Sharjah is targeting tourists from central and Eastern Europe amid improving air links.
From June 7 to 12, the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority held roadshows in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Poland.
The move comes as UAE travel operators, including hotels and tour agencies, explore new markets to make up for the decline in Russian tourists.
Hotels in the Northern Emirates have been a big draw for Russian guests.
“We are missing the Russian guests but we are exploring Central Asia, Czech Republic and Poland since last September and getting good results,” said Iftikhar Hamdani, the cluster general manager at Ramada Hotel and Suites Ajman and Ramada Beach Hotel Ajman. “Now, we are looking at Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and to attract more sports clubs from east Europe.”
Tourist arrivals from Russia and CIS countries at Dubai International Airport fell during the first quarter with the declining rouble and low oil prices.
According to the latest data available from March, the number of passengers at Dubai International Airport dropped 31.7 per cent from the same period last year.
Sharjah expects to attract 10 million tourists by 2021, focusing on family tourism. Europe is one of its major source markets.
The European tour followed the April roadshows in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The agency is due to visit more countries in the Arabian Gulf region in the next half of the year.
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Francesco Totti's bio
Born September 27, 1976
Position Attacking midifelder
Clubs played for (1) - Roma
Total seasons 24
First season 1992/93
Last season 2016/17
Appearances 786
Goals 307
Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2
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