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

The Mugamma (Complex) administrative government building towering over Cairo's Tahrir Square is lit up on April 3, 2021.

Egypt to turn ancient government building into hotel

The Egyptian government is implementing a project to repurpose one of the oldest and most famous buildings in downtown Cairo into a mixed-use development building to achieve profits and boost tourism.

Dear Alyne screenshot from her trip to Iraq in the video "Is Iraq Dangerous?!"

YouTube influencers discover Iraq

The most famous content producers on YouTube, including artists, media professionals, and other prominent social media figures, recently visited Iraq.

A visitor walks past a Dubai billboard at the Arabian Travel market exibition in the Gulf emirate, May 17, 2021.

Tourism to Dubai up nearly 200% this year

The Expo 2020 Dubai provided a big boost as the Emirati city continues to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

A picture taken on Sept. 29, 2021, shows Russian tourists in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Egypt looks for upsurge in tourists from sanctions-hit Russia

Cairo and Moscow are holding talks to allow the Russian payment system MIR in Red Sea resorts.

Israeli passengers arrive from Ukraine via the border with Romania on an Israeli Israir flight at Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, March 1, 2022.

Israel expects post-COVID tourism rebound this summer

Israeli experts do not expect tourism to reach this summer the record level of 2019, but they certainly notice a trend of increase on both outbound and incoming tourism.

Mask-clad EgyptAir crew check the documents of travelers preparing to board an Airbus A320neo aircraft on the tarmac at Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, June 20, 2020.

Egypt uses augmented reality to promote medical tourism

Egypt’s General Authority for Health Care announced the use of metaverse technology to promote its medical tourism project as the country’s tourism sector is trying to compensate for the losses incurred during the coronavirus pandemic, and most recently the Russian war on Ukraine.

Tourists stroll at a holy site in the Iraqi city of Najaf on Aug. 14, 2018.

Iran and Iraq sign tourism deal

The agreement follows protests of Iranian “interference” after a drone attack targeted an alleged Israeli spy base in northern Iraq.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) walks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela’s Maduro receives warm welcome in Turkey

Turkey and Venezuela have good relations, much to the chagrin of the United States.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

This photo shows the interior of El-Ghriba synagogue, the oldest Jewish monument built in Africa, on the first day of the annual pilgrimage, Djerba island, Tunisia, April 26, 2021.

Jewish pilgrimage to Tunisian island stirs calls for criminalizing normalization with Israel

The annual Jewish pilgrimage to El-Ghriba synagogue in Tunisia has rekindled the popular and political debate over the issuance of a law criminalizing normalization with Israel.

Russian tourists are seen swimming and snorkeling in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Sept. 29, 2021.

Egypt looks to Gulf to revive tourism sector affected by Russian-Ukrainian war

Egypt is seeking to increase Arab tourism from the Gulf at a time when this vital sector has struggled to overcome the recession it suffered with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The entrance is seen inside a newly discovered tomb dating to the Ptolemaic era at the Diabat necropolis near the city of Akhmim, Sohag province, Egypt, April 5, 2019.

Egyptian mission unearths 85 tombs, temple for Isis goddess in Upper Egypt

An Egyptian archaeological mission has discovered a tower house, in addition to the remains of a Ptolemaic temple and about 85 tombs dating back to different periods from the end of the Old Kingdom until the end of the Ptolemaic period in Sohag, southern Egypt.

The Hilton Taba Resort is seen on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, July 10, 2013.

Egyptians outraged over Israeli festivals in Sinai

Two music festivals organized by Israel in the Sinai Peninsula have raised the ire of Egyptians as they coincided with the anniversary of the liberation of Sinai.