European visitors to the Gulf countries will leap up 29% by 2023, a report predicts, while Sweden will be popular for Gulf travellers.

Western Europe is Dubai’s biggest contributor of overnight visitor volumes, commanding a 21% share in 2018.

As the latest MICE Arabia Congress gets underway this week, Dubai is keen to stress that it’s not as expensive as it seems.

W Dubai – The Palm is the first W Escape in the Middle East, a “lavishly luxe playground” with skyline views.

Mountaintop ice skating, visiting a traditional pearl farm and the option of diving for pearls are new adventures on the RAK menu.

Dubai International, which opened in 1960 with a runway of compacted sand, recently saw a record 8.3mn passengers in one month.

A hospitality tech event in Dubai is deploying a robot to launch proceedings, in what could be a first for the meetings industry.

Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace is collaborating on five-star hotels at Bluewaters, a “revolutionary addition to Dubai’s luxury hospitality scene”.

More ziplines are being added to make a “tour”, obstacles will be suspended in the air, and there will be “exciting free falls”.

Under a mix of facial and iris recognition, passengers are able to check in, go through immigration and board their flights.

lydubai’s first flight from the Finnish capital, code-shared with Emirates, took off in foggy weather.

A tourism delegation from the United Arab Emirates is visiting three Scandinavian cities this week.

A large number of passengers and crew had complained of coughing, fever and symptoms of gastrointestinal illness.

A Swedish woman travelling with her four-year-old daughter has just returned home after a traumatic month.

The flight search site Netflights.com lists the 20 best-value lounges as an alternative to stressful airports, even for people on a modest budget.

The increasingly popular emirate continues to meet agents in Europe and has also opened a Nordic office.

Besides launching its seventh destination in Germany, Finnair adds extra frequencies to popular routes.

The airline group posted a 67% increase in profits for the last financial year.

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 will be used on the year-round, daily service. Emirates will codeshare.

The emirate sees a record-breaking quarter for tourism, a result boosted by the Nordics.