BANGKOK: Dusit International, one of Thailand’s foremost hotel and property development companies, is ending the year in style after being selected as the official hotel partner of the Miss Universe pageant in Thailand for the third time. Now in its 67th year, Miss Universe took place on December 17 in Bangkok with nearly 100 representatives from all over the world participating. The global event was previously hosted in Thailand in 1992 and 2005, with Dusit Thani Bangkok the official pageant residence on each occasion. During their time in Thailand, contestants took part in activities at the Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel.…
Author: holidayweekly
KARACHI: Mr. Jahangir Siddiqui , Chairman Endowment Fund Trust (AFT) Sindh has suggested formation of a committee comprising representatives from AFT, Karachi Press Club, civil society and the architects of Karachi to prevent the encroachment on Karachi’s cultural and heritage buildings and to restore them to their original glory. “We need to strengthen our heritage laws to protect our cultural and architectural heritage and to remove loopholes in the existing laws to safeguard our heritage”, Jahangir Siddiqui said while speaking as a chief guest at a ceremony to handover the heritage building of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) after restoration…
PESHAWAR: The grand gala of Kalash winter festival – Chitirmas – was celebrated on Saturday with much funfair and splendour. Foreign tourists, who had come from different countries to the Kalash valley to have a glimpse of unique culture, traditions and religious rites, enjoyed various events during the 15-day gala in the scenic valley. Member provincial Assembly from Chitral, Wazirzada, attended the concluding ceremony. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch and Malakand Division Commissioner Zaheer ul Islam and others accompanied the lawmaker. The MPA praised the provincial government for the facilities provided to the tourists and the local Kalash…
MADRID: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has welcomed the UK Government’s announcement to start official negotiations towards an “ambitious tourism deal which will benefit the whole country” as part of the wider Industrial Strategy. WTTC represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism and recently led a delegation of global CEOs to meet with Michael Ellis MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Arts, Heritage and Tourism to discuss the future of the Travel & Tourism in the UK at No.10 Downing Street. WTTC has encouraged the UK Government to collaborate with the private sector to develop…
LONDON: London Gatwick Airport made global headlines just before Christmas when a number of drone incursions caused the airport to close for days. Now, the airport is making more global headlines, this time after it was revealed that French firm VINCI Airports has agreed to buy a controlling stake (50.01%) in the Sussex airport for £2.9 billion. VINCI Airports is a major airport owner, controlling over 45 airports located in France, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia, Cambodia, Japan, United States of America, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Chile and Brazil. It recently also purchased Belfast International Airport and is understood to also be…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is planning to launch three tourist trains soon with an aim to promote tourism in the country under the directives of Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The tourist trains with steam engines will be operated between Rawalpindi-Taxila, Peshawar-Attock Bridge, and Karachi-Keenjhar Lake, an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP. He said the launch of these trains would help Pakistan Railways to earn extra revenue. To a question, he said that different departments of federal and provincial government had to pay Rs2715.41 million to Pakistan Railways on account of freight and level crossing maintenance charges,…
BEJING: A new wave of young, adventurous, tech-savvy tourists from China are heading overseas and the Pacific region is being urged to find out what makes them tick. Chinese tourism experts say independent millennials will drive China’s outbound tourism boom in years to come and operators need to get ready. The post-80s generation of Chinese, brought up in one child families under former Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping’s open door policy, are driving the flow, according to Cheng Mingming, Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Otago. These well-educated, well-off urbanites are China’s first generation to be able to travel…
KARACHI: Chairman Air Sial, Mr. Fazal Jilani, Mr. Usman Dar, Assistant to Prime Minister on Special Affairs and Federal Minister for Privatisation and Aviation Mian Muhammad Soomro met the prime minister on Friday, 29 December, to discuss the launch of the airline’s operations in the country. Air travel is expected to become cheap as a new airline is set to begin operations. Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured Air Sial that it will get permission for kicking off domestic operations in Pakistan. Air Sial, an airline of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, plans to fly on domestic…
SEATTLE: Boeing and flyadeal announced the Middle East carrier is growing its fleet with the 737 MAX to take advantage of the airplane’s fuel efficiency, range and passenger comforts. The airline committed to ordering 30 airplanes with options for 20 more in a deal that would be valued at up to $5.9 billion at list price. The deal is subject to both sides concluding final terms and conditions and a purchase agreement. It will appear on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website once all contingencies are cleared. flyadeal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Airlines, offers affordable flights within Saudi Arabia. Over…
DAMASCUS: The United Arab Emirates has reopened its embassy in Damascus, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012 as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. Nearly seven years later, the Emirati flag was raised at a ceremony attended by diplomats and journalists on Thursday, 27 December. An acting charge d’affaires has already started working, an Emirati statement said, stressing that the UAE was “keen to put relations back on their normal track”. It said that…