WRITTEN BY CH. FAISAL MEHMOOD The past week has been a period of celebrations, warming the hearts of stakeholders like us in our tourism industry.The coming weeks also look like the season is going to continue, heralding the more heart warming celebrations of Christmas, leading to the opening of the New Year of hopes and expectations. What is significant is that while it has become normal for Lahore to hold meet events like its recent Cultural Roots Festival, Pakistan National Council of Arts Islamabad launched the Ninth National Exhibition (PNCA). The two-month long exhibition is taking place after a series…
Author: holidayweekly
Faced with a looming pilot shortage, Australia is to again relax visa norms to attract more foreign pilots. Immigration minister Peter Dutton has tentatively given the green light for the resumption of two-year visas for qualified pilots, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia said. The association is also pushing for the visas to be expanded to four years. Pilots had been removed from the foreign worker visa list after the government revamped the system earlier this year. “In order to attract suitably senior pilots, who more than likely have a family growing up and so forth, we need to make…
KARACHI: Biryani is not only one of the favourite dishes of Pakistanis, but it is also a rich calorie food in terms of spices, oil and other ingredients. Realizing the demand of healthy and fat-free food, students of Professional Institute of Hotel & Tourism Management (POHTM) under the supervision of expert Chefs were given the task to prepare Biryani free from any kind of fat. Remarkably, students not only prepared the oil-free dish with zero fat, but successfully produced the same taste as any sumptuous and nutritious Biryani would have. This was done after rigorous check of all ingredients by…
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s Cradle of Humankind, an expanse of farmland and rolling hills outside Johannesburg, has already unlocked some of the great mysteries of evolution. The unveiling of a near-complete fossil hominid skeleton dating back 3.67 million years will further popularize & solidify the importance of the region. “Little Foot” is the oldest fossil hominid skeleton ever found in Southern Africa, the lead scientist examining the discovery said last week. The fossil skeleton takes its name from the small foot bones discovered by scientist Ron Clarke in 1994 when he was sorting through bones in boxes from the Sterkfontein cave…
BEIJING: China’s Belt and Road Initiative has received wide response, support and participation from over a hundred countries and international organizations. China, as an important country along the Belt and Road with rich tourism resources and profound culture, has attracted a large number of international visitors. Pakistan can also take the advantage of this initiative and being the member country can market its tourism products to the world. In order to offer international visitors a service platform with more comprehensive and useful tourism information, China National Tourism Administration decided to upgrade “China – Beyond Your Imagination” China Overseas Tourism Promotion…
LONDON: The British Backpacker Society, an adventure travel project having very big following on social media, has declared Pakistan to be the world’s leading adventure travel destination. The British Backpacker Society announced the result after having counted down the top 20 adventure travel countries throughout the course of the year and implored travellers to visit. Samuel Joynson, member of the British Backpacker Society, who visited Pakistan with his colleague Adam Sloper, told media that the team has travelled to over 100 countries worldwide and described Pakistan as a “clear winner”. The British Backpacker Society announcing the 1 ranking described Pakistan…
DUBAI: Dubai-based airlines will not be granted additional rights to fly directly into more airports in India, after the Indian government reportedly rejected a request to allow airlines based in the emirate to fly to more airports. The Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) had reportedly been in talks to increase flying rights directly into India, especially into the country’s northeastern airports. A senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be named, was quoted by India’s Economic Times newspaper as saying the Indian government has “decided against allowing any such access to Dubai. The request has been rejected.” GCAA…
THATTA: The Sindh government, in collaboration with the local government and other donors, has launched different initiatives to facilitate tourists and visitors in the Makli, a hilly area with an ancient graveyard situated at some four kilometres from Thatta city. According to the historians, the graveyard of the Makli hill is one of the largest necropolis sites in the world, which spread over 12 square kilometres. The necropolis provides a unique view of an old civilisation. Because of its cultural and archeological importance, in the 1980s UNESCO listed the Makli necropolis as a world heritage site. The areas of this necropolis,…
JEDDAH: The new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah will be ready to receive passengers next year with a soft opening scheduled in May 2018, said a report. The General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) chairman Abdul Hakim bin Mohammed Al-Tamimi announced the soft opening of the new milestone during a forum themed “Role of Transportation in Regional Development”, said a report in Arab News. He said that the King Abdul Aziz International Airport was a mega project which “includes 810,000-sq-m of terminals. It also includes 200 counters designed for completion of travel procedures and 80 self-service counters as…
MANAMA: Gulf Air recently flew a number of GCC-based media representatives to Tbilisi for a familiarization trip jointly hosted by the airline and The Biltmore Hotel, a five-star luxury property situated within the historic and cultural district of the Georgian capital. Onboard Gulf Air’s flight, media representatives experienced the airline’s latest products and services while enjoying the dedicated Gulf Air Falcon Gold Lounge in Bahrain International Airport, and, in Tbilisi, visiting various local attractions while staying at The Biltmore Hotel. Flying three times weekly to Tbilisi, Bahrain’s national carrier also serves 42 cities in 25 countries, spanning three continents. The…