Lionel Messi Returns to Promote Saudi Arabia

Over the last few centuries, not much has changed in the village of Shuwaymis, which lies 400 miles and a dusty seven-hour drive north of Jeddah. But in 2001, a Bedouin told local teacher Mahboub Habbas al-Rasheedi that he'd found an undiscovered cache of rock art while grazing his camels. Mahboub spent the next several days searching for the site and eventually found hundreds of petroglyphs emblazoned on a honey-hued escarpment, including depictions of oryx, ostriches, leopards, cheetahs, and lions.

There’s a new luxury train on the horizon that is aiming to enter the pantheon of classic trains and iconic rail journeys like the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, the Royal Scotsman, and Africa’s Rovos Rail.

American Airlines has delayed its return to Israel until at least October. The carrier confirmed to Skift that operations to and from Tel Aviv will remain suspended until October 26, 2024. 

Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister says the kingdom counted more than 100 million tourists in 2023 – the numbers show growth in visits from international travelers, but that it still has work to do to become a globally competitive destination.

Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism hosted trade media and travel agents on an all-inclusive familiarisation trip to Doha to promote Qatar as the ultimate tourism destination. Through Qatar Airways’ Destination Management Company, Discover Qatar (DQ), travellers have the choice to opt in for stopover packages in Doha, making it an additional destination to elevate their trip. A press conference was led by the Chairman of Qatar Tourism, His Excellency Mr. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer in the metropolitan Msheireb Downtown Doha. Qatar Airways’ goal aims to make Doha a must-see stopover destination with one-of-a-kind travel experiences. DQ’s stopover packages offer five exciting options for travellers embarking on their journey on Qatar Airways’ network of over 170 destinations:

Following the United Nations declaration of the first International Day of the Arabian Leopard, on 10 February the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) continues to expand its long-term mission to safeguard the ‘Critically Endangered’ Big Cat species from the physical world into the virtual.

Just weeks after it was grounded, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 is back in service. And while flying is statistically one of the safest ways to travel, fear of flying is still a very real thing for many travelers.

Question: Between watching the last World Cup and FIFA's recent destination announcement, I really want to attend a tournament. How do I go about getting tickets to the World Cup in 2026?

Saudi Arabia will launch a dedicated visa for its World Expo in 2030, which will facilitate “seamless entry from plane to metro to Expo site,” states the Royal Commission for Riyadh City.

Red Sea Global, the project developer in Saudi Arabia, is building up its hotel business, and it’s backed by a fund with more money than the market values of Hilton, Marriott and Accor combined.

Whatever your preconceived notion of Saudi Arabia as a travel destination is, it’s about to be get a major renovation. Imagine Sindalah, for example, a 7-star private-island resort with three ultra-luxe resorts, 38 high-end restaurants and multiple superyacht marinas. Or Qiddiya, a futuristic city of 600,000 people rising from the desert floor, dedicated to e-sports and gaming. How about Trojena, a space-age ski resort built above the high desert? Or The Red Sea, a vast waterscape of 50 luxury resorts and 8,000 hotel rooms spread across 22 islands in a Maldives-style archipelago—powered entirely by wind and solar energy? Also in the works is The Rig, a $5-billion adventure theme park built on an off-shore oil platform. In addition, Saudi Arabia is positioning itself as a cruise destination, having recently bought a $300-million ship. Across the Kingdom, new roads, airports, golf courses and cruise terminals are rising from the sand. The map is literally being redrawn in real time.

The Boeing 737-9 Max was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) this week to return to scheduled service for the first time since a harrowing Alaska Airlines incident on January 5 cast doubt on the plane’s safety. Both Alaska and United, the only two U.S. carriers that operate the model, said that flights on the Max 9 will start as early as this weekend. But the question remains: Will passengers also return, or will they steer clear of the troubled jet?