DUBAI – With summer officially over and the ‘big' Eid to look forward to, travelers from the Middle East are already looking at holiday destinations for their Eid Al Adha breaks. “The UAE is second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of the outbound travel market, and the rest of the GCC follows suit. Travelers from the UAE and Saudi Arabia are already planning their next holidays, and we've seen a lot of favourability towards Malaysia and India, both within reasonable flight times from the Gulf,” said Kapil Aggarwal, Director of Sales and Marketing for Hyatt International – South West Asia. Topping the list for tourists from the Gulf is Malaysia, with the country's tourism board recently announcing that it is targeting 400 thousand tourists in 2012 from GCC countries. A Muslim country, Malaysia is already nestled firmly within the top ten destinations favoured by GCC locals, who seek holiday destinations with excellent facilities, cultural familiarity and good weather. The newly opened Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, the first Grand Hyatt hotel in Malaysia, is the perfect base for Middle East travelers. With 370 guestrooms and 42 suites, the elegant hotel offers business travelers, tourists and local guests a sophisticated ambience, ideally located in Kuala Lumpur City Centre, close to the iconic Petronas Towers, parks and the Golden Triangle shopping and entertainment district. Designed by award-winning architecture firm, Bilkey Llinas Design, the hotel exudes contemporary grandeur. The ground floor lobby is decorated with specially commissioned art pieces. A circular art feature inscribed with a well-known welcoming Qur'anic verse, “A thousand dinar,” is well positioned at the main entrance warmly inviting guests from the GCC in. The second art piece by the Malaysian artist, Abdul Muthalib Musa, is a gold/bronze sculpture resembling an elegant tower. A crescent-shaped sculpture, symbolic to Brunei and Malaysia, is the centre piece of the ground floor lobby, sitting perfectly in the calm pond by the grand staircase. All of the hotel's guestrooms and suites were designed with floor-to-ceiling windows to maximize natural daylight, and this has resulted in the rooms having expansive views of the city, the greenery of KLCC Park or the Petronas Twin Towers. Many travelers also tend to look for destinations within a four to six hour flight from the GCC countries. India in particular is popular with local visitors, with the Indian Minister of State for Tourism announcing this year that the country is considering visa on arrival facilities for GCC nationals. A recent report showed that there has been consistent, positive growth of foreign tourist arrivals from the Gulf and Middle East region to India – in 2010 there was an overall growth of around 17 percent. A key Indian destination is Chennai, capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, and the fourth largest city in the country. The more than three century-old city lies on the beautiful Bay of Bengal, and has the second longest seashore in the world. The culture of Chennai is known to be distinctly different from any other city in India, with Tamil tradition and culture being the cornerstone of Chennai — the celebration of beauty through dance, clothing and sculptures. Arts, music and dance continue to flourish in the city and the architecture ranges from ancient temples to modern high-rises. Visitors to Chennai in late October or early November can take part on the colorful Deepavali festival, or the festival of lights – one of the most culturally significant celebrations for Hindus. Opening in October, the elegant Park Hyatt Chennai offers visitors contemporary design and a personal address in this historic city. With 201 luxurious rooms and suites on offer, the property is located next to the governor's residence and alongside the Guindy Forest Reserve, and is a serene sanctuary offering a discrete nod to Chennai's rich cultural history. An alternative to Chennai is Hyderabad, a city rich with tradition and history, located in Southern India on the banks of the Musi River and on the Deccan Plateau. The city is split into Central, North, South, East and West Zones – all containing different historical sites, entertainment and dining options and authentic shopping experiences. Designed by the renowned architecture firm of John Portman & Associates, the modern, eight-story Park Hyatt Hyderabad includes 185 guestrooms and 24 suites on the first six floors with 42 serviced apartments on the two uppermost floors. Clad in natural Madurai granite from South India, the façade is clean and modern with expansive glass doors and windows, and an impressive porte-cochere with a shimmering steel mesh ceiling fixture. The impressive lobby is designed with sparkling water features and plants that surround the hotel's signature 35-foot tall white, abstract sculpture. Hyatt hotels across the world offer Middle East travellers striking and luxurious accommodation in major city-centre locations. Guests staying at Hyatt properties experience first-rate facilities and can take advantage of leading fashion and food outlets housed within the hotels. — Agencies
