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When the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai opens its doors at the end of this year, it will be the new tallest dedicated hotel building in the world. Standing at 1,099-feet tall (355 metres), the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is just 26 metres shorter than the Empire State Building in New York. The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong, which sits on floors 102-118 of the 1,588-foot International Commerce Centre remains the highest…
For the first time in at least two decades of reporting the worldwide cost of living survey Zurich sits atop the ranking as the world’s most expensive city. An index swing of 34 percentage points pushed the Swiss city up 4 places compared to last year to overtake Tokyo which remains in 2nd place. Geneva, the other Swiss city surveyed saw a 30 percentage point rise in the cost of living to move up six places…
The Manneken-Pis, a bronze statue of a young boy urinating that is a symbol of Brussels and a major tourist attraction, has had to stop peeing because of sub-zero temperatures, Belgium's tourist office said on Wednesday. Officials turned off the flow of water through the statue, which has stood on a Brussels corner since the 1600s, out of concern the cold might damage its internal mechanism. Temperatures in…
Dubai, UAE – A delegation from Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman and Ramada Downtown Dubai will attend the International Tourism Bourse (ITB) 2012, the world’s leading travel trade show, held in Berlin, Germany from 7 to 11 March 2012, to strengthen its position and brand awareness in key markets such as the UK and Germany. Iftikhar Hamdani, General Manager, Ramada Hotel & Suites Ajman, said: “ITB Berlin is one of…
Tourism Ireland, in association with Visit Britain and Visit Scotland, successfully hosted the first of three UAE Travel & Trade workshops organised for Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait. In working together and investing in the workshops, Tourism Ireland, Visit Britain and Visit Scotland are demonstrating their commitment to supporting the travel trade in the UAE and reflecting the value of the industry to tourism in…
Azerbaijan is planning to build the world’s tallest building – taller than both the Burj Khalifa and the upcoming Kingdom Tower to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Azerbaijan Tower, which is set to break ground in 2015, will rise more than a kilometer in height, or 3,444 feet, upon its completion in 2018 or 2019, The Azerbaijan Tower is being built on a series of artificial islands, called the Khazar…
Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Brazil, opens its 150th hotel in Brazil with the Novotel Porto Alegre Aeroporto and celebrates 34 years of presence in this country. Novotel Porto Alegre Aeroporto: first franchise Novotel in Brazil Accor opens the 11th hotel of its midscale brand Novotel in Brazil with its historical local partner, Atrio Hotéis, specialized in the development…
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Travel Association today commended the implementation of a final rule to make the Global Entry Program permanent. A program within the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Global Entry allows for expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. "Expanding and making the Global Entry Program permanent is…
Emirates is driving forward its operations in Europe by announcing a third daily flight to Milan from 1st June, taking to 49 the number of weekly flights offered to Italy. EK 101 will leave Dubai at 0340hrs and arrive in Milan Malpensa at 0825hrs, ready for business in the city considered the engine room of Italy's economy and home to the nation's stock exchange. The return flight, EK 102, departs Milan at…
Now Europe and North America aren't the only continents to experience extreme winter conditions; parts of North Africa have been greatly affected by heavy snowfall too. In Algeria, snow has fallen in 14 provinces, forcing people to stay indoors and bringing traffic to a standstill. In parts of the coastal region, where few people have heating in their homes, bodyeratures have fallen to 3 degrees Celsius.…
Here's the ad: Dubai – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia had hoped to place a full-page ad highlighting the animal suffering associated with live-sheep imports in Open Skies, the in-flight magazine of the airline Emirates, but the airline has grounded the idea. The ad shows sheep crammed together aboard a ship and reads, "And You Thought Economy Class Was Cramped!", in both…
The U.S. Travel Association has announced its endorsement of new legislation to help expand the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act, introduced by Sens. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Mark Kirk (R-IL), and Reps. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), enhances security measures while extending the VWP framework to welcome additional countries. "Expanding…
Not surprisingly, Danish chef Rene Redzepi’s restaurant Noma topped the list of the hardest restaurants to get into in the world, as it receives 20,000 reservation requests a day. The earliest reservations can be made are three months out. The Copenhagen restaurant has quickly filled the vacuum left behind by the closure of legendary Spanish restaurant el Bulli last year. Given the rising demand…
The price tag for One World Trade Center, the signature skyscraper under construction at Ground Zero in New York, has risen to more than $3.8 billion. According to WSJ, the price tag for the building has shot up $700m from the latest public estimate, making it the world’s most expensive new office tower. Once completed, the 1,776-foot tower will be the tallest in the U.S., but it won’t be the highest in the…
Tourism Ireland, in association with Visit Britain and Visit Scotland, will host 2012 travel trade workshops in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait from the 12th - 16th of February. Building on recent promising developments in direct access routes between the UAE and Ireland, the workshops are designed to further enhance Ireland's visibility and awareness among travel trade partners for 2012. The recent launch of…
UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism of Tunisia will organize an international conference on the future of Mediterranean tourism on the island of Djerba (16-17 April, 2012). The news was announced at the Tourism Investment Forum for Africa, INVESTOUR, held during the international travel fair, FITUR (Madrid, Spain, 19 January). “While the Mediterranean may be the most visited region in the world, with over…
Abu Dhabi is once again pushing back the opening of local branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim art museums, after a fresh review of the projects, the government's tourism arm said on Wednesday. The Louvre Abu Dhabi, a spin-off of the famous Paris museum, will now open in 2015 while Abu Dhabi's branch of New York's Guggenheim, will open in 2017, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) said in a…
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, has joined industry voices in support of the decision taken by the Obama Administration to implement the necessary measures to improve visa and foreign visitor processing in order to create jobs and spur economic growth in the USA. “It is extremely encouraging to see President Obama calling for a coordinated policy to support a prosperous and secure tourism sector in…
