Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
25.08.2023 - 14:19 / skift.com / Willie Walsh / Peden Doma Bhutia / Kevin Hart / Yas Island
American comedian and actor Kevin Hart is a man on a mission as he is looking to hire an ambassador for Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island. Hart, who was appointed Yas Island’s first-ever chief island officer in May, announced the job opening on social media on Monday, calling it the “world’s best job.” The salary being offered for the two-month role is $100,000. Anyone aged 21 years or above can apply for the job, the last date for receiving entries is January 23. “No CV, previous experience or cover letter needed, just your video up to 60 seconds (videos over 60 seconds will be disqualified),” the website mentioned. Once hired, the ambassador will take part in a variety of tourism activities for Yas Island while being put up at the W Abu Dhabi for 60 days. Yas Island has also made all the video applications public in its website.
Citizens of Saudi Arabia can now rent out their residential units to tourists for a fee, according to a report on Saudi Gazette citing the kingdom’s newly approved bylaws. The new rules also lay down that a private tourist hospitality facility — which could be an apartment, townhouse, or a villa – must be part of a property that has been designated as either for residential or agricultural use. According to the bylaw, a maximum of three permits could be issued to one person per property. The ministry has also listed out several laws to ensure that the rights of tourists are protected while staying at such rented properties. One such rule mentions that after chekcing in a tourist cannot be forced to vacate the residential unit, in the presence of competent authorities. The rules also lay down that advertising for a property under the new bylaws must only be done by providers of travel and tourism services.
Airlines in the Middle East saw an 84.6 percent traffic rise in November compared to November 2021, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). November capacity increased 45.4 percent versus the year-ago period, and load factor climbed 16.5 percentage points to 77.7 percent. As air passenger recovery continued in November, global traffic in November 2022 (measured in revenue passenger kilometers) rose 41.3 percent compared to November 2021. “Traffic results in November reinforce that consumers are thoroughly enjoying the freedom to travel. Unfortunately, the reactions to China’s reopening of international travel in January reminds us that many governments are still playing science politics when it comes to Covid-19 and travel,” said Willie Walsh, director general of IATA.
In 2022, Dubai welcomed over 23.7 million passengers to the emirate registering an 89 percent increase in passenger traffic compared to the previous year. Of the 23.7 million
Marriott International announced 13 deal signings in Turkey comprising over 2,000 rooms.
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.
Jongyoon Kim, the CEO of South Korea-based superapp Yanolja, sees Tesla as the metaphor for its company highlighting how the electronic vehicle company has been rethinking the entire value chain.
China’s latest loosening of its stringent zero-Covid policy, mostly for domestic tourism, comes across as too little too late, at a time when the rest of the world is living with the virus.
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.
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.
Saudi Arabia announced its masterplan for King Salman International Airport — touted to be one of the world’s largest airports. Public Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, will build the more than 57 square kilometres airport, and it will include the current King Khaled airport. With plans for six parallel runways, and including the existing terminals, the airport aims to accommodate up to 120 million travelers by 2030. By 2050, the airport is expected to accommodate up to 185 million passengers and process 3.5 million tons of cargo. The masterplan would boost Riyadh’s position as a global logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade and tourism, and act as a bridge linking the East with the West. The new airport is expected to contribute $7 billion annually to the country’s non-oil gross domestic product and to create 103,000 direct and indirect jobs, in line with Saudi’s Vision 2030 objectives. The kingdom has plans to attract 100 million annual visits by 2030.
Etihad Airways looks forward to welcoming over 1.5 million travellers at Abu Dhabi International Airport between November 21 and January 8. Abu Dhabi kicked off a calendar of events with The Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix held between November 17 and 20 last week. Football fans from around the world will also be flocking to the region as the FIFA World Cup started in Doha from Sunday. “Etihad with its partners, is geared up and ready to host 1.5 million expected guests over the next six weeks,” said Shaeb Al Najjar, general manager of hub operations at Etihad Airways.
A day after China announced some major changes to its controversial zero-Covid policy, Hong Kong on Thursday announced that inbound arrivals would need to undergo daily rapid antigen tests for five days, instead of seven days.
India is making a PCR Covid test mandatory for inbound arrivals from China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, from January 1.
An innkeeper in Bangkok’s Sathorn area has been desperately looking to hire more staff to cater to the increasing number of tourists at his place.