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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Heavy rains hit Dubai on Thursday, delaying all flights heading to and from Dubai International Airport. The week long Dubai Airshow was also postponed today because of the heavy rains. Dubai's Global Village, an open-air fairground, earlier issued a notice saying it would remain closed due to the conditions. Traffic conditions are dire, with many accidents reported on the roads of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. A…
The Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam takes a fresh look at the world-famous Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher this winter. The exhibition ‘Escher Meets Islamic Art’ examines for the first time ever the way in which Escher was inspired by Islamic art. The exhibition runs until 5 January 2014, Park Hall.
Dubai, UAE. November 2013 –Dubai Airshow – the world’s fastest growing aerospace exhibition – opened today for the first time at Dubai World Central, the vast aerotropolis in Jebel Ali - and immediately wrote itself into Airshow history with a record breaking order book. Within three hours of opening, the show’s order tally reached US $162.6 billion – surpassing its previous record of US $155 billion record…
November 18, 2013 Abu Dhabi | Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi Art (20 – 23 November) offers audiences even more dynamic artworks, panel discussions, public performances, design elements and programming in the platform’s five-year history. Held at the UAE Pavilion and…
Though the top-ranked US shopping destination in a Condé Nast Traveler poll may come as no surprise, voters also gave props to a few smaller American cities which were described as retail havens for everyone from bookworms to art aficionados and fans of vintage finds. 80,000 readers named New York City America’s ultimate shopping mecca, for offering shopaholics everything from glitzy designer names and…
Sometimes, caffeine does not suffice, especially when you have been working all day on minimal sleep. A little shop in Tokyo’s Chiyoda-ku vicinity provides the solution for women who need a bit of shut-eye in the middle of the day. ‘Nap Cafe Corne’ is a females-only nap café where women on-the-go can pay a small fee to catch a couple of Zs in comfort. The cosy nap café is not the first of its kind in…
According to a new report on ‘Global Luxury Hotspots’ by Ledbury Research, the Middle-Eastern sovereign state is the world’s fastest growing luxury market. There’s plenty of focus on the small Arabian Peninsula country, which has just 2 million inhabitants. Set to host the Football World Cup in 2022, Qatar also recently held the World Luxury Expo. The country owns majority stakes in Italian fashion…
In Japan, A Pond That Changes Color Based On The Weather By Anthea Quay, 18 Nov 2013 COMMENT SHARE Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share 145 In Bieie, Hokkaido, Japan, there’s a blue pond that changes colors depending on the weather. Especially adored by photographer Kent Shiraishi, who frequently photographs the pond, the ‘Blue Pond’ is picturesque, and gives…
Google Street View has now made a virtual tour of Venice possible using their Street View Trekker technology. Their team of backpackers made sure to take photos of this picturesque city, even giving us a view of what it’s like to be on a gondola. Many of the attractions have been mapped out, such as the place where typographer Manutius created the Italics font, the Synagogue of the first Jewish…
Luxury Hotel Allows Visitors To Book Their Stay Using Twitter By Kelly Koo, 19 Nov 2013 COMMENT SHARE Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on pinterest_share 2 Microblogging site Twitter has been pervading the world of social media with unique services including emergency and natural disaster alerts, Starbucks’ tweet-a-coffee service, and the list goes on. Recently, the luxurious…
To mark the launch of its latest games console, Microsoft France will transform the Hôtel O in Paris into a space dedicated entirely to the Xbox One. The Xbox One Hotel will open to the public on November 22, the same day that Microsoft launches its new console. The Hôtel O, which belongs to the Elegancia hotel group and was originally designed by Ora Ito, has been entirely redecorated for the occasion.…
A new underwater hotel room has opened off the coast of Tanzania for intrepid, adventurous and ocean-loving travelers. Set off Pemba Island, also known as ‘the Green Island’ in Arabic, guests of The Manta Resort’s underwater room are dropped off at a self-contained hotel which literally drifts at sea. Guests can sunbathe on the top deck of their private island accommodations by day and dine on a lounge deck…
Created by David McCracken, this sculpture is a staircase that seems to stretch on to the heavens and beyond. Part of this year’s annual Sculpture By The Sea exhibition in Bondi Beach, Australia, this piece, “Diminish and Ascend” is breathtaking and inspiring. We wonder if it is possible to climb to the top, but that seems to be both dangerous and exhausting.
