Latest news with #businessvisitors
Gulf Business
06-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
Kuwait launches new e-visa platform to boost travel, digital efficiency
Image: Getty Images Kuwait has officially launched a new electronic visa (e-visa) system, aimed at simplifying and accelerating entry procedures for travelers, residents, and official visitors, as part of its broader digital transformation and tourism strategy. The newly implemented platform, managed by the Ministry of Interior, supports four visa categories — tourist, family, business, and official — and is expected to reduce processing times and eliminate administrative hurdles. The tourist visa allows a stay of up to 90 days and is designed for individuals wishing to explore Kuwait's cultural and leisure offerings. The family visa, valid for 30 days, enables Kuwaiti residents to invite relatives for short-term stays, facilitating family reunification. The business visa, also valid for 30 days, is tailored to foreign professionals, entrepreneurs, and corporate representatives visiting for meetings, events, or commercial negotiations. The official visa category is granted to diplomats and government delegations on formal missions, including international conferences and bilateral meetings, based on invitations from Kuwaiti authorities. How to apply on the e-visa platform The e-visa platform is accessible through the Ministry of Interior's official The move aligns with Kuwait's long-term strategy to enhance digital public services and reinforce its position as a key destination for tourism, investment, and diplomacy. The new system complements other regional initiatives, including the anticipated Read:
Zawya
02-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Linyi Trade City ready to expand reach across world
LINYI, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 2 July 2025 - From small roadside stalls to China's largest professional market cluster, Linyi Trade City in Shandong province, has achieved leapfrog growth during the past four decades and is poised to extend its reach across the globe. Currently, there are 136 professional wholesale markets and 63,700 shops in the trade center, as well as more than 6 million kinds of products from 27 categories. Its trading value reached 660.48 billion yuan ($91.94 billion) in 2024 and the logistics volume amounted to nearly 1.01 trillion yuan. To accelerate the trade center's transformation and upgrading, Linyi city authorities have introduced a package of policies and incentives, encouraging local enterprises to grow their foreign trade business and establish a presence in international markets. The trade city has also built 59 overseas malls and warehouses so far, as well as 45 international procurement service centers and offices, as part of its efforts to raise visibility globally and develop its international trade network. Launched in 2023 in Yongin, the Lanhua (South Korea) Overseas Mall displays a wide range of domestic products such as household goods, pet supplies, outdoor and camping equipment, and hardware tools. While expanding abroad, the trade city has been committed to attracting global buyers and investors. During the first four months of 2025, it received 13,233 overseas business visitors, generating intent transactions of 906 million yuan. Strong logistics infrastructure is essential to foreign trade and urban growth. Linyi has built a multidimensional international logistics system integrating road, rail, air, and sea freight, linking itself with nine regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia. Currently, the city is home to 51 international road freight companies and operates nine direct international routes to 10 countries. "Although Linyi is an inland city, we have established a maritime container depot in collaboration with Qingdao Port and Rizhao Port. Through resource integration and procedure optimization, we have helped enterprises cut logistics costs by 30 percent," said Hua Qianli, manager of Linyi Port. Last year, the port handled 198,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo, valued at 19.2 billion yuan. Meanwhile, the city recorded 452 China-Europe Railway freight train trips to 40 cities in 12 countries, along with 480 direct flights to Seoul, transporting 2,067 metric tons of air cargo. Hashtag: #Linyi The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Linyi Small Commodities Chamber of Commerce
South China Morning Post
30-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong hoping ‘Summer Viva' campaign will make tourists extend stays
The Hong Kong Tourism Board will ramp up efforts to encourage family and business visitors to extend their stay in the city by promoting diverse travel experiences, the body's new chief has said. Advertisement Board chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok said on Friday that Hong Kong could no longer rely on past glories by only promoting itself as a food and shopping paradise and should capitalise on the increased number of tourists and opportunities brought by the current geopolitical situation. 'Hong Kong is safe for family tourism. You don't find any other places like Hong Kong, safe and convenient with multiple choices for your choosing,' Lam, whose tenure started in April, said. Hong Kong welcomed 12.2 million arrivals in the first quarter of 2025, a 9 per cent year-on-year increase, the largest quarterly growth since travel resumed after the Covid-19 pandemic. Arrivals plummeted by 94 per cent year on year to 3.57 million in 2020 as the pandemic struck, compounding an already sharp decline seen from months of social unrest, with daily visitor numbers falling from 200,000 in the first half of 2019 to below 3,000 in February 2020. Advertisement 'My biggest challenge as the new chairman is I don't blindly just chase visitor arrival numbers, more important is the quality. And one big challenge is how to keep the tourists to stay in Hong Kong longer,' Lam said, adding that currently tourists stayed for an average of 3.2 nights.
