Emirates entices travellers with free night in Dubai

Enjoy a winter break in Dubai.

In a bid to entice Hong Kongers to the Middle East for a winter getaway, Emirates is offering passengers a free night’s accommodation at the five-star JW Marriot Marquis Dubai.

Travellers who book a return Economy ticket to Dubai between December 2 and December 23 for travel until February 28, 2021, will get to enjoy a complimentary stay on their first night in the emirate.

And passengers who book Business and First Class with the airline will be offered two complimentary nights from their day of arrival.

The centrally-located hotel has its own shopping galleria, a spa, dining spaces and is close to Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and Dubai Opera.

Dubai has been open to international travel since July. All arrivals must have a negative PCR test taken within 96 hours of departure and may be required to take an additional test on arrival. Children under the age of 12 years are exempt from testing.

Once in Dubai, face masks are mandatory in public spaces, although children under the age of six don't have to wear a face covering. Masks can be removed when seated in a restaurant or cafe and social distancing is practised throughout the city. Temperature checks are mandatory on entering indoor shopping malls.

Activities for groups of five people and fewer are open and plentiful - enjoy helicopter rides, hot air balloons, skydiving, desert safari, desert camping, dhow cruises, kayaking and jet skiing. And all of Dubai’s beaches are open.

Emirates has worked hard to smooth the journey during what is an extremely challenging pandemic. Travellers returning to Hong Kong are being given an additional ten kilograms baggage limit and the airline has also recently introduced multi-risk travel insurance, including automatic Covid cover. There are "generous" rebooking terms for travel before March 31, 2021.

The challenge, or course, is dealing with the 14-day quarantine back home in Hong Kong.

Return flights from Hong Kong start from HK$2,954 in Economy or HK$14,944 in Business. For more information, click online.