Tourism

NoozzVIEW; Dubai's ace golf drive

Dubai, which has already transformed its GDP into one to which oil contributes only about 5%, is well on the way to a secondary ambition ' strange perhaps considering the climate ' to turn itself'into the world's top golf destination, both in terms of competitions and holidays.

Mideast tourism to grow 10 percent in 2007

On the margins of a joint meeting with the government of Dubai, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated the tourism sector in the Middle East to grow by 10 percent this year, compared to the global average of 4.3 percent.

Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of the WTTC, explained that the record growth in the sector drove the WTTC to schedule its forthcoming annual conference in Dubai between April 20 and 22, 2008, for the first time in the Middle East.

ALDAR and Sorouh invest US$11 billion in Tunisia project

A Tunisian government official has said that UAE-based ALDAR Properties and Sorouh Real Estate are due to invest close to US$11 billion in a tourism and residential mega compound north of the capital Tunis. Salim al-Tillali, head of the Higher Committee for Grand Projects, pointed out that a site in Ruwad district has been chosen to house the compound. The project is entrusted for development by the joint-venture Al Maabar Co.

Alwaleed's Kingdom sells Mayfair hotel for US$147m

Kingdom Holding Co, controlled by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said it had sold the Four Seasons Hotel in London's Mayfair district for SAR550m (US$146.7m). Kingdom Holding holds a 44.4 percent stake in the Four Seasons Hotels Inc. after shareholders agreed in April to a US$3.37 billion offer from a group of investors including Prince Alwaleed and Microsoft Corp.'s founder Bill Gates.

Abu Dhabi to open 100 new hotels over 10 years

A recent study expected Abu Dhabi to build more than 100 new hotels over the next decade, sending total hotel room capacity in the emirate to 25,000 units by 2015. The study compiled by Reed Exhibitions unveiled the UAE capital is investing more than AED367 billion over the next five years in new projects, including the development of a new international airport, building a new seaport, and launching new cities and tourism projects.

Abu Dhabi begins work on Ferrari theme park

Abu Dhabi began work on building the world's first Ferrari theme park, another step in the wealthy Gulf emirate's ambition to become a global centre for leisure, sport and culture. A ceremony was held for the laying of the project's first foundation stone on Yas Island off the coast of the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Dubai buyers lift Middle East art

Art collectors in the Gulf are turning to contemporary regional art, lifting that market from its former fixation with watercolour sandscapes and orientalist oils of harems or horses. Christie's third art sale in Dubai this month highlighted surging demand for contemporary regional art in the emirate, which is fast emerging as the commercial centre for art in the oil-rich Gulf.

Saudi Arabia: Religious tourism set for 20 percent annual growth

Saudi Arabia's religious tourism market is expected to grow by about 20% annually over the next decade and hotels in Makkah and Madinah are forecasting strong occupancy rates this year, according to The Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world's fastest growing hotel companies, which plans to open three new properties in the holy cities by 2010.