According to a report by the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the tourist visits in the Middle East region declined by 6% last year. However, figures began to recover in H2 of the year and a return to positive growth is expected in 2010, the report said. Business research company Monitor International said earlier in a report forecast 2% drop in Middle East 's tourism, but said the industry is to recover and grow in 2010 and 2011. International tourist arrivals for business, leisure and other purposes are estimated to have declined worldwide by 4% in 2009 to USD 880mn, UNWTO said adding that global tourism was forecast to grow by3-4% in 2010. |
Bahrain Middle East Bank made a USD 13mn full repayment of a loan obligation including a USD 1.4mn interest payment taking total repayments by the troubled lender to USD 43mn, the bank said in ... more
National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), the UAE's largest lender by market value, initiated a USD 17mn fifteen-year Uridashi bond, MENA's first ever, allowing the bank to directly access Japanese ... more
The GCC economies remain insulated from economic and political turbulence in the MENA region and globally but structural challenges continue to constrain sovereign ratings, ratings agency ... more