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On Sunday 180 UAE elderly couples in Dubai joined with 1,000 other people on a 118 day Grand World Voyage of 50 cities on the Ms Rotterdam. Destinations include Africa, Northern and Southern Europe, Mediterranean, Asia, and the Caribbean. Managing Director for Lamar Desert Tours and Cruises said his company also has younger cruise passengers, from 30 years and up and the cruise industry is has grown at least…
DAMAC Properties announced their contractor IFG has recently finished Dh6.7 million enabling work on the Lincoln Park site in Dubailand. The area is cleared and the foundation work is completed so the main contractor may now begin work. DAMAC has several projects planned for Arjan and Majan areas, but Lincoln Park is its first development underway in Dubailand.
A Thursday luncheon marking the opening of One&Only Cape Town was attended by Nelson Mandela and Dubai World Chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem and Kerzner International Chief Executive Sol Kerzner. Other Guests of Honor at the event included Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, Sharon Stone, Mariah Carey, Robert Diniro, and Morgan Freeman. Dubai World and Kerzner International are strategic partners in several huge…
Qatar Airway’s four Airbus A340-600’s will have their lounges removed and replaced with 44 economy class seats. When the Airbus A340-A600’s were put into service almost three years ago the lounges were proudly highlighted as a five star amenity for first class and business class long haul travelers. Qatar Airway’s chief executive said they are making more efficient use of the airplane and other Qatar officials…
Qatar Airways, Emirates Airlines, and Etihad Airways all won awards at the Skytrax World Airline Awards last week in Hamburg. Qatar won the award for best Airline in the Middle East and best economy class. Emirates won the award for best in-flight entertainment. Etihad, for the first time, won the award for best business class. Skytrax is a UK based consultancy and based its results on an eight month survey of…
Makkah Governor Prince Khaled Al-Faisal chaired a meeting of the Taif Tourism Development Council on Saturday and reviewed various proposals aimed at making Taif one of the Kingdom’s leading tourism destinations. Prince Khaled said Taif is the number one tourist destination in the Kingdom, the Kingdom will do its best to meet Taif tourism requirements, and he urged the Taif Chamber of Commerce and Industry to use…
Royal Jordanian (RJ) resumed flight services to the Belgium capital of Brussels on Tuesday. It has been six years since services have operated between the two countries. Services were suspended for commercial reasons, and RJ CEO says they are now resuming again for commercial reasons. Mr. Samer Majali said the flights are resuming following the signing of the open skies policy by the two counties last July. This…
Air Arabia plans to invest $50 million in its second hub to be set up in Casablanca, Morocco. The airline’s chief executive told reporters the hub in will have 20 to 25 aircraft and will fly to at least 60 airports within a five hour radius. Adel Ali said they have aircraft in Morocco now and they are ready to operate. He expects Air Arabia to fly to Italy, France, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, and North…
The beach near Dubai Offshore Sailing Club reopened after tests showed there is no contamination in the water. This beach has been in the news for months, beginning in December when the Dubai Municipality was forced to close it, and the sailing club, after tankers dumped sewage. The beach was initially reopened but then closed again after beachgoers last month reported black water and toxic sludge. However, a…
Prince Sultan bin Salman said Saudi Arabia’s tourism industry will not impose a security or social burden. Prince Sultan was speaking at a board of directors meeting of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) on Monday. He said the main goal of the SCTA is to develop tourism in order to benefit citizens and their families, who represent the Kingdom’s biggest tourism market. Prince Sultan…
Qatar Airways is ordering new airplanes in June and plans to add an average of seven routes a year for the next five years despite the slowdown in the global market. Qatar also plans to double its current coverage of US cities from three to six, and begin its first South American destination next year. Qatar is the second largest Arab nation carrier. The airline’s chief executive said the current economic…
Air Arabia negotiated an earlier deliver date for its order of A320 aircraft from Airbus. Sharjah based Air Arabia is the regions low-cost carrier and currently operates a fleet of 17 aircraft, all of them Airbus. By November of 2007 they had ordered an additional 44 A320’s from Airbus. The orders were originally scheduled to be delivered starting in 2012, but now the first A320 will be delivered from mid…
Goldman Sachs resumed covering Emmar Properties, Union Properties, and Abu Dhabi National Hotels, giving them a neutral rating. Goldman Sachs said the weak economic activity, slow economic growth, and tight liquidity will cause the current softness in the UAE Real Estate sector to continue. Goldman also gave a ‘neutral’ rating to Sorough Real Estate while Arabtec Holding and Abu Dhabi based Aldar properties…
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is heavily promoting business travel at the Gulf Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM 2009). The GIBTM exhibition opened yesterday in Abu Dhabi. Director General of SCTDA said the GIBTM conference is an important one in the region because it attracts event planners, conference and exhibition organizers, and incentive buyers from…
Dubai’s Skal International Tourism organization met Monday night and re-elected Mr. Amit Aora President. Mr. Aora is Corporate Director for Sales and Marketing for Emar Hospitality Group. Skal also elected other members for offices including Mr. Chris Anns Vice President & International Councilor, and Mr. Peter van Driessel Vice President – Events. Skal International is a professional tourism body composed of…
India’s leading airline, Jet Airways, announced on Monday it is launching a new direct, daily flight service from Mumbai to Kuwait. Jet Airways will operate the new service aboard a state of the art Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This is the airlines second India to Kuwait flight. The existing service is from Kochi to Kuwait. Jet Airways also has services from India to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Muscat and Bahrain.
Bahrain Air started nine new weekly flights to Abu Dhabi International Airport. Later the service will increase to twice daily. The new flights will operate using A319s and A320s in two class configurations. Including the new services to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain now flies to 16 destinations in North Africa, the Middle East and Indian sub continent. Bahrain Air Chairman said the addition of the Abu Dhabi services is…
Sabre Traveller Networks, Middle East has launched Traveller Security and Data Suite. The new program provides traveler security services, real time information about travel patterns, and reports for air, car, and travel bookings. Sabre CEO Daniel Naoumovitch explained the software suite provides secure access to data, complete travel information and reservation information, and detailed reports for all air,…
