Emirates has been able to secure special permission to operate flights between Dubai and Saudi Arabia. These will take place between 12th and 15th March to enable passengers in either nation to get home. The news follows the announcement that travel to and from as many as 39 countries, including all countries in the Gulf and the European Union, has been banned by Saudi Arabia in the wake of the outbreak of coronavirus. Saudi Arabia…

The international travel and tourism industry continues to be adversely affected by coronavirus, and a dip in the performance of hotels in the United Arab Emirates has now begun. The average daily rate and available revenue per room is falling because of lower occupancy levels. The occupancy rate of hotels in the UAE fell to 67% on 8th February, a 22% decline over the same period in 2019, according to data for the first week…

A new daily flight service to Vienna in Austria is being launched by Etihad Airways with the use of a two-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The new service is being introduced in order to offer greater convenience and choice for leisure and business travellers between the United Arab Emirates and Austria as well as promoting direct inbound tourism to the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi, according to the airline. The route will start to be operated…

Arabian Travel Market has been postponed for nearly three months, Reed Travel Exhibitions has announced. The event, which is to be held in the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, was supposed to take place next month from 19th to 22nd April but will now be held from 28th June to 1st July. In a statement, Reed Travel Exhibitions said that it was motivated by concern for everyone affected by…

Emiratis and expats have been advised to avoid travelling abroad, and airports have stepped up virus checks on newly arrived passengers in the United Arab Emirates. Residents coming back to the nation may be tested for coronavirus at the airport, and if their travel history is particularly worrisome, they may even be placed in home quarantine for 14 days, according to the UAE Ministry of Health. Checks will also be performed on tourists from a…

WiT (Web in Travel) Middle East is to return to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates next month on 7th April, with winds of change coming to the travel market in the region thanks to Saudi Arabia opening up and the countdown to World Expo 2020. Another reason for the changes sweeping through the market is the increased migration to mobile by many consumers. Saudi Arabia has made use of its Vision 2020 programme to…

Japan will host one of the largest pavilions at Expo 2020 Dubai while highlighting best practices in regard to sustainability, according to the Consul-General of Japan in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Dr Akima Umezawa. ‘Future’ is the keyword for the Japanese pavilion, with the core being advanced technology, the environment and Japan’s traditional hospitality, Umezawa says. Umezawa says that visitors can expect to get the opportunity of tasting traditional delicacies at the pavilion, with…

Since the blockchain tourism disruptor Tratok was launched on 21st January this year, over 158,000 new users have been added. The next 18 months will see phase one of the company’s worldwide hotel network complete its rollout, and the home-grown, privately funded company continues to expand months after it achieved a market capitalisation worth billions. The revolutionary ecosystem features activity, accommodation and flight booking modules in addition to social interaction between tourists and fraud-free reviews.…

A flydubai’s inaugural flight to Krabi in Thailand has landed, making it the first airline based in the United Arab Emirates to provide flights to the popular holiday spot. Daily flights operate via a brief stop in Yangon in Myanmar, codesharing with Emirates. On board the flight was a senior delegation headed by the senior vice president of Commercial Operations for the airline in the UAE, GCC, Subcontinent and Africa, Sudhir Sreedharan. Somkuan Khanngern, Krabi’s…

A decision has been issued by the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) for the temporary suspension of travel using just the national identity cards of the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf citizens due to an increase in the number of coronavirus cases. The measure came into force on Friday as one of a number of precautions being taken to deal with the new outbreak, with six new cases being reported within the…