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Jet Airways begins its new Mumbai to Riyadh flight service on 6 August 2009. The service will operate four times a week – Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The new service is Jet Airway’s eighth destination in the Gulf and second in Saudi Arabia. Currently they have a daily Mumbai-Jeddah service. Jet Airways provides flight service to Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, to numerous…
President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday toured Saadiyat, Yas Island Tourism, and Al Raha Beach tourism projects in Abu Dhabi to review work progress. He was accompanied by Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. He started the tour at Abu Dhabi Corniche then continued to Saadiyat, viewing new bridges and road linking the…
Two luxury hotels will open in Doha by year end, and two more will open next year. The first two hotels to open are designed to be linked to the City Center building. Five luxury hotels in all are planned – two will be attached to the east side of the shopping mall and the others will be on the west. The planned hotels are the Marriot Courtyard, the Renaissance Hotel, the Doha Shangri-La, the Doha Rotana…
Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways said the number of passengers traveling with them increased 9% to 616,000 in July compared to the same period last year. This make July 2009 the busiest month in the airline’s history. Etihad Airways flights were 88% full and weekly flights increased 20%. Chief Executive James Hogan said “We now look forward to building upon this for the remainder of the summer holiday…
The America Cup may be held in the Middle East for the first time in its 158 year history. UK and France media reported that the current cup holder – Swiss team Alinghi and Society Nautique de Geneve have made an agreement with Ras al-Khaimah to hold the race there in February 2010. The cup challenger, San Fransisco based BMW-Oracle, will probably oppose the move. Alinghi, as cup holder, is required to give…
Dubai World has cancelled between six and eight tourism development projects in Rwanda. These projects were part of a $230 million investment announced by the company in 2007. Dubai World had said the $230 million investment would have been managed by its subsidiary Istithmar Real Estate and “make a significant contribution to the tourism offering in Rwanda.” The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) said Dubai…
Abu Dhabi has emerged as a front runner to be the Middle Eastern hub for Air Asia X. Group chief executive for Air Asia said Air Asia X will be located in the UAE capital. Air Asia X is a popular long haul budget carrier based in Kuala Lumpur. Abu Dhabi executives said they still have not received an official letter of intent from the airline. Air Asia X said they plan to open the base initially with a…
A European diplomat has warned that dishonest travel agents are overcharging Saudi tourists up to 166% more for visas to the Schengen area. A tourist visa to Schengen costs about $85 or (SAR300) but some companies have been charging as much as SAR800 for visas. A Riyadh based diplomat said the visas include fraudulent medical insurance programs. Travelers in Schengen car move freely within the region as long…
Victor Louis, formerly a Hilton Fujairah Resort General Manager has been named Director of Sales for the Arabian Peninsula & Indian Ocean. Mr. Louis replaces Guy Epsom who reportedly resigned in June. He will be based in the regional office at Dubai Internet City and lead the hotel group’s MEA sales team. Mr. Louise will be responsible for overseeing 19 properties in the UAE, Kuwait, Mauritius,…
The number of travelers from the Middle East visiting Sri Lanka has soared by 85% since the war there ended. Middle East director of the Sri Lanken Tourism Promotion Bureau said the growth in the number of travelers from Saudi Arabia in June was extraordinary “with Saudi travelers up by 186% and UAE travelers up by 181 per cent compared to the same month last year.” Heba Al Ghais Al Mansoon said the number of…
Travel sector executives said there have been several cases of fraud by travel agents due to the economic crisis and subsequent liquidity crunch. General Manager of Air Choice Travels in Abu Dhabi said only small agencies, sub agents, and those selling airline tickets illegally are having serious problems. Fais Mohammed explained “some agents are facing liquidity problems because payments from their clients,…
The most senior official of Hilton Hotels Corporations regional operations said they plan to open 12 new properties in the GCC and add 3,370 rooms by 2012. Jean-Paul Herzog – President, Middle East and Africa said “For the regional office, we are creating new roles to cover the pipeline of hotels.” He said there will be a30% increase in their personnel headcount by the end of 2009 in order to support new…
Lufthansa Airlines last year signed an agreement to acquire a 41.6% stake in loss making Austrian Airlines (AUA) and last week the European Commission granted a cautious approval for the deal. Austria had to make big concessions to secure the agreement including a €500 million (Dh 2,617m) payment. Niki Lauda, owner of budget carrier Niki Airline and former Formula 1 world champion describe it as “The biggest…
Dubai hotel profitability continues to lead the world 35% margins in 2009 according to researchers. CBRE Hotels Vice President Armine Hamdi said their net margins are still excellent compared to other parts of the world. CBRE is a hospitality consultancy and asset management firm. Vice President Arnoud Andrieu said the average net profit in Europe now is between 18% and 20% for the five star segment. Mr.…
Abu Dhabi National Hotels announced yesterday their profits during the first half of the year increased 17.1% to Dh342.2 million, compared to the same period last year.
Abu Dhabi based Rotana Hotels plans to double the number of hotels it operates from 27 to 67 within three years. Chief Executive Selem el Zyr said he ultimately dreams of running 100 hotels. The Rotana brand was inaugurated in 1993 with Beach Rotana Hotels and Towers. Mr. el Zyr was first introduced to the hospitality industry as a 16 year old boy and decided then he would go into the business. He…
Air travel in the Middle East bounced back from 0% growth earlier this year to 12.9% growth last month, due to higher demand on Asia and Europe routes. The International Air Transport Association reported that the improved results in the Middle East was the only bright spot among global airlines – passenger demand was down 7.2% worldwide compared with the same period last year. Regionally, airlines are…
Abu Dhabi Airport Company (ADAC) announced Ukraine International Airline (UIA) will being flights from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Kiev, Ukraine on 25 September. The twice weekly UIA flights will arrive in Abu Dhabi at 8:30 pm on Mondays and Fridays, and depart for Kiev on Tuesdays and Fridays at 1:55 am. The new service is intended to increase passenger traffic between the two cites and provide more…
