I’m in Abha, often described as the cultural heart of Saudi’s Aseer region and I’m almost breathless, not because of the rarefied air in what is known as Abha High City (some 2,000sq m above sea level) but because of its majestic beauty.
Airports
On location: A tale of transformation at King Abdulaziz International
My lengthy visit to the domestic and international zones underlined time and again not only the ambition underpinning the airport’s transformation but also the huge potential this already flourishing gateway offers.
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Travel
On location: Discovering Saudi Arabia’s cultural wonders and aviation opportunities
“Welcome to Al Balad and Jeddah,” says Abir, our wonderful tour guide. “Once you come here you will never want to leave.” Take a look at my pictures and you will see why.
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Airports
Freeing an unexpected catch in Sri Lanka and celebrating marital joy in Dubai
Bandaranaike International features a dual duty-free retailer model – Sri Lanka Duty Free (Dufry) and Flemingo – and frankly it makes as little sense here as it did at Auckland Airport in my native New Zealand (prior to the return to a single operator structure in June 2023).
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Travel
A warm Moodiesan welcome in Colombo after the eagle has landed in Sri Lanka
Catchy? You gotta believe it. Any song that rhymes Moodie with groovy has to be, right?
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Events
How K-Fruit, China Chic and the essence of sogha may be the future of travel retail
If the days of bulk selling to consumers who are buying for others (and I’m not talking gifting) are over (or at least limited), then what fills the gap?
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Miscellaneous
Minns det som igår min vän – Remember it like yesterday my friend
And at that precise moment as one year passes into another, of course one thinks about all those ‘auld acquaintances’ no longer with us, parents, siblings, friends, colleagues.
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Quirky
Time to paws Petsonality as Tito’s Handmade Vodka unleashes support for The Moodie Blog
The sight and sound of an industry executive yelling “Taxi!” while chasing a chair-dragging dog of the same name down the street is surely one for my unofficial history of the travel retail world.
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Travel
On the road to Mandalay where the Flying Kiwis play
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere I go.
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Airports
‘Living the F1 life’ with Qatar Duty Free
‘Live the F1 life’ is the memorable marketing tag line that leads Qatar Airways Group’s engagement with the many thousands of visitors to Doha this weekend.
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People
Finding a new way to shed Writers’ Tears in Galway
The Moodie Davitt Report.com is known as the website that never sleeps for good reason. And despite the earliness of the hour, it certainly does not slumber on fhe Galway to Dublin bus.
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People
A last red rose and a final farewell
Colm’s loving wife Breeda, brave and beautiful but seemingly shrunken in grief, threw a single red rose on top of the coffin; the priest said some consoling words; and then the family and the hundreds who had gathered to show their last respects shuffled silently away into the chill of an Irish afternoon.
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People
Writers’ Tears and Galway memories
We talked of how an exciting story had begun and of how an unforgettable one has sadly ended. Our chosen tipple was Writers’ Tears Irish whiskey. More than a few of those will be shed today.