A British Airways 747 cargo freighter aircraft which can carry up to 120 tonnes of relief goods will be leaving for Sharjah on Monday, November 18 2013, enroute to the Philippines with relief goods for the hurricane devasted residents of the worst affected regions of the Philippines. It will be carrying much-needed aid from Oxfam, Save the Children, The Reina Sofia Foundation and UNICEF to provide relief in…
For more than 1350 years, pilgrims have travelled to the city of Makkah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Haj, and today about 3 million Muslims take part every year from all over the world. Haj: The Journey Through Art exhibition has been curated by the Museum of Islamic Art, in collaboration with the British Museum. It takes visitors on a journey exploring and illuminating the Muslim pilgrimage of Haj.…
Etihad Airways has announced a strategic initiative in Europe with a 33.3% equity investment in Switzerland's Darwin Ariline. The airline will be rebranded as Etihad Regional and will act as a source of connecting passengers from secondary European markets to Etihad's global network. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “This is a step-change for Etihad Airways. With our…
The Museum of Fine Art in Boston is displaying pages of the Quran from medieval times to the present in an exhibition called, "Sacred Pages." This exhibition offers visitors a way to broaden their understanding of the Qur’an, Islam, and Islamic art. The collection of 25 loose pages of the Quran date from 750 AD to modern times. Besides displaying the sacred pages, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston invited…
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is promising to speed up passport services by improving the Passport Department's online offering and overall staffing issues. Currently, the Abshir online system is not working as efficiently as it should, resulting in a need for extra staff. Once the system has been updated, there is a hope for less overcrowding at the department's offices around the country. Citizens can…
Officials in the Philippines have urged tourists not to abandon the country as it comes to terms with the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), an unprecedented category five storm, which struck the country last week. The storm, which claimed thousands of lives, was the strongest in recorded history to make landfall in the country. A state of emergency has been declares across much of the…
The Ritz-Carlton has opened it's first hotel in Central Asia, in the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan. The hotel boasts 145 rooms in a 37 storey building - one of the tallest in Central Asia. “We are delighted to bring The Ritz-Carlton brand to Kazakhstan. “Almaty is a key gateway city for our customers and this hotel complements the portfolio of Ritz-Carlton properties around the globe…
The Kerry Hotel in Shanghai broke the record for the world’s largest ball piton Oct. 30 and filled a swimming pool with 1 million pink and green balls. The world-record stunt was for a good cause: raising awareness for breast cancer prevention. Three hundred of the guests were cancer survivors from the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club.
It’s the ideal scenario for jetsetting shopaholics: skip into a Louis Vuitton store or Zara one minute, and into your hotel room the next. In a growing trend emerging out of the Middle East, hotel developers are partnering with major shopping centers to build properties inside sprawling retail spaces, points out a wide-sweeping trend report released out of the World Travel Market in London this week.…
Giorgio Armani will help design properties in a luxurious new development in the Philippines. Part of the Century Spire development, which is set to open in 2018, the building is located in Century City, a group of skyscrapers in Makati, Philippines which also includes a Trump Tower, as well as the Milano Residences (which feature their own Italia- designed interiors by Versace). Daniel Libeskind,…
Etihad has come a long way from being a small start-up airline in 2003 to become one of the leading airlines of the world today. And this journey has been accomplished in just ten years. With over 10 million passengers in 2012, Etihad now defines quality travel. To celebrate their 10th anniversary, an Etihad Airbus 340-500 flew just 600ft above the Abu Dhabi Corniche and wowed an audience of over 500 people…
