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The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has embarked on a road show through three European countries in order to attract more European tourists to Sharjah. SCTDA will cooperate with Air Arabia and other representatives of the emirates tourism sector to organize the road show, which will promote Sharjah tourist attractions in Turkey, Bulgaria, and the Greek capital of Athens between February…
The number of cruise ship passengers arriving in Abu Dhabi is projected to grow up to 100 percent in 2010, as more ships are attracted to the region. Mana al Mana, chief executive of said “We aim to attract cruise lines to start their voyage from Abu Dhabi. We are currently in discussions with operators.” Mr. Al Mana said the number of cruise passengers is expected to increase to between 160,000 and 190,000…
The development of new golf courses in Abu Dhabi are part of the emirates efforts to attract more, and higher spending tourists. The Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, just a ten minute drive from the Corniche, over the Khalifa Bridge, is one of the new courses aimed at luring more visitors to Abu Dhabi. The course is long and undulating with several holes along the beach. Chief Operating Officer of the Tourism…
Jordan’s national airline, Royal Jordanian, will take part in the annual International Mediterranean Tourism Market for the first time in Israel later this month. The Israeli tourism fair, which bills itself as the biggest travel market in the Eastern Mediterranean, will host Royal Jordanian in Tel Aviv in the second week of February. Rony Levin, a customer relations manager with Royal Jordanian in Tel…
Results of a recent survey conducted by YouGovSiraj were released on Monday and showed that about half of UAE business travelers are planning to take more trips and also upgrade to premium economy class. YouGovSiraj’s Travel Tracker surveyed 330 leisure and 255 business travelers from the UAE in January. 46 percent of respondents said they expect their business travel will increase, up from only 29 percent…
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) gave the tourism sector a boost with the announcement that it will issue new regulations aimed at streamlining the operation of hotels and furnished apartments. The tourism body, which has the power to issue or cancel operational permits for tourist facilities and hotels, said it will also pay about SR19 million to take over four important…
Etihad Holidays, a division of Etihad Airways and Tourism Thailand have entered into a cooperative agreement to promote tourism in Phuket, Bangkok, Koh Samui, and Pattaya. Etihad chief commercial officer Peter Baumgartner said Etihad Airways will offer travelers the best value for money holiday packages to Thailand as part of a special promotion in February and March 2010.
Taleb Rifai, secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said the Middle East must do more to promote itself as an environmental and responsible destination. Rifai said the biggest challenge for the Middle East’s tourism sector is to present itself as “a responsible tourist destination on an environmental, social and cultural level.” Rifai explained the crisis that hit the…
The Burj Khalifa “At the Top” observation deck has been closed temporarily for maintenance and upgrade, and it is not yet known when it will reopen. A spokesperson for Burj Khalifa said “Due to unexpected high traffic, the observation deck experience at the Burj Khalifa, At the Top, has been temporarily closed for maintenance and upgrade.” He said contractors are working on technical issues related to power…
A new report by Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) said that Abu Dhabi has overtaken both New York and Paris to become the second most expensive city in the world for business travelers. A surge of new hotels in Dubai helped bring this emirate down from the number ten spot to the 16th most expensive city in the world. Moscow remained the most expensive city in the world for the fifth year in a row, where a visitor…
The world’s leading multi-participant loyalty programme, Air Miles, has launched its Interactive Voice Response, or IVR. The system will provide its members with 24 hours service, 365 days a year, and has proven to be a very effective way of handing high volumes of calls and improving customer service in businesses around the world. IVR will provide customers more personalized service by identifying each caller…
The Ibn Hammad Valley, a rapidly growing tourist attraction for adventure seekers located in the Karak Governate in the south of the Kingdom, will be preserved under an Integrated Ecosystem Management-Jordan Rift Valley Project (IEM-JRV) The 86 square kilometer Valley, which is known for its mineral hot springs, is being threatened by ‘random tourism and lack of environmental awareness’, according to…
The January/February issue of ‘African Business’ reported in a survey that 250,000 people from Libya, Africa, Algeria and sub-Saharan Africa travelled to Tunisia in 2009 for medical tourism. The survey said 70 percent of the patients came from Libya, 12 percent came from sub-Saharan Africa including Cote d’lvoire, Senegal, Mali, and Burundi. Westerners represented 18 percent of the patients, and they came to…
Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old Northern Irish professional golfer, signed a three year deal with Dubai based luxury hospitality company Jumeirah Group. McIlroy, who currently ranks ninth in the world, signed the agreement on Tuesday before the start of the Dubai Desert Classic at the Emirates Golf Course in Dubai. He said in a statement “Jumeirah has given me a home away from home – they have made me and my…
R estaurants in Abu Dhabi have stopped charging customers a service charge from Monday, February 1st, in order to comply with the decision from the Ministry of Economy (MoE) (No. 466/2007). Dr. Hashim Al Nuwaimi, Director of Consumer Protection Department at the MoE said the ministry ordered all restaurants in the country to stop taking service charges from customers beginning on February 1st. Previously, it…
The Abu Dhabi Tourism and Investment Company announced Tuesday that two striped hyena cubs were born on Sir Bani Yas Island, part of Abu Dhabi’s Desert Islands destinations. The cubs were born as a result of a successful breeding program and their birth is particularly important to the UAE because the striped hyena is completely extinct in the country. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)…
T he latest report by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) shows the tourism industry rebounding. The number of visitors increased 9 percent in the second half of the year, after falling 15 percent in the first half of the year. The report said “The total number of guests staying in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments was down to 1,447,934 in 2009, a 6 percent decline compared to…
The number of tourists arriving in Egypt in 2009 fell 2.3 per cent to 12.5 million according to an Al-Ahram report released on Thursday. The decline is attributed to more travelers staying home due to the global economic slowdown and fears over the H1N1 virus. However, tourists from Europe and Russia, where winter is in full swing, continue to flock to Egypt in search of warmer weather and beautiful…
