NEOM announces Siranna, its exclusive tourism escape

As the travel industry looks back on a wild 2023, the Walt Disney World Resort is looking forward to 2024 with events, openings and tips for the new year.

NEOM is central to Saudi Arabia’s push to encourage tourism and emerge as one of the world’s leading vacation destinations. Al’Ula and mega-projects inside of NEOM such as The Line and a new island destination called Sindalah have been the biggest locations to make headlines lately, but there are other moving pieces equally worthy of getting excited about. Take, for example, Leyja, a mountainous region within NEOM slated to be developed as a major tourism hub with three new futuristic hotels built right into the mountains.

Destinations worldwide are courting Indian travelers, including countries throughout Africa. Authorities in several African nations are ramping up their efforts to attract visitors from the rapidly growing market. 

Saudi Arabia’s Belgium-sized city of Neom has unveiled another giga-project. It’s called the Gulf of Aqaba and will contain many of the futuristic hotels the $500 billion project has announced in recent months.

Qatar Airways has launched twice-weekly flights to Neom, the $500 billion anchor of Saudi Arabia’s tourism push. The first of Neom’s destinations – Sindalalah – is expected to open partially next year. For now, these two flights are intended to connect Neom staff with their families outside of Saudi Arabia.

Las Vegas is getting a shiny, towering new hotel when the highly anticipated Fontainebleau Las Vegas — a project years in the making — finally opens its doors Dec. 13. And with it comes an all-new loyalty program for people looking to play or stay at the new 67-floor resort on the north end of the Strip.

Will Smith is the latest celebrity to promote Saudi Arabia. Smith posted a video on Instagram Wednesday morning showing his recent visit to Neom, a $500 billion project Saudi Arabia is building and hoping to open by next year.

United Airlines has recently released details of its summer 2024 schedule—the most extensive transatlantic schedule in the major airline’s history. There will be 38 nonstop flights to Europe next year to major European destinations. Some of the flights will be new routes for the airline, which comes after news that the airline has ordered more planes and added benefits for travelers.

Aligned with NEOM’s commitment to conservation, Siranna will complement its coastal location and be delivered sustainably.

These organizational changes will be effective as of 1 January 2024.

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, on the weekend received two major awards for Jamaica from the prestigious World Travel Awards, which is in its 30th year, at the landmark Burj Al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Minister Bartlett also as Founder and Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC), a thinktank based in Jamaica, handed out five Global Tourism Resilience Awards to two major Middle East corporations and three countries.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines said on Sunday that they would combine, the latest U.S. airlines seeking to grow and compete via merger.