Travel

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 (NNN-BERNAMA) – A total of 20.1 million international tourists visited Malaysia last year, bringing in total tourism revenue of RM66.1 billion for the period of January to September 2019.

This is reflected in the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture’s (MOTAC) 2019 Report Card based on the ministry’s various efforts to make the country a world-class tourism and cultural destination by 2020, led by minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi.

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (NNN-BERNAMA) — The 15-day visa-free stay in Malaysia next year that has been extended by the government for tourists from China and India is expected to further enhance the country’s attraction as a holiday destination.

Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA) president Uzaidi Udanis said many people in China and India travel abroad every year for their holiday and the visa exemption will attract more of them to come to Malaysia.

Bandar Abbas, Dec 28, IRNA – Minister of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism said that according to the World Tourism Organization (WTO) statistics, Iran gained $11.7 billion in direct revenue over the last Iranian year (started March 20), and this year it has brought a total revenues of $11billion.

 Ali Asghar Mounesan made the remarks addressing a ceremony in Bandar Abbas on Saturday.

VICTORIA FALLS (Zambia), Dec 7 (NNN-AGENCIES) — For decades Victoria Falls, where southern Africa’s Zambezi river cascade down 100 metres into a gash in the earth, have drawn millions of holidaymakers to Zimbabwe and Zambia for their stunning views.

But the worst drought in a century has slowed the waterfalls to a trickle, fuelling fears that climate change could kill one of the region’s biggest tourist attractions.

CAIRO, Nov 30 (NNN-XINHUA) – The first non-stop flight from Egypt’s capital Cairo to the city of Hangzhou in eastern China has taken off from the Cairo International Airport at 02:00 local time (00:00 GMT).

With the flight number MS953, the flight, which is launched by Egypt’s flag carrier, EgyptAir, will spend around 11 hours in the air and land on Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 19:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

The flight almost carries a full cabin and the environment on the flight is quite cozy, said Fu Hangliang, a passenger on the flight.

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s first underwater hotel is set to open on the Great Barrier Reef in the coming days, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most spectacular natural environments.

Situated about 40 nautical miles off Airlie Beach, at Hardy Reef’s reconstructed pontoon, that was badly damaged by Cyclone Debbi in 2017, the 10 million-Australian dollar (6.8-million-U.S. dollar) Reef suites facility has two rooms with glass floors, walls and ceilings.

New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) India has granted visa-on-arrival facility to the citizens of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an aim to enhance people-to-people contacts and trade relations, officials said on Sunday.

The visa-on-arrival facility for the nationals of the UAE came into effect from Saturday. It will be available for a period of up to 60 days with double entry for business, tourism, conference and medical purposes, a government official said.

MANILA, Nov 13 (NNN-PNA) – Tourist arrivals in Asia grew faster than anywhere else in the world, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report said today (Wednesday).

The report, titled The Asian Economic Integration Report 2019/2020: Demographic Change, Productivity, and the Role of Technology, also disclosed that, international tourism receipts hit a record 368 billion U.S. dollars in 2017.

“Inbound tourists from both Asia (up by 10.3 percent from 2016) and non-Asia (up by 8.2 percent) contributed to the high growth in Asian tourism,” the report said.

MUMBAI, Nov 2 (NNN-PTI) – Mumbai airport runway will be partially closed for renovation, from Nov 4 till Mar for a major rehabilitation and re-carpeting work.

During this period, the shorter secondary runway will be available for normal flight operations, said the statement, issued by the airport.

“As per the revised date, RWY 09/27 will not be available for aircraft operations from Nov 4, 2019, up to Mar 28, 2020, from Mondays to Saturdays, between 09:30 to 17:30 (local time),” said the statement.

BRASILIA, Oct 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said the South American nation will drop its requirement that visiting Chinese and Indian tourists or businesspeople obtain visas.

Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, came to power at the beginning of the year and has made it a policy to reduce visa requirements from a number of developed countries.

But the announcement, made during an official visit to China, is the first he has made expanding that policy to the developing world.