The Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai has been voted the best hotel in the Middle East for the eighth year in a row.

The plush property was one of a host of winners at this week’s World Travel Awards‘ Middle East ceremony, the first in a whistlestop World Travel Awards tour which will see further regional ceremonies in Antalya, Turkey; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; Bangkok, Thailand and Montego Bay, Jamaica before the year is out.

Also picking up prizes in the competition, billed as “the Oscars of travel,” were Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, the region’s leading airlines.

Prada said on Wednesday it will open stores across the Middle East as part of a joint venture with Emirates luxury retailer Al Tayer Insignia to develop a new retail network.

“The joint venture company, headquartered in Dubai, will oversee the roll out of Prada and Miu Miu stores across the region, leveraging on Al Tayer Insignia’s market knowledge and expertise,” a joint company statement said.

The new retail network will see stores opened in Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, it said.

The United Kingdom is aiming to attract an altogether different class of visitor with the launch of a new marketing campaign with Dubai-based airline Emirates.

A new marketing campaign dubbed “Britain. A tradition of Luxury” is unashamedly targeting wealthy individuals — those with over $1 million in disposable funds — to persuade them that Britain is worth visiting.

The campaign, which launched February 25, is being launched in China, India, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A cluster of 300 artificial islands off Dubai‘s coast in the shape of a global map is stable, its developer Nakheel insists, despite a court claim alleging that “The World” was neglected and eroding away.

“There is no issue with the stability of The World islands that are approximately 70 percent sold and handed over,” a Nakheel spokesman said.

“The island purchasers (have) the responsibility to proceed with their developments in due course,” he added.

The highest restaurant in the world opened its doors in Dubai January 23, promising “the world’s best dining out experience.”

Occupying the 122rd floor of Dubai’s enormous Burj Khalifa tower, At.mosphere is the latest record-breaker from the Emirate, which doesn’t seem to have lost any of its confidence following last year’s economic collapse.

Guests can dine on fresh products, while admiring a view more akin to that from an airplane window than a restaurant, some 442 meters from the ground.

After much anticipation and years of preparation, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) officially opens its doors today.

The 341-room hotel, with 124 executive residences, is the second Ritz-Carlton in Dubai and the sixth property in the region for the luxury hotel company.

This hotel is directly linked to the Dubai International Financial Centre and No. 5, the hotel bar is located in the prime welcoming position at the end of this pathway.