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June 10- As the FIFA World Cup is all set to begin in South Africa tomorrow, demand from the UAE for travel to the country remains low. Experts said fans do not want to go see the world cup with the steep price of Dh72,000 for a package. Around 30,000 premium match tickets are still unsold by sponsors which shows that people have yet to recover from the recession. One of the most popular FIFA packages is being…
June 10 - Oman’s Ministry of Tourism is stepping up preparations for the influx of tourists expected during the summer months, particularly to Salalah, the capital of Dhofar Province. Last year, around 300,000 local and international guests visited the city from June to September. "Aside from its numerous fascinating locations, Salalah also has cooler weather compared to other parts of Oman during the summer,…
June 10 - The Meydan Grandstand and racecourse that played host to the Dubai World Cup in March has been voted the second most important sports venue globally by Sports Pro magazine. The facility also scored high on innovation, originality and infrastructure, it was learnt yesterday. Published in the June edition of the magazine, the list is the first of its kind and has included venues from 13 different…
June 10 - Travelport has launched a leisure portal for travel agents, it was learnt yesterday. Known as Travelport Leisure, the portal is a newer version of the former Galileo Leisure portal launched in 2005. The portal includes new hotel, hostel, B&B and vehicle information and the option of adding localised content with respect to a particular country. The portal is free to use for all travel agents.
June 9 - Eighty percent of Saudis use highways for domestic travel, said Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA). Prince Salman was speaking at the re-launch of Saudi Automotive Services Company (SASCO) service stations at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh. The Minister of Transport Jabara Al-Seraisry, Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Research and Marketing…
June 8 - The Dubai Department of Tourism and Marketing (DTCM) has launched a rental system for self-catering hotel units that will be put to use later this year. According to the details, the system will allow the leasing of furnished residential units in specific areas and locations based on different criteria. The units will be managed by certified companies that operate in compliance with specific terms and…
June 8 - The United Arab Emirates and Switzerland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual exemption of visa for holders of diplomatic or private passports. The MoU was signed by Dr Abdul Rahim Yousef Al Awadi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs, and Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart, Ambassador of Switzerland to the UAE. The agreement will strengthen ties between the two nations and…
June 8 - Hajj costs for Egyptians have gone up by 14 per cent this year given the rise in the price of accommodation in Makkah, said officials in Egypt in charge of Hajj. Officials explained that the increase in rates are mostly because Hajj service providers as well as hotel and apartment owners around the Haram have hiked prices up for this season, prices which have been approved by the Saudi Commission for…
June 7 - Movenpick Hotels announced on Sunday that there will be 800 new rooms for its Hajar Tower Makkah property to meet accommodate Hajj pilgrims this year. The new rooms will offer exclusive views of the Ka’aba and Haram. This will put the total number of available rooms in the property to 1,200. “We will reach our full room capacity of 1,200 rooms by mid August this year, just in time for the holy month of…
June 6 - Dr. Mohammad Sadeqi met with Usta Aba Rjaili, who is head of the Bu Hamdoun Al-Mahatta Municipality, in Beirut to review the Mount Lebanon public service summer resort project. Dr. Sadeqi is resident representative of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). Heads of the municipalities of Shabania, Hammana, and Falugha attended the meeting. Participants were given a presentation of the…
June 6 - Fishing licenses will be issued only to people who have a residency visa and are currently living in Dubai, according to a senior official from the Dubai municipality. People who wish to go recreational fishing must first get a license from the municipality whether it is to fish on the coastline or in leisure boats. Engineer Mohammad Abdul Rahman Hassan said “A fishing license is a requirement for…
June 5 - The price of business, tourism and student visas for citizens of Saudi Arabia has gone up to SR532, from SR498, according to an announcement from the US State Department. “All persons who are applying for a business, tourism, or student visa (B1/B2, F1, F2, J1, J2, B1) on or after June 5, 2010 must pay SR532. If they have an appointment on or after June 5, 2010 and you have already paid SR498, you must…
June 4 - The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority’s (ADTA) website is now in Japanese, making it the website’s sixth language version. ADTA hopes to penetrate into the Japanese market especially since more and more airlines are launching flights to Japan. The number of Japanese nationals staying in Abu Dhabi hotels in the first four months of 2010 grew by one percent compared to the same period last year and the…
June 4 - Dutch football player Ronald de Boer referred to Qatar as the ultimate choice as host for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. De Boer has played for Qatari sides Al Rayyan and Al Shamal and serves as ambassador for the Gulf nation's bid to stage the FIFA World Cup in 2022. "I think it is the right time for this to happen. Africa has had its chance for the first time this year and now it is the chance for the…
June 3 - The world's first Ferrari theme park is being constructed on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island and will open on October 28 this year, said sources on Wednesday. "It will be a sign of friendship between our two countries," said Italy's ambassdor to the UAE, Paola Dionisi at a media conference. Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will be the world’s largest indoor theme park with several rides for children."Ticket prices will…
June 3 - The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has launched a visitor centre in the Al Jahili Fort, Al Ain, bringing the number of visitor centres in the UAE to four. A fifth one is being constructed at Mina Zayed cruise terminal and will open in November. The ADTA is also planning to open other centres this year. "We are working on a centre which we plan to open in July in The Souk, Central Market with a…
June 3 - The 2010 Riyadh Travel Exhibition’s second session opened at the Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Centre with 200 local and international exhibitors participating from 30 countries. The exhibition was inaugurated by Dr Fahad bin Saleh Al-Sultan, Secretary General of the Council of Saudi Chambers. A number of countries, including Turkey, Thailand, Morocco and Kuwait , are participating in…
3- More than 400,000 tourists have been to Petra, Jordan, this year, a 43 per cent increase compared to 2009, according to official figures released on Tuesday. The number of visitors in the first five months of this year were 413,000, an increase from the same period in 2009, when 288,000 tourists visited the ancient Nabataean city, said the figures released by Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority…
