MARYLAND: Marriott International has presented a three-year growth plan, which includes the opening more than 1,700 hotels around the world. At a meeting with institutional investors and security analysts at the New York Marriott Marquis, the company said it planned plan to add between 275,000 and 295,000 rooms by 2021, supported by the strength of its record 478,000-room pipeline, including roughly 214,000 rooms already under construction. Marriott argued its new room openings during this period could contribute $400 million in fee revenue in 2021 and $700 million annually when stabilised. The company’s three-year growth plan assumes, but does not forecast,…
Author: holidayweekly
CAPE TOWN: Africa Tourism is hot right now. Overlooked in the past, the tourism potential of the African continent is now becoming visible. The first African Tourism Board (ATB) is about to be launched in Cape Town during the upcoming World Travel Market Africa in South Africa on April 11 with a list of impressive speakers, ministers, private industry leaders, and stakeholders attending. A week before the ATB launch in Cape Town on April 11, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is getting ready for their annual summit in Seville, Spain. With a price tag of $4,000 for a…
BRASILIA: The Brazilian Government announced that Brazil would allow visa-free entry for citizens of The United States, Canada, Australia, and Japan, effective in 90 days (June 17th). Until then, the current e-visa will be required. Citizens of those countries wishing to visit Brazil will no longer need to apply or pay for a visa. They will be able to stay in Brazil for 90 days from the date of first entry in the country, extendable for an equal period, provided that it does not exceed one hundred and eighty days, every twelve months, counted from the date of the first…
PARIS: French air crash investigators are saying that they have found “clear similarities” between last week’s Ethiopian Airlines crash and last October’s Lion Air disaster. Both 737 MAX aircraft plunged nose-first to their doom. “During the verification process of the FDR (flight data recorder) data, clear similarities were noted by the investigation team between Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610, which will be the subject of further study during the investigation,” the BEA said in a statement. Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 nosedived into a field shortly after takeoff last Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. Lion…
DUBAI: India’s Jet Airways on Monday grounded four aircraft as it failed to pay the lease for renting them, the latest in a series of financial challenges hurting the airline. Jet Airways, once the number two airline in India, said that it is “actively engaged” with aircraft lessors, as it informed the National Stock of India that it is grounding aircraft “due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors.” Jet Airways did not elaborate on which routes will be affected or how long the grounding is for. It has, however, cancelled flights to and from Abu Dhabi for an indefinite…
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) has decided to close down six of its premises at a time when the government is trying to bolster the tourism industry. A letter issued by the corporation stated that it has been decided in the meeting that the ‘sick units/restaurants of PTDC Motels, which are continuously incurring losses should be closed immediately’. The facilities to be closed are PTDC motel at Taxila in Punjab, PTDC motel at Chattar Plain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTDC motel at Astak in Gilgit-Baltistan, PTDC motel at Khuzdar in Balochistan, Chakdara restaurant in KP and Daman-i-Koh restaurant in…
ISLAMABAD: While speaking at a seminar titled “Heritage Diplomacy: A Gadget for Regional Peace”, held here at Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), on Wednesday, 20 March, the spokesperson for Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammad Faisal, emphasized upon an examination of the causes that had led to the rampant polarization and extremist tendencies prevalent in the society. “Those nations (that) deny the essence of their heritage and past witness a disastrous fate, as true development and growth cannot be achieved without taking cognizance of the heritage of a region or the people residing therein,” Faisal said. Dr. Faisal noted…
ISLAMABAD: Last month the government of Pakistan approved the formation of a 25-member National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) for the promotion of tourism in the country. The decision was taken during the meeting of the Tourism Task Force chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, was aimed at promoting tourism, enhancing coordination between federation and provinces, formulating provincial regulatory framework, and highlighting other objectives including the promotion of the country’s tourism at an international level. To assist National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB) on religious tourism, adventure tourism, cultural, historic and archaeological tourism, Trans-Himalaya Jeep Rally Group, infrastructure and facilitation, regulatory…
KARACHI: Hong Kong national, Ms. Marsha Jean, 21, a female Chinese traveller recently visited Pakistan to explore the culture, heritage, scenic landscape and adventure tourism beauty of Pakistan. While speaking with local media , she stated that she has travelled to several countries of the world in the same way. Jean had first travelled to Australia when she was 18, where she worked in the hotel and save enough money to travel across the world. “When I was 18, I travelled to Australia on my pocket money. My original plan was to travel for only two months but as I…
DOHA: Qatar Airways celebrated the arrival of its 250th aircraft, an Airbus A350-900 from Toulouse, France, the latest addition to the group’s growing fleet of passenger, Cargo and executive aircraft. This impressive landmark comes just 22 years after the carrier began operations, and is testament to the incredible growth of an airline that has become world-leading in that time, winning a host of awards, including the Skytrax World Airline of the Year accolade on no less than four occasions. The new A350-900 joins the airline’s state-of-the-art fleet, where the average age of aircraft is less than five years old. As…