Gateway to the World

Global Village is a must-visit destination on Dubai’s social calendar – where the world comes together. Launched in 1997, the event runs from October to April and features an ever-growing number of retail outlets and entertainment to suit every taste.

This global adventure features concerts, shows, fun fair attractions, stalls and eateries. Some 90 countries or cultures set up shop at Global Village to showcase their local products within 27 pavilions and amongst more than 175 attractions.

Sample delicious honey from Yemen, shop exquisite carpets from Iran and Afghanistan, Argan oil from Morocco, engraved necklaces from Spain and dry fruits from Thailand. Each pavilion, from Egypt to Italy and Vietnam to Oman, transports visitors to the country through smell, taste, sounds, and colourful decorations.

Every evening artists from across the globe create a mix of wonder, music and comedy at the World Culture Stage. Thrill-seekers can enjoy high-octane, daring carnival rides and foodies can enjoy a mouthwatering fusion feast with tastes of international dishes at the many restaurants, cafes and street food outlets. Global Village is also home to the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! ‘Odditorium’ – a first in the region, this museum attraction has six galleries packed with fascinating artefacts, visual oddities and interactive exhibits.

The Snowfest Ice Rink is popular with all ages and abilities and the contrast between the warm Dubai climate and this winter wonderland is an exciting experience. The best time to visit Global Village is early evening when the sun is about to set and the destination is beautifully illuminated. Traffic is quieter before 8pm and an evening spent at the open-air site with fun fairs and live shows makes for a memorable, exciting and relaxing time.

For those who plan to visit in the afternoon or later at night, Global Village is open daily from 4pm to 12am, with closing times extended by an hour between Thursdays and Saturdays.

Visitors should plan to spend at least two or three hours at Global Village to enjoy the experience fully. The destination covers some 17 million square feet and you won’t want to miss out on any of the attractions. Combine a relaxing evening of exploring and browsing the retail outlets with upping the energy, enjoying the carnival rides and finish off the evening with delicious food and drink treats from the catering outlets. Stay a little later on weekend nights and enjoy the spectacular fireworks displays.

The best way to arrive at Global Village is by car or taxi and there is ample parking for this large destination. The entrance fee to Global Village starts at AED18 for online tickets, while rates begin at AED20 when bought onsite. Tickets are priced higher for weekend visits with free entrance for children under three and senior citizens. Download the Global Village app to plan and make the most of your visit.

Global Village is a unique destination to enjoy the world’s finest shopping, dining and entertainment. It takes guests on a journey through a group of pavilions, each representing the richness and diversity of different countries.

Hospitality Hotspot

Atvoco Bonnington Dubai you’ll experience a signature ‘come on in’ warm welcome, promising a stellar stay, whether your trip to Dubai is for business or pleasure.

Located in the heart of bustling and cosmopolitan Jumeirah Lakes Towers, voco Bonnington Dubai is optimally located just minutes from Dubai Marina, a host of luxury shopping malls, restaurants, bars, and some of the world’s top golf courses.

The 5-star voco Bonnington Dubai is within easy reach of both Dubai and Abu Dhabi international airports, with the Dubai Metro just two kilometres away. Free onsite parking and valet are available if you choose to drive.

In less than ten minutes, you’ll reach McGettigan’s Fan Zone at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre – the region’s best fan zone to watch all the FIFA action. Here you will also discover Winterfest- an awesome winter wonderland experience complete with Santa’s grotto, festive market, snow park, roller rink, al fresco dining, giant Christmas tree and so much more!

BE OUR GUEST Each guest room has been beautifully refurbished promising a comfortable and stylish abode where an excellent night’s sleep is guaranteed given the big cosy bed, complete with cosy bedding made from 100% recycled materials and black-out blinds.

“Antipodes” organic amenities, high-speed WiFi, flat-screen TVs, complimentary coffee & tea, water, and a delicious in-room dining menu make for a fantastic stay.

The Cheeky Camel has a vibrant aesthetic that packs a serious punch. The bar/ restaurant is colourful and adorned in art while the rooftop terrace boasts stunning views that leaves you wishing you’d booked to stay longer.

Prepare to have your relaxation mode well and truly engaged with the most stunning marbleadorned bathrooms with stand-alone bathtubs, rainfall showers, fluffy bathrobes and slippers. Sure, there’s no better way to switch off and unwind!

Enjoy marina or golf course views from superior rooms and relish the extra space in the larger club rooms. Club suites boast some 60m2 of living space, and club deluxe suites and deluxe corner suites enjoy fabulous views.

