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Angels Landing Partners Advance Plans for $2 Billion Twin-Tower Luxury Hotel Project in Downtown L.A.

Two acclaimed African American developers – Victor MacFarlane of MacFarlane Partners and R. Donahue Peebles of The Peebles Corporation – are doubling-down on their multi-million-dollar effort to bring thousands of new jobs and economic benefits to the nation’s second-largest city as development partners of Angels Landing, their $2 billion twin-tower luxury hotel project in downtown L.A.’s Bunker Hill neighborhood. MacFarlane and Peebles are majority-owner principals of Angels Landing Partners, LLC, the development partnership responsible for conceiving, designing, building, and operating Angels Landing. The partnership was officially selected by L.A. City officials at the conclusion of the city’s competitive bid process in 2017. Their partnership’s intentions are firmly focused on completing construction of Angels Landing before elite athletes, sports officials and tourists worldwide converge in L.A. for the 2028 Olympic Summer Games. Victor B. MacFarlane, chairman and CEO, MacFarlane Partners said, “Angels Landing aligns well with many of the projects we have built in the past 30 years throughout the U.S., including two residential developments recently completed near Pershing Square.” “The foundation of our business has always been to strengthen communities where we do business,” Mr. MacFarlane said. “We believe we can help communities prosper. We know Angels Landing will have a significant positive impact on L.A.’s economy. The ripple effect of Angels Landing’s substantial economic and employment activity will reverberate throughout L.A. County by providing good-paying union jobs to construct our hotel project and extensive career opportunities when the project is completed, and its hotels are open to the public. We have spent more than $10 million to move our project forward. We’re not letting the coronavirus pandemic slow us down. We anticipate our project entitlement this year,” he added. Angels Landing is comprised of two towers, each anchored by its own five-star hotel. In addition to the hotels, the development will feature an expansive modern urban park – known as Angels Landing Plaza – designed to serve as a pedestrian-centered, transit-adjacent, open space environment in the heart of downtown L.A. R. Donahue Peebles, Chairman and CEO, The Peebles Corporation said, “Equity and inclusion are bedrock principles at the Peebles Corporation. My success is predicated on opportunities I received because of those two important tenets. I have built an impressive collection of commercial and residential projects in New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, and other U.S. cities.” “In each city, I’ve been most excited about using my influence to empower Black-owned, Latino-owned, and women-owned business leaders. My company works diligently to help minority-owned enterprises grow their businesses through procurement contracts established through our development projects,” Mr. Peebles said. According to an analysis prepared by BJH Advisors, LLC., more than 8,300 new jobs will be created during Angels Landing’s project design and construction. The New York City-based firm’s report estimates Angels Landing would additionally create more than 800 permanent jobs in downtown L.A. An estimated 500 jobs would be created by vendors in the L.A. County region providing good and services to the two luxury hotels. In addition to new job creation, the BJH Advisors analysis projects Angels Landing would give L.A.’s local economy a $1.6 billion boost and contribute $731 million to local worker’s earnings during its construction. The project would generate as estimated 12 million in recurring tax revenues and $2.4 million annually in local property tax revenues, according to the report. “With Angels Landing, the transformative impact of empowerment and economic inclusion will be felt by an array of businesses, including Latino- and Asian-owned businesses. We have committed to a goal of 30% M/WBE contracting across the board for our project. We’re raising the bar for economic inclusion for development projects in Los Angeles,” Mr. Peebles added. Angels Landing Plaza will frame the angular, multi-level Bunker Hill site as a publicly accessible, privately managed park amenity, establishing it as a vibrant, inviting, and treasured locale for L.A.’s downtown neighborhood residents, weekday commuters, nightlife seekers, tourists, and hotel guests. L.A.’s historic Angel’s Flight funicular will operate on its hillside-climbing route contiguous to the Angels Landing development. “With our commitment to Angels Landing, we are committing to the future of downtown Los Angeles. Despite the millions of dollars expended so far to keep our project on-track, and notwithstanding the strong pandemic-induced recessionary pressures on L.A.’s economy, we continue to push hard to make our plans for Angels Landing a reality. Having recently completed our Park Fifth apartment complex, a two-building development adjacent to Pershing Square, Angels Landing represents our continued faith in the economic future of downtown Los Angeles,” Mr. MacFarlane said. Mr. Peebles said, “2020 was a trying year for nearly every sector in the business world. And the first three quarters of 2021 may be equally challenging. But we’ve faced big challenges in the past and always managed to prevail. The success of our development businesses is a testament to our drive and commitment to build projects that improve the quality of life in the communities where they’re built.” Mr. MacFarlane said, “The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been significant this year. Some of those negative economic impacts, such as lagging job growth, are projected to extend well into 2021. But pessimistic economic indicators and projections have not shaken our resolve to build Angels Landing. We’re making our investment to create new jobs for L.A. area residents. We’re confident Angels Landing will help the L.A. economy rebound and gain strength. Angels Landing will create thousands of jobs that will result in millions of dollars circulating throughout the L.A. region providing a needed boost to small businesses.”

