Analysis Tourism Sharjah enters the fray as UAE holiday home market heats up The UAE’s fledgling holiday homes market will remain attractive to investors and could fuel consolidation among hotel operators, experts say, as Sharjah becomes the latest emirate to announce regulations to diversify its tourism sector. Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has launched an official framework – the Holiday Homes Project – which aims to […] August 16, 2022
Business of Sport Qatar wealth fund-backed Group One mulls US listing Group One Holdings, backed by sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the US, Bloomberg reported. The company behind mixed martial arts brand One Championship is changing its legal domicile to the Cayman Islands from Singapore as a step towards the listing. Earlier, the company had explored […] August 16, 2022
Tourism PIF and Cain invest $900m in hotelier Aman Group Saud Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and London-based real estate investment firm Cain International said on Monday they had invested $900 million in luxury hotel group Aman, which Cain said valued Aman at $3 billion. The PIF and Cain said, in separate announcements, the investment would support Aman Group’s “global expansion of ultra-luxury hotels and […] August 16, 2022
Food & Drink Healthy fast food startups aim to tackle growing GCC obesity Following its success in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, health food eat-in and home delivery company Under500 is set to expand to Qatar. The firm’s low-calorie meals – served in franchised venues across the UAE and Saudi Arabia and via online delivery services such as Talabat and Deliveroo – are to be ordered by customers in Doha through delivery […] 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 Oman’s tourism sector on recovery path amid economic diversification Oman’s tourism sector is expected to recover during 2022 and 2023, with strong growth forecast for 2024- 2026, according to the Fitch Solutions Agency. The recovery began in the fourth quarter of 2021, the agency said, expecting the growth to continue in the coming years, on the back of the Oman Vision 2040 economic diversification […] August 15, 2022
Tourism Sharjah unveils holiday home project to diversify revenue Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has launched “Holiday Homes Project,” which aims to offer a framework to allow residents to lease their apartments to tourists and visitors. The move is in cooperation with several government and private companies to diversify the sources of income for the hospitality sector, WAM, the UAE state-owned news […] August 15, 2022
Egypt’s foreign currency gap narrows to $400m in July Egypt’s foreign currency gap narrowed to $400 million last month from $3.9 billion in February, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Gamal Negm said on Saturday. Egypt has seen billions of dollars leave its markets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February as investors have fled emerging markets for safer havens. But […] August 14, 2022
LONG READ Business of Sport Saudi Arabia’s next goal: women’s sport Likely Saudi investment in an overseas women’s football team Kingdom may fund other sports such as athletics Sector’s contribution to Saudi GDP is $7bn Just five years ago, Saudi women were banned from watching football at stadiums. Fast forward to 2022 and Saudi Arabia has officially announced its intention to bid for the 2026 AFC […] August 13, 2022
Analysis Food & Drink The sky’s the limit for cloud kitchens in the Gulf While many businesses suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic, cloud kitchens – companies that prepare food solely for home delivery without having sit-down restaurant space – were beneficiaries of the online ordering boom. The GCC has been a hotspot for this growth with companies including Sweetheart Kitchen, Kitopi, KLC Virtual Restaurants and kaykroo overseeing delivery […] August 12, 2022
Tourism Israeli airline El Al expects nod for Saudi-Oman corridor in days Permission for El Al Israel Airlines to fly over Oman is expected in “a matter of days”, chief executive Dina Ben-Tal said on Thursday, a move that would be a big boost for the flag carrier’s Asian routes. Ben-Tal, speaking to reporters after El Al issued second-quarter results, said the airline had already received approval […] August 12, 2022
Tourism Korean Air to resume flights to Israel in January Korean Air Lines will resume non-stop flights to Israel in January with a Seoul to Tel Aviv route, Israel’s Tourism Ministry said on Thursday. Korean Air, which stopped its flights to Israel due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, will operate three weekly flights on the route, it said. The ministry noted […] August 12, 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 Oman’s hotel revenues surge 121.4% in H1 2022 Revenues of hotels in Oman surged 121.4 percent year-on-year to reach 83.36 million rials ($217 million) by the end of June 2022 year-on-year (YoY), state-owned Oman News Agency reported, citing the National Centre for Statistics and Information. The number of guests in the three and five-star hotel categories increased 44.6 percent YoY in the first […] August 10, 2022
Analysis Tourism Shortfall of skilled staff could hamper GCC tourism goals The GCC’s tourism sector is forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, generating revenue of $26.3 billion, but experts question whether future growth could be stymied by shortages in the region’s skilled hospitality workforce. UAE-based investment banking advisory firm, Alpen Capital, said the sector registered a 74.8 percent growth over the past year, adding […] August 10, 2022
Opinion Food & Drink Restaurateurs beware: diners may choke on your price rises The food and drink sector contends with fluctuations in both customer income and the cost of food, energy, and rent August 9, 2022
Analysis Tourism Manama goes all out to woo international holidaymakers If the number of people that poured into Bahrain in March for the Formula 1 Grand Prix is any guide, the country’s tourism prospects look bright. One observer reported seeing more private jets at the airport than ever before, and the race-day attendance of 35,000 fans was a record. Those signs of revival from the […] August 9, 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
Retail UAE retail economy report shows spending up 16% this year Consumer spending in the UAE is proving resilient against the effects of market volatility, supply chain stress, rising fuel costs and inflation. The State of the UAE Retail Economy report from retail giant Majid Al Futtaim showed that overall spending increased by 22 percent in the first six months of 2022 compared to the same […] August 8, 2022
Tourism Dubai receives 7.1m tourists in first half of 2022 Dubai attracted 7.12 million international overnight visitors between January and June 2022, recording more than 183 percent year-on-year growth, UAE state news agency WAM reported, citing the latest data from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). According to the DET data, the number of tourists received in H1 2022 was close to the numbers […] August 8, 2022
Tourism Middle East air traffic takes off in June on global tourism revival Middle Eastern airlines reported a 246.5 percent year-on-year rise in passenger traffic in June 2022, driven by a continued recovery in international traffic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in a new report. International revenue passenger per kilometres (RPKs) currently stands at 25 percent below its level in June 2019 for the regional airlines. […] August 6, 2022
Food & Drink Meet the Irishman selling ice in the desert In the ever-competitive Dubai bar and restaurant market, a new supplier has launched this week, aiming to offer venues another unique selling point: high quality, hand-cut ice. Since he officially launched on August 1, John Gillespie, founder of Artisan Ice Co., has been targeting the top 30 venues in the city and he said the […] August 6, 2022
