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.

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

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

Royals

UK's Prince Charles visits Egypt, discusses climate change with Sisi

UK Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in Egypt on Thursday for a two-day visit as part of their first tour since the start of the COVID-19.

GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Japan opens tourism office in Dubai

Both Japan and the United Arab Emirates see opportunity to expand tourism, trade and investment in one another.

Tourism

Israel announces plan to admit vaccinated tourists

Under the plan, which requires approval from the Cabinet, tourists who received their second vaccine dose or booster shot in the last six months are eligible for entry into Israel.

This picture shows an Israeli flag fluttering above a building near the Dome of the Rock mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, July 18, 2021.

Little by little, tourists from Emirates, Bahrain arrive to Israel

Contrary to the wave of more than 200,000 Israelis who have already visited the Emirates, tourists from the Gulf are just starting to arrive to Israel.

A general view shows the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Nabi Daniel Street, Alexandria, Egypt, Nov. 14, 2016.

Egypt wins international award for restoring historic synagogue

Egypt is using an international award it recently won for restoring the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria to promote tourism.

This picture shows a view of the clocktower of the 19th-century Ottoman mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha at the Citadel in Cairo, Egypt, May 26, 2021.

Egypt’s first ticking clock ticks again

Egypt gets ready to announce the return of its oldest ticking clock, which French King Louis Phillippe gifted to Muhammed Ali Pasha, then-ruler of Egypt, in 1846.

People walk behind the official sign marking the Dubai Expo 2020 near the Sustainability Pavilion in Dubai on Jan. 16, 2021.

Egypt sends display of artifacts to Dubai's Expo 2020

Egypt is betting on its participation at Expo 2020 Dubai, one of the biggest cultural events in the world, to promote its tourism sector.

An Emirate woman watches the 360-degree video display at the Israeli Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 27, 2021.

Dubai Expo hopes to mark post-COVID transition for UAE

Dubai Expo 2020 is expected to be the most attended international event since the coronavirus pandemic.

US President Joe Biden addresses the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21, 2021.

The Takeaway: Iran nuclear diplomacy shows faint pulse at UN

Signs of life at an extraordinary meeting of senior Middle East officials; also, updates from our correspondents on Israel, West Bank, UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Iraq … and more … all in about 1,400 words!

An incoming passenger crosses with his luggage through a disinfection tunnel upon arriving on an Emirates flight at the Iranian capital Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on July 17, 2020.

Iran to lift visa restrictions to revive pandemic-hit tourism sector

Iran’s new tourism chief said the government will soon scrap visa restrictions, a plan that the struggling tourism sector has been desperately waiting for to get back on its feet amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Egypt tourism

Egypt promotes medical tourism within Africa

A cross-agency recruitment campaign seeks to encourage citizens of other countries to visit Egypt for treatment

This picture taken on November 5, 2019, shows a view of Gulf Air Airbus A320 (R) and A321 (C, L) aircraft at Bahrain International Airport.

Bahrain's Gulf Air to start flights to Israel

The airline previously said it would begin flights to Tel Aviv in June. Bahrain's new ambassador to Israel wants Israeli tourists to visit.