According to a statement of the Ministry, as of June 11, visa fees for adults filing a short-term visa application for Slovenia will be €90, instead of €80 as it has been so far, and €45, instead of €40, for children between six and 12 years old, SchengenNews reports. The European Commission adopted a decision to increase short stay Schengen visa (visa type C) fees worldwide by 12 per cent. The increase will apply worldwide as of June11, 2024. New Schengen visa fees will be €90 for adults and €45 for children aged 6 to below 12 years of age. Furthermore, nationals of countries who have not cooperated on readmission of their nationals irregularly staying in the EU will be paying a visa fee of €135 or €180, depending on Council’s decision. The European Union’s Commission has not made any announcements yet regarding the date of the increase, but is expected to publish the change on its Official Journal by the end of this week. The decision comes at a time when the EU has revealed the number of visas issued in 2023 has increased by 36.3 per cent compared to 2022, though the same remains down by 39 per cent compared to 2019, when the Schengen states had received 16 million applications.

Riyadh Travel Fair 2024 (RTF 2024) will once again be held in the capital Riyadh from 27 to 29 May. The B2C exhibition will host a range of diverse tourism products from a few key markets aiming to support development and sustainability opportunities in the tourism sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The B2C exhibition provides the general public to learn about the latest tourism offers and special deals around the world, as well as providing an opportunity for exhibitors to display and present their products. The Executive Director of Riyadh Exhibition, Mr. Bandar Al-Quraini, said, “The exhibition performs great services to the Saudi tourism market, and a vital role to bring and attract everything related to travel and tourism, and participation in the exhibition revolves around exploring new markets and sectors, marketing products, services and destinations, entering into long-term transactions, identifying the most important international buyers in the region and the possibility of concluding sales deals, getting to know existing customers and partners in areas related to the tourism, travel and hotel sectors, adding new agents and distributors, and launching New products and packages, conduct market testing and get continuous feedback on exhibition performance evaluation. “More than 200 exhibitors will participate in the exhibition under different names such as: government tourism, travel agencies, car rental companies, branded hotels, hotel suppliers, tour operators, online booking systems, tourism companies, medical health tourism, companies, spas and airlines, youth tourism and education abroad, in addition to some new products and activities related to travel and tourists .Riyadh Travel Expo 2024 brings together the most prominent travel and tourism companies and exhibitors representing tourism promotion bodies and tourism companies at the Arab and …

The second day of the Future Aviation Forum 2024 witnessed the signing of 102 memoranda of understanding (MoUs), agreements, and deals, with a total value exceeding SAR75 billion. Held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, organized by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in Riyadh. The forum exceeded expectations, as the agreements encompassed various sectors of civil aviation, such as aviation services, aircraft purchase orders, cargo and logistics services, advanced air mobility, human resources development, information technology, maintenance, repair, and overhaul. The forum continued its proceedings for the second consecutive day with the participation of over 30 ministers, 77 leaders of civil aviation authorities, CEOs of airlines worldwide, and 7,000 aviation industry experts and leaders from more than 120 countries. It focused on human capabilities, the future of the sector, collaboration opportunities, civil aviation organization networks, sustainability, innovation, technology, and business opportunities within the sector. The forum saw the GACA launching the first edition of the Kingdom’s aviation sector report, which highlighted the civil aviation sector’s contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, amounting to $53 billion and providing 958,000 jobs across various regions. The GACA also hosted the first aviation investment exhibition aimed at facilitating investment in the Saudi aviation sector, with a focus on the advanced air mobility pavilion being among the exhibition’s prominent pavilions. “The Future Aviation Forum has achieved remarkable success by bringing together aviation industry leaders and experts from around the world to discuss the future of civil aviation and develop innovative solutions to its key challenges,” said Minister of Transport and Logistic Services and Chairman of GACA Board of Directors, Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser. …

As of September 2024, flynas to become the only KSA airline serving the major 4 airports in the UAE. flynas announced a massive expansion plan in the UAE  adding Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) in Dubai to its network operated from flynas’ main bases in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Madinah. The routes operated between the two countries will be increased from 4 routes currently to 9 routes, allowing for an exceptional expansion to more than 20 daily flights. Bander Almohanna, Managing Director and CEO of flynas, said: “We are delighted to enhance air connectivity between KSA and UAE, which reflects flynas’ commitment to move further in its growth and expansion plan under the slogan (We Connect The World With the Kingdom), offering new routes to the visitors between the two countries”. Almohanna added: “We take advantage of our operational excellence and doubling our fleet size in less than two years to keep up our remarkable growth to best cater to the growing low-cost travel market in the region, in line with our growth and expansion plans, and in parallel with the National Civil Aviation Strategy to enable national air carriers to contribute to connecting KSA with 250 International destinations and to accommodate 330 million passengers and to host 100 million tourists yearly by 2030 and the objectives of the Pilgrims Experience Program (PEP) to facilitate access to the Two Holy Mosques”. With the latest expansion, the UAE market will be served with flights from the four flynas operation bases around the Kingdom. Operating flights currently to Dubai International Airport from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah, the leading LCC will add flights to Al Maktoum International Airport …

