9WZCongress registration

With the Ninth World Zoroastrian Congress in Dubai barely 15 months away, the organizers opened the registration in September 2008. Participation in the four-day event is priced at Aed 1,750 (approximately US $ 480) per person, and includes all events as well as cultural events and a desert safari, all meals, tea and coffee, notes the document forwarded by Congress president Meher Bhesania. This "Special Offer” will be applicable only to the first 300 persons who register themselves for the Congress or up to December 31, 2008, whichever is earlier, states Bhesania. Thereafter the rate will change, she notes, but has not specified what it will cost to register later. The spot rate for registration on December 28, 2008 (the opening day of the Congress) will be Aed 2,500 (approx US $ 685.) and shall be subject to availability of space, she notes.

The Congress website www. wzcongress2009.org has a list of frequently asked questions wherein the registration fee for a child between the ages of three and 12 years of age is pegged at Aed 875 (approx US $ 240). One can register online by clicking on the link ‘Register Now.’ While citizens of US and Canada, the European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong and several other countries are exempt from the need for a visa, registrants from the Indian subcontinent are advised to make the necessary arrangements before entering the UAE.

As visas can be arranged by the hotel where one is booked with a minimum of 20 days’ notice, the website suggests that the first three pages of the passport be scanned and e-mailed to the hotel. A processing fee as per the prevailing tariff will be charged. The website notes that visas will not be processed for Israeli nationals due to official restrictions and cautions visitors against an Israeli entry stamp on their passport.

Upon completion of online application and payment — only through Visa or Master Card — the registration details will show up on the screen. A confirmation e-mail from wzcongress2009@ gmail.com will follow and must be printed out and carried to the Congress where the Congress kit will be provided against the printout, note the detailed instructions on the website.

The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is said to be negotiating with five, four and three star hotels in Dubai for a special price for the benefit of Congress registrants and also some villas and apartments where families and friends can stay together as a group. Rates were to be released in October 2008. But hotel bookings are subject to registering for the Congress, states the website.