The Red Sea Is Now Closer Than Ever with Qatar Airways

This October, a new chapter in luxury travel unfolds as Qatar Airways launches a direct route between Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Red Sea International Airport (RSI).

Beginning Tuesday, 21 October 2025, flights will run three times a week, on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, perfectly timed for weekend escapes, family holidays, or indulgent short breaks to The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia. Tickets are now available to book, connecting travellers through Qatar Airways’ global network of over 170 destinations across six continents.

Just over two hours from Doha, The Red Sea is Saudi Arabia’s pioneering luxury destination, framed by desert, mountains, and sea in an area of staggering natural beauty. Already welcoming guests at Six Senses Southern Dunes The Red Sea, The St. Regis Red Sea Resort, Nujuma, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Desert Rock, Shebara and Edition Red Sea, the destination will soon expand with 10 additional luxury resorts at Shura Island, Saudi Arabia’s first island championship golf course, and a vibrant mix of dining, retail and cultural experiences. Here, Saudi heritage and hospitality meet barefoot luxury, whether through desert adventures, overwater escapes, vivid stargazing, or world-class diving.

Red Sea International Airport (RSI) serves as the gateway to The Red Sea destination, and it is planned to be fully carbon-neutral and powered entirely by renewable energy once completed.  Featuring a desert-inspired design by architects Foster + Partners, RSI’s visual identity draws inspiration from the dunes, oasis, and sea, aiming to redefine the travel experience by offering passengers tranquillity and lasting memories from the moment they arrive.

With direct flights already operating from Dubai, the new Doha connection further expands regional access, making luxury escapes across the GCC easier than ever. Aligned with Qatar Airways’ early-morning arrivals into Doha and mid-afternoon onward departures, the service also opens effortless one-stop connections from the UK and leading European cities such as Milan, Rome, Paris, and Frankfurt.

More than a flight connection, this new route invites travellers to discover Saudi Arabia’s natural wonders, warm culture, and a new era of luxury travel along the Red Sea coast.

For more on The Red Sea, visit visitredsea.com 

For Qatar Airways flight bookings and more information, visit qatarairways.com

#TheRedSea

Six Senses Con Dao Wins HICAP Sustainable Hotel Award for Positive Community Impact

Six Senses Con Dao has received the Positive Community Impact Award at the 2025 HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards. Judges commended the hotel for its dedication to supporting the local community, preserving cultural heritage, and promoting environmental stewardship in and around the property.

Since 2007, the HICAP – Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific – has recognized just four hand selected hotels from the Asia-Pacific region annually. Its shortlist highlights those properties adopting innovative new methods, strategies and technologies to face today’s sustainable development challenge. Winners also exemplify tangible, sustainable best practices which can be replicated and adapted by others across the region.

Six Senses properties globally are connected by their commitments to local communities and mother earth. Lived, breathed and constantly evolving, sustainability and wellness have been rooted in the brand’s DNA from its inception in 1995 – long before they were a trend. Everything is considered to demonstrate that uncompromisingly gorgeous hideaways can live in harmony with local communities and ecosystems with each Six Senses designed to weave into the local fabric. Guests are immersed in it and ultimately become part of it.

Six Senses Con Dao demonstrates this commitment to sustainability through its operations, with its model of responsible and purposeful tourism benefiting both the island and its people. Community impact starts with a deep respect for place, culture, and long-term resilience with projects are designed to address immediate needs and preserve local identity, build capacity, and support systemic change.

Jeff Smith, Six Senses Vice President of Sustainability said: “This recognition reflects the indelible bond between Six Senses Con Dao and its community. Sustainability for Six Senses has never been a standalone initiative, but a way of being that connects our hosts, guests and neighbouring communities. The team in Con Dao continues to demonstrate how tourism, when grounded in intention and care, can have a genuine, meaningful impact.”

All Six Senses properties have a dedicated Sustainability Fund, which channels 0.5 percent of the hotel’s monthly revenue directly to community initiatives of the property’s choice. At Con Dao, a further 50 percent of in-house water sales, 100 percent of mascot toy sales, and all guest donations bolster this contribution. 

