JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities re-opened Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta for limited operations, as the death toll rises from the city’s worst flooding in almost seven years. At least 16 people have died from the New Year’s Day flooding, with half of the victims in Jakarta, according to the disaster mitigation agency. Heavy monsoon rains had lashed the Indonesian capital and nearby cities since New Year’s Eve, and the weather agency expects the adverse weather to last until next week. State-run airport operator Angkasa Pura II allowed the use of 30 meters of the 45-meter-width runway starting Wednesday afternoon at Halim…
Author: holidayweekly
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan tops list of Umrah pilgrims to Saudi ArabiaPakistan has been on top of the list of the countries whose citizens visited Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah pilgrimage since the season started on August 31 this year. As many as 2,031,751 Umrah visas were issued visas since the season started about four months ago and a total of 1,566,754 pilgrims arrived the country, according to a report issued by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah. According to official statistics by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, over 4,00,000 Pakistani citizens performed Umrah during the period. The Saudi ministry said…
ISLAMABAD: To provide premium hospitality in one of the most picturesque locations in Pakistan, Hotel One of Hashoo Group joins hands with National Logistics Cell to construct select service resort hotels under the brand name “Hotel One NLC Collection.” For this, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Hotel One (Pvt) Ltd. and the National Logistics Cell. Speaking on this new joint venture, Hashoo Group Chief Operating Officer, Hospitality Division, Mr. Haseeb Gardezi said: “We are pleased to partner with the National Logistics Cell to build and develop resort hotels in Gilgit Baltistan and later in other regions of the…
BEIJING: China’s Sichuan Publishing Group presented 200 sets of King Gesar, an epic story of the East, to Pakistan as a token of the deep-rooted historical cultural ties between the two countries at a ceremony held at Tsinghua University. Pakistan Ambassador to China, Naghmana A. Hashmi, Chief Guest of the event said she would present the precious collection to the National Library of Pakistan. Due to geographic proximity, the culture, language, lifestyle and architecture of people living in Baltistan of northern Pakistan are similar to those of the Tibet ethnic minority in China. King Gesar is a hero-worshiped by Tibetan,…
RAWALPINDI: Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan has directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to constitute a taskforce to help facilitate passengers stranded at airports because of severe weather conditions. The Minister on Thursday directed airport Chief Operating Officers, airport managers, terminal managers and duty terminal managers of various airports to interact with passengers whose flights have been delayed because of the weather in light of the prevailing fog situation in the country. Airport, deputy airport and terminal managers should ensure that they are present in passenger lounges and boarding areas to monitor the situation and pre-empt anything untoward. Mr.…
LAHORE: Punjab Youth Affairs, sports, Archaeology and Tourism Secretary Ehsan Bhutta on Wednesday visited Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) office. According to TDCP sources, during the visit the secretary visited different sections of TDCP and met the officers. TDCP Managing Director Tanveer Jabbar apprised the secretary about the ongoing and new projects of the tourism department. He also briefed about the arrangements with regard to coming 15th Cholistan Jeep Rally which would be held in 2nd week of February. Ehsan Bhutta expressed satisfaction over the performance of the department and emphasized upon utilizing the capabilities as per the vision…
NEW DEHLI: India’s tourism industry has been hit by a wave of violent anti-government protests across the country against a new citizenship law, with at least seven countries issuing travel warnings. At least 25 people have been killed in clashes between police and protesters, and demonstrations against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which critics see as anti-Muslim. The United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Singapore, Canada and Taiwan have issued travel advisories asking their citizens to either refrain from visiting or to exercise caution when visiting regions embroiled in India’s protests. Officials estimate that in the past two weeks,…
MONTERAL: The main trade association of global airlines ended 2019 with pledges to address two of the biggest issues facing the industry: the glaring shortage of women in leading positions and the growing “flight-shaming” movement. The International Air Travel Association (IATA), which has around 290 member airlines, acknowledged it needs to communicate better with the general public on commitments it made years ago to reduce carbon emissions amid escalating concerns about global warming. The trade body also started a campaign to address the gender imbalance in civil aviation by increasing the number of women in senior leadership roles. “There’s massive…
ISLAMABAD: Serena Hotels hosted the closing ceremony of the 5th edition of the Pakistan International Mountain Film Festival (PIMFF) in Kehkeshan Hall, Islamabad Serena Hotel. The chief guest on the occasion was Ms. Midhat Shahzad, Secretary to the AJK Government for Information, Tourism and IT, who carries the distinction of being first female secretary to the Government in AJK. Mr. Wajahat Malik, founder of PIMFF welcomed the guests to the ceremony. “The Last Mountain” was one of the most extraordinary films in the programme, a feature length Polish film about the winter expedition that took place in 2018. PIMFF screens…
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that Pakistan is a land of unimaginable beauty, hidden natural wonders and untapped tourism potential. He said this on Sunday in a Twitter message which came after a travel magazine, Wanderlust, listed nine destinations of Pakistan for adventurers in 2020, from the magical Himalayan valleys to lunar landscapes of bubbling mud volcanoes. The magazine described the 2020 hot list destinations in Pakistan that offer diversity of extraordinary natural beauty without crowds. Wanderlust lists from world’s longest Baltoro Glacier, stretching 63km, to 800-metre tall Trango Towers, world’s highest Deosai plateau, Hunza Valley and Attabad…