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Turkey is actively promoting tourism in their country to Saudi Arabian travelers. A delegation of representatives from the tourism industry in Turkey and Saudi Arabia met for workshop at the Sheraton Villa on Sunday night. The Turkish delegation hopes to receive 100,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia this year. The counselor of culture and information at said this is the first time a Turkish delegation has…
Tourism Development and Investment Company (TCIC) said they are making every effort to ensure rights of workers involved in construction on Saadiyat Island are protected. The 27 square km island is adjacent to Abu Dhabi and is an important leisure, residential, and cultural destination. TDIC officials commented on workers rights at a press conference held to update journalists on progress made building the…
The Dubai Mall was officially launched on 8 May, opened in November, and has already attracted more than 160,000 visitors, more than ten percent of the city’s population. The mall is the largest indoor shopping center in the UAE as measured by internal floor space, and has the country’s largest collection of international retail brands in one building. More than 600 of the malls 900 shops are open and the…
Zabeel Investments has decided not to invest $1 billion in US hotels and instead will place more priority on finishing property projects in Dubai. Zabeel Investments executive chairman explained their focus is on investments and everything they do is in Dubai. Mohammad Ali Al Hashimi said “Right now, internationally, we do not have any intention of looking at anything.” Al Hashimi said they are closely…
The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) met in Doha yesterday to discuss ways to boost tourism. QCCI represents the local hospitality and travel industry. Members favor simplification of tourist and family visa rules as a way to increase tourism. They maintain the current visa rules are strict and stall attempts to bring tourists to Qatar. QCCI members also discussed the need for reducing taxes on…
The worlds largest water feature, the Dubai Fountain, opened in downtown Burj Dubai last weekend. American designers WET and Emaar completed the 275 meter fountain whose height is matched by its technical innovation. The fountain is the length of two football fields and can shoot sprays of water more than 150 meters. The water sprays are set to the sound of classical Arabic and Western music, and when in…
Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) officials said a massive advertising campaign in the UK and Ireland has been launched. The goal of the campaign is to boost the number of tourists visiting Dubai during this summer’s Dubai Summer Surprises period which runs from 11 June to 14 August. Industry experts believe that the tourism sectors current 19% contrition towards GDP may be increased…
Sharjah Commission and Tourism Development Authorities (SCTDA) officials said Wednesday that tour operators and others working in the tourism industry must obtain a tourism license and degree by 2010. This is a tentative deadline. The new regulations are being implemented in order to ensure those working in the tourism industry have adequate knowledge and also are portraying Sharjah appropriately. Sharjah…
Travelport GPS and Pegasus Solutions have finalized an agreement which will give travel agents higher commission rates. Travelport GPS is a leading provider of worldwide distribution systems while Pegasus Solutions is the hotel commission for travel agents. The agreement allows Travelport to offer better prices on commission processing services so agents will get better hotel commission rates. In addition,…
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, delivered a speech for the Emirates Group Chairman which emphasized the importance of accommodating the needs of special travelers. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who is also chairman the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, said in his speech it is important to make the tourism sector in the Middle East one of the main contributors of GDP in Arab countries. In order to…
A Bahraini MP is pushing to have a new law enacted that would protect air passengers from flight cancellations or delays and give them financial compensation. Other lawmakers are expected to provide their support so that it can pass the upper house before moving to the lower house for debate. Faisal Fouladh is a member of the upper house in the bicameral parliament. He said the new law will ensure that…
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has signed an air services memorandum of understanding (MoU) and Republic. The MoU was signed so the two counties can discuss and set up operations on the Abu Dhabi-Korea route. The MoU entitles both parties to operate as many as four weekly flights on the Abu Dhabi-Korea route with immediate effect. There is no restriction on the type of aircraft so any…
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) organized a meeting to review the promotional campaigns for this summer. Senior representatives of hotels, hotel apartments, and tourism companies were in attendance. During the meeting, DTCM Executive Director, Media Relations, reviewed initiatives designed to increase hotel occupancies and bring more visitors during the summer months and the holy…
India encouraged efforts towards responsible tourism while focusing on the luxury leisure traveler at this year’s Arabian Travel Market 2009. A top official with India’s’ Ministry of Tourism said they don’t want to see global warming hurt the tourism industry and so their “concern about responsible tourism is quite high” Last year there was a difference of opinion among private players regarding how private…
Sri Lanka’s Deputy Prime Minister for Tourism said with the 25 year battle against the Tamil Tigers ending, “there’s a lot of interest in the investment side”. Faizer Mustapha said there are early stage negotiations for hotel developments taking place. He said within six months he expects to finalize resort deals with Middle East investors, although he did not provide details. Mustapha talked about Sri…
Thousands of Egyptians cancelled plans to travel to Saudi Arabia for their small pilgrimage following an announcement by the Egyptian Minister of Health, who said he was considering a three week due to the H1/N1 swine flu outbreak. Vice President for the Chamber of Commerce Nasser Turki said bookings have fallen 60% for the Umrah to Makkah pilgrimage. The World Health Organization has warned there could be…
Tourist Enterprise Company(TEC) Deputy Chairman outlined plans for a strategic expansion in Kuwait that will cost about KD 100 million. Khalid Al Gamin, addressed reporters at a press conference about the company’s expansion plans following the companies annual general assembly meeting at its headquarters in Shuwaikh last week. Mr. Gamin said despite the global economic crisis the company maintained its…
Dubailand and the world’s biggest global cruise line, Royal Caribbean, formed a strategic marketing partnership with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Monday. The partnership is expected to substantially boost the cruiseline industry and Dubai as a favored tourist destination. The two partners will engage in joint marketing and promotional activities in key global source markets in order to…
