Dubai International Airport (DXB) is set to get a AED 6 billion-AED 10 billion ($1.6 billion-$2.7 billion) mega expansion in the next 5-7 years.
25.08.2023 - 13:03 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia
Dubai has raised its benchmark once again, officially surpassing its pre-pandemic tourism numbers for the first half of 2023.
Western Europe emerged as a significant contributor to tourism arrivals, making up 20% of the total international visitation.
Gulf countries and Middle East and Africa regions delivered a combined 28% of the regional share.
South Asia held a 17% share of the total visitation.
Russia, CIS, and Eastern Europe combined contributed 14%.
North Asia and South East Asia contributed 8%.
Americas 7%, Africa 4% and Australasia 2%.
Saudi Arabia will grant visitor e-visas to travelers from eight newly-eligible countries for leisure, business and religious (Umrah only) travel. The countries are:
The visa can be applied via the official e-visa portal at visitsaudi.com/en/travel-regulations
The visitor e-visa is valid for an entire year, grants multiple entries and permits a stay of up to 90 days.
Since launching the e-visa program in 2019, Saudi welcomed 93.5 million visits in 2022, a 93% increase compared to 2021, resulting in a tourism spend of SAR185 billion ($49 billion).
In 2022, Saudi extended regulations to provide a visitor e-visa to holders of valid Schengen, UK and U.S. visas that have been used to enter those countries before arriving in Saudi Arabia, and to permanent residents of EU and GCC countries, and the UK and U.S.
Earlier this year, Saudi announced the launch of the free 96-hour Stopover Visa, allowing passengers to stay in the country for up to 96 hours. Stopover Visa holders will be eligible for a complimentary one-night hotel stay during the stopover when booking through Saudi national carrier Saudia.
Hotel management company Rotana has announced the appointment of Eddy Tannous as the new chief operating officer.
According to a release, Eddy, in his new role, will assist Guy Hutchinson, President, and CEO of Rotana, in driving its growth and expansion. His responsibilities will include the successful opening of properties across the Middle East and Africa region.
With over 20 years of experience in hospitality across the Middle East, Tannous most recently, served as senior vice president, operations overseeing the operational performance across Fairmont’s Middle East and Asian properties.
Rotana currently operates 72 hotels in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, serving more than six million guests per year, including an impressive 10,159 keys across 36 hotels in the UAE alone.
Skift’s Takeaways from real estate consultant Knight Frank’s Qatar Real Estate Market Review:
IHG Hotels & Resorts has teamed up with Sharjah Asset Management, the investment arm of the Sharjah government, to bring a Voco hotel to the emirate.
As the first IHG hotel in the
Dubai International Airport (DXB) is set to get a AED 6 billion-AED 10 billion ($1.6 billion-$2.7 billion) mega expansion in the next 5-7 years.
The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates this week revised the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2022 from 6.5 percent to to 7.6 percent. Explaining the reason for the renewed forecast, the bank cited stronger than anticipated performance of non-oil sectors, including tourism, hospitality, real estate, transportation and manufacturing. In its review report for the third quarter, the Central Bank noted that it expects non-oil gross domestic product to grow by 6.1 percent in 2022, compared to its previous estimate of 4.3 percent, while it expected oil gross domestic product to grow by 11 percent in 2022. Explaining the reasons for the steady growth in gross domestic product, the report cited the removal of most Covid-related restrictions, in addition to recovery of the tourism sector, real estate and construction boom, expansion of manufacturing activities, as well as the hosting of global events.
Silkhaus, a United Arab Emirates-based platform for short-term rentals, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $7.75 million in a seed funding round.
The United Arab Emirates government on Sunday announced the lifting of all precautionary measures implemented in the country during Covid-19. With the lifting of restrictions, wearing of masks has now been made optional in all open and closed facilities, including places of worship and mosques. However, those categorized as “people of determination” would be required to wear mask while visiting health facilities and centers. The Al Hosn app would now only be required to furnish proof of vaccination and for test results inside and outside the country, when required. The green pass on the app would no longer be required to enter public facilities and sites. The requirement of a polymerase chain reaction test would also no longer be made mandatory for those attending or participating at sporting events. The authorities said they have decided to ease the restrictions after studying the epidemiological situation in the country and having monitored occupancy rates in hospitals and intensive care for Covid cases.
Looking to position itself as a leading tourism destination in the Middle East, Dubai has scrapped the 30 percent municipality tax on alcohol for what has been called a trial period of one year, till December 31. Also, tourists and expats will no longer need to pay a fee to secure a personal liquor license to purchase alcoholic beverages. However, an Emirates ID, or passport for tourists, will still be required. The change that came into effect from Sunday, was confirmed by Maritime and Mercantile International, one of the biggest alcohol retailers in the United Arab Emirates and a subsidiary of the state-owned Emirates Group.
Dubai-based property developer Nakheel announced it has secured $4.6 billion in strategic financing deal to drive what it calls, “the new phase of growth.”
Saudi Arabia’s increasing focus in the tourism sector and the shift to leisure travel has brought Seera Group from the red to report the company’s first post-pandemic operating profit of $8 million in the third quarter.
Registering a record performance for the first six months of the financial year, Dubai state carrier Emirates Airline on Thursday reported a net profit of $1.08 billion for the first half of the financial year, compared to a loss of $1.6 billion for the same period last year.
In a bid to boost tourism’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to $122 billion a year by 2031, the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, launched the UAE Tourism Strategy 2031 on Friday. Eyeing an annual increase of $7.4 billion, the tourism startegy aims to attract new investments of $27.2 billion to the tourism sector in the country, and attract 40 million hotel guests in 2031. The strategy includes 25 initiatives and policies to support the development of the tourism sector in the country, according to the government media office. With the return of tourists, the United Arab Emirates’ tourism revenues surpassed $5 billion in the first half of this year.
In a further liberalization of regulations to attract more tourists, Dubai has scrapped the 30 percent municipality tax on alcohol.
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.
Having witnessed a stronger than expected recovery in 2022, the Middle East could see international tourist arrivals return to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Data from the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer noted that while all regions enjoyed significant increase in international arrivals in 2022 over the previous year, the Middle East recorded the strongest relative increase as international tourist numbers climbed to 83 percent of pre-pandemic numbers last year. “The region welcomed large events such as Expo 2020 Dubai and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as well as a highly attended Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia,” noted UNWTO in its report. “UNWTO anticipates a strong year for the sector even in the face of diverse challenges including the economic situation and continued geopolitical uncertainty,” Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said. UNWTO noted that over 900 million tourists travelled internationally in 2022, which was double the number of those who travelled in 2021 though still 37 percent below 2019.