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The state of staff satisfaction and salaries at hotels across the Middle East
DestinationsOver the years, the Hotelier Middle East Salary Survey has generally uncovered a workforce that feels underpaid and concerned about the future. This year, a few streaks of light may suggest a new dawn for sentiment and salaries. The hands of history are still developing the Middle East’s hospitality industry, revealing a polarised picture of [...]
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How to join in the hotel-building boom in Doha, Qatar
DestinationsDoha has 17,964 hotel rooms available today, primarily in the 4 and 5-star hotels and deluxe apartment-hotel categories. The Doha Port also has fully-equipped berths for cruise ships to accommodate a minimum of 6,000 additional visitors at the highest international standards. According to the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) a total of 48 new 5-star hotels [...]
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Doha, Qatar is in the lead to land the next Angry Birds theme park
DestinationsFlinging those digital Angry Birds was so much fun that they’ve inspired their own theme park. Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Doha are now the latest cities vying for the rights to an Angry Birds theme park, which plans to be the world’s largest of its kind. The glorified playground, which will feature rides, interactive [...]
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Sudan’s historic treasures get at $135 million lifeline from Qatar
DestinationsThe Sudanese tourism minister Mohamed Abdul-Karim Al-Had, disclosed that Qatar is offering $135 million in a joint Sudanese-Qatari project to removate100 archaeological sites in Sudan’s Northern and Nahr Alneel state. The Sudanese official, who spoke at a news conference on Thursday, said that Qatar will offer scientific advice to the National Archeological Center and will [...]
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Doha’s new airport city: Koolhaas upgrades Qatar’s gateway
TransportEarly last month, Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam (OMA) announced that it had been selected as the masterplanners for Doha, Qatar’s new “Airport City” development. The 10km-square development is on a 30-year schedule, but the majority of the major projects will be complete in time for Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. The [...]
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How Qatar thinks about infrastructure investments, including airports & hotels
DestinationsBankers and politicians touting their countries’ wares have to work hard to get the attention of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, such is the range of its interests, from banks to cars to soccer clubs, and its exacting requirement for returns. With estimated assets of about $200 billion, and more than a dozen potential deals on [...]
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InterContinental sells another marquee property: London Park Lane for £400m
DestinationsOne of London’s most prestigious hotels was today bought by the Qataris for more than £400 million. The five-star, 13-storey InterContinental London Park Lane was only officially put on the market last month, but after attracting interest “from a number of investors” has been sold for £301.5 million to Constellation Hotels, which is ultimately owned [...]
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Qatar is still planning for a summer Wold Cup, but isn’t adamant
DestinationsQatar organizers are pushing ahead with plans to hold the 2022 World Cup in the summer, although they’re willing to host in the winter. UEFA President Michel Platini has led calls to play the tournament in the cooler winter months. FIFA’s ruling body also could move the dates because of medical concerns about the desert [...]
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Qatar And Oman issue joint tourist visa to ease travel growth
DestinationsQatar and Oman have signed an agreement to issue common tourist visas for visitors from 33 countries on arrival at Doha International Airport. Under the agreement, visa holders can travel from Qatar to Oman without taking a separate visa, provided that the traveller does not go to a third country during the visit. The visa [...]
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Qatar, the new China, is buying up London
DestinationsWith its burgeoning oil-and-gas wealth – and money to burn – tiny Qatar has become a massive and increasingly controversial investor in London…Helped largely by the falling value of the British pound, Qatar’s state-backed investment funds have snapped up an interest in everything from the Olympic Park to Harrods department store, Canary Wharf, Sainsbury grocery [...]
