Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts take to the road for their annual gulf tour

The delegation of General Managers and Directors of Marketing, representing 17 Four Seasons properties from the Middle and Far East, the USA and Europe, will be showcasing their facilities to leading travel professionals and key clients in the GCC region. Kicking-off in Abu Dhabi on November 12, the tour will take in Dubai on November 13, Doha on November 14, Jeddah and Riyadh on November 15 and 16 respectively, and wind up in Kuwait on November 18.

The roadshow is designed to bring greater awareness of the Toronto based luxury hotel group's regional and global network via workshop presentations and an informal reception in each destination. A new addition to the tour's line up for 2005 is a representation from Four Seasons Hotel Damascus. Opening on November 15, the new Damascus property is the seventh hotel in the region for Four Seasons. The others are located in the desirable destinations of Amman, Cairo, Doha, Riyadh and Sharm El Sheikh. They will be joined by delegations from Four Seasons hotels in Boston, New York, Washington, Langkawi (Malaysia), Sydney, Hampshire in England, London, Milan, Paris and Provence in the South of France.

'The Middle East and the Gulf in particular is an increasingly important market for our properties both within the region and outside,'

said David Crowl, Vice President Sales and Marketing Europe, Middle East and Africa. 'Our aim is to bring our products to leading travel professionals and, collectively, strengthen our relationship with them.

'The event also gives us the opportunity to reinforce our message of commitment to the Middle East and showcase our portfolio of new properties which are coming up in Arabia and elsewhere,' added Geneva-based Crowl.

Currently under construction in the Middle East are properties in Beirut, Alexandria, Marrakesh, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi while negotiations are also underway with developers in other major cities in the region.

Since the first Four Seasons hotel in the Middle East opened in Cairo in 2000, the brand has become well established in the region and is synonymous with the modern traveller for luxury, anticipatory service and exceptional quality.