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Dubai World on MOnday confirmed its subsidiary Infinity World filed a lawsuit against its partner the MGM hotel and casino operator. Infinity World is a joint venture with MGM in the development of the CityCenter project in Las Vegas. Infinity World alleges in its lawsuit recent submissions to the US regulatro made by MGM filed breach the CityCenter joint venture agreement and puts the project at risk. MGM…
A top official of Bahrain Ministry of Culture and Information said the country plans to double the current tourism sector contribution to the economy. Essa Hassani said that plans include 20 new five star hotels to be added within the next few years. Mr. Hassani said tourism is a big contributor to the county’s economy, accounting for 12% of GDP. He expects the tourism sector contribution to GDP will increase…
Daimler announced on Tuesday that it had signed a deal to provide 260 Mercedes Benz Citaro city buses to the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). In 2007 RTA announced what was reportedly the largest one off bus deal at the time – purchase of 1,616 buses from five different suppliers at a cost of US $ 2.34 billion (Dh 8.59 billion). The latest deal with Daimler follows a series of expected orders from…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised forecast projects the regions airlines are likely to see a $900 million loss in 2009 due to falling revenues, high fuel hedging positions, and overcapacity. The $900 million projected loss is more than four times higher than IATA’s original projected loss of $200 million for Middle Eastern airlines in 2009. IATA revised its forecast due to the strength…
The National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels, a leading hotels group, has reported a 7% increase in the number of European visitors to the UAE during the first three months of 2009, compared to the first three months of 2008. General Manager for Danat Hotels and Resorts, NCT&H, Raman al Rawas said that during the last three months hotel rates have beaten expectations. She said also that their participation…
In line with its goal to diversify its oil based economy, Abu Dhabi expects to invest almost $230 billion in tourism related projects, a government official said on Sunday. Vision 2030 is the Emirates long term expansion plan aimed at expanding non-oil sectors and attracting capital. Azhari Issa, an economic researcher at the Abu Dhabi Department of Economy and Planning (DPE) talked about Vision 2030 in a lecture…
Starwood Hotel and Resorts Worldwide has 19 project planned in the Gulf region and a senior executive said they will be ready for launch within 2 to 3 years. Eva Ziegler said that Starwood wants to increase its existing offering of 49 hotels in the Middle East, and is also considering expansion in Russia, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the Levant. Miss Ziegler said “There is no cancellation of projects as…
Emmar International Jordan has started construction of the Samarah Dead Sea Resort in Jordan. The project is consistent with the Kingdom’s growth plans as outlined by King Abdullah II Fund for Development. Construction of the luxury resort community will use sustainable project management practices. The General Manager for Emmar International Jordan explained that the project will bring a new dynamic to the…
Cultural events were held on the West Bank on Saturday to recognize Jerusalem’s designation as the 2009 “capital of Arab culture”. Arab culture ministers have named a city each year since 1996. Last year Damascus held the title. Previously Israel had banned such events in the disputed holy city. Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas opened the ceremony at 1500 GMT. The streets of Bethlehem in the West Bank were…
Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways expanded its existing codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines of Belgium, providing its customers access to Spain for the first time. The agreement is effective from 29 March 2009. The two letter code “EY” will appear on Brussels Airlines flights form Belgium to Madrid Spain, and Barcelona, Spain. The agreement also covers Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Under the agreement,…
The regions religious tourism sector can play a decisive role in driving the short term industry revenues according to Kevin J. Wright, President of the World Religious Travel Association. The regions burgeoning religious tourism sector is valued at $18 billion per year and helps fuel the regions current annual tourism growth of 11 per cent. Three billion people worldwide trace their religious roots and…
The Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing is offering new hotel rate cuts as part of their “Keep Discovering Dubai” campaign. The new hotel offers range from free to discounted rooms and will last until the end of the campaign in May. The Hyatt Regency is giving complementary rooms to all DTCM guests including free meals between 17 March 2009 and 17 May 2009. The “Keep Discovering Dubai”…
Amadeus, a major booking system provider for travel agencies, reported a steep drop in the number of business travel bookings. In January and February bookings fell 20%. Liesure travel bookings for the same period fell 12%. Airlines and travel agencies expect that the slump in business travel bookings will continue because the global economic slowdown will keep budgets tight. At the ITB Traveler fair,…
Vision Hotels Management is going ahead with plans to add 1,655 new hotel rooms in Abu Dhabi, despite the economic slowdown. Three years ago Vision Hotel Management opened luxury hotel apartments in Abu Dhabi’s Tourist Club area. The new rooms are estimated to cost Dh600 million (US 163.3mm) In November the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) chairman announced it would add more than 26,000 rooms by the end…
More than two dozen new hotels will be completed throughout the Gulf region by the end of next year according to a new survey. Twenty two of the new hotels are being built in the UAE. An additional 13 will be completed by the end of 2010. Five will be built in Saudi Arabia this year and seven more are planned by the end of 2010. Five new hotels will be built in Qatar this year and an additional two are…
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) will establish a separate group to promote tourism. The new body will construct, renovate, and develop hotels throughout the Kingdom in order to develop tourism SCTA President Prince Sultan spoke about the plans following the one day Saudi Events Industry Forum at Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel’s King Faisal Hall. The Prince said that plans are in…
The second annual Jordan Travel Mart was held at the Dead Sea offered two days of two days of meetings, workshops. 100 buyers from the Americas participated in the event and met 180 of their Jordanian counterparts. The Jordanian suppliers were represented by 60 hotels, receptive operators, and other suppliers of services. Recent figures show that visitors form the Americas increased 12.7% 200,000 in 2008 and…
The Karak Antiquities Department (KAD) said recent reports that the walls of the Karak Castle are collapsing are untrue. The KAD director said reports have been appearing on electronic news services websites that several walls recently collapsed, and noted that renovation and restoration projects on the castle have been in progress since the 1990’s