Meaningful, measurable benefits

With limited access to safe drinking water for many residents and community facilities on Con Dao, the Water for All program provides schools, hospitals, and other essential services with reliable, clean water. Eleven purification systems have been installed across the island, benefiting over 3,194 people year-round and supporting healthier, more sustainable water use for the wider community.

Environmental stewardship extends further through initiatives such as the 2R Station Project, launched with the Youth Union of Con Dao and WWF Vietnam in 2024, which has diverted 441 kilograms of waste from the environment and inspired a community-wide shift toward circular economy practices.

Empowering youth and future leaders remain a priority. Since 2017, free English classes have equipped over 150 local children with valuable language skills, opening doors to education, career opportunities, and cross-cultural exchange.

Social enterprise and community empowerment remain another key focus, taking shape in 2025 through a partnership with the Take Wing Center, part of the Maison Chance Foundation. At the resort boutique, guests now find handwoven brocade turtles crafted from traditional Vietnamese fabric by people with special needs or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Every stitch carries a story of resilience, skill, and hope, with proceeds boosting the Sustainability Fund to support conservation, uplift local communities, and nurture a greener future beyond the resort.

The resort has also sparked new conversations about dignity and well-being through Vietnam’s first hotel-led Menstrual Health Awareness & Sustainability Initiative. By providing reusable products and practical workshops, the program promotes sustainable living and empowers young women with knowledge and confidence. Earlier this year, Six Senses expanded its wellness focus further with Female Wellness Programs across many of its resorts, offering both guests and hosts insights and support during key life stages.

Compassion extended even further to the island’s four-legged residents. In partnership with Laws for Paws Vietnam, the Animal Welfare Initiative delivered vital veterinary care, including vaccinations, deworming, and parasite treatments.

Together, these projects reflect a simple truth: that true hospitality cares not only for guests, but for the land, the people, and even the animals who share this home. At Six Senses Con Dao, every initiative is a step toward a future where community and nature thrive side by side.

Erkaiym (Aika) Tabyldieva, Sustainability Manager at Six Senses Con Dao said: “We are delighted to receive this award, which reflects the dedication of our team, partners, and guests to creating lasting positive impact in Con Dao. It recognizes that sustainability goes beyond environmental care into education, health, cultural preservation, and community empowerment. We hope it encourages continued positive change within our community.”

Six Senses Con Dao follows a run of Six Senses winners of HICAP Sustainable Hotel Awards including Six Senses Ninh Van Bay (2024, for climate and biodiversity action), Six Senses Vana (2023, for sustainable design), Six Senses Yao Noi (2020, for positive community impact and 2009, for project design), Six Senses Krabey Island (2019, for sustainable design), and Six Senses Fiji (2018, for climate action).

#SixSenses

Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius unveils Sun Club by Veuve Clicquot

Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius and Veuve Clicquot have joined forces to unveil the first Sun Club by Veuve Clicquot in Africa, set within the iconic Coco’s Beach House.

Launched in some of the world’s most exquisite seaside destinations, the Sun Club by Veuve Clicquot celebrates the art of living with an experience that is both elegant and effortlessly relaxed, centred around the Maison’s RICH cuvée, served perfectly chilled or on ice.

Following its launch, the Sun Club will remain open year-round, inviting guests to soak up the serene beauty of the resort’s turquoise lagoon in a vibrant yet refined atmosphere from 11am daily.

Nestled along Frangipani Beach, Coco’s Beach House blends contemporary island chic with Mauritius’s natural charm. Here, the Sun Club by Veuve Clicquot unfolds in a setting both radiant and sophisticated under Veuve Clicquot’s iconic yellow parasols and on its signature loungers, every detail has been designed as an ode to sharing, joy, and relaxation. From bespoke furnishings to artisanal local touches, each element reflects the spirit of place and the Maison’s signature joie de vivre.

“The Sun Club by Veuve Clicquot perfectly embodies our vision of Shangri-La Le Touessrok as both elegant and vibrant. Coco’s Beach House naturally emerged as the ideal setting for this first in Africa — a place where sophistication meets conviviality, elevated by an exceptional seaside backdrop”, stated Frédéric de Marcy Chelin, General Manager, Shangri-La Le Touessrok, Mauritius.

#ShangriLa