Create: Feb 11, 2021 Edit: Feb 11, 2021 International News

5 Steps to Prepare Your Hotel Housekeeping Team for 2021 and Beyond

The challenges the hospitality industry has faced in the wake of COVID-19 reminds us how critical the housekeeping department’s role is to a hotel’s overall success. The urgency to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has accelerated change in our industry, including the need for new hygiene and cleaning processes. Even before the virus, 78% of hotel guests believed cleanliness to be the most crucial factor affecting their choice of where to stay, with hotel cleaning protocols moving up to the #1 top-ranked category for travel with COVID-19. As guests expect the highest standards of sanitation to feel at ease in a hotel and once again return to travel, operators worldwide need to work with their housekeeping teams to better prepare for the impacts of these new realities. By using this time to further analyze housekeeping practices, hotel leaders have an opportunity to take advantage of advancing technologies to more accurately plan for operational shifts that, at the end of the day, influence bottom-line results. Here are a few ways hoteliers can prepare their housekeeping team for success in 2021. 1. Create a Structured Cleaning Program Using Industry Best PracticesTo earn guest confidence, hotels will have to demonstrate that they provide a clean and safe environment and are following specific disinfecting protocols. As part of this new dynamic, the ability to develop and implement proven strategies to meet these new cleanliness standards will be critical to staying ahead of the competition. This is a good opportunity to establish clear step-by-step standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the protocols needed to enhance cleaning regimens. Creating a distinct checklist for each area of the property, including the lobby, restrooms, common areas, fitness center, and guest rooms, will help to ensure nothing gets missed. Hotels can look to their brand or management company for guidance on a structured program, or they can leverage one from trusted industry organizations like the AHLA’s Safe Stay program or Amadeus’ disinfecting housekeeping checklist, endorsed by the International Executive Housekeeping Association (IEHA). 2. Alter Schedules for Guest Room Cleaning Based on NeedMany hotels are shifting away from daily cleaning with automatic opt-out cleaning programs, leading to, in some cases, dirtier rooms upon departure. At the same time, the enforcement of new hygiene protocols, including the expansion of high touchpoints and frequency of cleaning, can increase the amount of time needed to spend in a room. Updated practices on the use of disinfectants and surface dwell times can additionally alter the flow in which rooms are serviced. So, what does this mean for housekeeping and operational teams? The rise in guestroom cleaning times can make forecasting labor and servicing pop-up requests a more complex endeavor. Lack of planning for additional time can also cause strain on staff, while last minute modifications to departure room schedules can impact room readiness. By tracking and analyzing the labor and resources needed to execute the tasks these rooms now require, hotels can adjust to new cleaning schedules, while identifying valuable areas for improvement that will ultimately increase both staff and guest satisfaction. 3. Monitor How Many Hours Guest Rooms are VacantAs new guidance is issued for businesses to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, the procedures within hotels also need to adapt. For instance, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) recommends rooms be left vacant for 24-72 hours prior to or after cleaning if possible, while China requires hotels that host international guests to change linens and clean guestrooms and bathrooms daily. Consumers are increasingly calculating risks associated with travel and want to have complete transparency when it comes to COVID-19-specific protocols before even booking a hotel room. The ability to promise, then track and report the number of hours a room is vacant is a must in today’s business environment. 4. Understand Which Rooms are Not Being Serviced and WhyStreamlining productivity may mean having to leave rooms not serviced for the day. Although a part of daily housekeeping, one of the biggest challenges is measuring why a room was not serviced, or “dropped”. Perhaps there is a need to alter opt-out programs. Perhaps there is a need for more staff. Having the ability to identify, record, and flag rooms with a special service status like “dropped rooms” allows teams to truly understand why rooms are not being serviced. This process allows housekeeping managers to schedule staff effectively, as well as audit and reconcile room counts at the end of each day to optimize operations. With today’s lack of time and budget, gaining important insights into dropped rooms is pivotal to every housekeeping team’s success. 5. Leverage Automation to Drive ProductivityAs we evaluate new ways to face the challenges ahead, hotel leaders must consider how innovation can play a critical role in closing the gaps between team capabilities and achieving business goals. The right hotel technology can be a powerful tool in the decision-making process by reaching across the hotel’s ecosystem to orchestrate proactive tasks such as automating room assignments, schedule turnovers, and reprioritizing work. Gaining valuable insights from automation dashboards and reporting tools can also enable better decision making in a world of unknowns. Whether it’s wiping down frequently used areas like elevator buttons, delivering guest requests like soap or chargers, or managing dropped or vacant rooms, modernizing processes with a housekeeping solution can help to maximize operational capabilities while ensuring the highest standards are met. During times of unpredictability, the ability to intelligently automate the prioritization, communication, and dispatching of the entire housekeeping operation is more valuable than ever. This way, limited time and budget is spent where it is needed most. Resetting for 2021 and BeyondMoving forward, there will be no greater focus from a guest’s perspective than a hotel’s commitment to its cleaning initiatives. Resetting for success in 2021 and beyond means understanding how technology can significantly enhance our capabilities as individuals and designing new business procedures that support it. Reflecting this dynamic presents an opportunity to lead the way in delivering the processes needed to support both housekeeping teams and guest confidence in this new era of hospitality.

