LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s hospitality sector is the fastest-growing among the 50 most populated countries in the world, reporting 73,057 rooms across the three phases of the hotel pipeline, and projecting a 67.1 percent increase in room supply over the next three years, according to STR’s AM: PM platform. Of the total rooms in the pipeline as of March 11, 16,965 were scheduled to come online over the duration of 2021. The 67.1 percent increase assumes completion of all projects in construction, final planning, and planning. “Saudi Arabia’s growth aspirations, along with the strength of other Middle East hospitality markets such…
Author: holidayweekly
BELARUS: Ambassador of Pakistan to Belarus Mr. Sajjad Haider Khan held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Anatoly Markevich, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Belarus. The meeting was also attended by Ms. Viktoria Ratobylskaya, Head of the International Cooperation and Information Management Department of the Ministry. Underscoring the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and religion of Pakistan, which has been a melting pot of civilizations for thousands of years, Ambassador Sajjad highlighted the significance of promoting people-to-people contact for the creation of greater awareness in the general public. The Minister welcomed the initiative, highlighted the importance of cultural collaboration, and…
ABU DHABI: The UAE is continuing to update and enlarge the scope of available residence and tourist visas, by introducing a range of new and innovative types of visas, according to the needs of various segments of the community. These updates are also in line with the progress achieved by the UAE in the area of global competitiveness and are expected to attract more investors, entrepreneurs, talents, and scientists, as well as boost the country’s status as an international tourism destination, reported state news agency WAM. Since the start of 2021, the UAE introduced three new updates to residence and…
ISLAMABAD: To recreate the charm of travelling to a contemporary city with a royal past, the new Hotel One will be opening its doors soon to travellers in Bahawalpur, the City of Nawabs. In this connection, a ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Mr Haseeb Gardezi, Chief Operating Officer – Hashoo Group Hospitality Division, Mr Waqar Qureshi, Director Development – Hotel One, and Mr Makhdoom Murtala Muhammad, the franchisee of Hotel One in Bahawalpur. Hashoo Group is the leading and largest chain of hotels in Pakistan that own and operates the five-star Pearl-Continental, Marriott and the select-service Hotel One brands in Pakistan.…
PESHAWAR: A top official said on Monday, March 29, that more cultural festivals and traditional games would be organized in Dera Ismail Khan to attract domestic and foreign tourists to the area and boost tourism in the province. Speaking at the awards distribution ceremony of the first Derajat off-road jeep and motorcycle challenge race, Secretary Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Culture, Museums, and Youth Affairs Department Abid Majeed said that the second leg of Derajat Festival was postponed owing to the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic. He said that the cultural festival would now be held in the upcoming September. “The government…
ISLAMABAD: Serena Hotels held a colorful Nowruz celebration event in collaboration with the diplomatic missions of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the banner of its Cultural Diplomacy Initiative. Nowruz – which means ‘new day – is an ancient celebration of spring dating back to around 3000 years; today is celebrated by around 300 million people belonging to different faiths and ethnicities across the world. In 2010 the United Nations adopted a resolution to officially recognize the International Day of Nowruz. The event included beautiful cultural performances as well as…
MADRID: UNWTO and other international organizations failed us and tourism will not bounce back, said Dr. Taleb Rifai, former UNWTO Secretary-General. What we need is a new multilateral system, a more harmonized, fair, and equitable system, because it’s not important how successful every country is on its own. Dr. Rifai wears many hats, including as a board and co-founder of the World Tourism Network (WTN). Rifai said: “Four years ago, I had an interview with a Victor Jorge Portuguese Work media network and was asked how I would define the current moment at that time, which included terrorism, Brexit, and…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched its first-ever tourism TV channel “Discover Pakistan” on Mar 22, marking a major step towards Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to boost this fledgling sector as a growth engine. Tourism is gaining weight in Pakistan’s economy. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2019, the tourism industry contributed 5.9% to Pakistan’s GDP, with 3.9 million jobs created. The government is also elevating tourism higher on its agenda. A 12-member National Coordination Committee on Tourism has been initiated in the hopes of creating more job opportunities and injecting impetus into Pakistan’s economic development. Pakistan is…
LAHORE: Mr. Asif Mahmood, Advisor to the Chief Minister on Tourism and PHA, on Wednesday inaugurated a picture gallery at the historic Moorcroft Pavilion at Shalimar Gardens. Secretary Tourism Ehsan Bhutta was also present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Mahmood said that the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) is committed to protecting heritage sites across the province. He added that Punjab is home to many famous landmarks including the Shalimar Gardens. Secretary Tourism Ehsan Bhutta said that the incumbent government accords high priority to the development of tourist attractions in the province. He further stated that…
Some 4.7 billion fewer passengers are projected to travel by this year-end, representing a decline of 47.5 percent in global passenger traffic, according to a report by Airports Council International (ACI) World. This is estimated to equate to a loss in revenue of more than US$94 billion this year, which is half of the projected baseline. As prospects for a recovery in 2021 begin to emerge, ACI World estimates that different regions of the world will recover at different rates. At the country level, markets having significant domestic traffic are expected to recover in 2023 to pre-Covid-19 levels, while markets…