KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian government has revised its standard operating procedures for the Langkawi International Travel Bubble (LITB) recently, increasing air connectivity by allowing tourists to enter via domestic flights from klia2, in addition to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The mandatory insurance coverage for tourists has also been reduced from US$80,000 to US$50,000 for the duration of their stay in Malaysia. Children aged 12 and below are now allowed to enter the island with their fully vaccinated parents or guardians without having to show proof of vaccination. Langkawi International Travel Bubble travelers can now enter via domestic flights from klia2,…
Author: holidayweekly
DOHA: Qatar Airways has welcomed a nostalgic flashback to its early days of operation with the delivery of a Boeing 777-300 aircraft painted in the airline’s retro livery design as part of its 25th-anniversary celebrations. The aircraft made its retro livery debut operating as Flight QR 0041 from Hamad International Airport (HIA), Doha, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris and will become a familiar sight on a variety of other Qatar Airways routes over the coming 12 months, celebrating 25 years of excellence for the award-winning airline during its milestone year. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said:…
KARACHI: Heritage Foundation and INTBAU Pakistan, with support from the British Council, and in collaboration with ZCEC, an off-shoot of Heritage Foundation, BRAC University, NED, DUET, and University of Lahore organized a three-day Joint Pakistan/Bangladesh Workshop (from February 18-20) for Construction of LOG UK Model at Denso Hall Rahguzar. Six students from Pakistan hailing from the University of Lahore and NED, under the supervision of Syeda Komal Fatima, and six students from Bangladesh from BRAC University participated in the workshop, physically and through zoom, respectively. Their activities were overseen by Naheem Shah and Ashfaq Ahmed of Heritage Foundation. It may…
NEW DELHI: Tata group appointed the former chairman of Turkish Airlines, Ilker Ayci, as Air India Ltd’s new chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), marking a key step in efforts to overhaul the loss-making airline. The Air India board, along with special invitee N. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons, met earlier to discuss the candidature of Ayci. “The board after due deliberations approved the appointment of Mr. Ilker Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India,” according to a statement from Tata group. “This appointment is subject to requisite regulatory approvals,” it said adding that Ayci…
NEW DELHI: The Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) has released a document that details how India can work towards her target of 75 million tourists by 2035. To achieve the ambitious targets, considering India’s 10.9 million foreign arrivals and US$30.05 billion foreign exchange in 2019, FAITH’s tourism vision 2035 proposes four strategic pillars – shared national tourism approach, value accretive regulations, investment drivers, and market excellence. Tourism industry leaders have put together a vision document to guide India towards her ambitious 2035 target of 75 million tourists; Taj Mahal pictured The vision document stresses the need…
BANGKOK: Following a successful trial in December in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia, PATA will now launch the Tourism Destination Resilience Programme to help industry stakeholders at both the national and sub-national level build their destination resiliency against the Covid pandemic and other future challenges. The online and in-market training programme offers 10 modules, available on PATA’s Crisis Resource Center website. The modules are open-sourced and available for any tourism professional that wishes to boost their business or destination’s Covid recovery, increase competitiveness and become more resilient and sustainable. PATA’s latest training programme aims to help tourism professionals and…
MOSCOW: Aeroflot has been awarded with the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating by UK’s Skytrax, the leading independent authority on airline and airport quality. СOVID-19 Safety Rating is a new global benchmark for certifying air travel health and safety introduced by Skytrax in 2020, in response to the challenges of the pandemic. Aeroflot has been certified with the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating following an independent audit conducted during flight checks and base airport inspections in January 2022. The auditors evaluated cleanliness and disinfection practices at the airport and onboard aircraft, cabin air filtration, special signage, marking, and…
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority (KPCTA) arranged a day-long cultural trip for the students of Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, on Friday. Besides male and female students, Deputy Manager Research and Creative Wing, Syed Tabbasum, Deputy Manager Ayesha Gul Khattak, Archaeology Department Chairman Professor Ibrahim Shah and others enjoyed the excursion. The students were taken to the ghani or gur making unit where they briefed about the jaggery making process. They were told that jaggery was a traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Africa. It is a concentrated product of…
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to operate direct flights to Australia twice a week. The national airline will launch its flight operation to Australia with two direct flights from Lahore and Karachi in the last week of March. A spokesperson for the airline confirmed that PIA will operate direct flights to Australia twice a week, for which it will use its Boeing 777 aircraft. He said the national flag carrier has approached Australia’s aviation authority for permission to start the flight operation. It is noteworthy that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has worked out a business strategy…
NEW YORK: Marriott International, a global hospitality company, added more than 86,000 rooms globally during 2021, including approximately 43,000 rooms in international markets and a total of over 18,000 conversion rooms, said its CEO. Net rooms grew 3.9 percent from year-end 2020, added Anthony Capuano, highlighting that the group signed approximately 92,000 rooms in 2021, of which more than 50,000 were in international markets and more than 40 percent were in the upper upscale and luxury tiers. “With our momentum around conversions and our industry-leading pipeline, we are bullish about our ability to increase our footprint over the next several…