SIHOT launched SIHOT.PAYENGINE, a payment aggregator, to simplify payment processing for hotels and hospitality companies. SIHOT.PAYENGINE can manage multiple Payment Services Providers (PSPs) offering accommodation providers choice rather than being restricted to a single provider. By offering hoteliers a centrally managed payment system seamlessly connected to all SIHOT products and Services through which all data runs, businesses can achieve greater operational efficiencies, cost savings and improved security for finance and account departments. With SIHOT.PAYENGINE, hotels can facilitate the omnichannel payment experience to their customers across physical terminals or through ecommerce and payment apps, with the option to choose from a wide range of PSPs that match their preferences and cater to guests needs. Said Carsten Wernet, Chief Executive, SIHOT: “We created SIHOT.PAYENGINE to enable hoteliers to choose which PSPs they want to work with for their business model. We are one of few PMS on the market to be agnostic to payment providers. By providing this level of connectivity, now PSPs are reaching out to integrate with our payment engine to provide our mutual customers with an elevated level of service and experience that improves business operations. There is an increasing need for hotels to work with a wide range of PSPs today, taking into account a multitude of digital payment channels and regional payment platforms. With our Cloud Native API, PSPs can quickly connect to our payment aggregator to integrate into our complete product suite.” For hotels, the integration of PSPs in the PMS in this way means they can facilitate quicker checkout and billing processes using digital invoices and receipts, and ensure that customer payment data remains secure. SIHOT.PAYENGINE uses tokenistation to disguise credit card details on file …

Victor announced its commitment to delivering its pioneering climate action strategy in the MENA region. Together with partner Neste, the world’s leading producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), the sector leader is committed to transforming the business aviation landscape in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, by leveraging its learnings from nearly two years’ success in offering SAF directly to private jet flyers worldwide. Focusing on a continued campaign of education and awareness, Victor aims to shift the needle on two core metrics: driving an uplift in voluntary SAF demand from the region’s business aviation flyers and encouraging the adoption of its SAF blueprint by other business and commercial aviation companies across MENA. Having recently relocated its headquarters to Abu Dhabi from the UK, Victor is deepening its commitment to the region and reinforcing its strategic focus on climate action within the MENA markets. The company will build on the success of its ‘Pay Here, Use There’ model, allowing members to purchase Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ for every private jet booking – regardless of departure airport. The key learnings from Victor customer behaviour have been encouraging: 1 in 5 private aircraft charterers are willing to pay an additional c.4,500 AED for SAF per booking, providing an average carbon emission reduction of 1.5 tonnes. The average amount of Jet-A fossil fuel Victor customers choose to replace with SAF is 30% per booking. Victor’s aim in 2024 is for at least 1 in 5 MENA customers to buy SAF for their jet charter bookings. This voluntary solution and the SAF purchases it is enabling, is helping to establish a critical new sustainable aviation fuel supply chain, which is necessary …

Emirates and Avianca launched a new codeshare partnership which allows Emirates and Avianca customers to enjoy seamless connectivity on select routes. Emirates customers flying from Emirates’ network via Madrid, Barcelona or London Heathrow, can fly direct to three points in Colombia and enjoy seamless connectivity, in addition to other travel benefits that introduce more convenience. Codeshare flights include Madrid to Bogotá, Medellin or Cali; Barcelona to Bogotá; and London Heathrow to Bogotá. Tickets can be booked immediately on emirates.com, avianca.com, the Emirates and Avianca Apps, contact centres or via both online and offline travel agents, with codeshare flights starting from 4 June. Avianca will place its code on routes operated by Emirates, between Barcelona, Madrid or London Heathrow and Dubai. The Colombian carrier’s customers will fly on Emirates-operated widebody aircraft while enjoying premium dining, lie-flat seats in premium cabins in addition to an abundance of content on Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, featuring more than 6,500 channels of movies, shows, music and more, including in Spanish. Customers of both airlines will enjoy the convenience of seamless connectivity, hassle-free booking of itineraries on both airlines on a single ticket while reaping the benefit of securing competitive fares, and a single baggage policy checked through to the final destination. Adnan Kazim, Deputy President, and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said: “We are delighted to establish a codeshare partnership with Colombia’s largest carrier, Avianca to provide seamless connections on select routes to customers of both airlines. The codeshare agreement will enable us to expand our reach and allow our customers to use our services and fly to additional popular points in Colombia.” We are also pleased to offer Avianca’s customers connections through points in Spain …

