Facts, News, Trends, Analysis
The Ministry of Tourism released figures earlier this week showing that tourism increased between January and September by 6%. Most of the people stayed in classified hotels in the capital, followed by Petra, the Dead Sea and Aqaba. This is great news say industry officials who have been working hard to fight against the challenges facing the [...]
Lebanon’s efforts at nurturing political stability seem to be paying off, at least in terms of its tourism industry. According to a recent report, tourism in Lebanon hit a four-year high in 2008, with a total of 1.10 million visitors between January and October. The figure marks a significant jump from last year’s total of [...]
Traveling to one of the world’s oldest and most beautiful cities can be difficult. Bureaucracy and suspicion can thwart even the most innocent visitor from being allowed within. Syria’s official war status with Israel does not make the country and its capital, Damascus, places where westerners gravitate. Its new allegiance with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon [...]
As a consequence of the liberalizing economy and increased tourism in Syria, 10 boutique hotels have been built in Damascus’ old city region in just the last two years. As the economy in Syria allows more purchasing power to businessmen/women, these hotels have become more in demand.
One Syrian points out, however, that many Westerners have [...]
On November 8, a Yemeni delegation traveled to London to participate in the World Tourism Fair, which will take place November 10-13, 2008.
Yemen’s Tourism Minister Nabil al-Faqi stated the necessity of Yemen’s participation, particularly in the face of tourism rates significantly declining since the attacks on the US Embassy in Sana’a. Al-Faqi explained Yemen’s hope [...]
In 2010 the Japanese-owned, Los Angeles-based Crystal Cruises will begin making stops in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This is a large step for Saudi Arabia, but there is much question as to whether tourists will want to take day trips into the country when the US “urges U.S. citizens to consider carefully the risks of traveling [...]
