New connections. Fresh perspectives. The travel developments to know.
2,506 reports
Emirates Airlines tourist branch, Emirates Holidays, officially launches its 2009 destinations brochure on Friday. Previously there were separate brochures for different destinations. Emirates Holidays has created a new brochure with similar destinations and more elements of these destinations. Emirates Holidays senior vice president John Felix said the current economic environment is more favorable to the…
Australian immigration reports the number of visitors from the Middle East has jumped 21% to nearly 63,000 in 2008. The report follows a significant increase in the number of flights from the region. Tourism Australia distribution manager attributed the rise to a “stunning increase in capacity”, which makes Australia easier to get to. Emirates Airlines has 63 weekly direct flights from Dubai to Melbourne…
The Foreign Ministry is considering opening centers to issue visas in parts of the country that send many pilgrims for Haj and Umrah. Director General of the ministry’s office, Muhammad bin Ahmed Tayeb, said the goal of the new centers would be to reduce crowding at Saudi embassies and consulates. Tayeb said the ministry is also considering expanding its visa service abroad, noting that it is their policy…
Executive Vice Chairman of Emirates Groups, Maurice Flanagan said here has been a slight increase in the number of bookings prior to the Australian-Pakistan Series, and he expects more bookings as the cricket matches take place at the new Dubai Sports City venue. International cricket matches have been hosted in the UAE for years including the 200 One Day Matches in Sharjah and 17 international matches in…
Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority said yesterday Sharjah and Greece are exploring ways for the two countries to co-operate in the tourism and hospitality sectors and new investment opportunities. Shiekh Sultan bin Al Qassimi visited Athens on Tuesday for the launch of Air Arabia’s non-stop service to Athens. He said such visits allow them to explore areas of bi-lateral…
His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, ruler of Fujairah, declared Wadi Wurayah Fujairah (WWF) a protected mountain. It is the UAE’s first protected mountain. The Emirates Wildlife Society and the Fujairah Municipality worked together with the support of the HSBC Bank Middle East ltd to assess the importance of WWF and establish it as a protected area. WWF occupies 129 square kilometers in the…
The Abu Dhabi Department of Transportation (DoT) will send out a tender for the 340km tram system with the next few months. Then, in August, a consultant will be chosen for the 130 km metro in the capital city. The emirate is preparing for a projected five fold increase in daily trips by 2030 with this multi billion dollar transport upgrade. A transport planning consultant for the DoT said at the moment they…
Jeddah is bustling with vacationers during the weeklong school vacation. Visitors and tourists in large numbers are coming to enjoy Jeddah’s urban attractions, beaches and malls. One hotelier said hotels, rest houses, and apartments are full of guests. The owner of beach cabins in Obhur said housing unit prices have increased more than 20% compared to the usual price. Malls are working especially hard to…
Gerry Robinson of the Amusement Industry Council of Europe said the leisure industry has a shortage of qualified local staff. Speaking at the Dubai Entertainment, Amusement, and Leisure (DEAL) exhibition on Sunday, Robinson said most of the personnel currently working in the leisure industry came from outside the region, and stay an average of four or five years. Robinson said “We want to find an educational…
More than 100 travel and tourism brands from across the Middle East will be recognized at the World Travel Awards being held in Dubai on 5 May 2009. The event was established more than 16 years ago and recognizes best practices of the hospitality industry. Winners are determined by a vote by agents and travel professional from around the globe. Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing acting…
Travel Group launched its new Aqua Park in Aqua Coraya in Madinat Coraya, Marsa Alam in March 2009. Madinat Coraya is located about 5 kilometers from the Marsa Alam International Airport, nearly 65 kilometers from Marsa Alam City, and about 250 kilometers from Hurghada. It is famous among divers and fishing enthusiasts. Aqua Park slides include the Free Fall and Kamikaze Turbo which provide electrifying…
Thirteen foreign tourists were injured in Luxor, Egypt when their hot air balloon crashed, according to medical and security officials. Security officials said none of the injuries are life threatening, although one French woman sustained a broken back. Five of the injured were transported to Cairo for further treatment. Eight of the injured tourists are French, two are English, one is Danish, one is Canadian,…
Domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia has grown over the past few years due to infrastructure improvements and increased mobility among its growing population. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) reported that 37.5 billion Riyals was spent on domestic tourism during the past year. This added 47.5 billion Riyals to the countries Gross Domestic Product during the year. Last year the tourism sector…
Jeddah will invest SR170 billion ($45 billion) to overhaul infrastructure and transform the Red Sea port city of three million into a trade and tourism hub similar to other Arab cities. Deputy Mayor for Construction and Projects, Ibrahim Kutubkhanah, explained inadequate infrastructure, pollution, densely populated slum areas, a lack of a city wide sewage system, and water supply shortages have been problems for…
A Saudi Arabian Airlines jet seized in Paris last week over a dispute with the leasing company was released yesterday morning. A court ordered the Boeing 777-200 be held at the Charles de Gaulle airport due to a financial dispute between Saudia and Saint Nazaire-based Eagle Aviation. The airline's director general said the seizure of the jet was arbitrary and illegal, and that "we are trying to resolve the…
Carvings unearthed in ancient temples in the Sinai Peninsula may help explain one of the more obscure periods in Pharaonic history. Mission head for Egyptian archeologists said there is a carving of King Ramses I standing before the god Set. The Hyksos worshipped King Ramses and rare inscriptions found on the temple walls relate to them. Hyksos means “foreign ruler” in Greek and they were intensely hate by the…
The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said Monday that tourism growth in the Middle East will probably slow to 4%, down from 11% last year. Interim Secretary General for UNWTO, Taleb Rifai, spoke about the tourism industry in the Middle East during the first day of the UNWTO tourism summit in Qatar. Rifai said that internationally tourism is set to decrease to between 0% and minus 2%. The Middle East is…
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Department will take part in the Kazakhstan International Tourism and Travel Fair in Atakent Exhibition Center in Almaty on 23 April. Sharjah is looking forward to increasing the tourist and capital inflow into the emirate.
