Habtoor News
Habtoor News
Habtoor Hotels present their financial plan and foresee positive
trends in 2010
Part of their school activities, the students of Emirates Inter-
national School – Jumeirah had a school assembly on Tues-
day 4th of February 2010. The assembly which started at 8:00
a.m. with the UAE National anthem was followed by a song
In readiness for the coming year, Habtoor Hotels LLC
delivered their Financial Plan Year 2010 presentation to
Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor & the Group Board in Al Habtoor
Group’s head quarters in Dubai as well as in Beirut, Leba-
non.
Habtoor Hotels administer and operate four hotels in Dubai
and two hotels in Lebanon and has over 30 years of hospi-
tality experience. Its management is positively anticipating
the commencement of 2010.
Although, 2009 was a challenging year for organizations all
round the world operating in the hospitality field, the Dubai
Hotels Division performed very well and maintained their
fair market share. The 2010 calendar year will be welcomed
with optimism, with a targeted growth of 24%. Hotels in
Lebanon performed extremely well and are charged with
aggressive growth targets of 55% for next year.
The chairman of Al Habtoor Group, Mr. Khalaf Al Habtoor,
looks very positively towards 2010. “Dubai remains one of
the most popular tourist destinations in the world” he stated,
prompting his employees to work as hard as they did in
2009, to overcome the challenges which presented them-
selves, and to take advantage of all the opportunities that
the coming year will present.
Seven of the top-100 and two former top-20 players were
among those participating at this year’s 11th Al Habtoor Ten-
nis Challenge. And this is just an indicator to prove the huge
popularity of this annual event on the ITF Women’s Circuit.
Ultimately, the winner had to be the best among this high
breed of players that included the likes of former World No.7
Nicole Vaidisova and World No.18 Anne Kremer to name
but a couple. So when Russia’s Regina Kulikova received
the crystal trophy from Khalaf Al Habtoor, Chairman of the
Habtoor Group, she could barely lift it above her head due to
the tough opponents she had to get past on her way to the final.
But she did know that she richly deserved the accolades as the
crowd cheered her on at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa on
a bright Saturday evening as she came through the test of such
a high-quality field.
Kulikova’s opponent in the final was Sandra Zahlavova, a qui-
et and unassuming player full of grit and determination that
was depicted when she outplayed and ousted Vaidisova the
previous day in the quarterfinals. And for good measure, Ku-
likova had accounted for none other than third seed Stefanie
Voegele of Switzerland in the semifinal.
So, the final day rightly belonged to Kulikova, and no one was
going to stop the Russian from striding past Zahlavova 7-6
(6), 6-3 in an entertaining finale to the annual tournament with
a prize purse of $75,000. Because this is what she had been
dreaming of after arriving in Dubai earlier during the week.
“My husband will be here on Saturday,” Kulikova had warned
tournament consultant Hani El Khafief before the competition
had even commenced. Such was her belief and conviction in
her abilities.
And once she started going, there was none going to stop her,
not even the grit of a resolute Zahlavova.
In winning here, Zahlavova added her name to the long list
of winners that includes the likes of Jelena Jankovic, Marion
Bartoli, Maria Kirilenko and Katarina Bondarenko – all who
have risen from this competition to be stars of tomorrow in ac-
cordance with the vision set by Khalaf Al Habtoor.
For sure, everyone knows that this will not be the end of to the
dream for the players or for the event as Khalaf Al Habtoor
has promised another smaller tournament to complement this
event starting next year. With this new competition, he wants
to ensure the players of today have the right stepping stone to
be the champions of tomorrow in keeping with the Al Habtoor
promise.
Regina Kulikova reigns at Al Habtoor Tennis
Emirates International School Assembly Day
written by the music teacher Mr. Paul and performed by
the primary school students. The students of the primary
school will be performing in the group’s 40th anniversary
celebrations later this year.
Emirates International School Jumeirah was established
in 1991 in Dubai, as part of the community service of AL
Habtoor Group. The School was the first school in Dubai
authorized to offer the international Baccalaureate Diplo-
ma Program.
The school, which has a sister branch in the Meadows,
boasts a current enrollment of 1800 students from 80 coun-
tries all around the world.
Habtoor Hotels - Lebanon
Habtoor Hotels - Dubai