SIP & SLEEP voco Bonnington Dubai breaks with the traditional ‘turn down’ service and has created the new Turn Up Service that will inject a touch of playfulness to your stay for something that little bit different! The Sip and Sleep Package entitles guests to a full drinks trolley set up in their room, with instructions on mixing the perfect house cocktail, a free evening drink in the hotel bar or restaurant and an exclusive set menu dinner. Voco Bonnington will keep turning up with an automatic room upgrade and a late check-out!

DINE LIKE A LOCAL There’s no better feeling than discovering a knockout restaurant that you want to return to repeatedly. Luckily, voco Bonnington plays host to several of Dubai’s favourite haunts with residents travelling from all over the city, for what you’ll have right on your doorstep.

The Cheeky Camel is a seriously cool and vibrant neighbourhood haunt that boasts an aesthetic that packs a serious punch. This bar/restaurant is colourful, adorned in art, and there’s always plenty going on. Take to the most stunning rooftop terrace and bask in the Dubai weather with impressive views that will leave you wishing you’d booked to stay a little longer.

The menu melds European and Middle Eastern flavours with weekly deals such as happy hours, steak, quiz, and ladies’ nights.

Why not treat yourself to a sumptuous afternoon tea at The Authors’ Lounge, where you’ll indulge in a medley of classic sweet and savoury bites, accompanied by a selection of the finest tea and coffee.

voco Bonnington understands the importance of home comforts and you’ll find them in abundance at The Cavendish Restaurant, with a delicious Sunday carvery with all the mouth-watering trimmings and a weekly Steak & Wine Night.

McGettigan’s

RELAX & UNWIND Whether in Dubai for a well-earned vacation or for work, relaxing and recharging in the sun is important. The Leisure Deck offers sweeping views of the Dubai Marina skyline and boasts a luxurious swimming pool complete with a bar, gymnasium, sauna, and steam rooms.

The voco brand combines the informality and charm of an individual hotel with the quality and reassurance of a global and respected brand. Whatever your reason for staying at the voco Bonnington Dubai, you are assured a warm welcome, top-class facilities, and outstanding service - a real home away from home.

Special offers and events are available throughout the year. Contact the hotel directly for more information or visit their website. Call +971-43560000, email dine@vocobonnington.com or visit www.vocobonnington.com.

MCGETTIGAN’S The multi-award-winning McGettigan’s JLT pub is the city’s go-to for unrivalled Irish hospitality, and when you stay in voco Bonnington, it’s right on your doorstep. No trekking across town or hailing a cab; Dubai’s best pub is a stone’s throw from your room, leaving you just enough time to work up an appetite.

Expect to unwind in a modern yet cosy, always welcoming, easy-going, and relaxed setting while enjoying an ice-cold drink from home and the most delicious comfort food that always hits the spot. Whether you’re looking for an all-day fry-up, a mouth-watering burger or McGettigan’s famous chicken wings, rest assured that you won’t leave hungry!

McGettigan’s boasts one of the best outdoor drinks gardens the city has to offer with an unrivalled line up of live music and comedy acts, entertainment, and a jam-packed roster of sports shown on big screens. Sheer bliss!

Home from Home

Gaelic Games have been a constant feature in the Middle East region for more than 25 years.

Its sustained growth and expansion resulted in the formation of the Middle East GAA County Board in 2013, which continues to facilitate the development of Irish sports and culture in the region.

The Middle East County Board oversees 16 clubs located in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar. Membership for the current year has increased by almost 15%, with approximately 2,000 members participating in activities that run from August until May.

Members hail from every county in Ireland and over 25 countries worldwide. Middle East GAA offers a League and Championship competition in Hurling, Camogie, Mens Football and Ladies Football, which sees up to 15 action-packed tournaments take place in the region during the season. In addition, the continued growth of the juvenile sections has been exciting, with an upcoming juvenile tournament in February 2023 expected to cater for up to 400 juvenile members. Indeed, the year 2023 is set to be a momentous one for Middle East GAA, with regional teams preparing to compete against other units from all around the world at the GAA World Games, which will take place in Owenbeg, Derry in July.

Middle East GAA is enriching the community by promoting and developing GAA in an inclusive, welcoming and empowering way.

