KUALA LUMPUR: With an estimated decline of $25 billion in tourism receipts in 2020, Malaysia launched a 10-year plan to resurrect its battered tourism sector. The plan will position the country as a leader in sustainable and inclusive tourism, and as an eco-tourism destination. That will mean finding a balance between tourism development and conservation, says Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin. “Clearly, we have been impacted by the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic this year and economic activities related to the tourism industry… are being forced to face their most difficult moments,” Muhyiddin said during the virtual launch of the national…
Author: holidayweekly
KARACHI: A day after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan expressed hopes that the ban imposed on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate flights in Europe would be lifted soon, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) informed the national flag carrier that the ban had been extended by three months and that it would not be reviewed until a safety audit of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), it emerged on Saturday, December 26. Only on Friday, the aviation minister had told reporters in Taxila that most concerns of EASA regarding the process of issuing licences to commercial pilots had been…
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has unveiled its detailed restructuring plan under which the national flag carrier will complete the process of shifting its headquarters to Islamabad by June 2021 while reducing the number of its employees by almost half. According to the plan, 7,500 of the 14,500 PIA employees will be laid off as per the voluntary separation scheme (VSS). Three thousand and five-hundred employees will be laid off under the VSS in the ongoing month. This will help the company save Rs10.5 billion annually. The number of employees for each aircraft will be reduced from 500 to…
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently unveiled key design elements of the IATA Travel Pass. The pass is a mobile application that will help travellers to manage their travel easily and securely in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information. IATA emphasised that the critical design elements would put travellers in control of their personal information for top-level data security and data privacy. The IATA Travel Pass stores encrypted data including verified test or vaccination results on the mobile device of the traveller. Global standards recognised by governments are also employed to ensure verified identity…
GENEVA: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Kamil H. Al-Awadhi will be appointed IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East (AME), effective March 1, 2021. Al-Awadhi succeeds Muhammad Albakri who will become IATA’s Senior Vice-President for Customer, Financial, and Digital Services (CFDS), also effective March 1, 2021. As previously announced, Albakri will replace Aleks Popovich in the CFDS role upon his retirement. Most recently, Al-Awadhi was CEO of Kuwait Airways, a responsibility he held from November 2018 through August 2020. That capped a 31-year career at Kuwait Airways during which his positions included Deputy CEO and…
NEW YORK: Officials in New York have introduced quarantine rules for international travellers following the emergence of new Covid-19 variants. There are fears of new strains in countries including the UK and South Africa. New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, said all visitors would be ordered to stay for 14-days at the address they provided on arrival. He added said anyone arriving from the UK would be visited by police to ensure they abide by the rules. Those who breach them will be fined $1,000 (£737) a day, de Blasio warned. About 18.4 million coronavirus cases and more than 326,000…
MADID: The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has awarded its UNWTO.QUEST Certification to Fundació Mallorca Turisme. The award further advances UNWTO’s work to promote and recognize excellence and quality in destination management for the benefit of the whole of the sector. At the same time, it boosts competitiveness in Mallorca, one of Europe’s top destinations, and emphasizes the importance of placing sustainability at the heart of future growth. Fundació Mallorca Turisme, a UNWTO Affiliate Member, becomes the fourth DMO (Destination Management Organization) in the world and the first in Europe to receive the UNWTO.QUEST Certification. The international benchmark was created to…
RIYADH: The Saudi tourism ministry is looking to attract new investments worth SR220 billion ($58.5 billion) by 2023 and more than SR500 billion ($133 billion) by 2030, said a report. Addressing a session on “Future sectors” at the Saudi Budget Forum 2021, Saudi Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia had opened its doors to tourists last year as part of its tourism strategy, drawing more than 500,000 visitors from over 25 countries before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Gazette reported. “The tourism sector in the kingdom constitutes 3.5 per cent of the total gross domestic product…
BERLIN: Every year, the annual ITB Book Awards recognise the most original publications, mainly in German, but also in German translation. In the run-up to ITB Berlin NOW 2021, which due to the pandemic will be an entirely virtual event, the large-format wall calendar ‘Japan 2021 – Land of the Rising Sun ‘(Weingarten/Athesia Kalenderverlag) was picked for the Travel Calendar Award.” This magnificent calendar features unique picture-postcard views, with examples of impressive landscape photography and historical cultural attractions. They include natural attractions such as Japan’s Mount Fuji, along with the Churei-to pagoda in Fujiyoshida, photographed by Michele Falzone. Also featured…
DUBAI: Emirates has received the APEX 2021 Five Star Global Official Airline RatingTM, based on feedback from passengers that was independently collected by APEX via its partnership with TripIt, and validated and certified by an external auditor to ensure that all ratings were made by genuine travellers who had flown on the airline they were reviewing. Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Chief Operating Officer said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition from our customers. It reflects all of our efforts to provide our customers with a safe and enjoyable flight experience. He added: “In the past months, Emirates has constantly…