Passenger traffic across all airports in the United Arab Emirates and all over the Middle East is to be severely affected in the first part of this year because of the growing travel restrictions and flight cancellations caused by coronavirus, new research claims. A total of 13 cases have so far been confirmed by the UAE, but there has been a spike in infections in Bahrain and Iran. On Thursday, the Airports Council International (ACI)…

A visa waiver agreement between the Commonwealth of Dominica and the United Arab Emirates that details the immigration entry privileges to which citizens of both nations are entitled has now come into force. The agreement, which was signed by both the Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy and Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, formalises arrangements allowing visa-free entry to Dominica. These arrangements apply to holders of ordinary passports as well as…

A further three million visitors are expected to come from overseas to the United Arab Emirates during Expo 2020, according to new data released in advance of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2020. ATM runs from 19th to 22nd April at Dubai World Trade Centre. The influx is being driven by arrivals from the UK, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and India. Research from Colliers International and ATM is predicting an increase of 770,000 visitors from…

The biggest annual single-entry chef competition in the world, the 23rd Emirates International Salon Culinaire, is to come back to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates next month. The event, which will be inaugurated by Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) chairman Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, will run from 3rd to 5th March at Expo Centre Sharjah. Worldchefs endorses the annual event, which also has a lot of support from a number of influential…

The number of travellers from Saudi Arabia visiting the United Arab Emirates increased by a significant amount in the final quarter of last year, the latest data from Expedia Group has revealed. According to the data, Saudi Arabia is one of the highest generators of traffic volume for the whole of the GCC with more than 1.25 million tourists. Dubai is continuing to focus on Saudi families as well as promotions and tourist campaigns in…

The AnadoluJet brand, which is part of Turkish Airlines, will go international on 29th March with the launch of new global flights from Ankara Esenboğa Airport and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport. The announcement of the expansion was made at a pre-launch event staged at Swissotel Al Ghurair in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which was attended by more than 50 representatives from as many as 25 agencies. These agencies included the likes of dnata…

Growth in the aviation market in the Middle East is being driven by low-cost carriers, with an increase in seat capacity of as much as 9.3% last year, statistics from the CAPA Centre for Aviation have revealed. The share of total seat capacity throughout the Middle East of low-cost carriers increased from 14.9% in 2018 to 16.5% last year. A bigger share of airline passengers in the region is now choosing to fly no-frills in…

A new airline service has been announced by the leading low-cost airline in Kuwait, Jazeera Airways, which operates internationally as well as in the local region. The new service is the first to head to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, the airline’s third such service in the country, and it will begin operations on 2nd April this year. The CEO of Jazeera Airways, Rohit Ramachandran, says that the airline is pleased to operate this…

The economy of the United Arab Emirates as well as those of other states in the Gulf could be adversely affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus in China. Analysts at rating agency Standard & Poor’s say that the growth prospects of the region could face serious implications as a result of the importance placed on the Chinese economy in terms of international economic activity. Between 4% and 45% of the total goods exports of…

Hotel construction contracts worth over $23bn are set to be given out in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by 2023, according to the third annual AHIC Hotel Investment Forecast. MEED Projects, the regional project-tracking service, conducted research in the last quarter of last year that indicated that most activity in the hotel development sector will take place in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. MEED Projects content and analysis…