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More than half of Sarah’s restaurants fail basic food hygiene inspections because of out of date food and moldy kitchens. The head of internal inspection department for Sharjah Municipality said that out of 1,588 restaurants, only 223 met minimum requirements. The remaining 891 restaurants were issued written warnings and 474 were closed temporarily until required improvements are made. Restaurants that…
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal presided over the opening of the final phase of the road expansion between Al-Kur and Hada. The Prince said the road is important to the regions overall development because it cuts by half the distance between the cities of Taif and Makkah. Prince Khaled said “The expanded double lane road is a vital developmental project serving not only the people of Taif but the…
Following the discovery of the country’s first case of swine flu last week, the Health Ministry has escalated swine flu screening at all of the Kingdom’s entry points. Orderly screening procedures were observed at the South Terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport on Saturday. A Saudi official said “Things are under control” and they are focusing their screening procedures on countries on the…
Holiday travel out of Dubai is on the increase after three weeks of subdued activity due to concerns over the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico this April. Dubai tourist agencies report many destinations have been swapped and Middle Eastern countries are favored by most families. However, corporate travel in Europe and North America are generally the same. Deputy General Manager for Al Reis Travel said…
Visitor numbers to the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (AWPR) increased dramatically during the first five months of 2009. More than 350,000 people visited the park and AWPR projects this number will swell to 800,000 by the end of the year. Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort is home to about 4,300 animals, and it is estimated nearly 30% of these are endangered. AWPR was established in 1968 by the late Shaikh…
Dubai Summer Surprises, which hosted 2.1 million visitors last year, will start on 11 June and run for 65 days, until 14 August 2009. The festival features mainly family entertainment with special promotions for children and young people. CEO of the Dubai Shopping Festival said the signs of an economic recovery are encouraging different stakeholders in DSF. She said the government is cooperating with various…
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) will stage a summer youth programme in order to introduce young emirates to the tourism industry and career offers. The programme will take place between 12 July and 6 August and there will be training every day between 9am and 3 pm. More than seventy students between the ages of fifteen and twenty, including those with special needs, will be offered complimentary spots in…
Five Lebanese are among the 216 passenger missing after Air France disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. The plane was flying from Rio de Janeiro and experienced extreme turbulence. The 216 passengers represented 32 different nationalities including 5 Lebanese, 61 French, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans, and 9 Italians. The flight disappeared during rocky weather and was presumed to have crashed. It is…
The first of ten Jinan “green” hotels is scheduled to open next month in Abu Dhabi. Jinan, a new UAE hospitality company based in Abu Dhabi, focuses on “eco-friendly” or green hospitality operations. A senior Jinan executive said they plan to build ten Green hotels by 2012. The new company began operations yesterday and plans to develop environmental hospitality products that meet international…
The Naturalization and Residency Departments of the Gulf Cooperation Council held their 24th annual meeting. The meeting was held in order to facilitate the launch and coordination of new services that will assist travelers within GCC countries. The GCC directors of the naturalization and residency departments reviewed travelling trends within the GCC, especially expats. Because of the new electronic link…
Elections in Lebanon are pushing air traffic to new highs for this time of year. Some Lebanese return through Dubai while others fly directly from the UAE. Airlines are making necessary adjustments to accommodate extra passengers but so far fares remain unchanged. Etihad spokesman Tim Clark said they have substantial bookings for June and the last few weeks have been busy. Clark noted the sharp increase in…
Abu Dhabi’s Ambulatory Healthcare Services (AHS) has launched a new Travel Medicine Service to advise and protect Abu Dhabi travelers leaving the country for work or leisure. AHS is a department of Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA). The launch of the new service was timed to coincide with school closings during the holiday season and summer vacation plans An SEHA-AHS announcement said the new…
Emirates Airlines has expanded its Asia operations with its first commercial flight of an Airbus A380 superjumbo to Bangkok on Monday. The Airbus A380 is the world’s largest passenger airliner. The Airbus will arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport with 500 passengers from Dubai. Thirteen check in counters, an extra large departure area, four boarding gates, and the longest luggage conveyer belt will be…
Emirates Group reported last week they have achieved annual profits of Dh1.48 billion (US D406 million). Emirates airline and associated companies realized profits even as its toughest competitors recorded losses. British Airways, for example, lost Dh 2.35 billion (£ 401 million) compared with a £922 million profit the year before. Emirates Airlines earned Dh982 million and its sister company, which handles…
A health expert said the UAE has the right elements for medical tourism including health care infrastructure, service quality, and perception. Dr. Prem Jaqyasi said the perception of a destination, value of solutions, and quality of healthcare are among the most important components necessary for brand building medical tourism. Dr. Jaqyasi is the Chief Strategic Officer at Medical Tourism Association (MAT) US,…
Alshamel International announced yesterday they plan to expand in Saudi Arabia and Oman, bringing their total number of regional countries in which they operate to seven. The Kuwaiti based travel management company will also consider strategic mergers and acquisitions in order to its market reach and customer service capacity. Alshamel Chief Executive said while the difficult global economic conditions have…
The International Air Transport Association said reported that Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) increased 11.1% last month. RPK is a measure of passenger traffic. IATA data also showed a 3.1% fall in passenger demand and an average passenger load factor of 74.4%. The report concluded that while the 3.1% decline in passenger was an improvement in the compared to March’s 11.1% fall in March “this…
Bahrain authorities said they are closely watching the countries entry and exit points in order to prevent a case of swine flu from entering. A Health Ministry Spokesman said they “stepped up their vigil at all of the islands entry and exit points.” Officials at King Fahd Causeway Bridge are taking all precautionary measures. Many Saudi families cancelled or postponed their weekend trips to Bahrain following…
