Are you a green travel guru? Do you want to see and be seen at the most important sustainable tourism event of the year? If so, pack your bag and head to World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi 5-7 December, 2011. Nothing advances sustainability more than a meeting of green minds, which is why the World […]
A floating ‘green’ golf course Island is planned for the climate change-vulnerable nation of the Maldives but how green is it really? The Maldives is a small archipelago nation that is extremely vulnerable to climate change due to the risk of rising sea levels. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that a rise […]
The three winners from the Middle East/MENA region are Tunisia, Bahrain and Qatar in new survey on tourism trends. The recently released 2011 “Travel and Tourism Competitiveness”report by the World Economic Forum, in co-operation with Booz & Company, reveals some interesting dynamics in the global tourism industry, including a shift to the East, with Central and […]
Sunrise from summit of Mt. Sinai – some say “God’s Mountain”. The peninsula offers more than just pristine beaches. Following Egypt’s recent revolution resulting in the Mubarek family being ousted from power, the country’s lucrative tourism industry has been struggling to find ways to entice foreign tourists to return. One Egyptian Hisham Nessim, a businessman […]
After six years of hard work, Friends of the Earth Middle East have opened an eco-park in Jordan dedicated to preserving biodiversity Last week, the Sharhabil Bin Hassneh EcoPark in Jordan was opened after six years of planning which saw the development of several thousand dunams of land in the Jordan Valley. As well as […]
Get your fill of tasty, local food at the Sebastia Guesthouse in Palestine- one of many great guesthouses in Palestine If you want to get off the beaten track, eat great food and meet locals in Palestine than a stay at a Palestinian guesthouse could be the thing for you. Rather than staying with huge, […]
Step back in time with this restored 5th-6th century sextet of cave houses converted into a luxury hotel. We were quite taken with these long-standing caves in Iran, and with this eco-boutique hotel in Turkey, but neither match the style of the restored Yunak Evleri hotel in Cappadocia. With fixings such as marble in the […]
Aga Khan awards the Wadi Hanifa reclamation project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with top honors. Typically the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is reserved for just that – socially transformative buildings constructed in areas that have a strong Muslim presence. But this year, Aga Khan also recognized Saudi’s Wadi Hanifa Watershed project for its contribution […]
Before calling its tourism industry sustainable, Israel should first solve its Dead Sea problem. When Israel was invited to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) earlier this year, dissident voices condemned the move, citing its dubious human rights record. Israel’s contribution to science and technology sealed its inclusion in this elite group […]