Tourism

Far from the bright lights and skyscrapers of the United Arab Emirates’ west coast, Kalba has long been reputed for its peace, tranquility and areas of natural beauty. Now the Kalba Eco-Tourism Project, the largest eco-tourism project in the United Arab Emirates, aims to create a sustainable platform for tourism development. However, the government has been careful to ensure that ...

Sharjah hotels and hotel apartments registered a 63 percent increase in visitors from China during 2016 according to new figures from Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). More than 86,000 Chinese visitors stayed in Sharjah hotels last year, compared with 53,000 during 2015, making China the emirate’s sixth largest inbound tourism market. The UAE’s recent move to introduce visa-on-arrival ...

Sharjah hotel occupancy grew by 5.5 percent during January compared to the same month in 2016, according to the latest report from STR, a firm that provides global data and analysis for the hotel industry. Average occupancy levels across the United Arab Emirates increased by 0.5 percent during January to reach 81 percent, although average room rates at hotels across ...

Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia PJSC (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, plans to launch a new service from Sharjah to Baku in Azarbajian next month, which is expected to be the airline’s first route launch of the year. Beginning 23 March 2017, Air Arabic will operate four weekly flights from its main hub at ...

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) took Sharjah’s tourism proposition to India’s travel trade this month, attending leading Indian international travel exhibitions in Mumbai and New Delhi. The South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange (SATTE) in New Delhi event attracts 20,000 travel trade attendees, over 30 international tourism boards and more than 850 travel and tourism exhibitors, while OTM ...

The Government of Sharjah has approved the US$400 million (AED 1.46b) budget for the expansion of Sharjah International Airport, according to MEED (Middle East Economic Digest), quoting Adel Abdullah Ali, Air Arabia’s Chief Executive Officer. According to the airline CEO, the expansion project is expected to begin this summer and will increase airport capacity from 8 to 18 million passengers ...

IndiGo, India’s largest budget-carrier, plans to introduce two daily routes to Sharjah International Airport, which will become its sixth international destination. The airline announced the launch of daily non-stop Sharjah-Kozhikode (CCJ) flights from 20 March and daily non-stop Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) flights from 8 April. Headquartered in Gurgaon (Gurugram), India, IndiGo is India’s largest passenger airline with a market share of ...

Sharjah International Airport registered a 10 percent year-on-year increase in passengers, handling 11 million passengers from January to December 2016. The airport passed the 10 million passenger mark for the first time in 2015, showing 5.5 percent growth. Since then, the airport has continued to show strong growth. Airport passengers increased 12 percent during the first quarter of 2016, 11 ...

After many years of quietly developing its cultural tourism resources, Sharjah has now begun to launch large scale eco-tourism projects that both help provide visitors with a richer experience and help protect the emirate’s natural environment. Perhaps the largest of these, so far, is the Mleiha Archaeological and Eco-tourism Project, which deftly presents the archaeological site and area of natural ...

Sharjah’s east coast port of Khorfakkan is expected to welcome 28 luxury cruise ships disembarking some 72,000 tourists during the 2016/2017 cruise season, according to Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Among the vessels expected, three international cruise ships will make their maiden calls at Khorfakkan, while the management of US-based luxury cruise line Crystal Cruises are meeting the ...