Tourism Foreign tourist arrivals to Turkey soar 53% in July Turkey’s foreign visitors jumped 53 percent in July from a year earlier, exceeding pre-pandemic levels and paving the way for $37 billion in tourism revenues sought by the government in support of President Tayyip Erdogan’s unorthodox economy policy. Foreign visitors to Turkey leapt to 6.67 million in July, mostly on the back of wealthy Russian […] August 23, 2022
Tourism Wizz Air suspends relaunch of Russia-UAE flights amid criticism European budget carrier Wizz Air has suspended plans to resume flights from the Russian capital of Moscow to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, amid mounting criticism over the relaunch decision this month. In Friday’s statement deferring the flights until further notice, Wizz Air made no mention of the social media backlash, which included […] August 22, 2022
Tech China seeks ‘affectionate’ ties with domestic internet firms China’s cyberspace watchdog wants to build an “affectionate” relationship between internet enterprises and the government, a senior official said on Friday, the latest verbal assurance to an industry still on edge after a long and bruising regulatory crackdown. Niu Yibing, vice minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), told a news conference the agency […] August 19, 2022
Mubadala-backed AI firm G42 sets up $10bn tech fund Emirati artificial intelligence firm G42, chaired by the Gulf state’s national security advisor, today launched a $10 billion fund to invest in late-stage technology companies. G42, which also counts Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala as an investor, said the fund would operate as a private equity investor targeting a broad spectrum of technologies “that […] August 18, 2022
Business of Sport Hacker tournament brings together world’s best in Las Vegas A team of hackers from two North American universities won the “Capture the Flag” championship, a contest seen as the “Olympics of hacking,” which draws together some of the world’s best in the field. In the carpeted ballroom of one of the largest casinos in Las Vegas, the few dozen hackers competing in the challenge […] August 18, 2022
Economy Turkey to re-appoint ambassador to Israel Turkey and Israel will mutually re-appoint ambassadors, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the two countries’ efforts to normalise ties. “Appointment of ambassadors was one of the steps for the normalisation of ties. Such a positive step came from Israel as a result of these efforts, and as Turkey, […] August 18, 2022
Tourism Dubai airport sees Q2 passenger travel surge, hikes annual forecast The operator of Dubai International said on Wednesday over 14 million passengers had travelled through the airport in the second quarter, and raised its forecast for the year to 62.4 million passengers. That was the ninth consecutive quarter that saw greater passenger figures than the prior quarter as international travel demand ramps up amid an […] August 17, 2022
Real Estate Dubai Mall owner Emaar mulls sale of e-commerce business The board of Dubai’s Emaar Properties, which owns the Dubai Mall, will meet on Thursday to discuss the sale of its e-commerce fashion business, the company said today. The meeting, disclosed in a statement, will be held a week after Emaar announced a $2 billion cash and stock buyout of a joint venture partner in […] August 15, 2022
Tourism Tokyo diners can nosh on food at ‘Stranger Things’ cafe Japanese fans of the sci-fi hit “Stranger Things” can chow down on demonic pasta and rock out to retro 1980s tunes at a pop-up cafe inspired by the Netflix Inc horror drama. The shop, a partnership with local restaurant chain Pronto Corp, recently extended its run in the fashionable Shibuya district of Tokyo several months […] August 15, 2022
Tourism Crushed by war, Syrian tourism eyes expat uptick Somar Hazim had high hopes when he opened a hotel in Damascus in 2009, adding to a growing number of boutique guest houses in the Old City that were proving to be a hit with tourists, before war broke out and forced him to close down. Although security returned to Damascus years ago, big-spending foreign […] August 10, 2022
Tourism Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to resume flights to Russia in October European budget airline Wizz Air will resume flights from Abu Dhabi to Moscow from October, it said on Thursday, more than five months after the carrier suspended all services to Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February. The airline’s Abu Dhabi-based joint venture, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, will operate the daily flight from October […] August 9, 2022
