Travel Unpacked: Aleppo airport shuts and Ajman invites Scandinavian tourists

The National rounds up the most interesting tourism news you might have missed

Masfout is a village that forms part of the eponymous exclave of Masfout in Ajman. Photo: Ajman Tourism

Continuing conflict in Syria has forced officials to close Aleppo airport, as well as some roads leading to the city. Elsewhere, Ajman has kicked off a tourism campaign focused on Scandinavia, while Hong Kong is promoting pandas to boost inbound travel.

Here is a round-up of recent travel and tourism news – in case you missed it.

Aleppo airport shuts as opposition fighters advance

Authorities in Syria closed Aleppo airport on Saturday, three military sources told Reuters, due to opposition forces against President Bashar al-Assad saying they had reached the heart of the Syrian city. All flights have been cancelled as well.

A British watchdog monitoring the Syrian war said militants have taken majority control of Aleppo, following a surprise sweep through government-held towns last week. The opposition forces, led by militant group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, are returning to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies drove them out.

“Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham and allied factions … took control of most of the city and government centres and prisons,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to increased strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force on areas in militant-held Idlib, and to pre-empt any attacks by the Syrian army.

Ajman aims to attract Scandinavian travellers

The Ajman Tourism Development Department has kicked off a promotional tour covering Denmark, Sweden and Norway as part of its continuing efforts to promote the emirate on a global scale.

The campaign is led by Mahmood Khaleel Alhashmi, the general director of the tourism body, and he is currently visiting Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo until December 7. He aims to explore potential collaborations with representatives of the Scandinavian countries' tourism sectors and ultimately increase the number of tourists and visitors from Scandinavia to Ajman.

“Through this visit, we aim to strengthen our partnership with Scandinavian tourism companies, improve the flow of tourists from European markets to the emirate and solidify Ajman’s position on the regional and global tourism map,” he said.

Hong Kong pushes 'panda economy'

Thousands of giant panda sculptures will greet residents and tourists in Hong Kong as they pop up in different spots across the city, such as the airport and tourist hubs, including the Avenue of Stars in the Tsim Sha Tsui shopping district.

The displays reflect Hong Kong’s use of pandas to boost its economy as the Chinese financial hub works to regain its position as one of Asia’s top tourism destinations. Enthusiasm for the bear has grown recently in Hong Kong, after two cubs were born in a local theme park.

Pandas are considered China’s unofficial national mascot, and the country has a current panda loan programme with overseas zoos, which it uses as a tool of soft-power diplomacy.

Hong Kong officials are hoping to boost visitor numbers with its panda residency. One designated spot for the sculptures is Ocean Park, home to twin cubs An An and Ke Ke, whose mother, Ying Ying, is the world's oldest first-time panda mom and a gift from Beijing.

With the addition of the twin cubs, it now houses six pandas, and officials have encouraged businesses to capitalise on the bears' popularity to seize opportunities in what some lawmakers have dubbed the “panda economy".