The 9th of October 2004 saw a first for the travel industry, the Etihad Travel Challenge 2004 – UAE’s first travel quiz contest took off with just under 100 participating teams. The evening kicked off with the elimination round conducted by Wiz Abbas. Once their papers were collected the teams were curious to know the answers to the questions which had a few teasers’ including ‘In honor of which musician was Liverpool airport renamed in 2001?’ & ‘Which food-item when introduced in Japan in the 6th century was called the meat-vegetable?’ The session was a big hit with the entire 500 strong audience because of the great audience prizes up for grabs for every answer given. All the foodie questions along with the overworked grey cells meant it was time for some quick refreshment.

The post break session started with Mr. Hussain Nalkhanday & Mr. Ian Lovelock from Etihad Airways addressing the audience. By now everyone in the auditorium was anxiously awaiting the results of the elimination round. Only six teams would get the opportunity to make it on stage. The buzz about which teams would make the cut was adding to the excitement in the dark auditorium. The wait was broken by a spectacular display of sound and light when Quizmaster Siddarth Basu took to the stage amidst rapturous applause from the audience. The booming voice had everyone’s attention as he announced the six finalists in random order – Supreme Travel & Trade, Thomas Cook, Nexus Holidays, Al Tayer Travel Agency, Al Gosaibi Travel Agency from Bahrain and ANTA.

The quizzing action on stage was competitive, entertaining and absorbing. The variety and the freshness of each round had the audience asking for more. Each round had special audience questions with fantastic instant prizes. Peals of laughter and loud applause ensued whenever Quizmaster Siddarth Basu displayed his sharp wit and sense of humor. The leaders kept changing with each round and the quiz was heading for a photo finish. The last round shaped up to be a cracker with fortunes fluctuating to and fro. The final standings were

Al Tayer Travel Agency

Al Gosaibi Travel Agency

Nexus Holidays

Supreme Travel & Trade

ANTA

Thomas Cook

Mr. Ian Lovelock, Mr. Hussain Nalkhanday, Mr. Jamshed Mehdi and Quizmaster Siddarth Basu did the honors in the final prize distribution were the winners took home everything from airtickets to holiday packages to wireless kits to DVD players to boom boxes to trophies. A draw for one Diamond Zone, one Pearl Zone and one Coral Zone Etihad ticket took place for all those present in the audience. Now the travel industry awaits a bigger and better Etihad Travel Challenge 2005.