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Hyatt announced today at the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) exhibition in Dubai that it’s development plans for major properties in Saudi Arabia are progressing as anticipated, with two new properties expected to open in the next one year - Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya and Hyatt Regency Mecca - as tourism in the country continues to surge. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, the Kingdom saw…
Dubai Deputy Ruler inaugurates ATM 2013 as Middle East’s biggest travel and tourism event celebrates 20 years of industry milestones HRH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, officially inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013 today, in the presence of senior government officials, leaders of the regional and international travel industry as well as high-profile…
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Qatar Airways today announced route expansion on three continents together with a huge increase in capacity in Pakistan as part of the Doha-based carrier’s continued aggressive growth strategy. The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa will become the carrier’s 20th destination on the African continent, launching on September 18, followed a month later by Clark International Airport…
For the first time, Tourism Australia, Virgin Australia and Etihad Airways have partnered on a national advertising campaign inviting British holidaymakers to travel on the Etihad Skypass. The £870,000 campaign, which runs UK-wide throughout May, uses Tourism Australia’s ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ global creative and includes multi-channel TV and online advertising, directing consumers to find out…
Tourism companies in Saudi Arabia are aggressively investing their resources in the local market, particularly during the Hajj and Ummrah seasons, to further consolidate KSA’s leading footprint in the tourism landscape. As the 2013 Arabian Travel Market draws near in the UAE, these companies are geared up to take part in the event and exchange knowledge and expertise with their Emirati and Middle East…
In what may come as little surprise, Saudi Arabians have emerged as the highest rollers when it comes to global travel, spending an average of about $6,670 USD per trip, followed by Australian and Chinese globetrotters. That’s according to a recently released report from Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2013, described as a barometer of travel trends around the world. After surveying 12,630…
London-based luxury retailer Harrods is set to create a temporary space on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Arriving in Porto Cervo this summer, the famous green of Harrods will be splashed all over a temporary retail space set to open later this year. Porto Cervo is a luxury seaside resort on Northern coast of the Italian island. Favored by some of the world’s most jet-set tourists, it featured…
Key Outbound Tourism Markets in South-East Asia,’ launched at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), Australia´s premier tourism trade event (Sydney, 26 April), provides an up-to-date perspective on major tourism trends and developments in five key South-East Asian outbound markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2012, these five countries accounted for US$ 49 billion in international…
It can be quite frustrating to navigate a busy sidewalk in NYC, especially when pedestrians are looking at their phones instead of what’s in front of them. To address this “texting and walking” epidemic, prank collective Improv Everywhere, together with Buzzfeed, provided text-obsessed pedestrians with ‘seeing eye people’. Connected via leashes, these seeing eye people would help texting pedestrians…
Parisian cosmetics label Chanel is serving up mascara via innovative vending machines at Selfridges for a limited time only. Chanel famously first created ‘human vending machines‘ in 2012 at Fashion’s Night Out, but the luxury label has taken a robotic leap into the future with its latest project. London beauty fans are now able to get their hands on Chanel’s first volumizing mascara via automated…
Advertising student Bri Hand has created an unusual ad campaign that promotes planet Earth as a travel destination for extra-terrestrial tourists. Designed as an attempt to communicate with life beyond our home planet, the campaign consists of a series of print ads and audio broadcasting of messages into space. The print ads highlight the unique qualities that make Earth, Earth, including gravity,…
A 16.5-meter-high (six stories) ‘Rubber Duck’—created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman—has made its debut in Hong Kong waters. What’s considered the “biggest floating duck in the world”, the nostalgia-inducing huge inflatable yellow sculpture resembles the bathtub companion of kids, and is sure to bring a smile on anyone’s face. Rubber Duck will be floating in the waters of Ocean Terminal from 2…
If you’re an experienced chef who has worked in five-star establishments, aren’t daunted by having to prepare luncheons for the most powerful heads of state in the world, or thousands of canapés for parties of 800, Buckingham Palace wants you. The Royal Family has posted a job vacancy for a sous chef, a salaried position that pays around £23,000 (about US$ 35,000) a year for 45-hour work weeks.…
Spain’s El Celler De Can Roca edged past Denmark’s Noma and Italy’s Osteria Francescana to be named the world’s best restaurant on Monday. It’s been a long time coming for the Girona restaurant in the northeast of Catalona, Spain, having spent the last two years fixed at the No. 2 position on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for its turn at the spotlight. Steered by Roca brothers – Joan, the chef…
Virgin Galactic‘s passenger spaceplane, which is designed to take tourists to the edge of space, flew its first rocket-powered test flight Monday, breaking the sound barrier at high altitude. SpaceShipTwo ignited its engine after being released by WhiteKnightTwo, a plane that carried it to 47,000 feet (14,000 meters) above California’s Mojave desert, British billionaire Richard Branson’s firm said in a…
Culture Secretary Maria Miller today launched a tourism partnership strategy for Britain which calls for the travel industry and the government, together with key public and private sector bodies, to unite behind a long-term ambition for growth that would see Britain welcome 40 million overseas visitors by 2020, spending £31.5 billion and supporting an additional 200,000 jobs across the country. Tourism is…
Abu Dhabi’s 141 hotels and hotel apartments have turned in a promising first quarter performance with across-the-board growth in guest numbers, guest nights, average-length-of-stay and revenues. Figures just released by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority show that during the first three months of this year some 631,417 guests checked into accommodation throughout the emirate – a six per cent rise on the…
Norwegian Breakaway has become one of the biggest ships to make its debut in Southampton after arriving at the UK port ahead of a trade preview. The Norwegian Cruise Line ship made a pre-inaugural overnight sailing from Rotterdam to arrive in the UK port. Agents from across the UK trade will be invited onboard today as the 4,028-passenger ship is showcased. The Norwegian delegation will be led…