Create: Feb 9, 2021 Edit: Feb 9, 2021 Housekeeping

Dubai’s Expo set to boost tourism

Millions of tourists are set to visit Dubai for the delayed Expo 2020, which is set to run from October 1 this year through to March 31 2022. The amusement and attractions industry has been buoyed by the promise of the resulting degree of "normal" business, promised by the director general of the emirate’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Helal Al Marri. He asserted last week that the emirate is determined to go ahead with the celebration, despite the spike in infections that has occurred as a result of Dubai opening up to tourism just before Christmas. In fact, Al Marri blamed that spike on a small number of locals ignoring the regulations. “We are confident,” he said, “that we will be ready to make sure that the growth starts this summer, and by Expo in the fourth quarter, we look forward to welcoming the world.” The Expo is one of the world’s biggest organised events. If it goes ahead, it will generate billions in revenue for the government and the tourist industry in general. The infection rate in Dubai has risen four-fold over the Christmas and New Year period, but Al Marri was clear that the blame for this rested with the locals. He said: “We had a 98 per cent compliance and saw no increase in infections, but when that level of compliance dropped by a small margin, we saw the infection rate increase.” Since then, the UAE has been one of the world’s most efficient destinations in the roll-out of vaccinations, with around a third of the entire population inoculated by early February.

