ISLAMABAD: Digital marketing holds promise for tourism promotion and that’s what exactly the present government is doing by rolling out an inclusive project “Brand Pakistan” in coming days to transform the country’s image by projecting its breath-taking tourist resorts at international level through online means. “The competent authority has given approval for Brand Pakistan and now our focus is on its launch as bids from event management firms have been invited to formally roll out the mega tourism project at the earliest,” a senior officer of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) told. He said the Brand Pakistan initiative, which also…
Author: holidayweekly
MADRID: Global tourism suffered its worst year on record in 2020, with international arrivals dropping by 74% according to the latest data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Destinations worldwide welcomed 1 billion fewer international arrivals in 2020 than in the previous year, due to an unprecedented fall in demand and widespread travel restrictions. According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, the collapse in international travel represents an estimated loss of USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues – more than 11 times the loss recorded during the 2009 global economic crisis. The crisis has put between 100 and 120…
MANAMA: Operations at Bahrain International Airport’s (BIA) new passenger terminal has begun, in line with the directive of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, said a report. The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications and Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) announced that all the airport’s facilities are ready, and preparations to welcome passengers are complete. The transfer to the new facility marks the dawn of a new era for the Kingdom of Bahrain’s aviation sector. The $1.1 billion new terminal is four times the size of the old one and designed to deliver…
LONDON: Rolls-Royce has said it expects to burn through more cash than anticipated in 2021 as planes powered by its engines fly less amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The company, which was in the midst of cost cutting exercise before the outbreak of the pandemic, expects £2 billion of cash to leave the business in 2021. This is more than double the amount forecast by the aerospace giant last year. Rolls-Royce is paid by the number of hours its engines are in use, so Covid-19 restrictions hit revenues. The company, whose engines power many Boeing and Airbus aircraft, said it expected…
KARACHI: In a bid to address the concerns of the global aviation industry on the issue of alleged fake licenses of Pakistani pilots, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has decided to outsource the process of holding licensing exams to the United Kingdom’s CAA. Currently, all licensing exams, including commercial/airline transport pilot license (CPL/ATPL), of the CAA are suspended after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had given what many thoughts were an irresponsible statement that licenses of 262 Pakistani pilots were fake. Following his statement, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had suspended Pakistan’s Third Country Operation Authorisation and recently…
LONDON: The UK government banned travel to the UK from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Burundi and Rwanda. Officials said the move was to prevent the spread of the new variant originally identified in South Africa into the UK. From 13:00 on Friday, passengers who have been in or transited through the United Arab Emirates, Burundi and Rwanda in the last ten days will no longer be granted access to the UK. This does not include British and Irish nationals, or third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK, who will be able to enter the UK but are required…
BANGKOK: Thailand is preparing to welcome you with open arms if you are Coronavirus vaccinated. The government’s new “Welcome back to Thailand again” campaign would implement “COVID passports” to identify lower-risk visitors who could bypass the mandatory 16-day quarantine currently levied against all non-Thai travelers entering the country. The plan is set to launch in the third quarter of 2021. The measure will come not a minute too soon for local tourism operators. Tourism is one of the nation’s largest gross domestic product drivers (GDP), and preventative measures against COVID-19 resulted in a huge blow to the industry. Waiving mandatory…
SEATTLE: Boeing has reported a net loss of US$11.9 billion for financial 2020, or a GAAP loss per share of $20.88, as the full toll of the Covid-19 becomes clear. The figure is down from a profit of US$636 million last year, which was itself impacted by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max following two fatal crashes. The company reported revenue of US$58.1 billion for the year, down 24 per cent on the US$76.5 billion recorded in 2019. Fourth-quarter revenues stood at $15.3 billion, reflecting lower commercial deliveries and services volume primarily due to Covid-19 as well as 787…
DUBAI: The Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, headed by H.H. Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has announced updates to Dubai’s travel protocols for inbound passengers, effective from January 31, said a report. The updates are part of the Committee’s keenness to protect passengers and ease hassles for them without compromising on Covid-19 precautionary measures put in place to safeguard everyone’s health and wellbeing, news agency WAM reported. As part of the revised protocols, UAE residents, GCC citizens and visitors are required to do a PCR test prior to departure for Dubai irrespective of…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday considered a second bailout package worth $35.58 million for the Roosevelt Hotel, New York, which is owned by Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited. The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has decided to form a panel to provide the bailout package for the property that has fallen into debt. According to a report in Hotel Management, a hotel industry magazine, the panel approved $142m to provide immediate financial support. This amount was arranged as a loan from the National Bank of Pakistan with a per annum mark-up of $5.9m. It also approved $13 million as an annual carrying…