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The national carrier of the Republic of Chad in Africa began operations at Dubai International Airport on 23 April. Toumai Chad will fly every Thursday from N’djamena to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and then to Dubai at Terminal 2. Another new airline, China’s Hainan Airlines, is scheduled to begin services at Dubai International Airport on 25 May. Also, Jet Airway began new routes to Chennai and added another daily…
Travel Group launched its new Aqua Park in Aqua Coraya in Madinat Coraya, Marsa Alam in March 2009. Madinat Coraya is located about 5 kilometers from the Marsa Alam International Airport, nearly 65 kilometers from Marsa Alam City, and about 250 kilometers from Hurghada. It is famous among divers and fishing enthusiasts. Aqua Park slides include the Free Fall and Kamikaze Turbo which provide electrifying…
Thirteen foreign tourists were injured in Luxor, Egypt when their hot air balloon crashed, according to medical and security officials. Security officials said none of the injuries are life threatening, although one French woman sustained a broken back. Five of the injured were transported to Cairo for further treatment. Eight of the injured tourists are French, two are English, one is Danish, one is Canadian,…
A top official reported that Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) is ready to increase its equity four times to Dh22.5 billion within 5 years. CEO Richard Riley said the company recently made management changes and is now in the process of restructuring in order to grow its hotel portfolio and other business. During their recent annual general meeting, ADNH approved the restructuring, appointed a third party to…
The national airline of the UAE, Etihad Airways, has partnered with Tourism NSW in order strengthen ties with Australia. Etihad Airways chief executive signed an agreement with New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees that aims to use the growing number of air links between Europe and Australia to increase the number of visitors to travelling to Sydney. Etihad Airways follows Dubai’s Emirates Airlines in…
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Shaikh Mohammed Bih Rashid Al Maktoum, inspected Emirate Groups new headquarters which overlooks Dubai Airport and cost more than Dh400 million to build. The new building is the headquarters for Emirates, flydubai, and Dnata. Shaikh Mohammad inspected e-check in procedures, was briefed about travel procedures such as checking in, and visited the electronic…
Domestic tourism in Saudi Arabia has grown over the past few years due to infrastructure improvements and increased mobility among its growing population. The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) reported that 37.5 billion Riyals was spent on domestic tourism during the past year. This added 47.5 billion Riyals to the countries Gross Domestic Product during the year. Last year the tourism sector…
Year on year room margins in Dubai dropped 43% last month due to steep discounts offered by hotels in order to attract visitors. STR Global’s figures show that Revenue Per Available Room (RevPar) for Dubai hotels plummeted from $348.66 in March last year to $199.97 (Dh734.48) this March. STR Global is an industry research firm based in London that was created last year by a joint venture between international…
Bahrain carrier Gulf Air said it will start two new flights to Egypt and Oman due to positive customer feedback. From 22 June, Gulf Air will fly to Alexandria, Egypt and from 1 July to Salalah, Oman. Both flight services will operate three times a week throughout the summer season and end in September. Gulf Air’s Sale Director said they chose to add new services to these two popular summer destinations due…
Jeddah will invest SR170 billion ($45 billion) to overhaul infrastructure and transform the Red Sea port city of three million into a trade and tourism hub similar to other Arab cities. Deputy Mayor for Construction and Projects, Ibrahim Kutubkhanah, explained inadequate infrastructure, pollution, densely populated slum areas, a lack of a city wide sewage system, and water supply shortages have been problems for…
The minister of tourism for Lebanon expressed optimism about revival of the travel industry in the UAE while attending the UN World Tourism Organization Summit (UNWTO) yesterday. Elie Marouni acknowledged the negative impact on tourism in the UAE but said they believed this will only be a slowdown and the UAE has a huge potential to recover. Mr. Marouni said the inter-regional growth of tourism will offset the…
A Saudi Arabian Airlines jet seized in Paris last week over a dispute with the leasing company was released yesterday morning. A court ordered the Boeing 777-200 be held at the Charles de Gaulle airport due to a financial dispute between Saudia and Saint Nazaire-based Eagle Aviation. The airline's director general said the seizure of the jet was arbitrary and illegal, and that "we are trying to resolve the…
Saudi Arabian Airlines cut operating costs 30% by upgrading its four contact centers in Madinah, Jeddah, Damman, and Riyadh with IP telephony and contact center solutions. IT Vice President for Saudi Airlines, Dr. Omar Abdullah Al-Jeffri, said the new Unified Communications technology implemented includes IP telephony applications and Modular Messaging for 1,200 in 15 sites throughout the Kingdom. The…
Two employees of a five star hotel on Shaikh Zayed Road were detained by police in connection with the loss of Dh 100,000 of a Bahranian businessman guest. When the businessman attempted to change rooms because of a malfunctioned lock on his door, the hotel staff returned all the items from his room's safety deposit box except the Dh100,000. The safety deposit box was secured by a secret pin number. He called…
An Emirates Airline flight from Dubai to Nairobi was delayed for 90 minutes while a burning smell was investigated. Passengers at the airport saw numerous fire engines near the plane at about 11 am. An Emirates Airline spokesman said after engineers inspected the plane, Emirates flight EK719 EAR-24 was cleared for take off at 12:15 am. The flight was initially scheduled to depart at 10:40 am.
Hotel revenue per available room (RevPar) in Dubai dropped 35% to $217.5 in February 2009 compared to $335.5 for the same period last year. Deloitte and Touché consultancy firm carried out the STR Global Hotel Survey showing the steep drop in RevPar. Consultants said that hotel revenues are decreasing as fewer visitors come to Dubai and more new hotels open their doors. The impact of the global economic…
Carvings unearthed in ancient temples in the Sinai Peninsula may help explain one of the more obscure periods in Pharaonic history. Mission head for Egyptian archeologists said there is a carving of King Ramses I standing before the god Set. The Hyksos worshipped King Ramses and rare inscriptions found on the temple walls relate to them. Hyksos means “foreign ruler” in Greek and they were intensely hate by the…
Air Arabia began non-stop service to Athens, Greece from Sharjah, UAE, as part of its strategy to expand its operations in Europe. Air Arabia is a low cost carrier in the Middle East and Africa. They will fly to Athens on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, leaving Sharjah at 18:55 pm and arriving in Athens at 22.45 pm. The return flight will depart from Athens at 23:30 pm and arrive in Sharjah at 05:20 am.…