“We are very grateful to Ahmad Younis, Secretary General, and The Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce, for their sponsorship of the 2022/23 Middle East GAA League, continuing their generous support from the previous season,” notes Gearóid Cronin, Cathaoirleach. “For many of our members, The Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce is their first stop before venturing to the Middle East region. Once here, Middle East GAA is their home from home.”

Middle East GAA members hail from every county in Ireland and over 25 countries worldwide, and participate in League and Championship competitions in Hurling, Camogie, Mens Football and Ladies Football.

Key Dates for 2023

Feb 4th - Sharjah, UAE - Middle East GAA Juvenile Tournament Feb 11th - Sharjah, UAE - AICC Middle East GAA Hurling & Camogie League Finals Feb 25th - Dubai, UAE - AICC Middle East GAA Football League Finals March 10th & 11th - Abu Dhabi, UAE - P4ML Middle East GAA Championship

Dubai Duty Free

Dubai Duty Free (DDF) opened for business on 20th December, 1983, following an agreement between the Dubai Government and Aer Rianta.

Colm McLoughlin, who was part of the original Aer Rianta team, remained in Dubai and is the Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of DDF who reports directly to His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free.

Over the past 39 years, Colm has been an integral part of the Irish community in the UAE and as a result of his success as a business leader, he has greatly enhanced the reputation of Ireland and the Irish in the UAE.

Under Colm’s direction, DDF received over 700 awards presented by international, regional and local entities, which bear testimony to its retail success. On a personal level, Colm is also a recipient of several awards, including being the first non-UAE national to receive the Most Distinguished Employee Award from the Dubai Government Excellence Awards in 2000. In 2014, Colm was presented with the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award for Business and Education category, making him one of a select few, and the first Irish person living in the UAE to be recognised by the Irish government for his outstanding contribution to Irish business and communities abroad.

In 2021, despite the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, DDF continued to operate

The Dubai Duty Free shop in Concourse A.

at full capacity in Dubai International Airport and more recently, re-opened in Al Maktoum International Airport.

With its excellent handling of Covid-19, Dubai continued to be “open for business” and attracted travelers returning to the UAE for holidays, business and for major events such Expo 2020 Dubai, which ran from October 2021 to March 2022.

During this time, DDF greatly improved its sales forecast to achieve revenues of US$976 million in 2021, which was 40% higher than 2020, and the forecast for this year is US$1.6 billion.

In 2021, DDF’s business with Irish companies, specifically Irish whiskies and other products such as Baileys, Butler’s chocolates, Kerrygold butter and cheese, reached US$12.7 million.

SPORTS & CULTURE Sport is a major catalyst in strengthening the link between Ireland and Dubai, and with sports sponsorship an integral part of DDF’s marketing, it allows the brand to reach a global audience via the media exposure and television coverage that goes with each of the tournaments and events the company is involved with.

DDF has sponsored the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh for the past 15 years. This horse racing event has grown beyond recognition since the airport retailer took on the role of title sponsor in 2008. It has become one of the premier races in the global calendar and has a total prize fund of €1 million.

Meanwhile, the retail operation also took on the sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open for seven years since 2015 and helped restore the status of this major sporting event. Currently under a new title sponsor, Horizon Irish Open, DDF continued supporting this event as an official partner.

On the cultural front, DDF has been the presenting sponsor of the Dublin Arabic Film Festival since its inception in 2014. Curated by Oscar-nominated Director Jim Sheridan and Festival Director Zahara Moufid, it has effectively established itself Colm McLoughlin Vice Chairman & CEO

as an exceptional event that showcases some of the best feature films from the Arab world.

Back at its home base, DDF supports many sporting events, but it is perhaps the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships that takes the lion’s share in terms of investment. The tournament is owned and organised by DDF and held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The tournament has attracted top players worldwide including former winners Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Venus Williams, to name a few. The 2022 Championships, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in February, was won by Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who both claimed their first Dubai titles.

THE IRISH VILLAGE Colm is also the man behind the creation of The Irish Village in Garhoud, which is looked upon as a little slice of Ireland in the heart of Dubai. Colm initiated and developed the bar and restaurant, which opened in October 1996 and includes ‘The Ballinasloe Post Office’ as a nod to his hometown. Designed in the form of a typical Irish village street, its authenticity comes from the use of Irish materials such as Liscannor stone, and craftsmanship used in its construction, all of which have been imported from Ireland. The Irish Village opened a second home at Studio One Hotel in Dubai Studio City in 2019. Its rich wooden interiors, big terrace and a waterfall keeps its link to the original in Garhoud. The outlet has quickly become a favourite for residents of Arabian Ranches and surrounding communities. The Irish Village also opened its doors to Expo 2020 Dubai visitors during the six month event from October 2021 to March 2022.

