Saudi’s AlUla airport receives inaugural flynas flight from Riyadh

Flynas will operate two weekly flights between Riyadh and AlUla on Wednesdays and Saturdays

Covid-19: UK adds Oman, Qatar to travel ‘red list’

This move is to protect the UK against new variants of the coronavirus infection

Saudi Tourism Authority launches initiative to empower domestic private sector

The new initiative focuses on equipping the private sector with the support needed to manage the evolving tourism landscape

Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan

Sheikh Mohammed launches mega Dubai 2040 urban development plan

Nature reserves and rural natural areas will constitute 60 per cent of the emirate’s total area, while land used for hotels and tourist activities will increase by 134 per cent

Dubai Tourism steps up inspections to check compliance with Covid-19 guidelines

A total of 274 violations were recorded and 47 facilities closed, marking a compliance rate of 89 per cent

Desert X Prix electric motor race kicks off in April in Saudi’s AlUla

Five-race Extreme E series seeks to highlight the impact of climate change

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Abu Dhabi amends ‘green list’ destinations, Saudi back in

The new list, effective from March 8, includes 13 countries, up from 10 in the previous update

cinemas abu dhabi

Abu Dhabi reopens cinemas at 30% capacity

Cinemas in the emirate were previously ordered to close indefinitely from February 5

Fireworks at Global Village S25 (1) copy

Dubai’s Global Village to resume ‘musical fireworks’

The venue had announced on February 3 that all shows and street entertainment will remain suspended

Saudi wealth fund commits $3bn to build mega mountain resort project, Soudah

Soudah Development will build 2,700 hotel rooms and 1,300 homes in an area that includes Soudah, the tallest peak in Saudi Arabia

Abu Dhabi removes Saudi Arabia from ‘green list’, destinations cut to 10

Passengers arriving from the green list are exempt from mandatory quarantine measures

Sharjah’s Shurooq set to welcome guests to luxury destination ‘Moon Retreat’

The construction of the luxury retreat is 75 per cent complete

Kuwait entry ban

Kuwait suspends entry of foreigners until further notice

Kuwaiti nationals will continue to be allowed entry, but will be subject 14 days of quarantine, seven days of which will be in an institution

Aerial View of Coral Bloom Concept

In pics: Saudi’s Red Sea project unveils ‘Coral Bloom’ design for gateway island

Upon completion in 2030, the Red Sea project will comprise 50 resorts, offering up to 8,000 hotel rooms

Dubai yacht party

Video: Dubai Police issues Dhs50,000 fines for yacht party flouting Covid-19 rules

Dubai Police has received around 1,000 reports from the public on different Covid-19 violations across the emirate from January 31- February 6

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi reduces number of ‘green list’ countries that do not require quarantine

Some of the countries removed from the ‘green list’ include Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Maldives and Thailand

Abu Dhabi Covid-19 restrictions

Covid-19: Abu Dhabi issues new restrictions for tourism, commercial and economic activities

All parties and gatherings are now banned indefinitely

Scat Airlines Kazakhstan Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah inks agreement with Scat Airlines for direct flights to eight cities in Kazakhstan

The airline will commence direct flights from March between Ras Al Khaimah and Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Aktobe, Aktau, Atyrau, Uralsk, Karaganda and Shymkent

Eitan Na’eh, head of mission at the newly established Israeli embassy in Abu Dhabi

Israel wants to build land corridor with UAE for movement of goods

Israel is looking into the potential of trailers and lorries carrying goods from the UAE reaching Israel in three days, and vice versa

Saudi Arabia to start tracking tourism’s contribution to economy

The Tourism Establishment Survey will provide data on the industry, including the size of the workforce, pay and revenue and expenditure

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Saudi extends border closures, travel ban for citizens until May

The extension from the scheduled date of March 31 is due to vaccine delivery delays, officials said

UAE Dubai UK

Covid-19: UK indefinitely bans all passenger flights from UAE starting January 29

All non-British or Irish passengers, excluding third-country nationals who have residence rights in the UK, who have been in or transited through the UAE, Burundi and Rwanda in the last 10 days will no longer be granted entry to the UK

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

UAE’s World’s Coolest Winter campaign nets Dhs1bn revenue for domestic hospitality sector

The campaign helped raise hotel occupancy across the UAE by 17 per cent year-on-year, increasing the average hotel room price to Dhs450 per night

Dubai airport

Covid-19: Dubai updates travel protocols for all inbound passengers

The validity period for PCR tests has been reduced from 96 hours to 72 hours

Abu Dhabi modifies ‘green list’ destinations, adds Australia and removes Kuwait

Passengers arriving from the green list are exempt from mandatory quarantine measures

Dubai hotels and restaurants to cease entertainment activities until further notice

The suspension comes into effect from Thursday, January 21

Etihad Airways flights Doha

Etihad Airways to restart flights between Abu Dhabi and Doha in February

The service will operate daily using an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

UAE Israel

UAE postpones visa-free travel agreement with Israel until July 1

Airlines from both countries have begun scheduled direct commercial passenger flights over the last few weeks

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Abu Dhabi expands ‘green list’ of countries that do not require quarantine

Bahrain is the latest to be added to the list, which also includes other Gulf countries

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Dubai

Sheikh Mohammed launches DEWA’s space programme and Hatta tourism projects

The Space-D programme will include the launch a main satellite with the latest imaging and communication technologies