MEA Hotel Occupancy Up 12% In August

Middle Eastern cities such as Cairo and Amman lead the increase in occupancy rates.

UAE Denies Tourist Visa Ban For Non-Graduates

Reports had earlier claimed that unskilled visitors from Asian nations would not be granted UAE tourist visas.

EXCLUSIVE: Phil Broad Resigns From Jumeirah Restaurants

Exclusive: The managing director of the successful chain is joining the InterContinental Hotels Group.

Kuwaiti Husband And Wife Kidnapped In Lebanon

Couple abducted after Lebanese army steps up security as kidnap threats target Gulf visitors.

Gulf States Warn Citizens To Leave Lebanon Immediately

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have all told their residents to leave the country amid threats of kidnappings.

Lawless Appointed Jumeirah CEO And President

Dubai Holding has said that Gerald Lawless, executive chairman of the Jumeirah Group, will take on his new role from September.

UAE Selects Consultants As World Expo Bid Gathers Pace

Jones Lang LaSalle and Mace will support the development of the proposed site for the 2020 World Expo in Dubai.

Dubai Airport’s June Passenger Traffic Up

The busy airport saw a rise in footfall of 13.7 per cent for the first half of the year to 27.93 million with air cargo also increased.

Branson Reveals Virgin’s London Tour Guide

The famous entrepreneur discloses his favourite places in the city, just in time for the Olympics.

GCC Not Yet ‘Luxury Tourist Hub’

Luxury retailers in the region need to innovate to attract savvy customers, says a new study by BCG.

Emirates In Alliance Talks With Qantas

Dubai’s flagship carrier is closer to a tie-up with the Australian airline, sending Qantas shares up eight per cent.

Jumeirah Boss: Be My Guest

Exclusive: Gerald Lawless, Jumeirah’s executive chairman, talks about Dubai’s growth and expansion plans.

Qatari Diar To Develop Oman

Five-star luxury resorts, marinas and a sports academy are planned for Ras Al Hadd following agreement.

Hilton To Open New Hotels In Egypt

The international hotel operator plans to open one hotel in Cairo and a resort in Alexandria.

Qatar Plans New Harrods Hotels

Qatar Holding is planning to open Harrods branded hotels in Malaysia, Paris and New York.

QE2’s Glamorous Plans Scaled Back

New plans unveiled for the former cruise ship leave her floating in Port Rashid rather than off Palm Jumeirah.

Dubai Airport Visitor Traffic Up

Number of visitors to Dubai’s International Airport climbs with a big increase from flydubai’s new Russia service.

Tourists To Abu Dhabi Rise 12%

The number of guests in the emirate’s hotels reached 192,374 during May this year, official statistics show.

Top 10 Global Spenders In UAE

Visitors from the UK topped the list, spending almost $500 million in 2011, according to Visa.

Qatar Buys French Luxury Hotels

Qatar plans to buy four hotels from Starwood for around $940 million, according to French media reports.

Dubai Draws Lebanese Tourists

The number of Lebanese visitors staying at Dubai’s hotels rose two per cent year-on-year during Q1 2012.

Jumeirah Eyes Indian Market

The luxury hotel chain group has specific discussions going on in Mumbai and Delhi, its chairman has said.

Four Seasons To Open Dubai Resort

The Canadian hotel operator announced that it will open its first resort in Dubai by mid-2014.

A Growing Love Affair

Travellers from the GCC love all that Europe has to offer in terms of shopping, medical treatments and good weather.

Dubai Is World’s 8th Popular City

Abu Dhabi is the world’s fastest growing destination while Dubai tops the popularity list in the ME.

Saudi Domestic Tourism To Grow

Official statistics reveal that local tourism in the Kingdom will grow five per cent during summer this year.

Saudi Issues Travel Warning

The Kingdom has warned its citizens not to travel to Yemen due to increasing insecurity in the country.

UAE Plans Multiple Entry Visa Permit

The country plans to introduce multiple entry visas for cruise tourists by September this year.

Kingdom Holding Sells $200m Hotel

Prince Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company will retain its stake in the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel.

Gulf States Warned Off Lebanon

UAE, Bahrain and Qatar have urged their citizens not to travel to Lebanon as Syria unrest spreads.