Create: Feb 8, 2021 Edit: Feb 8, 2021 International News

Japan 2020 travel surplus down 79% as pandemic hits inbound tourism

Japan's travel surplus in 2020 shrank to nearly one-fifth of the previous year, the first drop since the balance turned into the black in 2015, as international travel bans amid the coronavirus pandemic had a huge impact on the number of inbound visitors, government data showed Monday. The travel balance, which reflects the amount of money foreign visitors spend in Japan versus Japanese spending abroad, tumbled 79.2 percent to 562.1 billion yen ($5.3 billion) from a record 2.70 trillion yen in 2019 since annual comparable data became available in 1996, the Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report. Still, Japan's travel balance in 2020 logged black ink for the sixth straight year. In 2015, the balance saw its first black ink of 1.09 trillion yen since data compilation began in 1996, following a 44.4 billion yen deficit marked in 2014. Since 2011, when a massive earthquake, tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis in northeastern Japan helped slightly widen a travel deficit to 1.30 trillion yen, the country's annual travel balance had continued to improve until 2019 with a steady increase in the number of foreign visitors. The reporting year's surplus in the current account, one of the widest gauges of international trade, fell 13.8 percent from 2019 to 17.70 trillion yen, its lowest level since 16.52 trillion yen recorded in 2015. It had increased 5.8 percent the previous year. In 2020, the goods trade balance saw a surplus for the fifth consecutive year, jumping almost eight-fold from the previous year to 3.05 trillion yen. The impact of a 15.0 percent decline in imports due to falls in prices of crude oil and other energy resources surpassed that of an 11.4 percent slip in exports amid sluggish demand for Japanese products such as cars and auto parts due to the pandemic. With the poor performance of the travel balance, services trade, which also includes cargo shipping, marked a 3.54 trillion yen deficit, following the first-ever surplus of 124.8 billion yen in 2019. It was the biggest red ink since the 3.81 trillion yen logged in 2012. The primary income balance, which reflects returns on overseas investments, showed a surplus of 20.72 trillion yen, the fourth largest since 1996, despite a 3.2 percent dip from a record 21.40 trillion yen in 2019, the first decline in four years. Many countries have imposed sweeping travel restrictions in response to the global spread of infections after the virus was first detected in China in late 2019. In 2020, 4.12 million foreigners visited Japan, which has promoted inbound tourism as a pillar of its growth strategy for revitalizing regional economies in recent years, plummeting a record 87.1 percent from 31.88 million in the previous year, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. Japan was originally scheduled to host the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games last summer, but they were postponed for a year amid the pandemic. Largely consisting of tourists from China, South Korea and Taiwan, foreign visitors had kept expanding until 2019, when the figure hit a record high for the seventh year in a row. In December alone, Japan posted a current account surplus of 1.17 trillion yen, more than double the previous year's 544.9 billion yen to mark the 78th straight month of black ink. In the month, the country had a goods trade surplus of 965.1 billion yen and a services trade deficit of 343.5 billion yen. Primary income registered a surplus of 649.2 billion yen.

Create: Feb 8, 2021 Edit: Feb 8, 2021 International News

Abu Dhabi Tourism updates ‘Green List’ of destinations

The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has issued the updated list of ‘Green List’ destinations. Passengers arriving from these destinations will be exempt from mandatory quarantine measures after landing in Abu Dhabi and will only be required to undergo PCR testing upon arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport. Countries, regions, and territories included within the ‘Green List’ will be regularly updated based on international development. Inclusion in the list is subject to strict criteria of health and safety to ensure the well-being of the UAE community. The list also only applies to countries passengers are arriving from rather than citizenship. Please note below the updated ‘Green List’ as of 7 February 2021: • Australia• Bhutan• Brunei• China• Greenland• Hong Kong (SAR)• Iceland• Mauritius• Mongolia• New Zealand• Saudi Arabia• Singapore

Create: Feb 8, 2021 Edit: Feb 8, 2021 International News

Iran extends UK flight ban to Feb. 19

Iran has extended the ban on passenger flights to Britain until February 19 due to the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran announced. According to a statement by CAO on Saturday, the flights to and from the UK will remain suspended for another month, due to the new Covid-19 strain that is spreading rapidly in that country, Mehr reported. The measure was initially enforced on Dec. 22, 2020, for a fortnight at the request of the Health Ministry and the National Coronavirus Headquarters. The statement adds that in addition to the cancellations, the connection flights from other countries, especially European countries, have been completely restricted and controlled, and these restrictions continue until further notice. It is also specified that countries such as Japan, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Malawi, and several other countries where alarming mutant variants were reported as of January 21 were also subject to strict health laws, and those visiting or residing in such countries within the past two weeks were also banned from entering Iran.

