Saudi launches project to boost sustainable tourism-related jobs

The Public Investment Fund will set up a company to develop the project

Over 4,500 retailers sign up for UAE’s tourist VAT refund scheme

The scheme will be implemented from Sunday, November 18, 2018, at the Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah International Airports

Dubai’s Bluewaters island with world’s largest observation wheel opens

The Dhs8bn project, located across JBR, features residential, hospitality, leisure and entertainment spaces

UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah welcomes 11.2% more visitors in first nine months of 2018

Authorities are aiming to welcome one million international arrivals this year

Ras Al Khaimah to reopen Jebel Jais Via Ferrata attraction this month

The 470 metre-long Jebel Jais Via Ferrata allows visitors to climb and trek almost 120 metres above sea level

Revealed: World’s most and least powerful passports

The UAE passport ranks as the fourth most powerful worldwide

Pictures: Dubai Miracle Garden reopens with new exhibits

It will showcase a flower display in 3D mapping on a floral screen – claimed to a world-first

Pictures: Dubai’s Meraas opens trailers, adventure hub, water jump park in Hatta

The new additions include zip lines and lodges

Abu Dhabi’s new cultural destination Al Hosn set to open in December

The site will include four main elements including the Qasr Al Hosn Fort

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea tourism project to break ground in 2019

Saudi plans to develop resorts on 50 islands off the Red Sea coast

Bollywood park, Dubai parks and resorts

Dubai Parks and Resorts records almost two million visits between Jan-Sept

Visitor numbers increased by 33 per cent year-on-year during the first nine months of the year

Dubai aims for 23-25 million tourists a year by 2025

“Our goal is to achieve the sustainability of the tourism sector after Expo 2020,” said the emirate’s crown prince

New $200m ‘Santa Monica-style entertainment centre’ announced in RAK’s Al Marjan

The project has been announced by UAE-based Indian developer Ivan Richard Menezes

Pics: Skating rink, F&B part of UAE’s Khorfakkan beach redevelopment

The redevelopment project will be conducted in two phases

Pics: Saudi unveils uber-luxury project dubbed the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’

Amaala will featureluxury hotels with 2,500 keys, 700 private villas and apartments and a dedicated airport

Dubai to see 5.5% growth in overnight tourists this year

The city is projected to see overnight visitors grow faster than Paris and London in 2018, according to Mastercard

GCC spurs German tourism growth

The GCC is among the top 15 source markets globally for Germany

British billionaire Branson among advisers for Saudi Red Sea tourism project

The kingdom unveiled plans to develop 50 uninhabited islands into resorts in 2017

Direct flights to be launched from Luxembourg to Ras Al Khaimah

The weekly flights will be operated by European tour operator LuxairTours

Dubai tourist arrivals flat in the first half of 2018

The emirate saw visitor numbers from China and Russia surge but little growth overall

Abu Dhabi sees over 2.4 million visitors in first half of the year

Indian visitor numbers were up 19 per cent year-on-year in H1

Pictures: UAE royals open world’s first Warner Bros theme park in Abu Dhabi

The $1bn theme park officially opens to the public on July 25

UAE announces visa fee exemptions for tourists during summer

Dependents under the age of 18 will be exempt from visa fees between July 15- September 15 every year

Dubai Parks records over 1.4 million visits in H1 2018

April served as a peak month, with the theme parks attracting over 300,000 visits

Here’s how the UAE’s VAT refund system for tourists will work

The system will be implemented in the fourth quarter of this year

Dubai ranks third in Expedia’s top EMEA destinations, above Rome, Istanbul

London was rated as the top city on list

Abu Dhabi’s $1bn Warner Bros theme park readies for July 25 opening

It will feature a total of 29 rides, attractions and live entertainment options

UAE tourism spending growth forecast to remain low amid changing traveller habits

The emirates has seen a slight rebound in traveller spending this year but is unlikely to return to pre-2013 levels, according to Mastercard

Mountain lodge, ‘trailers’ hotel, among new projects set to be opened in Hatta

Meraas will also open an adventure centre and an interactive tourism information hub in the mountain town

Saudi bid to protect pre-Islamic sites could risk backlash from fundamentalists

Al-Ahsa, one of the world’s largest natural agricultural oases, became Saudi’s fifth UNESCO World Heritage site last month