Giga-projects Construction to start on Rua Al Madinah giga-project Rua Al Madinah Holding, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) subsidiary in charge of the touristic and cultural development of Medina, has invited companies to bid for contracts to build 5,000 hotel rooms. Construction of the mega mixed-use scheme is due to start soon. Rua Al Madinah expects to welcome its first guests in 2026. […] October 16, 2023
Opinion Leisure & Hospitality Putting on the Ritz in Riyadh – with a frisson of fear The hotel still gets an instant reaction from visitors who don’t know the city very well October 13, 2023
Aviation Dubai leisure airline courts Middle East investors A new luxury leisure airline, which is set to operate routes from Dubai and Riyadh to the Maldives, is looking for potential investors from the Middle East to fund its long-term expansion plans. Headquartered in Dubai, Beond was unveiled this week at the emirate’s Al Maktoum International Airport. Funding for the luxury airline came from […] October 13, 2023
Opinion Economy What the Riyadh Expo bid says about Saudi Arabia Bid aims to showcase and advance the kingdom's transformation October 10, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Egypt’s tourism revenue rises 27% to $14bn Egypt’s tourism revenue reached a record high of $13.6 billion in 2022-23, climbing 26.8 percent from $10.7 billion in 2021-22, according to data released by the country’s central bank. The number of tourists surged by 35.6 percent to 13.9 million, Egypt Today newspaper reported, citing the Central Bank of Egypt. The number of nights spent […] October 9, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality UAE hotel revenue hits $7bn as guest numbers surge 15% UAE hotels generated AED26 billion ($7.08 billion) in revenues in the first seven months of 2023, according to Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, minister of economy. Hotels received 16 million guests, up more than 15 percent annually in the year to July, the UAE state-owned Wam news agency reported, citing the minister, who also heads […] October 9, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality GCC tourism ministers set deadline on unified visa GCC tourism ministers have agreed to submit their views on a proposed unified visa for the six members states to the GCC Secretariat General by the end of December 2023, state-run Oman News Agency reported. The ministers also endorsed the Gulf strategy for tourism 2023-2030 at the recently held seventh meeting of GCC tourism ministers. […] October 8, 2023
Finance Egypt posts current account surplus as imports plunge Egypt’s current account turned to a surplus in the April-to-June quarter as imports plunged and revenue from tourism and the Suez Canal rose, its second quarterly surplus in less than a year, the central bank said on Wednesday. Egypt devalued its currency by more than half in the year to March, making imports more expensive. […] October 5, 2023
Tourism Saudi Arabia among biggest gainers in tourism rebound The Middle East is the best-performing global tourism region as the world undergoes a tourism rebound after the Covid-19 pandemic, and Saudi Arabia the second best-performing country, according to the UN’s tourism body. The United Nations World Tourism Organization said tourism in terms of traveller numbers had rebounded globally to 84 percent of levels before […] October 4, 2023
Tourism Israel expects religious tourism to Saudi holy cities Israel sees religious tourism among its Muslim population as a major benefit of a peace deal with Saudi Arabia, Israeli minister of tourism Haim Katz said in Riyadh this week. “Twenty percent of Israel is Muslim, two million, and they will come to Mecca easily,” Katz told AGBI on September 27 at a gala dinner […] September 28, 2023
Tourism $1bn tourism school to open in Saudi’s Qiddiya Saudi Arabia plans to build a $1 billion tourism school in the Qiddiya sports, culture and entertainment city giga-project. The Riyadh School for Tourism and Hospitality will train workers from around the world, not only Saudi Arabia, tourism minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb told a UN World Tourism Organization gathering in the capital. The training headquarters at […] September 27, 2023
Tourism UAE announces new visa for GCC in tourism push The UAE minister of economy has announced plans for a new visa to allow travel within the GCC countries, in a bid to boost local and regional tourism. The GCC visa being considered will allow those residing in the bloc to travel easily among the six members states – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, […] September 27, 2023
Tourism Israeli minister makes historic visit to Saudi Arabia Israeli tourism minister Haim Katz made the first ever public visit by a member of the Israeli government to Saudi Arabia this week, attending a World Tourism Day event in Riyadh. The Israeli ministry of tourism said Katz was leading a delegation on a two-day stay in the Saudi capital as part of the United […] September 27, 2023
Tourism PIF-backed Asfar to open new mountain resort in 2025 Construction has commenced this month on the Saudi sovereign wealth fund-backed Gamra mountain resort project in Al Baha, the kingdom’s southwest region. The project is due to open in the first half of 2025. Saudi Tourism Investment Company (Asfar) will develop the project in partnership with Ebda, an adventure, sport and entertainment company, as the […] September 27, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Tourism masterplan unveiled for Saudi’s highest peak The first of three phases of Soudah Peaks, a luxury mountain tourism destination set 3,015 metres above sea level on Saudi Arabia’s highest peak, will be completed in 2027. The phase will have 940 hotel rooms, 391 residential units and 32,000 square metres of retail space, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported. Crown Prince and […] September 26, 2023
Leisure & Hospitality Marriott to open two luxury hotels in Neom’s Trojena Global hotel chain Marriott International will open two luxury properties in Trojena, a year-round mountain destination in the $500 million Neom development. The deal with the US hotelier includes Saudi Arabia’s first W Hotel and a JW Marriott property. “We are excited to work with Neom to develop these two properties in one of the […] September 25, 2023
Analysis Tourism Lights, camera, action: RAK seeks leading role in film tourism The UAE is no stranger to the silver screen, whether it be Tom Cruise dangling perilously from Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in Mission Impossible blockbuster Ghost Protocol, or Vin Diesel powering his $3 million supercar from one Etihad Tower in Abu Dhabi to the next in the seventh iteration of the Fast and Furious franchise. Ras […] September 24, 2023
Tourism Dubai and Qatar expand luxury hotel portfolios Thousands of luxury hotel rooms are set to open in Dubai and Qatar over the next few years as the hospitality sector bounces back from the pandemic. In Dubai, about 9,200 hotel rooms will be completed by the end of 2023, according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank. More than two-thirds of the supply will […] September 20, 2023
Aviation Saudi airlines issue $15m refunds to passengers Refunds of SAR58 million ($15.5 million) for flight cancellations, delays and loss of luggage have been issued by Saudi airlines over the past two years, it was revealed on Monday. The figures were announced by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca). Enhanced passenger rights protection regulations, which come into force in November, will result […] September 18, 2023
Opinion Giga-projects Paradise found: Conserving and leveraging Saudi’s natural bounty How the world’s most ambitious sustainable hospitality project is being brought to life September 11, 2023
Economy Economic activity in Lebanon remains sluggish Lebanon’s economic activity appears to have contracted in August following a summer business lull according to a purchasing managers’ index published on Tuesday. The PMI is a monthly report based on survey responses from businesses regarding five subdivided performance indicators including new orders, output and employment. The report, compiled by BLOMInvest Bank and the ratings […] September 7, 2023
Tourism Qatar exceeds 2022 tourism figures in just eight months The number of tourists in Qatar this year has exceeded the figure for the whole of 2022, with officials saying that hosting the Fifa World Cup has put the Gulf state on the map. Qatar Tourism data revealed that the country has welcomed more than 2.5 million visitors as of the last week in August. […] September 5, 2023
