Tourism

FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi's PIF downsizes foreign investment, turns to AI, domestic priorities

Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund is looking to invest in tourism, real estate and sustainability as its Vision 2030 deadline draws closer.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath addresses the media in Colombo on Oct. 24, 2024.

Sri Lanka arrests 3 men in plot to attack Israeli-run Jewish center: What we know

Three Sri Lankan nationals were arrested on Thursday after Israel's National Security Council urged Israelis to leave certain areas of the country due to "credible terrorism threats."

Rosaleen Carroll

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 31: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, in the Oval Office on January 31, 2022 in Washington, DC. The two leaders were expected to discuss a range of issues, including global energy security as concerns about Russian natural gas supplies continue. (Photo by Tom Brenner-Pool/New York Times/Getty Images)

Qatar to join US visa-free travel list in first for Arab country

Qatar is set to become the second Middle Eastern country, behind Israel, to join the US Visa Waiver Program.

Employees of Aramco oil company work in Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil processing plant on September 20, 2019.

Analysis

Can Saudi Arabia afford giga-projects with oil prices under $75 per barrel?

Riyadh could soon run a current account deficit as oil revenue declines amid huge spending commitments toward ambitious Vision 2030 projects. Saudi-led OPEC has also deferred an output increase plan to allow more time to reach desired oil prices.

Jennifer Gnana

Samuel Wendel

By Jennifer Gnana , Samuel Wendel

Latest News

Saudia inks deal for electric flying taxis from Germany amid airline order spree

Media image of a Lilium eVTOL jet, download July 18, 2024.

Qatar Airways sees annual profit climb by 39% to record $1.67B

Reporters gather near a Qatar Airways cargo airplane on the tarmac of Hamad International Airport, as the first commercial flight to Saudi Arabia in three and a half years following a Gulf diplomatic thaw prepares for take-off, Doha, Qatar, Jan. 11, 2021.

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Turkey: UK issues sex-crime warning for travelers, reports 42 cases in 2023

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

As Hajj kicks off, Saudi Arabia looks to expand tourism sector

FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

Sebastian Castelier

By Sebastian Castelier

In Dubai, reporting on regional business

March 27 Israeli Ambassador to Costa Rica Amir Ofek.jpg

Foreign Ministry rescues Israelis stranded abroad during pandemic

The Israeli Foreign Ministry, after being sidelined for years by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sees its vital role recognized as diplomats bring back young Israelis stranded abroad during the coronavirus crisis.

Coronavirus robs Bethlehem of Easter festivities

Easter, along with Chrismas, has been a high point for tourism in Bethlehem, the birthpace of Jesus, but alas, not this year.

Coronavirus cripples Egypt’s tourism industry

Some analysts fear long-term effects on Egypt’s tourism sector from the coronavirus outbreak.

A passenger wears a protective mask at Cairo International Airport, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Cairo, Egypt March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC2ZGF9LL3SF

Egypt suspending all flights amid coronavirus spread

As the number of Egypt's COVID-19 cases rise to 150, Cairo says that all flights will be suspended for nearly two weeks and that tourism sites will be thoroughly sanitized.

A guide sits on a stone as he looks at the Djoser's step pyramid in Saqqara, outside of Cairo March 5, 2011. Sites around the great pyramid at Giza, a Wonder of the Ancient World, the Sphinx and the cemetery at Sakkara have been nearly empty of tourists since a revolt started a month ago that ousted Hosni Mubarak and now Egypt wants visitors to return. REUTERS/Peter Andrews (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TRAVEL SOCIETY) - GM1E7351JOK01

Tourists stay away as Egypt reopens oldest pyramid

Egypt has finally reopened its oldest pyramid after 14 years of restoration work, but the timing could have been better.

Police officers are pictured at the site of a suicide attack near the U.S. embassy in Tunis, Tunisia March 6, 2020. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RC2FEF9ZC9G8

Intel: Suicide bombing strikes near US Embassy in Tunisia

Two suicide bombers on a motorcycle blow themselves up near the US Embassy in Tunis, killing a police officer.

Saudi travel ban slams Egypt's religious tourism industry

Seeking to curb the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus, Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended tourism to its holy sites to the detriment of Egypt's travel industry as the pilgrimage season approaches.

Coronavirus gives kiss of death to Iran’s tourism industry before Nowruz

A coronavirus outbreak in Iran is hitting the country’s already battered tourism industry, and the timing couldn’t be worse as many would normally travel for the Persian New Year.

Socks for tourists, jobs for refugees in Jordan

Two young entrepreneurs in Jordan get women in refugee camps to knit socks for tourists.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu makes a speech as pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a rally to protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed Middle East peace plan, in Istanbul, Turkey, February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC20XE91NUJ8

Can Istanbul's mayor forge tourism as a tool for democracy?

Tourism is providing a test case of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu’s advocacy of “local participatory democracy," prompting a struggle with the government in Ankara over prominent landmarks in his city.

A tourist lifts up a boy as they visit waterfalls at Ayn Athum in Salalah, Dhofar province, Oman August 23, 2016. Picture taken August 23, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah - D1BETYFAUFAC

Is tourism the antidote to youth unemployment in Oman?

Omani officials aim to create over 500,000 jobs in the tourism sector by 2040.

Visitors walk outside the tombs at the Madain Saleh antiquities site, al-Ula, Saudi Arabia February 10, 2019. Picture taken February 10, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Kalin - RC1F3C4632C0

Intel: What’s behind Israel’s latest decision to allow travel to Saudi Arabia

Israeli citizens are now allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia for the first time in the country’s history.