RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has announced plans to convert an oil rig into a 150,000 square meter “Extreme Park” and resort located in the Arabian Gulf. Funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), The Rig will be comprised of three hotels and 11 restaurants spread over a number of connected platforms, as well as roller coaster rides and adrenaline-rush activities like bungee jumping and skydiving. Renderings of the upcoming attraction, which aims to “provide a multitude of hospitality offerings, adventures, and aquatic sporting experiences,” along with a promotional video, were released earlier this month. “This project is a unique tourism…
Author: holidayweekly
World Travel Awards, the leading authority that recognizes and rewards excellence in travel and tourism has revealed its Europe 2021 winners. Greece, with its resurgent travel and tourism economy, was voted ‘Europe’s Leading Destination’, Portugal’s Algarve was named ‘Europe’s Leading Beach Destination’, and the Azores took ‘Europe’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination’. The imperial splendour of Moscow was acknowledged with the award for ‘Europe’s Leading City Destination’. The fascinating city of Batumi, Georgia was declared ‘Europe’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination’. Saint Petersburg won ‘Europe’s Leading City Break Destination.’ In the hospitality sector, Çırağan Palace Kempinski, Istanbul was voted ‘Europe’s Leading Hotel’,…
DOHA: Several new airlines could join the Oneworld alliance as the group seeks to swell its numbers to close the gap against rivals SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Oneworld currently has 14 airlines as full members – the most recent being Royal Air Maroc in 2020 and Alaska Airlines in 2021 – with SkyTeam at 18 and the dominant Star Alliance group at a thundering 26. Airlines ranging from Oman Air to Taiwanese startup Starlux and Alitalia successor ITA are among the unaligned ‘free agents’ which have said they want to join forces with a global alliance. Oneworld Chairman and Qatar…
SHARJAH: The UAE has been ranked among the top five best places to live and work, according to a new survey released by HSBC. The country has climbed ten spots to rank fourth out of 48 markets globally, with most expatriates feeling positive about life in general and expecting better personal finances as well as work-life balance, reported Emirates News Agency WAM. Overall, Switzerland took the number one spot, followed by Australia in the second position and New Zealand in the third place. HSBC’s Expat Explorer 2021 is the latest edition of the bank’s long-running study that covers more than…
MOSCOW: Russia’s daily COVID-19 mortality numbers have been surging for weeks and topped 1,000 for the first time during the weekend amid sluggish vaccination rates, lax public attitudes towards taking precautions, and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Russia reported 1,028 COVID deaths in 24 hours on October 20, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. The largest number of fatalities were reported in the country’s two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. There was also a rapid increase in the number of positive tests for the virus, with 34,073 people confirmed to have been infected over the…
LONDON: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for a simpler Covid-19 testing regime, with affordable, competitive airport costs, to help UK airlines speedup the recovery. Speaking at the UK Aviation Club, IATA Director General Willie Walsh emphasised theimportance of face-to-face meetings and the desire of travellers to get flying again. Still, he warned that by persisting with expensive PCR testing, the UK had failed tocapitalise on its fast rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations, and has slipped behind its mainEU partners. “In terms of day-to-day life, the UK is far more pragmatic in managing Covid-19 thanmany other states. But its approach…
LONDON: British Airways has announced that it is recruiting more cabin crew staff as the aviation sector recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline has asked a broad- range of people to apply for jobs to create a diverse crew workforce. Crew members will be able to earn up to £28,000 a year with flying/duty pay and a tax free subsistence allowance, as well as generous company benefits. The airline has already contacted people in the company’s existing talent pools, which holds the details of people who left the business last year but have expressed an interest in returning to…
KARACHI: PIA and Hitit, two of the world’s largest companies in their fields, are entering their third year of cooperation. The cooperation of these two companies has allowed the Pakistani aviation industry to grow technologically. In addition to their commercial partnership based on technology, Hitit and PIA work together on social responsibility. Pakistan International Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the Asia Pacific region, and its PSS provider Hitit, one of the leading airline and travel IT providers in the world, have been continuing their productive collaboration in every aspect. In this context, Hitit regularly contributes to the Pakistan…
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has achieved the International AirTransport Association (IATA’s) new distribution capability (NDC) level-4 certification.The certification is of the highest level, awarded to PIA. A press release issued by PIA on Monday stated that the national flag carrier recentlyembarked upon a Digital Transformation Programme, under which it is focusing onmodernising its business practices, resource competence, technology upgrade andpartner collaborations in line with new industry standards and practices. The certification will enable the airline to better connect, communicate and share richcontent among industry partners through distribution channels. This achievement willsignificantly enhance PIA’s capability of merchandising, retailing and productdifferentiation,…
BANGKOK: Thailand unveiled a roadmap to revive its tourism-reliant economy by gradually scrapping a mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors, joining a growing list of nations in making cross-border travel easier ahead of the year-end holiday season. Visitors from 10 low-risk countries including the U.S., China, Singapore, Germany and the U.K. will not be required to undergo isolation on arrival from November 1, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said in an address to the nation on Monday. The list of travelers eligible for quarantine waiver will be further expanded from December, he said, and by January 1 the nation “would move to…