Airline, airport, hotel, destination, visa, and Muslim travel updates from Irhal.
The airline marks Philadelphia as its 14th destination in North America NEW YORK, NY, USA – Qatar Airways has reconnected Doha and Philadelphia with the launch of a daily non-stop flight between Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), its 14th destination in North America, which resumed on 1 August 2026.
Read full storyThis summer, Central Shopping Centers invites international visitors to experience the best of shopping, dining, and leisure with Summer Holiday 2026, running from 20 July – 30 September 2026. Created exclusively for international tourists, the campaign offers shopping privileges across Thailand’s five world-class shopping malls: centralwOrld, Central Park…
Read full storyThe Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Jordan Tourism Board, in cooperation with tourism associations, have launched the integrated digital platform "Ahlan Jordan" as part of measures to support the tourism sector and address the impact of regional circumstances on travel activity.
Read full storyflydubai, the Dubai-based carrier, has increased its daily operations between Dubai and Naples and is set to boost its flights to Milan-Bergamo to a double-daily operation from 31 July, enhancing passenger connectivity to Italy.
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – July 28, 2026: The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has announced that Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, a museum of modern and contemporary art, will open its doors on 11 December 2026 at Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.
Warner Bros. World™ Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, the region's largest indoor theme park, is inviting guests to place themselves in the hands of one of DC's most iconic Super-Villains, as Kryptonite Collider officially opens.
Malaysia Retains No. 1 Position in Global Muslim Travel Index 2025, Offering GCC Travellers a Summer of Festivals, Culture and Discovery.
The Dubai-based carrier announces the start of daily flights to Aleppo from 20 July, reaffirming its connectivity to opening underserved markets Aleppo becomes the carrier’s second destination in Syria alongside Damascus
What if the most valuable thing you brought home from a trip wasn’t an object, but a story? Northern Thailand is home to dozens of ethnic communities who have carried their identities across mountains and borders for centuries – and many of them welcome curious, respectful visitors.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today launched the search for the 7 Contemporary Wonders of the World, a global initiative designed to identify and celebrate the landmarks and buildings created since 1801 that have had the greatest impact on Travel & Tourism, local communities and economic development, and continue to redefine the future of destin…
Luxury travel today is no longer measured by how much you can see in a few days, but by how deeply you can experience a destination. At Le Méridien Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort, guests are invited to embrace this philosophy through Long Stay Beach Escape, an exclusive package designed for travelers who wish to enjoy more of Phuket's culture, wellness, and f…
Read full storyTwo hotels, three ways to stay, and one summer campaign inviting guests to choose their own scene across Paramount Hotel Midtown and Paramount Hotel Dubai
Read full storySharjah Museums Offer an Integrated Summer Experience Blending Culture, Science, and Discovery for All Community Members
Read full storyNew five-day programme empowers young people to build confidence, resilience and lifelong skills while embracing active lifestyles
Read full storyAcross Five Museums with Interactive Museum Programmes Enriching Children’s Knowledge
Read full storyOceans of Lights Festival returns to SeaWorld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi in its third edition to offer a summer program full of activities and new experiences
Read full storyJuly 2026, Yerevan, Armenia: Armenia has extended its temporary visa-free entry arrangement, keeping the country within easy reach for eligible travellers from across the Gulf for a further year. The arrangement now runs until 1 July 2027.
Read full storyJuly 2026, Yerevan, Armenia: The competent Armenian authorities announced the extension of the temporary decision exempting eligible travelers from GCC countries from prior visa entry for an additional year, making the decision effective until July 1, 2027. This decision aims to facilitate travel procedures and tourism movement and exchange between Armenia and the Arab Gulf region, allowing travelers…
Read full storySet within Khalid Lagoon, the island shows how Sharjah brings art, nature and design into everyday public life.
Read full storyBlending cultural discovery with elevated wellness and leisure experiences, World of Hyatt summer destinations offer GCC travelers seasonal getaways across the GCC, Africa and Europe.
Read full storyAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – June 30, 2026: Yas Waterworld Yas Island, Abu Dhabi has officially been awarded the Guinness World Records™ title for the most waterslides in a waterpark, featuring a record-breaking collection of 55 slides.
