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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As buzz around the Hollywood release of “The Great Gatsby” continues to build, travelers looking to time travel back to the Roaring Twenties have no shortage of options in the US, where select properties have either preserved or recreated the spirit of flapper chic opulence, jazz and the Gilded Age. Fans of the writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and the book that made him immortal may want to look into The Inn at…
Department store Selfridges has launched its first click and collect service in all of its stores across the UK to improve flexibility amid growing demand for convenience. With click and collect, Selfridges’ customers will be able to shop online every day until 4pm and collect the following day from the dedicated collection point at one of its four stores. Selfridges is also opening a drive-thru click…
Former model-turned-business mogul Cozete Gomes owns eight companies and does not really have time to be stuck in Sao Paulo‘s epic traffic jams. So she just flies over them. In Brazil’s sprawling business capital, home to 20 million people, millionaires sick of nightmarish bottlenecks on the roads are taking to the skies, relying on a massive fleet of private helicopters to get around town. “For…
Etihad Airways emerged a big winner at the Middle East edition of the World Travel Awards this week, sweeping up awards in categories for leading airline, best first class service and top cabin crew. Held in Dubai over the weekend, the regional awards for Middle East handed out gongs across dozens of categories recognizing the best in hotels, spas, rental car companies, travel agencies and tourist…
Dubai. 07 May 2013 SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, records a 26% increase in the number of passengers from the Middle East this year, compared to 2011/2012. During 2012/2013, SriLankan Airlines carried 463,999 passengers from nine destinations in the Middle East compared to 342,290 passengers during 2011/2012. Overall, passenger traffic from the Middle East has contributed the second…
May 7, 2013: Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche picked Abu Dhabi’s Leading Business Hotel Award at the 20th Annual World Travel Awards in Dubai. The prestigious award signifies the strong positioning of Sofitel Abu Dhabi Corniche as one of the most desired business and leisure destinations in Abu Dhabi, enriched with a genuine touch of the French “art de vivre”. Τhe award was received by Mr. Nael El- Waary,…
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, announced today that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejoined the Organization 26 years after having left UNWTO. The announcement was made during the UNWTO & Arabian Travel Market Ministerial Forum on Tourism and Aviation (Dubai, UAE, 7 May 2012). “The Middle East is one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world in spite of facing countless challenges; much of this…
Hyatt announced today at the annual Arabian Travel Market (ATM) exhibition in Dubai that it’s development plans for major properties in Saudi Arabia are progressing as anticipated, with two new properties expected to open in the next one year - Hyatt Regency Riyadh Olaya and Hyatt Regency Mecca - as tourism in the country continues to surge. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, the Kingdom saw…
Dubai Deputy Ruler inaugurates ATM 2013 as Middle East’s biggest travel and tourism event celebrates 20 years of industry milestones HRH Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, officially inaugurated Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2013 today, in the presence of senior government officials, leaders of the regional and international travel industry as well as high-profile…
Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Qatar Airways today announced route expansion on three continents together with a huge increase in capacity in Pakistan as part of the Doha-based carrier’s continued aggressive growth strategy. The Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa will become the carrier’s 20th destination on the African continent, launching on September 18, followed a month later by Clark International Airport…
For the first time, Tourism Australia, Virgin Australia and Etihad Airways have partnered on a national advertising campaign inviting British holidaymakers to travel on the Etihad Skypass. The £870,000 campaign, which runs UK-wide throughout May, uses Tourism Australia’s ‘There’s nothing like Australia’ global creative and includes multi-channel TV and online advertising, directing consumers to find out…
Le Royal Meridien Resort & Spa Dubai will host for the World Travel Awards Middle East Gala Ceremony this evening. The event opens the World Travel Awards 2013 Grand Tour, heralding the start of a search for the very best travel, tourism and hospitality organisations around the world. World Travel Awards Middle East Gala Ceremony will be held in Dubai for the sixth year in succession, affirming the…
