ISLAMABAD: The 2021 world tourism forum is planned to be held in the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. Tourism ministers from D-8 (developing 8) countries including Turkey are expected to attend next year’s forum. With Pakistan having much to offer, the forum gives the developing state an opportunity to tout its tourism potential and natural beauty. Pakistan’s tourism industry is set to benefit from this massive recognition by the world community. [huge_it_slider id=”563″] Addressing a press conference in the capital Islamabad, Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, the prime minister’s adviser on tourism and overseas Pakistanis, said the tourism ministers of all the D-8…
Author: holidayweekly
DUBAI: Burj Al Arab Jumeirah, the crown jewel in hospitality leader Jumeirah Group’s portfolio, has been named the Number One City Hotel in North Africa and the Middle East by Travel + Leisure at its World’s Best Awards. [huge_it_slider id=”562″] Every year, Travel + Leisure, the largest travel media brand in the US provides its six million plus readers the chance to have their say in choosing the most outstanding destinations, hotels, resorts, spas, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators and rental-car agencies around the world as part of its annual survey. This year marks 25 years of celebrating the best…
LONDON: Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced that all Brits will receive a discount of up to £10 per head in a huge new scheme designed to help out the hospitality industry. Following four months of closures across the entire country, restaurants, bars, hotels and cafes have taken a huge hit financially with legislations in place meaning their doors were to remain closed until lockdown restrictions were lifted. Some were creative with the closures, operating takeaway services and providing home delivery with partners such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo, however, those without the capabilities to do so were forced to put…
NEW YORK: United Airlines soon plans to issue furlough and layoff notices to roughly 36,000 employees, including pilots, flight attendants, customer service agents and maintenance workers, warning them they could lose their jobs by early October, when federal funding for paycheck supports expires, the carrier told workers on Wednesday, July 8. United said the estimate may not be exact, and could change as more workers leave voluntarily, or if demand for air travel unexpectedly strengthens. But United’s executives repeatedly have stressed the U.S. airline industry is in dire shape, and this week told investors that this summer’s limited recovery may…
MUSCAT: Flag carrier Oman Air continued to serve the nation and its customers with 69 chartered cargo-only flights from April to June, including the highest-ever cargo load the airline has carried. [huge_it_slider id=”561″] Oman Air delivered cargo from nine cities in India, Pakistan, China, Iran, Malaysia and UAE, for the Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Travel and Tourism, and several commercial customers. Twenty-seven flights were operated in coordination with Ministry of Health, using wide-body aircraft, with a total freighted volume of over 386,000 kgs. Another 42 cargo flights contributed to the transportation of over 1 million kg of food, commodities…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Hotels Association (PHA) offered the federal government its partnership for stopping closure of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) motels located in Northern Areas due to COVID-19 and helping out the government for not laying off PTDC employees as it was the only major source of jobs in those areas. Mr. Zubair Baweja, Chairman Pakistan Hotels Association and Vice President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said that PTDC has announced closing of its motels located in Northern Areas of Pakistan due to continuous financial crunch was unfortunate. “On behalf of members of Pakistan Hotels Association,…
African countries have lost almost $55 billion in travel and tourism revenues in three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, the African Union (AU) commissioner for infrastructure and energy said on Thursday. Amani Abou-Zeid told a news conference the economic impact of lockdowns and border closures to curb the spread of the virus would be severe, with the continent’s air industry hit particularly hard. She said tourism and travel represented almost 10% of the gross domestic product of Africa. “We have 24 million African families whose livelihood is linked to travel and tourism,” Abou-Zeid said, adding the downturn had come…
WASHINGTON: United States senator, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, expressed some outrage when he flew with American Airlines. His flight was quite full, with many middle seats being taken up, which led to him posting an image of the cabin on Twitter before announcing he would be looking at banning the sale of middle seats throughout the pandemic. Senator Merkley posted a scathing tweet that was critical of American’s lack of social distancing onboard the flight. His concerns over American’s practices come just days after Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Robert Redfield expressed concern over American’s announcement that it would be…
DUBAI: Emirates SkyCargo will be operating scheduled cargo flights to 100 destinations across six continents during the month of July 2020. Some of the new cities added to the air cargo carrier’s network include Accra, Algiers, Athens, Fort Lauderdale, Glasgow, Larnaca, Los Angeles, Male, Moscow (SVO), Phnom Penh, Rome, Santiago, Sialkot and Tunis. Emirates SkyCargo’s network expansion is in response to the growing economic activity and demand for air cargo capacity from markets across the world along with Emirates’ increased passenger flight operations. By offering multiple daily or weekly cargo flight frequencies to major production and consumer markets, the carrier…
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has closed 36 motels in the northern areas and terminated the services of all the employees, Officers/workmen, as per the notification of dated June 1, issued by PTDC. National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) Chairman Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari was quick to take to Twitter to assuage the growing concerns. Bukhari, who holds multiple portfolios of Special Assistant to PM on overseas Pakistanis, Chairman PTDC and Chairman NTCB rubbished the rumors regarding shutting down of the PTDC, saying that restructuring is underway to transform it into a vibrant organization with better workforce and improved…