Tourism

Travelers queue to check in their luggage at the terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, on March 10, 2026.

Riyadh airport issues travel alert as Yemen's Houthis claim fresh attack on Saudi Arabia

Hundreds of flights to and from the Saudi capital were canceled or delayed on Thursday, with passengers being urged to check with airlines before heading to the airport.

A view of a traffic roundabout in central Latakia, Syria on June 12, 2025. The city's road network converges near the coast, forming one of the busiest urban intersections in the province. (Photo by Omar Albaw / Middle East Images via AFP) (Photo by OMAR ALBAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE-Syria move ahead on $20 billion real estate mega-developments

Major housing and tourism projects in Damascus and Latakia are set to advance following a new agreement with UAE real estate tycoon Mohamed Alabbar.

Abraham Accords signing

Analysis

How FlyDubai attack exposes gaps in Israel-UAE security ties

Israeli officials believe the FlyDubai incident could strain Israel-UAE relations but is unlikely to undermine long-term security cooperation between the two countries.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Israel-UAE flights disrupted as airlines plan rescue flights: What to know

Israeli carriers are preparing repatriation flights from Dubai starting on Friday, subject to security approval.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Live Updates

FlyDubai flight lands in Tel Aviv after distress alert, Saudi diversion

Flydubai

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

Iran flights continue, UAE route closes on day 2 of US sanctions

Hector RETAMAL / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

US moves to ground Iran’s airlines: Who is complying and who isn’t?

ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

The entrance to the city of Qiddiya, south of the capital Riyadh, April 25, 2019.

Analysis

Iran war tests Gulf's theme park ambitions

Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with multibillion-dollar projects as the conflict disrupts regional tourism and exposes weaknesses in the Gulf states' entertainment strategies.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

The 26-feet-tall statues of the ancient Egyptian King Amenhotep III (1391-53 BC), father of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) and probably grandfather of Tutankhamun, and his consort queen, Tiye, at the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square, Cairo, June 11, 2025.

Culture

Beyond King Tut: Cairo’s Egyptian Museum looks to reinvent itself

With Cairo's Egyptian Museum approaching its 125th anniversary, efforts are underway to reposition it on the cultural map in light of competition from newer, glitzier museums.

Building construction at the Red Sea in Egypt.

Explainer

UAE-Egypt ties keep growing as Cairo navigates shifting Gulf landscape

An Emirati investor could soon strike a $2.7 billion deal to develop another tourism project on Egypt's North Coast, the latest in a string of UAE-linked pacts that have continued advancing despite turmoil from the US-Iran war.

Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, gives a press conference in the Saqqara necropolis, where archaeologists unearthed two human and animal embalming workshops as well as two tombs, south of Cairo, on May 27, 2023.

Culture

Saqqara’s next chapter: How Egypt is modernizing its oldest necropolis

Egypt has launched a major project to develop access to the Saqqara archaeological sites, which — according to archeologists — hold some of Egypt’s most important ancient sites spanning across multiple civilizations.

Spectators look on as an A350-1000 by the European plane maker Airbus takes off on the second day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2026, Farnborough, July 21, 2026.

Explainer

Saudi airlines outbuy Gulf rivals at Farnborough air show: What to know

Saudi airlines emerged as the Middle East's biggest buyers at the international event, while the Gulf's three largest carriers browsed.

United Arab Emirates

Tourism students and visitors visit the ruins of the ancient city of Apamea in the Hama countryside, Syria, on July 8, 2026.

Syria arrivals surge 111% as government bets on tourism revival

The country welcomed 3.52 million visitors during the first half of 2026, more than double the figure recorded a year earlier, as the government pushes to reconnect to the world and promote tourism as a pillar of economic recovery.

A student attends a training seminar at the Tourism Ministry Training center in the city of Riyadh on August 30, 2022.

Interview

Saudi labor localization will take ‘generation or two': Armada CEO

Around 70% of Saudi Arabia's population is 35 years old or younger, according to the kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics, providing ample opportunity for an educated and technology-savvy national workforce in the coming decades.

Olivier Badard

CEO of Armada Holding

An Airbus A321 airliner arrives at the Mehrabad international airport during the delivery of the first batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air in the capital Tehran on Jaunary 12, 2017. - The aircraft arrived as part of an order for 100 other Airbus planes with a list price of around $20 billion (19 billion euros) on December 22, placed after the lifting of international sanctions on the Islamic republic. It will be used for internal flights landed at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. (Photo by ATTA

Israel-Iran escalation grounds flights across parts of Middle East

Iran suspended flights across all airports after Israeli strikes hit the country.

Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

How Iran war created unexpected economic beneficiaries

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is reshaping global energy and trade flows, creating opportunities for economies far beyond the Middle East.

Muslim worshippers walk along the Grand Mosque complex in the holy city of Mecca on May 22, 2026, ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Gulf celebrates Eid al-Adha under shadow of war

The holiday marks the first time in decades that Gulf states are observing one of Islam’s holiest celebrations against the backdrop of a regional conflict.

United Arab Emirates

Refueling trucks are seen at Southend Airport on April 17, 2026, in Southend, England.

Which airlines are cutting flights amid Hormuz fuel disruption?

European and Asian airlines have been most impacted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is throttling jet fuel supplies.

Exhaust emits from the engine of a passenger jet as it prepares for take off at Heathrow Airport on March 30, 2006, in London, England.

Jet fuel squeeze exposes Europe’s reliance on Middle East supply

Lawmakers on the continent have been told to make "timely preparations in anticipation of a potentially prolonged disruption" in energy flows from the region.