Create: Feb 8, 2021 Edit: Feb 8, 2021 Regional News

Office visit to morocco intiates prepartions for unwto general assembly

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Kingdom of Morocco met to advance the organization of the 24th UNWTO General Assembly in October 2021, the first global high-level United Nations event to be held since the beginning of the pandemic. Led by the Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, a delegation from UNWTO has concluded an official visit to Morocco to discuss the programme, calendar and facilities to be prepared for this statutory meeting that will focus on Education and Youth, Rural Development and Digital Innovation. The Minister of Tourism of Morocco, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, and her team accompanied the delegation during this three-day visit and expressed their commitment to organizing an “historic” General Assembly to showcase the importance of restarting international tourism in a safe and more sustainable way. The Prime Minister of Morocco, Saadeddine Othmani and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita welcomed the UNWTO Secretary-General in Rabat highlighting the importance of the celebration and the high-level support of the host country. The delegation was also received by the Governor of Marrakesh-Safi region, Karim Kassi Lahlou, and other local authorities and representatives of the private sector of the area that will be strongly involved in the preparations for this meeting. Secretary-General Pololikashvili thanked the Prime Minister and his government for their “hard work” to ensure that the Assembly will be a success on the back of the unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said: “Tourism is adapting to the new reality and we face the future with optimism and with the backing of our Members.”

Create: Feb 7, 2021 Edit: Feb 7, 2021 International News

Marriott Dallas Uptown Welcomes General Manager and Executive Chef

The Marriott Dallas Uptown team is excited to announce the appointment of Robbie Tawil as General Manager of the hotel property. Tawil has more than 35 years of experience with Marriott and the hospitality industry, including previous leadership roles in management and operations. Thrilled to open the 14-story, 255 guestroom hotel, Tawil will lead Marriott into the future, opening the first Marriott property with the latest generation room design. He is well equipped to lead his team and has done so successfully in the past. During his tenure with Marriott, Tawil has served as General Manager of the Marriott Conference Center in Norman, Oklahoma, General Manager of the Worthington Renaissance, Director of Operations at the Dallas Renaissance, Director of Food and Beverage at the Worthington in Fort Worth and Director of Operations at Dallas Marriott Downtown to name a few. Despite working with properties across the country, Tawil is excited to be working again in his hometown of Dallas. “Dallas has always been my home and I am elated to be opening a hotel in my own backyard,” said Tawil. “Marriott Dallas Uptown has so much to offer the burgeoning Uptown district. We are looking forward to meeting and serving our neighbors in the surrounding communities and welcoming travelers visiting Dallas from outside our city.” Also joining the Marriott Dallas Uptown team is Juan Pablo Silva as Executive Chef of Good Graces, the hotel’s restaurant. Chef Silva’s passion for food was born while cooking with his grandmother as a child in his hometown of Lima, Peru. He furthered his knowledge at Le Cordon Bleu Peru, where he graduated with a Culinary Arts and Hotel Management degree. Chef Silva has helped manage the culinary program for the largest Ritz-Carlton in the world, The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal, where he served as the Executive Sous Chef. After three years in Abu Dhabi, Chef Silva became the Executive Sous Chef of the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas and then Executive Chef. He is honored and excited to take on the challenge of opening Good Graces, a modern American Brasserie. “The menu I’ve created for Good Graces will truly highlight each place I’ve cooked and learned from,” said Chef Silva. “From home-cooking in my grandmother’s kitchen in Peru to fine dining at the Ritz, this menu will be the perfect balance of each.”

