Saudi Arabia to create million tourism jobs by 2030

• Saudi Arabia has developed cultural, heritage tourism projects in more than 25 tourist destinations
• By 2030, the country expects to enhance its airport capacity by 30 percent

Saudi Arabia to accept IATA Travel Pass from Sept 30

• Eventually this acceptance will be expanded to vaccine certification
• Travelers to and from Saudi Arabia will soon have the choice of using either the Pass or the national health app

Qatar Tourism and Clia announce partnership

• Qatar welcomed 207,000 cruise visitors to Doha in 2019-20
• It reopened its borders on July 12 to fully-vaccinated international travelers, and is expecting tourism to pick up

Saudi Arabia starts $3.4bn infrastructure projects in Tabuk region

• The Tabuk region is currently the epicenter of quite some activity, like the building of a substation for the Green Duba power plant
• Tabuk City also happens to be a hub for tourists who wish to explore the northern parts of Saudi Arabia

Dubai Tourism launches new trailer

• This trailer comes just days after the Dubai Presents campaign was launched with the spy-action genre
• This one-minute-six-second trailer is titled Dubai: A Romance to Remember

Park featuring world’s largest aquarium 64 percent complete

• The aquarium will be home to 68,000 marine animals including, sharks, schools of fish, manta rays and sea turtles.
• Yas SeaWorld Research and Rescue Center to become first of its kind in UAE, focusing on indigenous Gulf and marine life ecosystems.

New flights from Baghdad to Abu Dhabi

• The inaugural flight, operated by Iraqi Airways using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport on August 7
• Iraqi Airways will start by operating one flight per week and will then increase its number of flights to two a week

Egypt papyrus makers keep tradition alive despite tourism slump

• Once used by ancient Egyptians as writing paper, local artists now decorate the papyrus with hieroglyphics, Arabic calligraphy and representations from antiquity
• The papyrus plant, with its fan-shaped foliage, grows in water and can reach four meters (13 feet) in height

Dubai ropes in Hollywood stars for new tourism drive

Saudi borders reopen for vaccinated pilgrims

• Before Sunday's announcement, only immunised pilgrims resident in Saudi Arabia were eligible for umrah permits
• The umrah is a pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time -- distinct from the hajj, which takes place once annually