworld Travel - Bahrain; Kanoo Holidays - Bahrain; Barakat Travel - Kuwait; Al Ghanim Travel - Kuwait; Baz Travel - Kuwait; Safwan Mahmoud - Qatar; Attar Travel - Jeddah.

In presenting the Decade of Loyalty Awards, Rosemary McNulty-Sharpe, Middle East Consultant, Royal Caribbean Cruises, announced: "Royal Caribbean Cruises in the Middle East has sold 57 million dirhams of gross sales to the Middle East travel trade market over the last decade, of which 45% was placed between 2001 and 2003. This equated to a total trade commission earning of 6 million dirhams, not including the added supplementary travel servicing needs of flights and pre and post cruise accommodation and transfers."

The eight travel agencies receiving "Sales Support Awards 2003" were:- Kanoo Holidays - Bahrain; Transworld Travel - Bahrain; Baz Tours -Kuwait; Al Faisaliah Travel - Jeddah; Thomas Cook - Jumeira, Al Arabi Travel - Dubai and The Travel Market - Dubai. The award for "Best Marketing Partner for 2003" was presented to mytravelchannel.com in recognition of their exceptional co-operation with joint marketing initiatives.

Representing Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited and presenting the "Outstanding Sales Support Award for 2003" to Sheikh Bader bin Salman Al Khalifa, managing director Al Kaatib Travel, Bahrain; Helen Beck, regional sales director for international sales and marketing said: "I have just been on board the latest addition to our Royal Caribbean fleet, Jewel of the Seas, and I'm delighted to be here today to acknowledge the achievements of the Jewel in our Middle Eastern crown, Al Kaatib Travel, whose 2003 gross sales were 72% higher than any other sales partner in the region.'