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March 1: Forty-year-old Yaser Al Hamiri has launched Sea Cruiser, which as the name suggests, is a tour service for visitors to Abu Dhabi. Hamiri, who is a licensed tour guide for Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, received financial assistance from the Khalifa Fund. The latter is an initiative to encourage businessmen and women in the UAE to contribute to the economy. Currently, Sea Cruiser has two boats…
New data released by hospitality research firm STR Global shows that hotel occupancy rates rose in Dubai in January 2010. The emirate is one of the top three destinations in the Middle East and Africa (MENA) region to record an increase in occupancy rates compared to January 2009. Hotel occupancy in Amman increased 7.1 percent to 44.1 percent, Beirut increased 6.1 percent to 57.6 percent, and Dubai registered a…
Saudi Arabia has cancelled its ban on citizens traveling to Sri Lanka following the defeat of the island’s Tamil Tiger rebels last year. The travel ban was issued in 2008 when fighting between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels reached new and more dangerous levels. Riyad Al-Kheneini, deputy chief of mission at the Saudi embassy in Colombo, said “We withdrew the travel advisory as the security situation…
, a travel company based in the UAE, will increase its number of branches in the UAE to 25 by the end of the year. SNTTA is bringing all its outlets under a single management with the tagline ‘Travel the World’. Shaikh Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Al Qasimi, Chairman of Liberty Investment, said “The re-engineered SNTTA business model will be tuned to fully tap the anticipated buoyancy in the UAE market and deliver a…
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince, opened the new Dubai Cruise Terminal yesterday. The new terminal was developed and will be operated by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, (DTCM). The naming ceremony for the new cruise ship Costa Deliziosa was a highlight of the opening of the new terminal in Port Rashid. Four ships can be accommodated at once at the new…
Saudi Arabia’s Al Tayyar Travel Group cancelled an initial public offering on February 22 to February 28 after a book building process failed to attract enough demand. Al Tayyar, which organizes holiday packages and owns a corporate car rental service, hoped to raise $320 million from the sale of 24 million shares, about 30 percent of its capital. The company said the IPO has been delayed and will be…
Global Village received another record 155,000 visitors on Friday, February 19th , 2010. Global Village, located in Dubailand, is the region’s entertainment, shopping, and cultural attraction. The Global Village car park has a capacity of 16,500 cars but this limit was reached as early as 5:30 pm. A steady stream of crowds entered the Global Village throughout the night with visitors queuing to get inside…
The and Dive Middle East Exhibition show starts on March 10th at Westin Dubai, and will run alongside the Gulf Boating Conference. Donald Starkey, one of the world’s leading yacht designers, expects the boat show to inject life into the boating industry. Starkey, who is the founder of internationally renowned Donald Starkey Design, said “Whilst we are experiencing the most difficult times ever in the leisure…
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, issued a decree reshuffling the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) board. The decree is effective immediately. One analyst commented “The new board will continue to implement the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan. I don’t see it doing anything different.” The ADTA is a statutory body established in 2004 with wide ranging responsibilities for…
King Abdullah has given his approval for implementation of an SR50 billion, full fledged tourist city in the eastern coastal city of Al-Oqair, in Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), said the first phase of the project will cost about SR100 million and aims to transform the Al-Oqair into a world class tourist city. Many tourists from…
According to a new study by HotelsCombined.com, a leading hotel search engine, Dubai is projected to be one of the top five international tourist destinations for US travelers. HotelsCombined.com has a database of more than 200,000 hotels from 195 countries. This year Dubai made the top ten list of favorite international destinations, up from 33rd position for international cities at the same time last…
The 15th annual Gulfood Food and Drink trade only exhibition has been totally sold out this year, even with a 20 percent increase in floor space to one million square feet. Gulfood is the Middle East’s biggest event for food, drink, food service, and hospitality, and is being held at the Dubai Convention and Exhibition Center between February 21 and February 24th. Key buyers and major industry players from…
Frederic Bardin, senior vice-president of Arabian Adventures, said Dubai authorities need to focus on completing tourism development projects in order to bring in more tourists. Arabian Adventures is part of the Emirates Group and one of the region’s biggest destination management companies. The number of tourists visiting Dubai dropped last year, but as the tourism sector gradually revives Dubai is becoming…
Up to 18 travel agents or sales intermediaries may go out of business because they lack bank guarantees, a requirement imposed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Travel agents that are accredited by IATA must provide a bank guarantee in order to sell airline tickets and complete these transactions through the Business and Settlement Plan (BSP). Dr. Majdi Saberi said this requirement is…
E gypt will soon announce results of DNA tests carried out on the mummy of boy-king Tutankhamun, who died over 3,000 years ago, in order to solve the mystery regarding his lineage. Antiquities supremo Zahi Hawass will announce the results of the study at a much anticipated news conference at the Cairo Museum. Last month, Huwass said the results will reveal “secrets of the family and the affiliation of…
A delegation of senior Air France executives highly praised Abu Dhabi’s tourism potential after a familiarization tour of the capital organized by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA). Francois Michel said “Abu Dhabi features a lot of attractions and enjoys a variety of major assets that make it one of the most desirable destinations in the Gulf region.” Michel is Air France Africa and Middle East Manager for…
Tourists in the UAE are enjoying activities at the heritage sites complex in Al Shindagha, a sprawling complex along the beautiful Creek promenade. The activities were organized by Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) for the 15th annual edition of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). The 32 day annual entertainment and shopping extravaganza ends on February 28th. The heritage sites in Al Shindagha have…
Official figures released Sunday show that tourism revenues in Jordan increased 32.2 percent in January to JD158 million, up from JD119 million in January 2009. Statistics issued by the Central Bank of Jordan show there was a 20 percent increase in the number of visitors to Jordan in January 2010, to 478,169, compared to 399,268 for the same period in 2009. The number of visitors increased at most of the…
