Tourism

Saudi to invite bids for mega tourism project

Saudi Arabia will invite bids from development companies later this year for a multi-billion riyal tourism project to be built on the west coast of the Kingdom. King Abdullah has given instructions to transform the Obhur Corniche into a cultural and tourist centre as the kingdom looks to expand on its appeal as a global leader for religious tourism. Spread over 140,000 sq m, the site will be developed into a permanent centre for religious festivities. It will also include a heritage village, an open stage and a site for fireworks, the paper reported.

Saudi's Kingdom sells Geneva hotel stake

Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding, headed by tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, saidi t has sold its 50 percent stake in the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva. Kingdom (KHC) netted 225 million Saudi Riyals (US 60 million dollars) in the sale of its share of the 170 year old luxury hotel, which it purchased in 2003.

Fitch rates Abu Dhabi Tourism Development and Investment Company 'AA'; outlook stable

Fitch Ratings assigned Abu Dhabi-based Tourism Development & Investment Company PJSC (TDIC) a Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'AA' with a Stable Outlook and a Short-term rating of 'F1+'. Fitch has applied its parent and subsidiary rating linkage methodology to TDIC's rating, concluding that a strong relationship exists between TDIC and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi, rated 'AA'/Stable Outlook), and as such TDIC's rating has been aligned with Fitch's sovereign rating of Abu Dhabi.

Marriott looks to Asia, UAE for further growth

Hotel operator Marriott International Inc sees strong growth opportunities in Asia and the United Arab Emirates as it strives to expand further outside North America despite the economic downturn. Marriott, which typically manages hotels instead of owning them, plans to open 130 hotels with overall 32,000 rooms in the next four years outside of North America, where it now manages 350 hotels. Half of the openings will be in China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Qatar: A Platform for Tourism

Qatar is making steady progress towards its goal of becoming a major player in the Middle East's tourism industry, with the sector well placed to ride out the current global economic crisis and be ready to take advantage of any upturn in fortunes. The state has set itself a target of attracting at least 1.4m visitors by 2010, having first broken through the 1m barrier in 2006. In 2007 it improved on this total, with 1.2m arrivals. Further projections foresee a doubling of the sector's contribution to GDP by 2012, with its present level of around $6bn rising to $12bn.