The importance of the unified tourist visa for the GCC countries, which is scheduled to come into force at the end of this year, and its role in contributing to supporting the process of sustainable and comprehensive economic development, was highlighted at the Regional Committee for the Middle East of the United Nations Tourism Organisation in Qatar. The meeting included constructive discussions on tourism investments and means of financing, by stressing that Qatar is characterized by having an attractive investment environment for local and foreign investors, thanks to economic stability capable of withstanding challenges and achieving growth in GDP. Qatar has seen the establishment of more than 800 new businesses and the implementation of 135 FDI projects with a total value of $29.78 billion. In addition, Qatar Tourism is keen to achieve service excellence in all aspects of the tourism sector through close cooperation with public and private sector institutions in the country, which contributed to providing an attractive and exceptional experience for visitors. Qatar Tourism, chaired by HE President of Qatar Tourism Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, is participating in the fiftieth meeting of the Regional Committee for the Middle East of the United Nations Tourism Organization, which was held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, and will continue until the 24th of this month. At the end of the meeting yesterday, it was announced that Qatar will host the next meeting of the Committee in its fifty-first edition. The selection of Doha to host the next meeting is an affirmation of Qatar’s role as a regional and global hub in cultural, economic and political exchange, thus enhancing cooperation between countries and contributing to the development of international relations, thus …

Under the patronage of the Minister of Tourism and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA), Ahmed Al Khateeb, the STA launched the country’s summer program for 2024, “Saudi Summer is Next Door.” The program will run for four months until the end of September across seven destinations and includes over 550 tourism products and more than 150 special offers and packages curated for families and children across different segments such as adventure lovers, those seeking luxury retreats, and culture and heritage enthusiasts. The Saudi Summer Program 2024 launch event was attended by World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, over 250 key strategic partners from the public and private sectors, significant media, and key opinion leaders. The summer program will take place in seven destinations: Aseer, Al Baha, Taif, the Red Sea (a new destination), Jeddah, Riyadh, and AlUla. This year, the program will also see the return of the Jeddah Season and the launch of the Aseer Season, featuring numerous family activities and events. Saudi Arabia has a lineup of major events as part of the summer program, notably the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, being held for the first time, an annual eight-week competition featuring the world’s most elite esports athletes, and multiple boxing tournaments in Riyadh and Jeddah. At the event, Al Khateeb highlighted global tourism trends, the growth seen by the Kingdom in the tourism sector, and the record-breaking numbers of incoming tourists, resulting in Saudi Arabia topping the UN World Tourism list and the G20 nations list. Al Khateeb stated, “Saudi Arabia is witnessing a transformative period in tourism, driven by our vision to position the Kingdom as a premier global …

Radisson Hotel Group is proud to announce the opening of Radisson Hotel & Residence Riyadh Olaya, the Group’s 28th hotel in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its 9th in the vibrant city of Riyadh. This new opening marks a significant milestone as the Group continues its expansion in one of the most dynamic regions of the Middle East aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to enhance the country’s economic and tourism landscape. Riyadh, the Kingdom’s capital, is a city where history and modernity meet, offering a unique blend of cultural heritage and contemporary development, with a multitude of attractions like the historic Diriyah, Riyadh Boulevard, and the King Abdullah Financial District. Nestled in the northern Al Yasmin suburb, Radisson Hotel & Residence Riyadh Olaya is a beacon of contemporary urban design, blending neutral colors with coastal accents to create a stylish and elegant atmosphere. With 201 guest rooms and a variety of amenities, the hotel is ideally suited for both business and leisure travelers seeking a sophisticated stay in one of Riyadh’s most prominent neighborhoods. The rooms and apartments showcase a contemporary design with an urban flair, featuring elegant finishes that resonate with the beauty of Riyadh. The hotel boasts a full-service restaurant, a cozy lobby lounge, expansive meeting and event facilities spanning 500 sq. meters, and separate indoor fitness centers for ladies and gentlemen. Additional leisure facilities include a fitness center, pool, spa, and kids club. Separate indoor fitness centers are available for ladies and gentlemen. At Radisson Hotel & Residence Riyadh Olaya, culinary delights await at every corner of the lively RBG Restaurant with its varied à la carte and buffet breakfast options. The restaurant offers an …