Tourism

Sharjah International Airport passenger traffic increased 12 percent in 2014 to 9.5 million passengers, compared with 8.5 million during 2013. The airport has enjoyed accelerated growth over the past three years, achieving 13 percent passenger growth in both 2012 and 2013, in line with its goal of handling 25 million passengers by the year 2025. A total of 70,559 flights ...

Sharjah expects 17 major international cruise liners to visit the emirate over the next two years, according to Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Thanks to its strategic Indian Ocean location, Sharjah’s Khorfakkan Port has been welcoming luxury cruise-liners since the early 1980s and is becoming increasingly popular on the itineraries of international operators. More than 71 calls from luxury ...

Air Arabia (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a record net profit of AED 498 million (US$ 136m) for the first nine months of 2014, increasing 46 percent compared with the same period last year. The company attributes this year’s success to the effectiveness of its business model and its hub ...

Sharjah, the 2015 Arab Capital of Tourism, is participating in this week’s World Travel Market in London, United Kingdom to showcase the emirate’s tourism portfolio. Sharjah’s pavilion aims to provide a glimpse of life in the Emirate and highlight the unique opportunities that it offers international markets looking for a new destination for business or pleasure. The premier tourism and travel ...

Sharjah International Airport‘s new AED 500 million (US$ 136m) airport runway was opened this week, significantly expanding the airport’s capacity, in line with its goal of handling 25 million passengers by the year 2025. The new runway adds capacity for large and new-generation ICAO Code F aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeings B747-8 Intercontinental and B747-8 freighter, plus ...

Sharjah International Airport passenger traffic registered a 16 percent increase in the third quarter of this year compared with the third quarter of 2013. Sharjah handled 2.4 million passengers during the same period, compared with 2 million passengers in Q3 2013, while, overall, 7.3 million passengers passed through the airport since the beginning of the year. 17,830 flights landed or took ...

Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has been named in the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies (GGCs) list for 2014. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), GGCs are the world’s most dynamic, high-growth companies from around the world. This year’s GGC list includes 28 trailblazers, shapers and innovators ...

The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has introduced a new hotel classification system in an effort to improve quality standards, offer consumers more choice and so to help boost overall tourism industry growth. The new classification updates the criteria introduced in 2008, which falls under the Sharjah Hotel Classification and Licensing Law. According to HE Khalid Jasim Al ...

Sharjah registered a 15 percent increase in tourist numbers during the first half of 2014, with more than one million tourists staying in the emirate compared with 955,355 tourists during the same period last year, according to new figures announced by the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). According to the SCTDA, Sharjah’s hotels enjoyed an average 74 per ...

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is leading a tourism promotion roadshow across India this week visiting the five cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru (Bangalore). Sharjah received more than 123,000 visitors from India last year, registering 41 per cent growth in visitors over the previous year. India has been identified as a priority market for ...