Create: Feb 7, 2021 Edit: Feb 7, 2021 International News

Shaner Hotels Opens SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbus Dublin in Ohio

Officials of Shaner Hotels, an award winning, international hotel owner, operator and developer, today announced the grand opening of the 145-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbus Dublin located in Bridge Park. Shaner will operate the hotel in a partnership with ownership, Crawford Hoying, a large-scale real estate developer headquartered in Central Ohio. The Springhill Suites by Marriott Columbus Dublin provides the freshest hotel choice in Dublin’s Bridge Park, a new development giving an urban feel to this upscale suburb,” said Plato Ghinos, president, Shaner Hotels. “The hotel provides an all-suite option that includes complimentary breakfast – providing a reliable, refreshing and unexpected choice in the Dublin market. Our staff will focus on sales, service and style to bring the best in customer service to our guests.” Situated in the heart of downtown Dublin at 4475 Bridge Park Avenue, SpringHill Suites is conveniently located near local attractions such as the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, the highly anticipated Riverside Crossing Park and only minutes to downtown Columbus. The hotel is surrounded by numerous walkable dining and entertainment options provided by the Bridge Park neighborhood. The hotel also provides multiple amenities for travelers, including a 24/7 fitness center, 840 square feet of meeting space, a complimentary breakfast buffet, a lobby bar, multiple outdoor lounging spaces and suite-style rooms designed to fuse form and function, equipped with separate areas to both work and relax. These stylized guest rooms are furnished with an oversized work area, a phone with voicemail, free Wi-Fi, a mini-refrigerator, a microwave oven, a trundle sofa bed and Smart TV entertainment. “At the rate in which Bridge Park is growing, the demand for another hotel was obvious,” said Brent Crawford, founder and principal, Crawford Hoying. “We couldn’t be more appreciative of our continued partnership with Shaner and the fantastic hospitality provided at each of the hotels within our developments. We’re confident that Springhill Suites will be no exception.” “We continue to seek opportunities in strong primary and secondary markets with new products surrounded by multiple demand generators,” Ghinos noted. “While the pandemic has hit the travel and hospitality industries particularly hard, we believe we see the light at the end of the tunnel with the recent arrival and deployment of the vaccines. Brand new hotels such as this will hold the lead position as travelers begin their return to both business and leisure travel in the weeks and months to come.”

Create: Feb 7, 2021 Edit: Feb 7, 2021 International News

Tourism sector suffers $1.3tn in revenue loss from pandemic

Revenue loss in the international tourism sector in 2020 caused by a decrease in travelers crossing borders is estimated at $1.3 trillion, on the back of strict travel bans imposed by countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, a U.N. body said. Last year's international arrivals fell by one billion, or 74 percent, from 2019, ensuring that the overall estimated damage was over 11 times larger than in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a recent press release by the World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. Due to the economic fallout from the virus spread, 100 to 120 million people have been put at risk of losing their jobs in the tourism industry, the Madrid-based body said, adding that many of them are from small and midsized business operators. "Global tourism suffered its worst year on record in 2020," the agency, also known as UNWTO, said in the news release, citing an "unprecedented fall in demand and widespread travel restrictions" to prevent the virus from further spreading. By region, Europe saw the largest drop in absolute numbers, with overseas arrivals down 500 million, or 70 percent, from the previous year. Meanwhile, those in Asia and the Pacific nations tumbled by 300 million, marking the sharpest decrease at 84 percent. On a percentage basis, the Middle East and Africa followed with a 75 percent plunge each, with the North and South Americas experiencing a 69 percent sink. As for 2021, a UNWTO panel of experts survey showed 45 percent of respondents forecast the situation will become better, while 30 percent predicted a deterioration, according to the press release. The remaining 25 percent expected a similar performance to 2020. The survey also showed that 43 percent think the tourism industry will rebound to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with 41 percent saying it will happen in 2024 or later. UNWTO said that it expects the "gradual rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine" to bring about a recovery in consumer sentiment and eased travel restrictions, making travel relatively normal, albeit at a slow pace, during 2021. "While much has been made in making safe international travel a possibility, we are aware that the crisis is far from over," said Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary general of UNWTO. "The harmonization, coordination and digitalization of COVID-19 travel-related risk reduction measures, including testing, tracing and vaccination certificates, are essential foundations to promote safe travel and prepare for the recovery of tourism once conditions allow," the agency's chief added. Since first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, the virus has continued to spread globally and has resulted in over 105 million infection cases and more than 2.3 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Create: Feb 7, 2021 Edit: Feb 7, 2021 International News