Read full storyExperience the Colours of Malaysia at Citrawarna 2026 This Summer
Read full storyGermany is an ideal destination for friends traveling together, thanks to its creative neighborhoods, vibrant markets, street food culture, and stunning natural retreats
Read full storyFollowing the launch of its first collaboration in 2025, the Jacquemus brand returns this summer to the Monte Carlo Beach Club with a new design that reimagines the coastal atmosphere with a contemporary spirit. The design evokes the spirit of 1950s beach clubs, where elegance meets the calm Mediterranean lifestyle.
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March 18- UK-based celebrity chef Gary Rhodes will open yet another restaurant in Dubai called Rhodes Twenty10 at the Taste of Dubai Festival that opened on Wednesday, making it his second restaurant in the region. Earlier, Rhodes opened the Rhodes Mezzanine in Dubai. This one, however, will be a steakhouse “with a twist,” he said, adding that it will be opened at the Le Royal Meridien. “I never imagined that…
March 18- The Mövenpick Resort & Residence Aqaba and Mövenpick Resort Tala Bay are the first two hotels in Jordan to be awarded the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification for its food safety management programme. The certification is a seven-step food safety management system that takes into account various physical, chemical and biological hazards with regard to food and how to prevent…
March 18- Emerald Palace Group, a residential and tourism project developer, has delivered 100 units to owners at Kempinski Hotel Residences Palm Jumeirah project, according to a press release issued on Wednesday. Work on the project began in 2007 and includes 244 units, such as suites, residences, penthouses and royal villas. Handovers to customers began in January this year and are expected to reach completion…
March 18- Ominvest, a property development company in Oman, is planning to build a $1 billion tourism resort in Salalah, the company's chairman said on Wednesday. "The integrated tourist complex will have four hotels and housing units which will be offered for sale to both local and international investors,” said Hani Al Zubair, the chairman, while talking to journalists at an investment forum. Construction…
March 18- Kempinski Residences & Suites Doha, the first property in Qatar, will open in April 2010, according to a press release issued by the company on Thursday. The building is said to be the tallest on Qatar’s skyline and has 62 floors with 370 fully furnished apartments and suites. The highest level of the building will be duplex Sky Villas that consist of six bedrooms each. "This property will be unlike…
March 17- Abu Dhabi National Hotel’s (ADNH) core lodging performance was weak last year but profits were lifted by catering operations. ADNH said its profits last year were 48 percent higher at Dh432.9 million (US$117.8). ADNH, which owns hotels in Abu Dhabi including Le Meridian and Hilton, also operates a catering division through a joint venture with the Compass Group of the UK, and owns and manages Al Ghazal…
March 17- Etihad Airways and Travelport have signed a five year full content agreement to provide travel agents connected with Galileo and Worldspan worldwide access to the entire airline’s published inventory of flights and fares. Travelport is one of the leading global distribution system (GDS) providers. Etihad Airways’ Chief of Strategy and Planning said “As a rapidly-expanding airline, we are delighted…
March 17- A two week cultural extravaganza at Janadriya village was inaugurated by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Tuesday. Janadriya village is 45 km north-east of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A variety of cultural dances, a huge open-air operetta entitled “The Unity of a Nation” and a spectacular camel race are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of Saudi and expatriate visitors. About 1,000…
March 17- Dubai based Proleads research shows that 48 new hotels with 14,178 rooms are expected to open in the GCC in 2010. The estimated cost of the new hotels is $7.3 billion (Dh26.79bn). A panel of industry experts will discuss ways for the hospitality industry to deal with the global economic downturn at the Hotel Show, which runs from May 18th until May 20th at the Dubai World Trade Center.…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will issue an airport tender for KSA’s first privately-owned airport in Medina in May, it was learnt on Wednesday. The winner will operate the airport, which will have a capacity of eight million passengers a year, for not less than 25 years, Alaa Samman, General Manger of Business Development for Domestic Airports at GACA told reporters.