Tourism companies in Saudi Arabia are aggressively investing their resources in the local market, particularly during the Hajj and Ummrah seasons, to further consolidate KSA’s leading footprint in the tourism landscape. As the 2013 Arabian Travel Market draws near in the UAE, these companies are geared up to take part in the event and exchange knowledge and expertise with their Emirati and Middle East…
In what may come as little surprise, Saudi Arabians have emerged as the highest rollers when it comes to global travel, spending an average of about $6,670 USD per trip, followed by Australian and Chinese globetrotters. That’s according to a recently released report from Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2013, described as a barometer of travel trends around the world. After surveying 12,630…
London-based luxury retailer Harrods is set to create a temporary space on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Arriving in Porto Cervo this summer, the famous green of Harrods will be splashed all over a temporary retail space set to open later this year. Porto Cervo is a luxury seaside resort on Northern coast of the Italian island. Favored by some of the world’s most jet-set tourists, it featured…
Sir Richard Branson has hired Dame Vivienne Westwood for a brand new project, designing a range of updated, green uniforms for his Virgin Atlantic staff. Branson was keen to stress the importance of Virgin’s rock ‘n’ roll ethos when it came to the choice of designer: “when we were choosing the designer for this project, we wanted to work with a group of people who share our spirit of adventure, who believe…
Key Outbound Tourism Markets in South-East Asia,’ launched at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), Australia´s premier tourism trade event (Sydney, 26 April), provides an up-to-date perspective on major tourism trends and developments in five key South-East Asian outbound markets: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2012, these five countries accounted for US$ 49 billion in international…
It can be quite frustrating to navigate a busy sidewalk in NYC, especially when pedestrians are looking at their phones instead of what’s in front of them. To address this “texting and walking” epidemic, prank collective Improv Everywhere, together with Buzzfeed, provided text-obsessed pedestrians with ‘seeing eye people’. Connected via leashes, these seeing eye people would help texting pedestrians…
Parisian cosmetics label Chanel is serving up mascara via innovative vending machines at Selfridges for a limited time only. Chanel famously first created ‘human vending machines‘ in 2012 at Fashion’s Night Out, but the luxury label has taken a robotic leap into the future with its latest project. London beauty fans are now able to get their hands on Chanel’s first volumizing mascara via automated…
Advertising student Bri Hand has created an unusual ad campaign that promotes planet Earth as a travel destination for extra-terrestrial tourists. Designed as an attempt to communicate with life beyond our home planet, the campaign consists of a series of print ads and audio broadcasting of messages into space. The print ads highlight the unique qualities that make Earth, Earth, including gravity,…
A 16.5-meter-high (six stories) ‘Rubber Duck’—created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman—has made its debut in Hong Kong waters. What’s considered the “biggest floating duck in the world”, the nostalgia-inducing huge inflatable yellow sculpture resembles the bathtub companion of kids, and is sure to bring a smile on anyone’s face. Rubber Duck will be floating in the waters of Ocean Terminal from 2…
If you’re an experienced chef who has worked in five-star establishments, aren’t daunted by having to prepare luncheons for the most powerful heads of state in the world, or thousands of canapés for parties of 800, Buckingham Palace wants you. The Royal Family has posted a job vacancy for a sous chef, a salaried position that pays around £23,000 (about US$ 35,000) a year for 45-hour work weeks.…
Spain’s El Celler De Can Roca edged past Denmark’s Noma and Italy’s Osteria Francescana to be named the world’s best restaurant on Monday. It’s been a long time coming for the Girona restaurant in the northeast of Catalona, Spain, having spent the last two years fixed at the No. 2 position on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for its turn at the spotlight. Steered by Roca brothers – Joan, the chef…
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has launched an innovative online mapping tool developed in cooperation with LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, to make it easier to message new contacts, arrange meetings and be more productive while travelling. The “Etihad Mapped-Out” tool is available at etihadmappedout.com and offers professionals on LinkedIn the ability…
