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Prince Naif urged countries that send Umrah and Haj pilgrims to adopt precautionary measures against the disease and to provde required vaccinations to meet recommended health conditions. The Prince presided over a meeting held by the Supreme Haj Committee on Sunday to review precautionary measures needed to prevent an outbreak of swine flu. Prince Naif, who is Second Deputy Prime Minister of Interior, said…
The Supreme Haj Committee issued a report announcing the monorail project linking the holy sites of Arafat, Mina, and Muzdalifah will be finished for Haj next year. The report said “Work on the project began in Muharram (soon after the last Haj season) and will be ready for use to 35 percent of its capacity during the Haj season of 1431.” The multibillion-riyal project was approved by King Abdullah in order…
Infrastructure work on Yas Island is nearly complete and will be ready for the inaugural 2009 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix motor race on 1 November 2009. Yas Island is located about 30 minutes from the Abu Dhabi mainland and will host many attractions including world class racing circuits, signature hotels, theme parks, marinas, and golf courses. Aldar Properties is the developer of the…
Saudi Arabia is allowing stranded Emirates to exit the country without passports. The Emirates were stranded after the county issued a new rule requiring the use of passports, rather than ID cards, when travelling. The rule has been relaxed so the travelers can return home. Many were not able to pass through the Al Ghwaifat checkpoint until Tuesday when the restriction was eased. Saudi Arabia announced on…
Dubai malls bring the charm of Arabian culture by putting up Majlis, featuring family shows, and playing Ramadan movies. “Journey to Mecca” is now playing at Ibn Battuta Malls Grand Cinemas, along with other special Ramadan movies for families. Also at the Ibn Batuta mall, a historical documentary show takes place between 3:30 pm and 9:30 pm and is open to all shoppers and guests. The inspirational documentary…
Wimborne, Britain councilors are supporting a campaign for the town to be twinned with a town in Oman. The Dorset’s town council approved the proposal and hopes it will boost Wimbornes profile and increase tourism and business links between the two towns. Wimborne is currently twinned with two towns – Valognes, France and Ochsenfurt, Germany. A council official said “Culturally, we’re very similar so we’d…
44.5% of travelers who took part in a recent poll said price is the most important consideration when booking a flight. Those taking the poll agreed with flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith that there will be big growth in the regions budget airlines over the next few years. Al Ghaith believes as more people choose savings over luxury when flying, the low cost market will increase 10%. He believes the low cost model…
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry department told Emirates traveling through the Kingdom to other GCC states to carry their passports. The foreign ministry previously suspended the use of ID cards as travel documents for travelling Emirates or Saudis. Director of the Consulate at the UAE’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement - “In the wake of Saudi Arabia’s decision to suspend the use of ID cards to…
H1N1 concerns have caused many booking cancellations with Umrah and Haj travel agents as Muslims postpone or cancel their pilgrimage plans. A Sadaf Haj Umrah official said “Authorized agents are worried about the massive cancellations and business will be down considerably.” The official expects business to fall by 30% because of the swine flu. Muslims around the world visit Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia…
More than 110,000 Egyptians will not be allowed to make the Umrah pilgrimage because of new age restrictions put in place by Egyptian authorities. Egyptian Tourism Chamber Deputy Chairman Naser Turk said the decision to ban people younger than age 25 from travelling to Umrah denied more than 110,000 Egyptians from making the pilgrimage. He said these applicants had already filled out their forms and received…
Figures released on Wednesday by the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing show the number of visitors to Dubai rose 4% in the second quarter of the year – compared to the same period last year. Promotional activity, government funded advertizing campaign, and reduced hotel rates helped push the number of visitors to 1,857,724 during April, May, and June. Director of UK and Ireland for DTCM said…
Algeria announced on Monday it is cutting taxes on tourism projects to entice business investors it can be a popular new holiday destination after emerging from years of violence. The country currently attracts only a trickle of foreign tourists even though it has thousands of kilometers of Mediterranean coastline and is only a short flight from Europe. Algeria has a shortage of high quality hotels, resorts…
Rak Dream Tours, a new tourism project spread over 40,000 acres on the Al Qawasim Corniche in Ras Al Khamaih, opened to the public on Friday night. Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi – Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khamah, inaugurated the new project. Rak Dream Tours has a beautiful view of the Rak Creek and mountains and mangroves beyond. It has two restaurants in historic buildings shaped like fort…
The Europe to Gulf rail line progresses as pieces of track come together to form a network linking the Gulf to the North Atlantic. However, organizational problems in Saudi Arabia may delay the project for a long while. Saudi Arabia is central to the revival of the railways and the government is moving forward with three huge rail plans costing US$25 billion. The Saudi Landbridge project, which will link…
Gulf Tourists to the Swiss city of Geneva have been targeted amid a growing surge in crime. Geneva has an international reputation for tranquility. A 38 year old man was assaulted on 16 July outside Geneva nightclub, and criticisms over lack of security have provoked controversy and underscored surging street crime. Geneva is known as a playground for wealthy Middle East tourists and the city is…
Tibet state media yesterday reported a record 1.2 million tourists visited the country last month. Tourists are returning to the region following 17 months of deadly unrest. In March 2009 China banned travel to Tibet after riots broke out in the Lhasa capital, marking the 49th anniversary of a failed revolt. The state media report said last month “We achieved the highest performance in terms of the number…
Sun International, the hotel and resorts company based in South Africa, is seeking more tourists from the Middle East as it attempts to build up new markets during the decline in demand from Europe. There has been more interest in South Africa recently as a tourist destination. The soccer World Cup will be held there next year and the former cruise liner QE2 will be docked in Cape Town, South Africa for 18…
The number of people making the umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia has fallen 30% due to swine flu related travel restrictions. Visa applications for travel to Saudi Arabia during umrah have been suspended by Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. Fursan Travel Company, based in Saudi Arabia, is concerned about the affect this will have on the economy. CEO Roger Pfund said “The decision to ban people travelling due to the…