The number of new hotels being added to the development pipeline of the Middle East and Africa region slowed down considerably last month, revealed data from STR Global, a research company. There are about 457 hotels in the development pipeline and just one more was added last month. According to the company’s February report, 124,142 rooms were in development while in January, 14 new hotels were added to the…
Over 70 percent of hotel suppliers have yet to receive the money owed to them by hotel companies for their services, it was learnt via the findings of a recently conducted survey. From a sample of 34, 70.4 per cent respondents said the hotels owed them money, revealed the Hotelier Middle East Supplier Survey. 22.9 per cent of the respondents said that the money owed to their companies is the biggest hurdle for…
March 17- Emirates Airline plans to order more than 12 planes to meet the growing demand of the carrier, said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates Airline. “I know that we announced something like 10 to 12 aircraft, but we are maybe looking at more than that number,” he added. Emirates will sell shares in an initial public offering, but the timeline for the sale will be decided by the…
March 17- Emirates SkyCargo, Dubai's national airline’s freight division, ships around 1,000 tons of flowers to Amsterdam every month. This is expected to increase by over 400 tons when Emirates launches its daily passenger service to Amsterdam from May 1. Currently, these flowers are shipped to Amsterdam via the SkyCargo freighters once a week. The freighters leave from Dubai, stop in Africa to ‘pick’ up the…
March 17-As economies around the world slowly recover from the global recession, UAE’s tourism sector appears to be improving slowly from last year’s financial setbacks. Experts predict that the hospitality industry in UAE is expected to bounce back and will probably even achieve the boom it experienced back in 2007. “Though the global economic crisis had affected the tourist inflow in late 2008 and early 2009,…
The Lebanese Tourism Ministry is going to launch its ‘Promoting Lebanon Board’ soon, said Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud earlier this week. This committee will comprise private sector figures under the chairmanship of the tourism minister. Speaking at a lunch debate organised by the American Lebanese Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) held in his honour, Abboud said that the primary goal of the board “is to devise a…
March 17- Jordan’s tourism revenues have increased by 34.7 per cent in the first two months of 2010, hitting 311 million (Jordanian dinar) as opposed to 231 million (Jordanian dinar) last year in the same time period, it was learnt through figures released by the Central Bank of Jordan. Meanwhile, the number of visitors to Jordan rose by 20.4 per cent to 946,147 in the first two months of 2010, compared to…
A huge ancient statue of the monkey god of wisdom, Thoth, has been discovered in Egypt, said the council of antiquities in Egypt on Tuesday. The statue is four metres (13 feet) tall and was found in four different pieces along with two others when workers were pushing the groundwater beneath Luxor to preserve the city’s pharaoh temples. The statues were discovered near the temple of Amenhotep III and dates back…
March 16- Flydubai took delivery of its first Boeing 737 equipped with Goodrich corporation DURACARB carbon brakes. Flydubai is Dubai’s first low cost airline. Chief executive officer of flydubai, Ghaith al Ghaith, and Goodrich Corporation officials attended a ceremony upon the crafts arrival in Dubai. This is the seventh Boeing 737 flydubai has received in its less than 10 months of commercial operations…
March 16- The Volvo Ocean Race, one of the world’s most difficult around the world yachting competitions, is expected to bring substantial benefits to Abu Dhabi, which will host the event in January 2012. The capital will be the first Middle East port to host the racers, and is spending billions of dirhams on its marinas and other leisure boating operations. The Volvo Ocean Race, which was formerly known as…
March 16- New reports by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and World Travel Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) say the total number of tourists around the globe could hit 1 billion in 2010 A decline in the number of crisis in the world over the past two years may cause tourist numbers to reach this level. If the forecast comes true this would be a 3 to 4 percent increase in tourist traffic in 2010 compared…
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s investment firm, Kingdom Holding Company, has offered to buy the remaining shares in Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI) for $843 million. Kingdom Holding has offered $5 a share for a 44 per cent stake in KHI. The offer has already been approved by a committee at the Kingdom Hotel. “The offer allows our minority shareholders the opportunity to crystallise cash value…
In a report titled ‘Tourism Investment in Syria’, the Syrian Ministry of Tourism has said that new investments in the tourism sector will create 96,000 jobs in tourist restaurants and hotels by 2012. The current number of tourism related construction jobs is 35,151 which will increase to 250,000 by 2012. To keep up with the growth, around 10,000 workers must be trained annually. Eight new buildings and…
March 16- Maraya Art Centre was inaugurated yesterday by Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, at Al Qasba. Spread over a space of 1,500 square metres and three storeys high, the art centre will play host to exhibitions, cultural events and educational activities. "This collaboration involved people from a number of different social and academic…
