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Dubai World on MOnday confirmed its subsidiary Infinity World filed a lawsuit against its partner the MGM hotel and casino operator. Infinity World is a joint venture with MGM in the development of the CityCenter project in Las Vegas. Infinity World alleges in its lawsuit recent submissions to the US regulatro made by MGM filed breach the CityCenter joint venture agreement and puts the project at risk. MGM…
A top official of Bahrain Ministry of Culture and Information said the country plans to double the current tourism sector contribution to the economy. Essa Hassani said that plans include 20 new five star hotels to be added within the next few years. Mr. Hassani said tourism is a big contributor to the county’s economy, accounting for 12% of GDP. He expects the tourism sector contribution to GDP will increase…
Daimler announced on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to provide 260 Mercedes Benz Citaro city buses to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). In 2007 RTA announced what was reportedly the largest one off bus deal at the time – purchase of 1,616 buses from five different suppliers at a cost of US $ 2.34 billion (Dh 8.59 billion). The latest deal with Daimler follows a series of expected orders from…
The National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels, a leading hotels group, has reported a 7% increase in the number of European visitors to the UAE during the first three months of 2009, compared to the first three months of 2008. General Manager for Danat Hotels and Resorts, NCT&H, Raman al Rawas said that during the last three months hotel rates have beaten expectations. She said also that their participation…
In line with its goal to diversify its oil based economy, Abu Dhabi expects to invest almost $230 billion in tourism related projects, a government official said on Sunday. Vision 2030 is the Emirates long term expansion plan aimed at expanding non-oil sectors and attracting capital. Azhari Issa, an economic researcher at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economy and Planning (DPE) talked about Vision 2030 in a lecture…
Cultural events were held on the West Bank on Saturday to recognize Jerusalem’s designation as the 2009 “capital of Arab culture”. Arab culture ministers have named a city each year since 1996. Last year Damascus held the title. Previously Israel had banned such events in the disputed holy city. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas opened the ceremony at 1500 GMT. The streets of Bethlehem in the West Bank were…
The regions religious tourism sector can play a decisive role in driving the short term industry revenues according to Kevin J. Wright, President of the World Religious Travel Association. The regions burgeoning religious tourism sector is valued at $18 billion per year and helps fuel the regions current annual tourism growth of 11 per cent. Three billion people worldwide trace their religious roots and…
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) will establish a separate group to promote tourism. The new body will construct, renovate, and develop hotels throughout the Kingdom in order to develop tourism SCTA President Prince Sultan spoke about the plans following the one day Saudi Events Industry Forum at Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel’s King Faisal Hall. The Prince said that plans are in…
The second annual Jordan Travel Mart was held at the Dead Sea offered two days of two days of meetings, workshops. 100 buyers from the Americas participated in the event and met 180 of their Jordanian counterparts. The Jordanian suppliers were represented by 60 hotels, receptive operators, and other suppliers of services. Recent figures show that visitors form the Americas increased 12.7% 200,000 in 2008 and…
The Karak Antiquities Department (KAD) said recent reports that the walls of the Karak Castle are collapsing are untrue. The KAD director said reports have been appearing on electronic news services websites that several walls recently collapsed, and noted that renovation and restoration projects on the castle have been in progress since the 1990’s
The Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority together with Emirates Airline began a four city promotional tour of the Middle East. The one week promotional tour, dubbed the Mauritius Road show, aimed to promote tourism in Mauritius, which is geographically close to the Middle East. The Mauritius Road show began in Kuwait, continued in Riyadh and Jeddah, and ended on Thursday in Dubai. The Mauritius Minister for…
Dubai’s tourism campaign, dubbed “Keep Discovering Dubai” will bring over 2,000 industry professional between now and May. A key goal of the campaign is to dispel negative perceptions of Dubai, according to a Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) source. Specifically, there were previously reports of illegal sewage dumping on Dubai’s beaches and another report of a case of Legionnaire’s…
Most kite flying experts recommend the Sultanate as the best place to hold kite-flying festivals in the Middle East. Kite flyers from around the globe, but especially Australia, are drawn to the Sultanates’’ long beaches and favorable winds. Marc Gribener, a kite flyer from Germany said that for kite surfing a minimum of 18 mph wind speed is required and that "The climate here is good for holding kite…
Travelport GDS announced on Tuesday that it had signed an exclusive Galieo contract with Al Ghaith Al Moosa Travel Agency (ALTA). Travelport GDS is one of the world’s leading providers of global distribution systems. Travelport GDS operates both the Galileo and Worldspan platforms. Regarding the new contract, Abdul Kareem, General Manager for Alta said that Galileo is their preferred GDS because "In today's…
The Road and Transport Association (RTA) announced the completion of the Dh 11 million dollar Marinas Project. The Marinas Project runs on both sides of the creek and is in the vicinity of the Floating Bridge. The project is intended for Dubai Police rescue operations, use by the Dubai Golf Club, Al Boom tourist village, and visitors to the Creek Park. Mattar al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive…
Muriya Salaha Beach project clients were recently given a tour of the project so that they could see first hand the progress so far. A presentation of the construction development of the villas and destination facilities was given and a comprehensive review and update of the progress was made. Clients were able to view actual work in progress. At the Marina they watches as 170,000m3 of the inland marina basin was…
The UAE announced on Tuesday that it will begin using the international “blue flag” system to identify those swimming spots that are eco-friendly. The WAM news agency said that The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS-WWF) will be the program coordinator across the UAE. The Blue Flag program is a voluntary eco-label that started in 1987 and is acknowledged by the United Nations environment programme and World Tourism…
An official speaking for Bahrain’s current tourism body said today that plans to establish a new Bahrain Ministry of Tourism this April have been postponed, because economic crisis has left the government struggling to find sufficient funds to support itself. Bahrain attracts about 2 million visitors a year and is one of the most popular destinations in the UAE. Officials expect that the tourism sector will…
