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The Abu Dhabi government has announced a new set of rules and guidelines applicable for any development on the emirates coastline. The Coastal Development Guidelines initiative is part of Pan Abu Dhabi 2030, or Vision 2030, and is being implemented by the Abu Dhabi’s Urban Planning Council (UPC). UPC Director-General Falah Al Ahbabi, said “The goal for the coastal development guidelines is to improve the…
The Big Bus Company was officially launched in Abu Dhabi on Monday, although the company has been running tours for several weeks now. The Big Bus Company is an iconic symbol for London tourism and has been operating in Dubai for ten years. The red double decker bus tours major attractions in Abu Dhabi, starting at 9:00 am at Marina Hall, and ending at 5:30 pm. The bus passes Emirates Palace, crosses the…
Mohammad Khamis Bin Hareb Al Muhari has been appointed the Director General of the National Council for Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA) by the Ministerial Council for Services. The council is chaired by Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Council. Khamis has over 17 years of experience in tourism and international marketing, and…
Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities announced contracts to establish five new museums have been approved during the commissions meeting on Tuesday. The museums will be located in Hail, Baha, Damman, Asir, and Tabuk. Prince Sultan said the SCTA also decided to introduce a new hotel classification system consistent with international standards, on December…
A summit of the six nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) heads of state will discuss plans for a $60 billion railway project that will link Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and later Oman. Construction of the new system will begin in 2011 and is planned for completion in 2017. The railway will provide transportation connections for GCC which currently depends on trucks, ships, and planes,…
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) said less than one percent of tourism jobs in the UAE are taken by Emirates despite a substantial investment in the leisure sector. As the UAE becomes less dependent on oil revenues, it is expected that tourism will account for nearly one third of the economy by 2030. However, tourists generally find they are served by Filipino or Indian tour guides and hotel staff and…
A tourist shipping line between the Iraqi port of Basra and Iranian port of Khorramshahr will be launched soon. The governor generals of Basra and Khuzestan agreed to the new Tourist Shipping line when the Iraqi delegation visited Khuzestan province. The two sides also signed Memorandum of Understandings and the agreed items include, among other things, increasing the trade volume in the Shalamanche border,…
The United Arab Emirates, a federation of the seven emirates Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman,Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah, has many landmarks that showcase its amazing past and promising future. One of the important religious and national landmarks is The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque. It is one of the most significant architectural treasures in modern UAE. Dubai boasts the Burj…
1,000 Haj pilgrims on three different flights landed safely at Abu Dhabi National Airport on Monday. Sixteen more flights carrying 2,840 pilgrims are expected to arrive by December 8th. Returning pilgrim Mohammed Bakr said he traveled with Al Bateen Tours for Dh40,000, that none of the pilgrims had accidents, and no one is sick. Mr. Bakr complimented the UAE Haj official mission for requiring the tour…
Dubai tour operators have reduced their prices by as much as 40 percent in order to attract more tourists as there will be many new hotels opening in 2010. Lower costs and brand new hotels are expected to attract many more tourists from India and China next year. A spokesman for the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said “Last year the average room rate had reached $700 in Dubai.…
A new Mastercard survey showed that intra-regional travel has become more popular in the Middle East than destination further away due to the global economic downturn. Survey respondents were asked about their likely travel destinations in the next six months, and chose six intra-regional destinations out of a total of ten top destinations. Egypt and the UAE were the most popular choices for UAE respondents at…
Flydubai announced it is cutting fares 50 percent on all flights until December 15th, beginning on Tuesday. During this period passengers can book one way fares to and from Dubai at half price including all taxes and one piece of hand baggage. The company also reduced the price of flights transferring through Dubai by 20 percent during the sale. Bookings must be made by 11:59 pm on December 15th for travel…
The first aqua park in Qatar is getting ready to open in Doha, in April 2010. The park, which will be located on Salwa Road, will have a giant wave pool, lazy river, and a number of slides. The wave pool will create waves up to 1.5 meters high. The water park will have a phased in opening with the first 100,000 square feet set to open next year, and another 300,000 square feet currently under construction…
An aircraft that will soon be able to carry tourists into space was unveiled today by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson. The price for this trip is a hefty one at $200,000 (Dh734,000). Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) can carry six passengers and two pilots and will begin commercial flights between 2011 and 2012. Virgin Galactic is owned by Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments and Sir Richard Branson’s…
The UAE and other global markets are eying the Chinese to boost tourism revenues, following a difficult recessionary year that saw cuts in travel expenditures. The US Commerce Department recently completed a study that estimated the average Chinese tourist spends about $7,200 (Dh26,445) per person, per trip, making them the biggest spenders around the world. Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing…
The UAE’s first ‘Kenya Week’ will kick off on Tuesday with a trade, investment, and tourism seminar day at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Kenya’s ambassador to the UAE, Mohammed A. Gello, said the Kenyan government will host a “week-long schedule of activities to celebrate the finest that Kenya has to offer in terms of its trade, investment, and tourism opportunities here in the United Arab…
The UAE is trying to attract more tourists by engaging in strategic measures like offering value for money packages. The hospitality sector had a very successful five years but 2009 is proving to be difficult. There has been a slowdown in both the UAE and in its key source markets such as European countries, and especially in the United Kingdom. Another problem is that the UAE dirham is pegged to a strong…
A recent report released by Alpen Capital on the health care industry in the GCC said the health care sector has been growing quickly and there will be important changes in the quality of its infrastructure. Gulf News reader Faruk Bhagani, who grew up in Houston, said that while he was living in the US he met a lot of people, especially in the wealthier set, who traveled from the GCC and other parts of Asia for…
