General Travel News
UAE Hotels Offer Value For Money Packages To Attract Tourists
The UAE is trying to attract more tourists by engaging in strategic measures like offering value for money packages. The hospitality sector had a very successful five years but 2009 is proving to be difficult. There has been a slowdown in both the UAE and in its key source markets such as European countries, and especially in the United Kingdom. Another problem is that the UAE dirham is pegged to a strong dollar, making the UAE an expensive destination for travelers from the UK.
CEO of Alpha Tours, Gassan Aridi, said the average decline in visitors around the globe is about 4 percent although in the UAE the number of visitors is growing about 3 percent per month. He said the drop in occupancy rate in the UAE is the result of a bigger inventory of rooms. The UAE is adding more than 20,000 rooms per year, “But we still maintain the highest occupancy in Asia-Pacific followed by Hong Kong and Sydney.”
More General Travel News
Latest Travel News
Featured Sights To See
Adler Planetarium
Chicago, United States
The Adler Planetarium was built in 1930 by philanthropist Max Adler and is part of Chicago's Museum Campus. It was the first modern planetarium in the western hemisphere. Though it has since become a little dated, there is still a lot to see here. The StarRider Theater takes visitors on a ride through our universe. The Atwood Sphere dates from 1913 and displays the night sky...
Weaponry Museum
Doha, Qatar
This is one of Doha’s most interesting museums. The collection of weapons and arms is extremely impressive and some of the exhibits truly stunning reflective of expert craftsmanship. The main attraction is the famed Lawrence of Arabia’s dagger. Other pieces comprise of silver and gold daggers and swords some of which date back to the 1500s. Timings: Daily except Saturdays from 9 A.M- 12 ...
Azraq Wetlands Reserve
Amman, Jordan
The Azraq Wetlands Reserve is part of what little remains of Azraq's wetlands. The wetlands originally covered more than 12,000 square km, larger than the entire country of Lebanon. In the 1960s, Jordan began channeling water from here to use in the cities of Amman and Irbid. By 1990 the wetlands had completely dried up. In 1994, Jordan's Water Authority and the United Natio...
Bab Zuwayla
Cairo, Egypt
The Bab Zuwayla is a gate that was built in 1087 by three Armenian monks to protect the then Fatimid city from invasion. The name Fatimid is given to the ancient Shia Dynasty which ruled North Africa from about 900-1200. Importance is attributed to this gate because it is the only artifact that remains from the Fatimid city. Also, superstitious beliefs state that the gate has heali...