Opinion Food & Drink Rising cocoa prices could dampen cravings for Dubai chocolate Climbing cocoa prices and new regulations may dent growth in the UAE's premium confectionery market April 21, 2025
Tourism Turkey takes the plunge into swimming tourism Blue water swimming enthusiasts drawn to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits are providing a boost to the economy April 18, 2025
Analysis Tourism Affordability is the key for Saudi hotel expansion Al Farhan Group, a family-owned company with 16 three- to four-star hotels across Saudi Arabia, plans to open at least one hotel every year for the next several years. Its ambitions reflect those of the Saudi government, which wants to encourage more domestic and inbound business and leisure travel and almost double the number of […] April 17, 2025
Construction Diriyah awards opera house contract to Saudi-Chinese JV Diriyah Company has awarded a more than SAR5 billion ($1.4 billion) construction contract to a Saudi-Chinese joint venture to build the Royal Diriyah Opera House and surrounding assets. The joint venture partners include Saudi Arabia-based El Seif Engineering Contracting and Midmac Construction, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation. The opera house will be Diriyah’s flagship performing […] April 17, 2025
Tourism Cruise passengers to Qatar on the rise Mwani Qatar, the state operator of seaports and shipping terminals, reported a 5 percent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in the 2024-25 cruise season. Doha Port, the Gulf nation’s main gateway, received nearly 400,000 visitors from 87 cruises, a 19 percent annual rise in ship visits, the Peninsula newspaper reported. The latest season saw the […] April 17, 2025
Agriculture Luxury food producer Bateel seeks to triple in size by 2029 Bateel International, the Dubai-headquartered luxury food group that owns 40 international boutiques and 30 cafés, plans to double the number of organic date palm trees it cultivates in Saudi Arabia and to build a new factory in the kingdom to meet growing global demand. The company, which was founded by the Saudi Al Sudairy family […] April 17, 2025
Analysis Food & Drink Saudi Arabia’s expanding food sector faces high costs As the population grows and the economy swells, the food and beverage service industry in Saudi Arabia is expanding. Half Million, a coffee shop chain that started in the capital Riyadh in 2018, now operates 59 stores across the kingdom. Its 60th recently opened on London’s Oxford Street. Barn’s, a Jeddah-based coffee chain that already […] April 16, 2025
Business of Sport Saudi Arabia explores options to own F1 team Owning a Formula 1 team could be the next step for Saudi Arabia after sponsoring the sport and hosting a grand prix, according to the chairman of the kingdom’s automobile and motorcycle federation. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal told reporters in a video call ahead of this weekend’s race in Jeddah that the interest […] April 16, 2025
Tourism Second resort city planned for Salalah in Oman Oman has approved a second major resort in Salalah on the Indian Ocean in the south of the sultanate in an effort to attract more tourists as part of the country’s economic diversification programme. The $100 million, 470,000 square metre project has been named Boulevard Razaz and will include canals, landscaped gardens, a shopping mall, […] April 15, 2025
Food & Drink Saudi coffee chain Barn’s plans IPO on Tadawul Barn’s, a homegrown Saudi coffee chain, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) on the Tadawul stock exchange, with an aim to generate funds to finance Middle East expansion. It is working with Saudi regulator Capital Market Authority to meet the IPO criteria and appoint bankers for the potential offering, Bloomberg reported, citing CEO Mohammed […] April 15, 2025
Food & Drink UK company enters Dubai’s crowded rapid-delivery market Despite the congestion – in the market and on the streets of the UAE’s most populous city – yet another competitor, UK company Zapp, is entering Dubai’s rapid-delivery market. This is evidence there is still room for growth, analysts say. Zapp focuses on rapid grocery deliveries from its own so-called dark stores. A dark store is […] April 15, 2025
Retail Dubai Holding-backed retailer Azadea puts IPO on hold Azadea Group, which is backed by an investment company owned by Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has put its initial public offering on the back burner, it has been reported. Dubai Holding acquired a minority stake in the Beirut-based retailer in 2018, valued at $1 billion. The IPO pause is not down to […] April 15, 2025
Opinion Media & Advertising Dubai chocolate is the golden ticket of city branding Food is part of a place's cultural identity. Plenty of cities and countries have dishes associated with them April 14, 2025
Leisure & Hospitality Corporate art collections on the rise in the UAE A shiny office tower in the heart of Downtown Dubai may not be an obvious home for a growing international art collection but ICD Brookfield Place is becoming just that. Among the works or exhibitions it has showcased recently are Canadian visual artist Jordan Söderberg Mill’s light and glass installation Standing Wave, Emirati artist Hashel […] April 12, 2025
Gaming Riyadh offers record prize pool at Esports World Cup Riyadh will host the Esports World Cup this summer, offering a record prize pool of more than $70 million as the kingdom aims to become a global gaming centre. The tournament, which will run from July 7 through August 24, includes 24 games this season, adding chess and shooting games such as Crossfire, Fatal Fury: […] April 11, 2025
Food & Drink Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than […] April 11, 2025
Business of Sport Former Saudi owner of English soccer club returns to pitch The former Saudi royal owner of the English Championship side Sheffield United, Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, is returning to the football market with a sports investment fund worth as much as SAR1 billion ($266 million). Prince Abdullah told the Sports Investment Forum in Riyadh this week that his group intends to […] April 10, 2025
Opinion Tourism Moscow’s metro rolls out Arabic welcome for Gulf tourists Arabic speakers visiting Russia often struggle to find locals who speak their language. Yet Moscow is eager to welcome them April 9, 2025
Tourism High occupancy rates push UAE hotel revenues to $12bn UAE hotel revenues reached AED45 billion ($12.3 billion) in 2024, an increase of 3 percent year on year, according to the chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council. Hotel occupancy rates climbed to 78 percent last year, ranking among the highest regionally and globally, state-run Wam news agency reported, citing Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, the […] April 8, 2025
Opinion Business of Sport Gulf nations gain ground in sport soft power ranking The Gulf's three big spenders all appear on the soft power list, but might well wish they were higher April 4, 2025
Banking and Finance IHC unit enters Egypt’s consumer finance sector 2PointZero, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed International Holding Company (IHC), has acquired ADVA, an Egyptian consumer finance company. The buyout by Maseera Holding for Financial Investments (Maseera), a subsidiary of 2PointZero, is part of its parent company’s $1 billion investment plan, the state-run Wam news agency reported. ADVA will be Maseera’s technology and data analytics […] April 4, 2025
Tourism Saudi Arabia sets foreign tourism income record in 2024 Spending by people visiting Saudi Arabia last year hit a record high, bringing the kingdom closer to its Vision 2030 tourism targets. Inbound tourists spent SAR154 billion ($41 billion) last year, a 14 percent increase from 2023, which was also a record year. It also meant a record SAR50 billion ($13 billion) travel surplus, after […] April 3, 2025
