Travel in Bahrain

dnata Travel Group brands across the GCC have won six accolades at the Middle East edition of the 2023 World Travel Awards. Representing the Travel division of dnata, a leading global air and travel services provider, titles earned by the dnata Travel Group include Middle East’s Leading Airline GSA 2023 (dnata Representation Services), Bahrain’s Leading Travel Management Company 2023 (dnata Travel Management), and Saudi Arabia’s Leading Travel Agency 2023 (dnata Travel).

Gulf countries are forming a new “bloc” dedicated to furthering the region’s tourism sector. The much-anticipated ‘GCC zone’ unified visa should be announced by December to tie together the GCC states: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

As Future Hospitality Summit 2023 kicks off, Hilton has announced plans to increase its presence in the Middle East by more than 125% in the years ahead.

The 25th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is scheduled for October 16-20 this year in Samarkand. For the first time in history, Uzbekistan will host this important biennial gathering of member states and affiliate members of UNWTO.

Dubai continues to pull ahead of its pre-pandemic tourism numbers. The emirate drew in 9.8 million international travelers up to July this year, according to the latest data from Dubai Tourism. For the same period in 2019, Dubai had 9.6 million international visitors, and in 2022, welcomed 8.1 million up to that point.

We are thrilled to announce a new event coming next year, the Skift India Summit in Delhi-NCR, happening March 20-21, 2024. This follows the successful launch of our India newsletter, Skift India Report, the Skift India Travel Podcast, with more features to come. 

Condé Nast Traveler has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Condé Nast Traveler and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. We don't review or include all companies, or all available products. Moreover, the editorial content on this page was not provided by any of the companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are entirely those of Condé Nast Traveler's editorial team. This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.

When people refer to “big” airports, they typically think of large hubs with huge numbers of passengers transiting through. But bigger doesn’t always mean busier. The biggest airports in the world are those that occupy the highest total acreage of land. And yes, some of the biggest are also some of the world’s busiest—but not always. Some are hubs that have big hopes for future growth, while others have interesting stories behind how and why they acquired and maintain such a large footprint.

Almost all travelers require a visa to enter Egypt, but fortunately, the process is pretty simple, and a little advance planning goes a long way.

Yes, you could easily fly to Paris – say, on Jet Blue, and bien sur – dine at a terrific bistro.

J2 adventures is designed to meet the needs of families and groups by integrating thematic, custom-designed excursions around specialized topics and interest areas.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, launched the Dubai Economic Agenda — D33 with the ambitious goal of doubling the size of Dubai’s economy over the next decade. With economic targets of $8.7 trillion over the next 10 years, the agenda also aims to establish Dubai’s position among the top three global cities. A key priority of the D33 Agenda is to make Dubai one of the top three international destinations for tourism and business by providing a globally competitive environment for business and driving down the cost of doing business across a number of sectors. The agenda also includes the launch of innovative projects to help make Dubai the world’s best city to live and work in as well as drive sustainable economic growth through innovative approaches. “Dubai will rank as one of the top four global financial centers with an increase in foreign direct investment to over $177 billion over the next decade and an annual $27.2 billion contribution from digital transformation,” the Dubai ruler said.

A great talk by Michael Swiatek, the chief strategy and planning officer at Avianca, who happens to be legally blind.

Italian corporate travel agency BizAway has launched a joint venture with Dubai investor Seed Group.

Jumeirah Hotels is keen to invest in more properties in Europe. Having recently acquired Le Richemond in Switzerland’s Lake Geneva, Jumeirah with a 26-property portfolio now has five hotels in Europe.

Israel voiced hope on Wednesday that Saudi authorities would admit direct flights for its Muslim citizens who want to make the Haj pilgrimage, which begins next month, in what would mark another step toward normalizing relations.

Budget carrier IndiGo is preparing to take delivery of around 500 narrow-body A320-family jets from Airbus worth $50 billion. The European plane maker has emerged as frontrunner for an order eclipsing Air India’s historic provisional purchase of 470 jets in February, the sources said on the sidelines of an airline industry meeting in Istanbul. IndiGo is one of Airbus’s largest customers and has so far ordered a total of 830 Airbus A320-family jets of which nearly 500 are yet to be delivered. Airbus and U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing are also in separate talks to sell 25 A330neo or Boeing 787 widebody jets to the carrier, the industry sources said.

Oman’s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism is seeking to establish a tourism representative office in China, part of the ministry’s efforts to develop marketing plans that promote Oman’s tourism attractions through its global offices.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is actively focusing on the Middle East as a crucial source market for tourism, aiming to attract 400,000 visitors from the region this year. Saudi Arabia is expected to lead the way with a projected 150,000 visitors, driven by the restoration of direct flights and enhanced diplomatic relations with Thailand.

Lufthansa Airlines CEO Jens Ritter got hands-on recently, working as part of the flight crew on a couple international flights. 

Seasoned American travelers often look to the Department of State for advisories about everything from natural disasters to labor strikes in unfamiliar places. But what hazards are foreign governments warning their own travelers about when it comes to visiting the States?