Emirates serving BlackBerrys

Passengers on Emirates will be able to use BlackBerrys in flight within months, the airline’s president, Tim Clark, has announced. Clark said the carrier was close to choosing between two providers for an on-board system that would allow passengers to use the handheld devices, but added that progress towards giving customers full broadband internet access has been “like pulling teeth”, with that goal still some way off.

Holiday Inn comes to the Maldives

Plans have been announced to develop 60 islands in the Maldives as mass-market tourist destinations. The islands’ tourism minister, Dr Ahmed Ali Sawad, said the developments would be small-scale and had to be seen in the context of the whole archipelago, which comprises 1,190 islands. He denied suggestions that the Maldives, which earn 60% of their foreign exchange from tourism, were heading downmarket, but confirmed that talks were under way with a number of hotel chains, including Holiday Inn.

Tourism police for Kenya

Kenya’s tourism minister, Najib Balala, has announced the creation of a national tourist police force in response to visitor concerns over public safety. Highlighting the recent murder of a British couple in Mombasa, as well as concerns over piracy off the Kenyan coast, Balala said the tourism police would be on patrol within six months.

King Tut’s tomb to close

The tomb of Tutankhamun is to close for restoration. The project, a collaboration between Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities and the California-based Getty Conservation Institute, seeks to repair the damage caused by the thousands of tourists who visit the 3,000-year-old burial chamber every month. The restoration is expected to take five years.

Times recommends

• Oasis of the Seas: the Times review
• The 20 best new year party places to stay
• Green Spaces 2009: are you the winning writer?