DUBAI: Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has promoted Sabine Dorn-Aglagul to president – Europe. Having joined Mövenpick in April 2017 as director of operations, Switzerland, Dorn-Aglagul takes the helm from Ola Ivarsson, who will retire from his role as chief operating officer for Europe on June 30. Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts currently manages 18 properties in Europe, with three new hotels set to open during 2019 in Stuttgart (Germany), The Hague (Netherlands) and Basel (Switzerland). The company is actively seeking further development opportunities in the region, with a focus on the hotel and serviced apartment sector. “We congratulate Sabine on her…
Author: holidayweekly
NEW DEHLI: Senior officials at a Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) India Chapter and Ministry meeting held on June 27 said that this year, like last year, tourism is looking good for the country. Rashmi Verma, Tourism Secretary, admitted, however, that there are still some challenges, such as infrastructure, which were being addressed by a top-level panel led by Cabinet Secretary. Verma also spoke of over tourism in some areas and the need for capacity-carrying studies. Joint Secretary Suman Billa listed steps to enlarge the product base by including cruise tourism and promoting Buddhist destinations in a more vigorous way.…
ROME: Tourists to be hit with huge fines if they buy fake goods from beach vendors any tourist who’s sunbathed on an Italian beach will have spotted the hordes of beach vendors selling knock off hats, sunglasses and ‘designer’ handbags. The Italian government has how hinted that it wants to introduce fines to punish any hoidaymakers who purchase goods from these traders, as well as the vendors themselves. Matteo Salvini, Italy’s hardline interior minister, says the vendors sell fake brands and evade tax which damages legitimate businesses. Holidaymakers who buy from the migrant vendors will have their items confiscated and…
ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines is in talks with 12-13 Turkish and Chinese banks to secure between $800 million and $1 billion in financing to construct its facilities at Istanbul’s new airport, and a deal is almost ready, the sources close to the matter said. Istanbul’s third airport, which Turkey says will become the biggest in the world, is slated to open on Oct. 29. A total of 10.25 billion euros ($11.96 billion) have been invested in the airport, which will have an initial passenger capacity of 90 million per year.
DOHA: Qatar Airways is delighted to announce that it has launched the global on-ground activation ‘Goal For Difference’ in nine countries around the world, to further celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia TM and support Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child (EAC) Programme, which now has partnership commitments in place to provide access to quality primary education for more than 10 million of the most marginalised and hardest to reach children in 50 countries around the world. Goal For Difference’ is an on-ground activation being carried out in several key destinations globally, including: Australia, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Malaysia,…
FUKUSHIMA: Recently Takuto Okamoto guided his first tour group to a sight few outsiders had witnessed in person, the construction cranes looming over Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Seven years after a deadly tsunami ripped through the Tokyo Electric Power plant, Okamoto and other tour organisers are bringing curious sightseers to the region as residents who fled the nuclear catastrophe trickle back. Many returnees hope tourism will help resuscitate their towns and ease radiation fears. But some worry about drawing a line under a disaster whose impact will be felt far into the future. The cleanup, including the removal of…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways has ‘set history’ by earning record Rs. 103 million on the first and second day of Eid-ul-Fitr from special trains as compared to Rs76 million earned during the corresponding period of the last year. “Pakistan Railways has made this record due to offering 30 percent concessional rates on first and second day of Eid and better facilities to the passengers,” a report quoting a Railway Ministry official as saying. He said that passengers have shown keen interest to travel by trains as Pakistan Railways also announced 20 percent reduction in fares during Ramadan in all the passenger…
RAWALPINDI: The meeting of important leading tour operators from Southwest China, organized by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), was held at PTDC Headquarters Flashman’s Hotel Rawalpindi, which was chaired by General Manager, PTDC Ali Akbar Malik. A 10 member delegation comprising tour operators from Southwest China led by President of the Chendu Overseas Travel Heyu Guan. The meeting was attended by Manager Human Resources Ejaz Ali, Manager Flashman’s Ashfaq Ahmed Loothar, Manager Publicity Mukhtar Ali and Deputy Manager Tour Khalid Jamil Satti. From private sector, President of the Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO), Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah and other…
LONDON: British MPs overwhelmingly approved on Monday long-awaited plans to build a third runway at London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, after decades of acrimonious debate over its potential impact. Lawmakers, by a wide margin of 296 votes, backed expansion proposals agreed earlier this month by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, overcoming vehement opposition from MPs with constituencies nearby where residents fear increased pollution and noise. Among them is Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who once pledged to lie in front of bulldozers to stop construction, but missed the key vote due to a last-minute trip to Afghanistan. The government argues that…
KARACHI: As Emirates starts flying the world’s largest passenger airplane Airbus A380 to the new Islamabad International Airport from 7 July, it is believed that it will grab a larger slice of international air traffic flow to and from Pakistan. A380, a double-deck four-engine jet airliner, has the capacity to accommodate 550 passengers. Earlier, it was not possible to welcome the aircraft as no other airport in Pakistan was equipped to handle the airplane. At present, Dubai-based airline Emirates has a 16% share in international air traffic in Pakistan that stands at more than 14 million passengers per annum. The…