Editor's Note: Some linked articles may be behind subscription paywalls.
Read the latest news from around the Middle East Africa region.
Chinese investment into Middle East Booms
Since Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia in December, more Chinese businesses are making investments in that country and across the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reports.
"This week, several thousand Chinese businesspeople — including the chair of the Hong Kong stock exchange and the chief executive of the Bank of China — gathered in Riyadh to explore investment opportunities in energy, mining, infrastructure, manufacturing and tech sectors such as gaming and artificial intelligence," the newspaper reports. "It was the first Arab-China Business Conference held in Saudi Arabia, geared around the kingdom’s plans to reconfigure its economy in the years to come. Organizers said it drew the biggest crowd in the event’s 10-year history."
Chinese businesses had previously regarded the Middle East as "a market for cheap Chinese goods and a key source of energy," but are now looking at the region as a target for long-term investment.
Luxury Hotel Development The Focus for Middle Eastern Hotels
Luxury wellness resorts are one of the hottest investment spaces in the Middle East, with international brands such as Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas looking to carve out a space there, HNN's Terence Baker reports.
“The question is, how do you create a good product that is accessible? No one has done this well. The industry has a responsibility to figure this out and to deliver content that reaches a wider group,” Six Senses CEO Neil Jacobs said at the Future Hospitality Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudis Prioritize Communities in Tourism Push
With $100 billion in planned hotel, facilities and infrastructure investments, the Saudi Arabian government is looking to balance commercial expansion with communities and culture, HNN's Terence Baker reports.
One example is the development of The Line, which Baker notes is "touted by management as a new way of urban living that will cover 34 acres and have a population of 9 million but be fully sustainable and preserving of the environment, a 'city' that will be 105 miles long but only just a little more than 650 feet wide, according to promotional material."
British Tourists Killed in Egyptian Boat Fire
Three British nationals who were vacationing in Egypt died in a boat fire on the Red Sea on June 11, Reuters reports.
British holiday company Scuba Travel also noted 12 travelers and 14 crew members were rescued from the ship, called the Hurricane.
- Click here for deals and developments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.