Bucket-list festive destinations from Anantara Hotels & Resorts With the festive season swinging into gear, it’s time to join Santa on his sleigh as he takes a whirlwind tour of Anantara hotels and resorts high on everyone’s wish list this year. From meeting an amphibious Santa in the Maldives to feasting on Christmas classics in a medieval convent in Italy to counting down to 2024 among the dunes, the final weeks of the year promise to be filled with unforgettable adventure, meaningful discovery and lots of cheer. Kihavah Maldives Villas Pristine nature and high glamour come together in a dazzling display of seasonal cheer at Anantara Kihavah Maldives Villas, where the festive programme includes a gold-themed New Year’s Eve gala and a private spa cruise that takes wellne...
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Get ready to unwrap the magic of Christmas and ring in the New Year in true barefoot luxury style at OUTRIGGER Resorts in Koh Samui, Khao Lak and Phuket. From the little ones to the young at heart, OUTRIGGER has a sleigh-load of festive activities to make your holidays unforgettable. OUTRIGGER Koh Samui Beach Resort This beachfront resort has pre-festive fun with live band, fire show, Christmas carols, lucky draw, sumptuous food, competitions for kids and visits by Santa on the evenings of 22, 23 and 24 December. Christmas Day lunch is a relaxed beachside affair, with Santa presenting surprises to the children. Get ready to party in style on New Year’s Eve with sumptuous seafood, prime cuts, a mesmerising fire show, a live band and DJ beats that will keep you grooving all night ...
Read MorePrepare to indulge in a blissful escape as OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort has announced its extraordinary Christmas and New Year programme, elegantly curated for discerning travellers seeking the epitome of barefoot luxury. From 19 December 2023 through 1 January 2024, this island paradise in the South Ari Atoll beckons guests to partake in a festive celebration like no other. Elevating the art of culinary mastery, the resort’s renowned Chef Christopher Long presents an opulent Christmas Eve buffet market, a symphony of flavours and global culinary delights to tantalise guest’s taste buds. Dive deeper into the culinary world with immersive masterclasses, where guests can learn the secrets of crafting sushi, Vietnamese hand rolls and indulge in the perfect mojito. Experience...
Read MoreThe biblical town of Bethlehem marked what was shaping up to be a merry Christmas on Saturday, with thousands of visitors expected to descend upon the traditional birthplace of Jesus as it rebounds from the coronavirus pandemic. Tourism is the economic lifeblood of this town in the occupied West Bank, and for the past two years, the pandemic kept international visitors away. This year, visitors are back, hotels are full and shopkeepers have reported a brisk business in the runup to the holiday. People gather in Manger Square, adjacent to the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) “We are celebrating Christmas this year in a very much different way t...
Read MoreBusiness is bouncing back in Bethlehem after two years in the doldrums during the coronavirus pandemic, lifting spirits in the traditional birthplace of Jesus ahead of the Christmas holiday. Streets are bustling with tour groups. Hotels are fully booked, and months of deadly Israeli-Palestinian fighting appears to be having little effect on the vital tourism industry. An Ethiopian woman and her child visit the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/ Mahmoud Illean) Elias Arja, head of the Bethlehem hotel association, said that tourists are hungry to visit the Holy Land’s religious sites after suffering through lockdowns and travel restrictions in recent years. He ex...
Read MoreThough the weather outside was frightful, schoolchildren in the northern Alaska Inupiac community of Nuiqsut were so delighted for a visit by Santa that they braved wind chills of 25 degrees below zero just to see him land on a snow-covered airstrip. Once again, it was time for Operation Santa Claus in Alaska. And here in Nuiqsut, a roadless village of about 460 residents on Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope, the temperatures may have been plunging but the children were warming quickly. Never mind that Santa left Rudolph at home to catch a ride on an Alaska Air National Guard cargo plane to Nuiqsut, just 30 frosty miles (50 kilometers) south of the Arctic Ocean. Here, just a reindeer skip and a hop from the North Pole, the students were abuzz with good cheer. Helpers in the Alaska Na...
Read MoreCommercial airlines around the world canceled more than 4,500 flights over the Christmas weekend, as a mounting wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant created greater uncertainty and misery for holiday travelers. Airline carriers globally scrapped at least 2,401 flights on Friday, which fell on Christmas Eve and is typically a heavy day for air travel, according to a running tally on the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com. Nearly 10,000 more flights were delayed. A passenger stands in a queuing line at John F. Kennedy International Airport after airlines announced numerous flights were canceled during the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Christmas Eve in Queens, New York City, U.S., December 24, 2021. REUTERS/Dieu-Nalio Chery The website showed...
Read MoreThe bells of Bethlehem rang out under grey skies on Christmas morning across streets whose closed pastel or green shutters were like an Advent calendar that nobody had turned up to open. Shopkeepers and hotel owners in the Palestinian city reported far lower business than the years before coronavirus closures halted the arrival of wealthy foreign tourists, devastating the economy of the traditional birthplace of Jesus. Worshipers attend Christmas morning mass at Saint Catherine's Church, in the Church of the Nativity, in Bethlehem in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, December 25, 2021. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma In Manger Square, hundreds of Christians - mostly those who live, work or study in Israel and the occupied West Bank - gathered near the tree and crib to sing carols and bring s...
Read More- Visitors can pledge to live a more sustainable life- A unique and immersive carbon neutral festive tree installation- Supporting the UAE as it rides the crest of a global sustainability wave The most wonderful time of the year is fast approaching, and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai has launched a unique festive installation that looks firmly to the future. Running from now until 25 December, Mall of the Emirates will curate a world of joy and adventure for families, shoppers, and mall visitors to immerse themselves in. Mall of the Emirates in Dubai has launched a captivating eight metre tall festive tree installation that sends a powerful message to the world The centrepiece of the mall's festive spectacle this year is a captivating eight metre tall festive tree installation tha...
Read MoreOutrigger Mauritius Beach Resort has announced a rich and diverse range of festive activities for the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations. From 20 December to 2 January guests have the option of enjoying activities such as lighting of the Christmas tree and carol singing. They can enjoy theme nights, jazz bands, DJ sessions by the pool, rum tastings, sumptuous dining from around the world, and visits by Santa Claus. There are optional gala dinner extravaganzas on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. There will be wonderful theme nights dedicated to Mauritian dining, with rum tasting and a Sega dance show. Guests can enjoy theme nights dedicated to Italy, 1001 Arabian Nights, Sicily, and the charm of Istanbul. Culinary events will feature mouthwatering highlights of A...
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