In a welcome boost for the Dubai Tourism industry, The UK’s number one tour operator Thomson Holidays has announced they will be offering package holidays to Dubai from 2011. Launching their Faraway Shores brochure yesterday Alex Loftus, planning director for Thomson longhaul, based in Luton, revealed that Holidays in Dubai will be offered on scheduled Dubai flights with Emirates, rather than the in-house airline Thomson Airways. Thomson customers will be able to book their Dubai holidays for durations of 4, 7, 10 and 14 night holidays in either Dubai City, Fujairah, Jumeirah, or Ras Al Khaimah. Holiday makers will also be able to book flexible City with Beach twin centre durations between the four areas. Tip : For more complex twin centres such as Dubai combined with Mauritius contact tailor made holiday experts Holidays Please.

Thomson Holidays to Dubai are on sale now at Thomson.co.uk

Dubai Deals from Glasgow Airport

With Emirates daily flights from Glasgow to Dubai and numerous options to fly in-direct there are plenty of options when it comes to booking a holiday to Dubai from Abbottsinch. Here is our guide to the best deals of the moment:

• Kuoni.co.uk – Despite their reputation for luxury holidays, Kuoni have some great prices and an online booking discount.
• Barrhead Travel – Glasgow’s favourite travel agent! Check their easy to use website for their best deals.
• Sunshine.co.uk – The UK’s low cost travel agent, loads of cheap hotels combined with the best price Dubai flights on the market leads to great possibilities for a cheap deal.
• ebookers.com – Combines scheduled flights with exclusive hotel deals. Well worth a search.

Make your own Dubai holiday from Glasgow

To get the most flexibility and sometimes as a way to get the cost down it’s easy to arrange your own holiday to Dubai and flying from Glasgow airport is no problem. Here’s our guide :

• Check Emirates for direct flights to Dubai from Glasgow. For indirect flights from Glasgow, which may be cheaper but takes longer look at KLM, Air France and BA to book direct or ebookers to compare all flights in one search.
• Check Room Wizard, Sunshine and ebookers for the best Dubai hotel deals.
• Check Isango for excursions and trips from Dubai. Trips on offer include deep sea fishing, private shopping tours, desert safari trips, ski Dubai, the world’s largest indoor ski centre and Dubai city tour with lunch at Burj Al Arab.

Scottish Connections to Dubai

The Royal Bank of Scotland has offices in Dubai and the Dubai Caledonian Society is active in promoting Scottish culture in Dubai. Then of course each year many Scots make their way to The Emirates for The Dubai Rugby Sevens, an event with a forty year history.

Virgin Holiday Dubai Deals.

Great deals on holiday to Dubai have just been released by Virgin Holidays. – 5 nights under £500 including flights, breakfast and luxury beach front hotel.

Virgin Holidays bring you a saving of up to 50% on luxury Dubai holidays. You can save up to 50% on Dubai holidays departing between 10 Nov 2009 and 17 Mar 2010 for travel completed by 25th March 2010. You can choose from the five luxury hotels. Flights are based on Virgin Atlantic flights from Heathrow to Dubai and if you want to make your Dubai holiday even more luxurious upgrades to premium economy and upper class seats are available when you book online.

The five night holidays are all at five star or 4.5 star hotels and include breakfast, extra nights can be added and single rooms are available at a supplement. The five hotels on special offer are:

• Atlantis, The Palm.
• The Westin Dubai, Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.
• The Ritz Carlton.
• Jebel Ali
• Le Meridien Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina.

Learn More at http://www.virginholidays.co.uk/special_offers/dubai/

Tip : There is a credit card charge of 2% which can be avoided by paying with a debit card.

As the recession spirit grips hoteliers all around the world, with “cheap chic” and “rough luxe” becoming watchwords in London, Paris and New York, the die-hard luxury hound in search of a hit of the pure stuff is left with fewer and fewer options. Fortunately they’ll always have Dubai, the one city where the gilt edge has yet to wear off.

Dubai’s comparative advantage is in the area of five, six- and seven-star opulence, and in these tough times their hoteliers are sticking to their strengths.The daddy of them all is of course the towering Burj Al Arab.

If you are looking for a Luxury Dubai deal either build your own package with Dubai flights and Dubai hotel booking separately or check out the flight+hotel deals available through ebookers.com