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Hertz Rent-a-Car has launched an Arabic language function across its Middle East regional websites, offering 86 million Arabic speaking internet users the option to book Hertz car rentals in their preferred language for the first time. The Arabic option, which will initially be made available across the local Hertz website domains in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, is the latest in…
Michelin inspectors have awarded Hiroshima the city’s first three-star restaurant in the inaugural issue for the region, which now expands the brand’s coverage of Japan’s culinary landscape from three guides to four. Nakashima restaurant, which serves traditional Japanese dishes using seasonal ingredients, puts the overall tally of triple Michelin-star restaurants in Japan at 37. The inaugural…
Tragedy has struck—the world’s biggest rubber duck that made its debut in Hong Kong waters earlier this month has deflated. (Remember this story we posted on Irhal a few weeks ago?) Some of the parts of the six-story high sculpture created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman was broken; thus, organizers deflated it overnight for maintenance work. “We scheduled a body check for these two days. If…
Receipts from international tourism in destinations around the world grew by four per cent in 2012, reaching US$1,075 billion, figures from the UNWTO reveal. This growth is equal to the four per cent increase in international tourist arrivals, which reached 1,035 million in 2012. An additional US$ 219 billion was recorded in receipts from international passenger transport, bringing total exports…
The next time you fly out of LAX, instead of paying $20 or $30 a day to leave your car sitting in a parking lot, you could earn $10 to $20 a day by renting your car to someone else while you’re on vacation. “Your alternatives are a taxi -- that costs money; parking -- that costs money; or have your wife take you to the airport -- that has its own costs,” said Jim Meyer, co-founder of the latest car-sharing…
Several temporary eateries and ad hoc hangouts will be popping up along the Croisette during the annual Cannes Festival (May 15-26). Here’s a quick list of where to go to see (stars!) and be seen: Nikki Beach Keeping up an annual tradition that’s been going strong for over 10 years now, Nikki Beach will be back on the sands of the Grand Hôtel by day and taking over the roof of Cannes’ JW Marriott by…
U.S. airlines collected more than $6 billion in baggage and reservation change fees from passengers last year — the highest amount since the fees became common five years ago. These fees — along with charges for boarding early or picking prime seats — have helped return the industry to profitability. Airlines started charging for a first checked suitcase in 2008 and the fees have climbed since.…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has concluded an agreement with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the establishment of its Gulf Area office in Abu Dhabi, effective 1 June. “We are very pleased to be moving to our new home in Abu Dhabi. Today’s agreement reflects the recognition by the government of the UAE of the importance that aviation plays in driving economic growth…
Trinidad and Tobago has become UNWTO’s 156th Member State as the country rejoins the Organization after 35 years. The announcement was made by the Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, at the opening of the 55th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Americas in San Jose, Costa Rica. “We are very happy to welcome Trinidad and Tobago back into the Organization, a country which was in fact a founding member of…
We have all looked up at the night sky and been fascinated by the dark sky filled with stars, yet, very few of us have seen what is really out there. GocheGanas together with SOLNA will show you another world which will leave you speechless and take your breath away, you will not believe your eyes when without a telescope there appears to be nothing there, yet, when looking through a telescope…
What do you do when you have a massive amount of LEGO tracks in your collection? For Henrik Ludvigsen, the answer was to attempt constructing the world’s longest LEGO railway. Turning to the internet and newspapers for help, he received even more LEGO rails from fans all over the world. Incorporating almost 100,000 bricks, the huge project measured almost 2.5 miles long and took six hours to…
Abu Dhabi’s busiest ever Arabian Travel Market participation – with the partners in the destination’s pavilion last week processing over 4,200 meetings and enquiries – reflects the huge, recent strides in the emirate’s tourism offering, according to pavilion organiser Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority. “It was our most active participation yet with 52 pavilion co-sharers offering almost 90 product…
Pop-up hotels, bespoke itineraries, once-in-a-lifetime travel experiences and ‘braincations’ are among some of the travel trends predicted to shape 2013. According to analysts at Hotels.com’s trendspotting spring report, “experiential travel” will be top of mind among globetrotters this year, as consumers seek out itineraries that follow the roads less traveled. For example, consumers are being…
Italian jeans maker Diesel signed a deal with Venice city council on Tuesday to fund a 5-million-euro project to restore and clean the floating city’s famous Rialto Bridge. “Today a fundamental collaboration for the safeguarding of our common heritage comes to life,” mayor Giorgio Orsoni said after Renzo Rosso, founder and owner of Diesel, signed the contract. The work on the centuries-old bridge will…
Department store Selfridges has launched its first click and collect service in all of its stores across the UK to improve flexibility amid growing demand for convenience. With click and collect, Selfridges’ customers will be able to shop online every day until 4pm and collect the following day from the dedicated collection point at one of its four stores. Selfridges is also opening a drive-thru click…
Former model-turned-business mogul Cozete Gomes owns eight companies and does not really have time to be stuck in Sao Paulo‘s epic traffic jams. So she just flies over them. In Brazil’s sprawling business capital, home to 20 million people, millionaires sick of nightmarish bottlenecks on the roads are taking to the skies, relying on a massive fleet of private helicopters to get around town. “For…
Dubai. 07 May 2013 SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, records a 26% increase in the number of passengers from the Middle East this year, compared to 2011/2012. During 2012/2013, SriLankan Airlines carried 463,999 passengers from nine destinations in the Middle East compared to 342,290 passengers during 2011/2012. Overall, passenger traffic from the Middle East has contributed the second…
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, announced today that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejoined the Organization 26 years after having left UNWTO. The announcement was made during the UNWTO & Arabian Travel Market Ministerial Forum on Tourism and Aviation (Dubai, UAE, 7 May 2012). “The Middle East is one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world in spite of facing countless challenges; much of this…
