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The Maldives Government recently ordered that all spas in luxury hotels in the Maldives should be closed. The order followed protests by the opposition Islamist Adhaalath Party which claimed the spas were breaching Islamic law.

More than 850,000 tourists visit the 1,100 coral islands and atolls that make up the Maldives. Vacations typically include sunbathing, snorkelling and diving on the beautiful coral reefs along with spa treatments and massage. The destination is popular with wealthy celebrities and honeymooners looking for a quiet place to relax in the tropical sunshine. Luxique.com offers ten top luxury resorts in the Maldives, most with five star amenities.

Although all resort hotels were ordered to close their spas and health centres with immediate effect, many chose to disobey the ruling to preserve their business. The Maldives Association of Tourism (MATI) has vowed to fight the ban on behalf of the island’s hotels as tourism is crucial to the economy of the Maldives.

In the latest move, the President of the Maldives has ordered the country’s upscale spas to reopen pending the Supreme Court’s decision on whether spas violate Islamic beliefs. Mr Nasheed said, “To be racist in any way is detrimental to the tourism industry” and he acknowledged this was not the way for the Maldives to go. He advocates a brand of moderate Islam traditionally practised in the country, which he sees is vital to preserve tourism in the Maldives.

by Gillian

It was way back in October 2008 that I reported on the campaign to free Sammy the Shark from her tank in the lobby of Atlantis, the spectacular luxury hotel in Dubai.

I hear now that she’s finally been returned to the waters of the Gulf, from where she was first picked up.

The freckled whale shark, which is an internationally protected species, was a top crowd puller, but also attracted unwelcome publicity for the hotel after animal rights groups demanded her release. A Facebook campaign attracted 26,000 entries. The American actress Pamela Anderson was among the celebrity lobbyists who branded the shark’s capture cruel, and pushed for her to be set free from the luxury hotel in Dubai.

However, Atlantis said all its marine life was cared for to the highest standard and that valuable research had been carried out while the creature had been in captivity.

It said Sammy had been tagged for monitoring and research before being set free.

by Andy Moreton

Book a luxury hotel in Dubai city through Luxique – we have 11 of the very best.

Singapore has opened the first of two casino resorts – part of a multi-billion dollar effort to establish itself as a hot tourist destination and reduce the economy’s reliance on manufacturing.

The casino at Resorts World Sentosa welcomed its first customer at the auspicious time of 12.18 pm on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. When pronounced in the Cantonese dialect, 12.18 sounds like ‘prosperity’.

The resort is on Sentosa island, a former British garrison linked to the main island by bridge. It will be followed by the Marina Bay Sands resort, with both offering a range of glitzy hotels, restaurants and luxury goods shops.

Singapore, host to thousands of multi-national corporations, is already a major travel draw because of its reputation for safety, cleanliness and efficiency, as well as man-made attractions such as high-end shopping malls.

However, it’s a tiny island, which lacks the white sand beaches and breathtaking scenery found in neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, and the government is continually searching for new ideas to create a buzz about the city-state.

It’s aiming to attract 17 million visitors a year, generating more than US$21 billion (£13 billion) by 2015, up from 9.7 million visitors last year. Analysts expect the casino resorts to help the city meet those targets.

by Andy Moreton, with Agence France Presse

Luxique offers a choice of seven luxury hotels in Singapore including, of course, the historic, world-famous Raffles.