Through its Leisure Division, DDF also owns and manages the Century Village, the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium and the five-star Jumeirah Creekside Hotel at the Aviation Club.

The Irish Village in Garhoud

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2022 Men’s Singles trophy presentation ceremony. (L-R) Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President-Marketing, Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, winner Andrey Rublev, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chief Executive of Emirates Airlines and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, runner-up Jiri Vesely, H.H. Sheikh Hasher bin Maktoum al Maktoum, President of UAE Tennis Federation, Salah Tahlak, Tournament Director and Nasser Yousef, General Secretary, UAE Tennis Federation.

Of the senior management team at DDF, three are Irish, while the two Irish Village bars and restaurants employ a further eight Irish staff.

Etihad Airways

Headquartered in the capital city of Abu Dhabi with their hub in Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates.

With a tag line of ‘Flying from Abu Dhabi to the World,’ the airline recently launched a loyalty programme that makes flying with Ethiad enjoyable and rewarding.

According to Jeremy Pollock, County Manager, UK and Ireland, Etihad Airways, the only constant for small businesses is that they need to remain agile at all times in the face of new challenges and rapidly changing conditions.

Many SMEs also face challenges around high costs and accessing valuable skills. For these businesses, there’s huge value in anything that enhances their efficiency and profitability.

That’s where a better approach to business travel comes in, making a significant difference whether companies are facing endless admin, difficulty with time management, employee retention challenges or limited resources.

“It’s with this in mind that we have devised our loyalty programmes at Etihad – aiming to ensure we reward businesses in a way that supports their success,” explains Jeremy. “This includes Etihad Guest, which allows individuals, families and employees to earn valuable miles with their travel. As well as BusinessConnect, our B2B loyalty programme and small and medium businesses (SMBs) that enables small and medium businesses to earn miles with every trip.”

REAL REWARDS Ethiad believes that business travel can and should be more rewarding in every sense. When the business landscape poses challenges, the value of a travel loyalty programme that makes booking flights and earning rewards easier and smarter cannot be understated.

SME loyalty programmes should be as easy as signing up, effortlessly managing trips and earning miles every time an employee with the business travels. It should also offer genuine value in a way that addresses many of the challenges that businesses face. That means it should reduce costs by offering the ability to swap miles for flights, upgrades, hotels and car rentals. It should even help boost productivity by enabling companies to spend their earned

miles on upgrades, ensuring employees arrive at meetings refreshed. Additionally, loyalty schemes must give time back to businesses, allowing them to manage their accounts and watch their miles grow at a glance through a simple portal.

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS For a loyalty programme to truly meet the needs of SMEs, it needs to offer valuable rewards and deliver ease of use from the very beginning.

Enrolment should be quick and easy, with a one-time registration and one account number. Likewise, booking should be entirely flexible, enabling businesses to earn miles whether they book with an online portal or travel agent. Also, intuitive tracking should make it simple to see the flights that employees have taken and the miles earned and redeemed.

Etihad recognises that a business that keeps its employees happy performs better. As a result, it enables employees to earn miles in their own personal Etihad Guest account simultaneously with their business account.

The airline operates a Conscious Choice programme, that allows passengers to join Etihad in transforming the way people live and travel through small changes that have a big impact on tomorrow. The programme allows passengers to offset their miles with CarbonClick, using Etihad’s app to reduce printing boarding passes and fly on one of the youngest fleets. Passengers who make a conscious choice will be rewarded by Etihad through its Etihad Guest Tier Miles.

Through Etihad Guest Tier Miles, every passenger can choose to do something good for the planet, such as taking less luggage on board, recognizing that every 5kg reduction in luggage can help reduce emissions by 5%.

LOYALTY BONUS When it comes to a loyalty programme that delivers immediate value to businesses, it’s hard to beat a generous welcome bonus. As such, Ethiad offers new members a bonus of 5,000 miles upon joining. Businesses simply need to take two flights within the first three months of creating their account to be eligible.

“Ultimately, we believe this adds up to a corporate travel loyalty programme that addresses some of the key pain points businesses face,” Jeremy adds. It reduces costs, increases efficiency, helps keep employees happy and delivers environmental benefits. “At a time when the landscape is uncertain, businesses can rest assured that their travel is taken care of, with their loyalty genuinely rewarded in a way that enables them to reach new heights.”