New tourist complex inaugurated in Tehran

Shams ol-Emareh tourist complex was inaugurated in Baqershahr, south of Tehran province, on Wednesday on the occasion of Ten-Day Dawn (Jan. 31- Feb. 10, marking the victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution). A budget of 370 billion rials (about $ 9 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar) has been allocated to the project, Parham Janfeshan, the provincial tourism chief, addressing the opening ceremony. Constructed in an area of 11 hectares, the project is expected to create 30 job opportunities, the official added. Referring to tourism as being “advantageous” for the whole province, the official noted the tourism sector and relevant infrastructure are being developed and strengthened in all districts [and counties] of Tehran province even in low-income and deprived areas. Earlier this week, the official announced that a total of 206 tourism-related projects are scheduled to be inaugurated across the Iranian capital during the ten-day Fajr (dawn) ceremonies and celebrations. Ten accommodation centers including hotels, apartment hotels, eco-lodge units as well as tourist complexes, restaurants, and handicrafts workshops will come on stream, he explained. He also noted that a budget of seven trillion rials (about $167 million) has been allocated to the projects, which are expected to generate a total of 930 job opportunities. The mentioned projects will also add 816 beds to the hospitality sector of the Iranian capital, the official added. Hugging the lower slopes of the magnificent, snowcapped Alborz Mountains, Tehran is much more than a chaotic jumble of concrete and crazy traffic blanketed by a miasma of air pollution. This is the nation's dynamic beating heart and the place to get a handle on modern Iran and what its future will likely be. The metropolis has many to offer its visitors including Golestan Palace, Grand Bazaar, Treasury of National Jewels, National Museum of Iran, Glass & Ceramic Museum, Masoudieh Palace, Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Carpet Museum of Iran, to name a few. The first time Tehran is mentioned in historical accounts is in an 11th-century chronicle in which it is described as a small village north of Ray. It became the capital city of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century but later declined with factional strife between different neighborhoods and the Mongol invasion of 1220.

Create: Feb 6, 2021 Edit: Feb 6, 2021 Regional News

Tourism projects worth $15.3m to be inaugurated in Yazd

A total of 43 tourism-related projects, worth 645 billion rials ($15.3 million at the official exchange rate of 42,000 rials per dollar), are scheduled to come on stream across the central Iranian province of Yazd on the occasion of Fajr cerebrations (Jan. 31- Feb. 10, marking the victory anniversary of the Islamic Revolution). Nineteen eco-lodge units, two traditional accommodation centers, seven traditional restaurants, two tourist complexes as well as seven projects in the field of cultural heritage, and six projects in the field of handicrafts will be inaugurated, a provincial tourism official said on Thursday. The mentioned projects will come on stream in different cities across the province including Bafq, Taft, Ardakan, Meybod, and Mehriz, Mohammad Mirshamsi added. The projects are expected to generate 247 job opportunities for the locals after being inaugurated, the official added. In July 2017, the historical structure of the city of Yazd was named a UNESCO World Heritage. Wedged between the northern Dasht-e Kavir and the southern Dasht-e Lut on a flat plain, the oasis city enjoys a very harmonious public-religious architecture that dates from different eras. With its winding lanes, forest of badgirs (wind catchers), mud-brick houses, atmospheric alleyways, and centuries of history, Yazd is a delightful place to stay, referring to as a ‘don't miss’ destination by almost all travel associates in the region. Yazd Jameh Mosque, Dowlatabad Garden, the Yazd Atash Behram, also known as Atashkadeh-e Yazd, Towers of Silence, and adjacent desert landscape are among its tourist sites.

Create: Feb 6, 2021 Edit: Feb 6, 2021 Regional News