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CNN International Recruits Global Army of Football Fanatics with call for ‘Super Fans’

April 7 - With less than three months until the 2010 World Cup kicks off in South Africa, CNN International is signing up a global army of football fanatics to become ‘Super Fans’. Tapping into CNN’s iReport community, the network is inviting passionate football fans around the world to submit videos outlining why they should be considered a ‘Super Fan’. Whether they are planning to cheer from the stadiums…

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Travel News ·

Ecotourism park planned for Hail

April 7- The Higher Authority for the Development of Hail has announced the setting up of an ecotourism park, Musama Park in the Middle East, said Prince Abdul Aziz bin Saad, Deputy Governor of Hail. The project, he added, will promote desert tourism in Saudi Arabia and lure tourists. The park will be situated 160km west of Hail City, it was decided in a meeting chaired by Hail Governor Prince Saud bin Abdul…

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Travel News ·

Travelport renews agreement with Stargate Cyber Active

April 7 -Travelport, operator of the Galileo and Worldspan global distribution systems (GDS), has announced that it has renewed its Worldspan distribution agreement in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia with travel technology service provider Stargate Cyber Active. As per the agreement, Stargate will have exclusive rights to distribute Worldspan technology and services in UAE and KSA. "Our relationship…

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Travel News ·

Landlords refuse to rent out property as Hajj season comes closer

April 7- As Hajj season comes closer many Saudi landlords have refused to rent out their buildings to locals in a bid to keep them vacant till pilgrims start coming in, it was learnt on Tuesday. Pilgrims will rent these places at exorbitant rates, said an unnamed source. As a result, rent in Makkah has increased. A three-room apartment, which could have easily been rented out at SR15,000 for a year, now costs…

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Travel News ·

Travellers to Sri Lanka from ME go up by 50pc

April 7- The number of tourists travelling to Sri Lanka from the Middle East has gone up by 50 per cent as of January 2010 as compared to the same month in 2009. Figures released by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority show that the strongest growth was registered in Qatar, up by 171 per cent, followed by the UAE (164 per cent), Saudi Arabia (127 per cent) and Kuwait (135 per cent). While it may be too…

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Travel News ·

Beaches in UAE may have blue flags in 2011

April 7- Beaches in the UAE may contain blue flags, a symbol of clean beaches, in 2011 if they are able to meet the international criteria for the same, it was learnt on Tuesday. The blue flag is given to those beaches and marinas that have passed the criteria for water quality, environmental education and information, environmental management, safety and other services. Run by the Foundation of Environmental…

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Travel News ·

Tourism Ministry: Jordan’s restaurants to be reclassified soon

April 6- Jordan’s Tourism Ministry spokesperson Ansam Malkawi said in a press conference yesterday that the country’s restaurants will soon be rated under a new classification system. Malkawi said a new classification system is being finalized now by a committee formed by the tourism ministry and the Jordan Restaurant Association (JRA), and will be released within the next few months. She said the system is…

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Travel News ·

Four kilos of opium nabbed at Dubai Airport

April 6- Four kilogrammes of opium was discovered in a parcel at Dubai Cargo Village. The package was in transit from an Arab state en route to a Western country when an officer at a checkpoint became suspicious. The package was passed through a scanning machine after which sniffer dogs were called. The shipment, it turned out, contained drugs. Later, tests revealed that the bag had four kilos of opium. The…

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Travel News ·

‘Sex and the City’ sequel to benefit Abu Dhabi tourism

April 6- Abu Dhabi’s tourism sector will greatly benefit from ‘Sex and the City 2’ even though not a single scene from the movie has been filmed in the UAE capital. The sequel sees Carrie Bradshaw and her friends leave their hometown, New York, to visit Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi and Dubai authorities banned producers from filming the two cities since the original show’s content was thought to be inappropriate for…

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Travel News ·

Visitors to Petra rise by 50 per cent

April 5- Visitors to the , Jordan, rose by 50 per cent in the first quarter of 2010, according to official figures from Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA). Some 209,000 visited the city in the first three months of 2010 up from 139,000 in the same period 2009. The number of foreign visitors to the ancient city jumped by 53 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same…

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Travel News ·

Planet Travels survives global financial crunch

April 5- While the world suffered from the worst financial crisis in several years, Plant Travels & Tours LLC, has not been affected by this, said Ibrahim Nalkhande, Chief Operating Officer, Planet Group."The performance of the group's travel wing, Planet Travel & Tours LLC, is not that largely affected due to the spectrum of services and products offered to the travelers. We are lucky to have a very well…

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Travel News ·

Tunisian Strategic Committee holds meeting on issues of Tourism

April 5- The first meeting of new strategic committee appointed to study the development of tourism sector in Tunisia by 2016 was held on Thursday where Salim Tlati, Minister of Tourism, hailed the commitment of professionals in helping with this study. At the meeting a presentation on the progress of the study was presented to the members of the committee that outlined the first phases that had been completed.…

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Travel News ·

Foreign diplomats visit Taif tourist attractions

April 4- About 60 foreign diplomats recently visited tourist attractions in the summer resort of Taif, including the historical Shabra Palace. The diplomats expressed appreciation for the tourist facilities. Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s office, welcomed the delegation of consuls general. “We organized this visit in order to help our diplomat guests enjoy their stay in the…

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Travel News ·

Planet Travels not affected by economic downturn

April 4- , LLC has not been impacted by the worldwide economic downturn, according Planet Group’s chief operating officer, Ibrahim Nalkhande. He said “The performance of the group’s travel wing, Planet Travel & Tours LLC, is not that largely affected due to the spectrum of services and products offered to the travelers.” Nalkhande explained Planet Travel & Tours LLC has a balanced equation with different…

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Travel News ·

Women to get new ID cards for Gulf travelling

April 3- The Department of Civil Affairs will offer a national ID for Saudi women that can be used to travel to countries of the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). “Women don’t need a male guardian to apply,” said Latifa Al-Ghamdi, an official of the women’s section of the Civil Affairs Department in Dammam. However, they still require permission from their male guardians to travel. The new high-tech cards will…

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Travel News ·

Holiday traffic picks up

April 3- Holiday season traffic is increasing as more and more people are looking to take a break from work, said an Emirates Holidays official. "People worked really hard last year. A return on those investments is trickling in now," John Felix, senior vice-president of Emirates Holidays said. Felix added that while people are still looking for cheap holidays, they are also looking for quality. They want to…

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Travel News ·

160,000 Indian pilgrims to perform hajj this year

April 1- India’s Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor signed an agreement with Minister of Hajj Fouad Al-Farsy on Wednesday night that will allow more than 160,000 Indian pilgrims to perform hajj this year. “Over 160,000 Indian pilgrims coming through the Haj Committee of India (HCI) and private tour operators are expected to perform Haj this year. A request for an additional quota has been…

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Travel News ·

US issues travel advisory against Lebanon

April 1- The US State Department has advised its citizens against travelling to Lebanon for safety and security reasons. The State Department said that while Lebanon is enjoying a period of relative calm, it continues to be a politically volatile country where “the potential for a spontaneous upsurge in violence is real. US citizens living and working in Lebanon should understand that they accept risks in…

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