Yanbu becomes major tourist attraction

Travel Updates (August 25)

• Jet Airways chairman gets top recognition • Marriott announces new leadership positions • Qatar Airways increases frequency • Movenpick’s Ramadan specials

Travel Updates (August 18)

• Qatar Airways launches cell phone site • nasair opens its first office in Dammam • Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ new campaign • Hilton to manage KSU residence

Travel Updates (August 11)

• SIA to fly twice daily to Tokyo Haneda • Sheraton unveils online portal • Qatar Airways honored • Gulf Air adds three new destinations

Travel Updates (August 4)

• Air Arabia takes off from Alexandria • SIA simplifies check-in experience • Gulf Air to operate to Aden, Colombo • nasair makes offer for festive season

Family outings: Fun in Jeddah

July is right in the midst of summer. It’s not only a time when you can no longer wear silk or other moisture-sensitive clothing, but also the time when your kids can’t play outside without getting a heat rash. So what can one do? Hibernate indoors until autumn brings in a breeze?

Travel Updates (July 28)

• Emirates ‘Kids Go Free’ offer becomes a family favorite • Egypt Air Express commences direct flights to Port Ghalib • Qatar Airways woos visitors at Farnborough Air Show •Lufthansa to operate five flights weekly to Pointe Noire

Summer Camps in Jeddah

Summer camps help children develop character, learn valuable life skills, make new friends and discover new interests. In Saudi Arabia it is difficult to find a place that takes care of children and lets him or her enjoy life.

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Alhambra Palace: Spain’s cultural tribute to Muslims

During a recent Mediterranean cruise on Silversea Cruise Line’s S.S. Silver Wind, we opted for a shore excursion to Spain’s most popular tourist destination: Granada and the grounds of the Alhambra. Our interest was not just touristic: For people like us who appreciate Arab culture this destination is historic visit. Our tour was organized by Silversea, which proudly applies the same degree of five-star service to its shore excursions as it does to services and amenities offered aboard its elite fleet of “floating luxury hotels.” We certainly found this to be true during our visit to Alhambra, and in the excellent restaurant reserved for us for private luncheon later in the day.

Latest travel trends in the US

Orlando, FL.: Two trends are becoming clear as events draw to a close here at “POW-WOW 2010,” the annual four-day gathering of American travel professionals seeking to promote US destinations to overseas tour operators: First, travel to America is rebounding from the recessionary doldrums since August 2008, and, second, the US travel industry is making every effort — through value pricing, a speedier visa process, and other enhancements — to ensure that this rebound continues.

Empty ruins color Syria’s old cities

On the road to Damascus, the piercing blue eyes of Syrian President Bashar Assad stare from kitschy signs everywhere: Mosaic Bashar with Roman ruins; Farmer Bashar with olives; Sporty Bashar suspended over a soccer stadium. In the capital’s partially walled Old City, one twisting street lined with half-timbered houses looks more central England than Middle East.

Aramco summer program fun for everyone

People from across the Eastern Province are flocking to the Saudi Aramco Exhibit grounds in Dhahran for the company’s Summer 10 Program, which showcases a variety of entertaining and educational activities for families, youngsters and teenagers. In the first 16 days, more than 60,000 people visited. One of a long string of such programs, each year Saudi Aramco turns innovative ideas into entertaining realities that capitalize on earlier successes and combine them with information important to everyone.

Conquering new heights

Although he is aware of the achievement of Farouq Al-Zoman, the first Saudi to climb Mount Everest in 2008, Bandar bin Khalid bin Fahd Al-Saud aims to become a dedicated Saudi mountaineer. Bandar, who has known the realities of life in a desert, rediscovered his passion for climbing when he found that the workaholic lifestyle he adapted soon after graduation was affecting his health.

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Despite headlines, a crowded summer at Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming: It has been a summer of headlines for Yellowstone, and the news has not all been good: Three people were mauled (one fatally) by a grizzly bear at a campground near the park; authorities briefly staged a manhunt for fugitives in the area; and a bison charged a tourist earlier in the summer and flipped her over.

Kerala’s ‘lost & found’ city to open for tourists

Kerala is all set to offer its new tourism product to visitors — an ancient city near the port city of Kochi called Muziris which was a mystery for archaeologists and historians until recently.

Japanese lovebirds flock to marry in Swiss Alps

In Grindelwald, the small town below the gray crag of the Eiger North Face in Switzerland, shop signs bear Kanji characters, the train station's main platform is bustling with Japanese tourists, and a chalet is even called Nagano, the Japanese region that hosted the Winter Olympics in 1998.

Ramadan spirit prevails in hotels, restaurants

The hotel industry, which has become one of the backbones of the Saudi economy, is looking forward to a busy Ramadan season.

(Air) power to the people

In the sense that a tattoo has been since 1688 a signal calling soldiers or sailors back to their quarters at night, an air force tattoo that occupies two full days might seem a trifle inappropriately named. However in the sense of a tattoo marking the end of something, then the Royal International Air Tattoo held at the small Gloucestershire village of Fairford in rural England to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, did mark a calling together, an anniversary and a closing. The most poignant sight of the entire meeting for many a septuagenarian at the show was the sight of the iconic fighter aircraft of WWII — both English and German — flying together in tight formation over a military airfield in a display of goodwill and camaraderie, a final closure for some of the more senior visitors to the display. Seventy years ago this year these flimsy warplanes were fighting grimly to the death over the skies of southern England in the Battle of Britain and now were flying in disciplined patterns together.

Enjoy a thrilling experience in Middle East’s first theme park

THE 99 Village is Middle East’s first theme park and is located in Kuwait. It is based on THE 99, the world acclaimed Islamic-themed comic series, which is an intellectual property of Teshkeel Media Group.

Abha festival: All roads lead to summer fun

All roads seemed to head toward Abha as we traveled over the weekend to the picturesque city in the southern Asir region for its major annual summer festival. It establishes the location as a destination for family tourism in the Gulf.