Author: Shawon Hannan
Oman has reported an increase in the number of tourists, especially from Switzerland. Official figures in Oman said that the number of Swiss travellers had increased in 2012. Tourist inflows from Switzerland have increased by 118 percent compared to June 2011, which is a record figure. Maitha Al Mahrouqi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Tourism in Oman, said that the Swiss market was very important to Oman, and added that the importance of tourists from Switzerland had increased this year. She said that Swiss tourists were fond of the beaches, beach resorts spas and hotels in Oman, making Oman their…
Jet2.com, a UK-based low-cost airline operating out of Leeds Bradford Airport, is offering extra flights for the UEFA Champions League, for fans of Scottish football club, Celtic. The airline is organising an extra direct flight from Glasgow Airport to Barcelona, in Spain, for Celtic fans, following Celtic being drawn against FC Barcelona. The special flight to Barcelona Airport will depart from Glasgow on October 23, 2012 at 07:30 hours. The league match is being held in Barcelona at 19:45 hours. The return flight departs on October 24, 2012, in the afternoon, allowing passengers some sightseeing time in the Spanish city.…
UK travellers are facing a price rise at some of the most popular international destinations, according to a recent study conducted by Hotels.com, an online travel company. While Monte Carlo, in Monaco, remains the most expensive place to stay in terms of accommodation, Phnom Penh in Cambodia is stated to be the cheapest In the first half of 2012, the Hotel Price Index (HPI) shows a 19 percent increase to a rate of £197 a night for average room prices in Monte Carlo, compared to the same time in 2011. Rio de Janeiro comes second, at £182 per night, followed…
The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), a UK-based association of travel agents, has issued a warning regarding the practices of unlicensed travel companies to UK travellers journying to Saudi Arabia for Hajj. Around 25,000 pilgrims will be heading for Saudi Arabia from the UK for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place between October 24 and 29, 2012. The unregistered travel companies are known to book sub-standard accommodation, or worse, fraudulent bookings with cheap hotels, leading to unsuspecting travellers having to spend more money on arrival. Under UK law, only a travel company with a valid ATOL license may…
Nepal has registered a notable growth in tourists visiting the country in 2012, despite the poor economic conditions that are still hampering much of the world. Around 377,043 tourists flew into Nepal in the first eight months of 2012, 16.3 percent more than the figure recorded for the same period a year ago, according to figures released by Immigration Office at Tribhuvan International Airport. Last month alone saw an increase of 2.5 percent, with 44,571 travellers visiting the country. A healthy growth of 21.7 percent has been reported in arrivals from the South Asian region during the first eight months…
The UK government is all set to defend its decision to award the West Coast mainline franchise to First Group, a Scotland-based transportation company, in spite of a court action filed by its erstwhile operator, Virgin Trains. The UK’s transport minister up until today, Theresa Villiers, defended the government’s decision in a written statement to the House of Commons earlier, saying, ‘I believe that the commitments in First West Coast’s bid represent significant improvements for passengers and will provide a good return for the taxpayer. As a result of a legal challenge, which the government intends to defend robustly, we…
Sixt, a European car rental company, has expanded its services in Ireland, as it partners with an Ireland-based car rental company. The company will now be able to offer an exclusive portfolio of rental cars to its customers in Ireland, with models ranging from Opel and Toyota, to Audi and Mercedes, in all sizes, to include small and mid-size cars, SUVs, premium vehicles, and minibuses. The vehicles may be picked up from a number of locations in and around Dublin, catering to the requirements of both leisure and business travellers. Customers may also book a vehicle in Ireland, using the…
Airports in the UK may not be equally accessible to people with access needs, even as the country is hosting the 2012 Paralympic Games. The flight search site, CheapFlightsFinder.com, has reported that as the 2012 Paralympics closes, visitors and participants will be facing different levels of service at different airports in the UK, in terms of accessibility. Shahab Siddiqui, the founder of CheapFlightsFinder, said, ‘I always feel very excited when I arrive in a new city by plane, but I also feel anxious about how easy it will be to navigate the airport when I arrive. Some airports have highly…
Despite an international outcry over human safaris in the Andaman islands, an archipelago between India and Burma, the local administration has bowed to the high demand from tourists to allow them, once again, to visit the homelands of ethnic tribes. Neither the outcry, nor a court ban has discouraged human safaris in the Jarawa reserve in the Andamans, and the tourist rush is still gathering pace, allegedly with the support of local authorities. The main attraction is the ethnic Jarawa tribe, and people are flocking to see its people, who rarely emerge from the lush forests. Each day, long convoys…
The government of Tibet is expecting an increase in the number of tourists to the country this year. It is expected that about 10 million tourists will visit the mountain state this year according to a local tourism official, and tourism is expected to bring CNY12bn into the country. Tourism activity in Tibet has been on the increase over the years as the government has increased its focus on welcoming visitors from beyond its borders. Yu Yungui, head of the Communist Party committee of the region’s tourism bureau, said that more than seven million tourists had visited Tibet from January…