Banking and Finance World Bank accuses Lebanese politicians of ‘cruelty’ over deposits The World Bank has said that assertions by Lebanese politicians that deposits kept in the country’s collapsed banking sector are sacred are “cruel” because they “flagrantly contradict the reality.” Lebanon is in the third year of a financial meltdown that has left eight in ten people poor and which the World Bank says is both […] August 4, 2022
Tourism Qatar Airways could revive order for 25 737 MAX airplanes Qatar Airways could revive an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes at the Farnborough Airshow, sources told Reuters. On Monday, Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker confirmed that a provisional deal to buy at least 25 of the Boeing planes had lapsed. Boeing and Qatar Airways declined to comment Wednesday but two sources said the […] July 21, 2022
Tourism Emirates boss says travel sector must ‘tough it out’ until 2023 The president of Dubai’s Emirates, which has clashed with London’s Heathrow over its cap on capacity, said on Monday that the air travel industry would return to equilibrium in 2023 and must “tough it out” until then. Speaking at an event at the Farnborough airshow, Tim Clark criticised Heathrow managers for failing to anticipate the […] July 19, 2022
Tourism Qatar Air chief says home-working ‘epidemic’ fuels travel chaos The head of Qatar Airways has said an “epidemic” of home working has contributed to staff shortages that are being widely blamed for travel disruption in Europe this summer. The aviation sector is struggling to secure the staff needed to cope with a post-pandemic surge in air travel, prompting London Heathrow airport to impose curbs […] July 19, 2022
Tourism Israel to boost Asia flights when Saudi Arabia opens airspace Israeli airlines plan to expand and open new routes to India and other Asian destinations after Saudi Arabia announced it would allow unfettered access to its airspace, a move that would save fuel costs and reduce flight times. In the absence of open relations between the countries, however, and given talks on including Oman in […] July 18, 2022
Tourism Saudi Arabia to open airspace to all airlines, including from Israel Saudi Arabia said it would open its airspace to all air carriers, paving the way for more overflights to and from Israel, in a decision welcomed by US President Joe Biden who is due to visit the kingdom on Friday. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the country’s airspace was now open […] July 15, 2022
Retail Subway can be sued over its ‘100% tuna’ ads, says judge A federal judge said Subway can be sued for allegedly deceiving customers about its tuna products, including a claim it uses other fish species, chicken, pork and cattle instead of the advertised “100% tuna.” US District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco called it premature to accept Subway’s argument that any presence of non-tuna DNA […] July 12, 2022
Tourism UAE’s flydubai suspends operations to Sri Lanka United Arab Emirates carrier flydubai has suspended operations to Colombo in Sri Lanka until further notice, a spokesperson for the budget airline said on Monday. “We will continue to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka. Passengers who have booked to travel on these flights will be contacted and offered a refund,” […] July 12, 2022
Media & Advertising Twitter says it removes over 1 million spam accounts each day Twitter removes more than 1 million spam accounts each day, executives told reporters in a briefing on Thursday, providing new insight into efforts to reduce harmful automated bots as billionaire Elon Musk has demanded more details from the social media company. The briefing comes after Musk threatened to halt a $44 billion deal to purchase […] July 8, 2022
Tourism Norwegian Cruise scraps Covid testing for UAE voyages Passengers boarding Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings ships won’t have to take Covid-19 tests from next month unless required by local law, the US cruise operator said on Wednesday as the crucial summer sailing season gathers steam. Cruises setting sail from the United States, Canada or Greece’s Piraeus will still require pre-cruise Covid testing, and all […] July 7, 2022
Economy UAE doubles support for low-income Emirati families The United Arab Emirates is doubling the financial support it provides for low-income Emirati families to 28 billion dirhams ($7.6 billion) to help them with soaring living costs in the Gulf state. The expanded budget allocation, reported by state news agency WAM on Monday, includes increasing existing benefits and establishing new ones targeted at mitigating […] July 5, 2022
