Peru’s consumer protection agency is suing Spanish oil firm Repsol over a huge oil spill which blackened beaches off the coast of Lima in January.

The spill, which Peru called the worst ecological disaster around Lima in recent memory, leaked more than 10,000 barrels into the Pacific Ocean.

The civil lawsuit seeks $3bn (£2.54bn) for environmental damage and $1.5bn (£1.27bn) for damages to locals.

Repsol has denied responsibility.

The company initially said the spill was caused by “sudden and extraordinary anomalous waves produced by the volcanic eruption in Tonga”. However, it later blamed the oil tanker.

Indonesia’s officials and travel industry players have set their sights on visitors from the Middle East, with efforts underway to attract more arrivals from the region.

The country, which closed its borders to international tourists for almost two years to curb the spread of COVID-19, has already scrapped most travel restrictions and allowed quarantine-free entry for fully vaccinated travelers.

As foreign tourists slowly make their way back to the Southeast Asian archipelago nation — with more than 345,000 international visitors in June according to Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy data — officials are working to attract more tourists.

From the Middle East, over 263,000 tourists arrived in Indonesia in 2019, before the pandemic, contributing more than $369 million in foreign currency inflows.

Husin Bagis, Indonesia’s ambassador to the UAE, told Arab News that he has set an ambitious target for 2023.

“Hopefully next year, my target is to attract 100,000 tourists from the UAE,” Bagis said, adding that the Indonesian embassy in Abu Dhabi has been working around the clock to achieve this.

“We have been all-out with our efforts,” Bagis said. “If you hold a UAE passport, you can get a visa on arrival, there’s no issue.”

Other visitors from Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait, are also eligible for visas on arrival.

Indonesia’s most popular destination, Bali, usually gets heavy promotion, Bagis said, as he hoped the holiday island could serve as an entry point to other parts of the archipelago such as the nearby island of Lombok.

“We will optimize the role of Bali,” he added.

Travel industry players are also eyeing the arrival of Middle Eastern visitors.

“It’s a potential market,” I.G.N. Rai Suryawijaya, who heads the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s chapter in Bali’s Badung regency, told Arab News.

He said many travelers from the Middle East choose to stay at hotels in Nusa Dua, a resort area located in Badung.

“Tourists from the Middle East are also upper middle class, and they stay in five-star and four-star hotels, that’s what we have been seeing, and they have good spending power,” Suryawijaya said.

“We are doing all sorts of collaborations in promotional efforts so that more travelers from the Middle East will come to Bali.”

The Ikogosi Warm Springs is a tourist attraction located at Ikogosi, a town in Ekiti State, southwestern Nigeria.

Flowing abreast the warm spring is another cold spring which meets the warm spring at a confluence, each maintaining its thermal properties.

These attributes make the spring a tourist attraction in Nigeria.

Research suggested that the warm spring has a temperature of about 70°C at the source and 37°C at the confluence.

The success of joint management adopted by Ekiti State Government for Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort was investigated vis-à-vis its current status, operation and its contribution to the adjourning community.

A number of Sampling techniques were employed to select sample for this study. Purposive sampling method was used to select 100 residents of the Ikogosi community who are 18 years and above.

Accidental and Availability Sampling methods were also used to select 100 tourists from the site where the investigation was carried out.

Random sampling method was then employed to select 25 respondents each from the staff of Ekiti Sate Tourism Board, Ekiti State Board of Internal Revenue, Ekiti State Ministry of Finance and Ikogosi Warm Spring Resort Limited.
Decorated with rich vegetation and picturesque landscapes, this resort is a perfect place for those who love nature.

It’s no wonder thousands of tourists flock to this beautiful place to have their fill of one of nature’s gifts every year.

The Tsunami Monument is memorial that honors the victims from the 2004 tsunami that devastated several countries around the Indian Ocean, and it is located in the capital city of the Republic of Maldives, Malé.

With the devastating underwater earthquake which occurred on 26 December 2004 in Sumatra, Indonesia, there were several nations which were affected by the devastation, among which the Maldives too were greatly affected.

As the tsunami passed the nation, there were 74 fatalities along with extensive material damage, and nowadays visitors of the capital are able to see the memorial built in honor of that day.

Being a quite fascinating place, the monument rises from the spot where the sea touches the land, and there are balls made of steel which represent the 20 atolls of the country.

While they are rising towards the sky, it was intended for them to represent the mounting waters of the tsunami.

At the heart of the monument, there are iron rods that have been placed vertically, and each of them signifies the life that was lost with the victim’s name engraved on the iron rod.

Located in the southeast part of Malé, the Tsunami Monument is an interesting spot for surfers, and all those who would like to enjoy and relax by listening to the waters which are fortunately slowly splashing the land.