Tourism

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi's PIF downsizes foreign investment, turns to AI, domestic priorities

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is looking to invest in tourism, real estate and sustainability as its Vision 2030 deadline draws closer.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath addresses the media in Colombo on Oct. 24, 2024.

Sri Lanka arrests 3 men in plot to attack Israeli-run Jewish center: What we know

Three Sri Lankan nationals were arrested on Thursday after Israel's National Security Council urged Israelis to leave certain areas of the country due to "credible terrorism threats."

Rosaleen Carroll

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, in the Oval Office on January 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security as concerns about Russian natural gas supplies continue. (Photo by Tom Brenner-Pool/New York Times/Getty Images)

Qatar to join US visa-free travel list in first for Arab country

Qatar is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, behind Israel, to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

Employees of Aramco oil company work in Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019.

Analysis

Can Saudi Arabia afford giga-projects with oil prices under $75 per barrel?

Riyadh could soon run a current account deficit as oil revenue declines amid huge spending commitments toward ambitious Vision 2030 projects. Saudi-led OPEC has also deferred an output increase plan to allow more time to reach desired oil prices.

Jennifer Gnana

Samuel Wendel

By Jennifer Gnana , Samuel Wendel

Latest News

Saudia inks deal for electric flying taxis from Germany amid airline order spree

Media image of a Lilium eVTOL jet, download July 18, 2024.

Qatar Airways sees annual profit climb by 39% to record $1.67B

Reporters gather near a Qatar Airways cargo airplane on the tarmac of Hamad International Airport, as the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia in three and a half years following a Gulf diplomatic thaw prepares for take-off, Doha, Qatar, Jan. 11, 2021.

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Turkey: UK issues sex-crime warning for travelers, reports 42 cases in 2023

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

As Hajj kicks off, Saudi Arabia looks to expand tourism sector

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Sebastian Castelier

By Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

A screen capture of a video showing the boat fire off the coast of Marsa Alam, Egypt, June 11, 2023.

3 British tourists killed in boat fire off Egypt’s Red Sea coast

The fire comes days after a Russian tourist was killed during a shark attack in the Red Sea, a popular destination for European tourists.

Passengers traveling from one of the countries on the "red list" are escorted through the arrivals area of terminal 5 of Heathrow airport and onto a waiting coach, on Feb. 16, 2021 in London, England.

UK introduces $13 online visas for GCC, Jordanian nationals

Gulf nationals previously paid £30 ($37.63) per visit to the UK, while Jordanians paid £100 ($125.42) for a visit visa.

Cruise ship A Sara is moored on the Nile River, where 45 suspected COVID-19 cases were detected and evacuated two days prior, Luxor, Egypt, March 9, 2020.

Egypt charges tourist ships in dollars as greenback crisis spirals

Egypt commits tourist boats arriving in its ports to pay in US dollars amid a tough dollar shortage crisis in the populous country.

An Azerbaijani national flag flies next to the mediaeval Khudaferin bridge in Jebrayil district at the country's border with Iran - the territories recaptured from Armenian forces in fierce clashes over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that were under Armenian separatists' control for nearly three decades, on December 9, 2020. (Photo by STRINGER / AFP) (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)

Signaling Iran, Israel's FM visits Azerbaijan, will open embassy in Turkmenistan

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is holding meetings in Azerbaijan before traveling to Turkmenistan, where he will inaugurate Israel’s embassy.

A picture taken on September 9, 2022, shows people walking along a street in the Saudi capital Riyadh. (Photo by Fayez Nureldine / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia sees 'steep decline' in demand for large houses

The kingdom's growing younger population is seeking to move out of their family homes earlier to seek jobs elsewhere in the country.

wimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. - Istanbul, a historic megalopolis of 16 million people resting between two continents and two sea, does not bring to mind immediate images of a beach resort. But just like the locals of New York, Beirut and a handful of other global cities, Istanbulites can swim all summer long and return home on the metro with salt layering their skin, sand trapped under their sandals. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN K

Tunis, Istanbul top Middle East city rankings for 'mindful travelers'

Nine cities from the broader Middle East and North Africa region, including four in Turkey, made it into a ranking of the world's top cities for “mindful travelers."

Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida.

Barcelona ends twin city agreement with Tel Aviv, citing Israeli 'apartheid'

Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau said that thousands of residents in her city signed a petition to sever ties with Tel Aviv so as to pressure Israel on Palestinian human rights.

Official yellow taxis and van vehicles wait for their customers at the Eminonu district in Istanbul, on March 30, 2018. (Photo credit OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Istanbul taxi problem pits Gulf tourists against Turkey's locals

Turkish people have long blamed Arab tourists’ generous tips for the city’s cab shortage, but this may not be the case anymore.

Kfar Kama

Israeli Circassian village lands among UN's top tourism picks

Israel's Circassian village of Kfar Kama is featured in this year's "Best Tourism Villages," a project of the UN World Tourism Organizaiton.

People walk along an alley at a Christmas market in the Christian Quarter of the Old City, Jerusalem, Dec. 15, 2022.

Israel's Jews flock to Arab towns for Christmas

Many Arab towns and villages, not necessarily Christian, are now featuring Christmas markets, targeting also Israeli Jewish tourists.

Soccer fans watch a live broadcast of the Qatar 2022 World Cup soccer match between Brazil and Switzerland, near the museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 28, 2022.

Cafes, hotels in Dubai raise prices during World Cup

Thousands of Dubai restaurants and hotels are hosting the thousands of World Cup soccer fans who are using the emirate as a base.

Emirates Israel

Abraham Accords, World Cup drive increase in Israeli air traffic

Ongoing rapprochement and the World Cup tournament currently underway in Qatar have driven a significant increase in air traffic to the region via Israel.