Middle East and Africa Tourism Boards: Official Links and Chauffeur Booking for Visitors

In the Gulf, tourism is run by powerful government authorities with their own trade desks, visitor sites and event calendars. In North and sub-Saharan Africa, national boards sit alongside city and provincial offices that host an increasing number of congress and incentive groups. For all of them, a visitor's first hour matters: the arrivals hall, the driver, the road to the hotel.

This page lists the main official bodies, grouped by sub-region, with a link to each one's own website. It also explains how an authority, a visitor centre or a destination office can book chauffeurs for its guests with LimousineWorldwideDirectory.com, a 24/7 booking desk that dispatches vetted, licensed and commercially insured local operators.

Which tourism boards in the Middle East and Africa can book a chauffeur?

Open each link in your own browser to check current trade contacts and visitor information. Some government sites restrict automated access, so they may load differently for software than for people.

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Gulf states

Dubai International is about 15 km (9 miles) from downtown Dubai, usually 20 to 35 minutes depending on the hour. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are roughly 140 km (87 miles) apart, about 90 minutes by road. Abu Dhabi's airport is now Zayed International. See the Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Riyadh pages.

Levant, Türkiye and North Africa

Marrakech Menara airport is about 6 km (4 miles) from the city, a ride of 15 to 25 minutes. Cars cannot enter most of the medina's alleys, so drop-offs are at the nearest gate or a pre-arranged point and a porter completes the last stretch. Istanbul Airport lies about 40 km (25 miles) from the old city, roughly 45 to 75 minutes. See Marrakech and Istanbul.

Southern, Eastern and Western Africa

Cape Town International is roughly 20 km (12 miles) from the city center, about 25 to 35 minutes. O.R. Tambo to Sandton is about 25 km (15 miles), normally 30 to 50 minutes on the highway, longer at peak. See Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Quick reference: main arrival points in the cities we serve

These are typical figures for planning. The booker uses the exact pickup and destination addresses, and the chauffeur tracks the flight so the pickup moves with the landing time.

Why a trade account suits this region

Gulf authorities host large state-run events, and the visitors are often senior. African boards host safari and incentive groups with complex multi-day itineraries. In both cases a single account with one invoice reduces the administrative load. The office books the transfer, the guest meets a named chauffeur at arrivals, and the final invoice goes to the organization, not the traveler.

Chauffeurs are experienced professionals and vehicles are late-model, fully maintained and inspected. In the region we offer Mercedes-Benz E-Class, S-Class and V-Class or similar, with Executive Sprinters for groups and stretch limousines, mini-coaches and coaches on request.

How Gulf and African authorities typically host guests

A Gulf authority receiving a minister, a sports federation or a conference delegation expects the arrival to run on a script: who meets whom, which door, which car, what time. The booking desk works the same way. The office supplies the passenger list and flight numbers, the desk builds the transfer plan, and each local chauffeur receives only the details needed for their own pickup. Where the delegation includes a principal, the office can request an alias for the arrivals board so the guest is not identified publicly.

African boards more often host mixed groups: a few executives in one party, safari guests in another, a press team in a third. The practical task is keeping those parties on separate vehicles and separate invoices when needed. Telling the desk which programme each booking belongs to keeps the monthly invoice easy to reconcile against the board's budgets.

Planning an incentive or familiarization group in Africa

1. Ask the lodge or hotel for the arrival airstrip or airport and its handling arrangements.
2. Book the road legs on either side of any domestic flight as separate transfers.
3. Allow extra margin for the first leg, since international flights can land late.
4. Choose an Executive Sprinter for groups of up to 12 to 14 with luggage, or a Luxury SUV for a small party of up to six.
5. Ask for child seats at booking if families are traveling.
6. Keep one invoice for the whole programme, addressed to the organizing board.

Booking earlier in peak weeks

Gulf cities are busiest during the cooler months and around exhibitions and sports calendars. Safari destinations fill during their dry seasons. Marrakech, Cape Town and Istanbul have their own peaks. In all of them, reserving an arrival transfer when the program is confirmed, not when the flights are booked, gives the desk more room to pair the right vehicle with the right local operator. Our airports hub and cruise ports hub show the arrival points we cover.

Discretion, etiquette and local law

Chauffeurs do not photograph clients or post about trips, NDAs are signed on request, and alias bookings keep the guest's name off the arrivals board. Never expect a driver to supply alcohol; local law applies, and it varies across the region. For protected guests, we are a chauffeur service and not a security company: no armed drivers and no bodyguards. We work alongside the guest's own security team.

Planning a visit to a site that needs a guide

Many heritage sites in the region expect or recommend a licensed guide. A chauffeur drives and can suggest stops, but is not a guide. The tourism office is the best source on which sites require one. For a day around a city, see private tours with a driver.

Choosing between transfer options

If a metro or hotel shuttle serves the guest's hotel directly, it is the lower-cost choice. A chauffeur earns its place where protocol, heat, luggage or late landings are the real constraints.

Calendar, weekend and weather factors when scheduling a transfer

An office that plans its guests' days around its own working week can be caught out by the host country's. The points below are the ones that most often change a transfer plan in this region.

Working weeks and public holidays

Weekend days differ across the Middle East and Africa, and a few countries have changed their working week in recent years. A conference organizer who assumes that a Friday morning is a normal business slot may find offices closed, or that a Saturday arrival lands on a busy changeover day for hotels. Before fixing meeting times, check the host country's current working week and public-holiday calendar on the government or tourism-board site, and ask the desk if a guest's arrival date falls on or next to a holiday. Religious observances move against the Gregorian calendar, so the dates for Ramadan and the Eid holidays shift every year; use the official announcement for the year of travel, not last year's dates.

Ramadan and daytime etiquette

During Ramadan, many Muslim residents fast between dawn and sunset, and local rules on eating and drinking in public can apply even to visitors. A chauffeur will not offer food or drink in the car during fasting hours in places where that would be inappropriate, and guests should follow the courtesy the host country expects. Traffic patterns also change: roads can be quiet during the day and busy around sunset as people travel to break the fast. Offices should flag this in the briefing to the guest, and avoid scheduling a tight transfer near sunset.

Heat, dust and midday timing

In the Gulf, summer temperatures make outdoor waiting uncomfortable, and in desert areas dust or sand can affect visibility. A good transfer plan puts the guest into an air-conditioned car at the arrivals door with as little walking as possible; a name-board meet-and-greet inside arrivals helps when the pickup bay is far from the exit. In parts of East and Southern Africa, the rainy season can slow unpaved lodge approaches, and a local operator may recommend a different vehicle or an earlier start. Ask the desk what the operator advises for the month of travel.

Daylight and the safari drive

Outside cities, driving after dark is generally slower and less comfortable than in daytime. On lodge and safari legs, plan arrivals so the final road section is completed in daylight where possible, and keep a margin for late flights. If the guest lands late, the better answer is often a night in a city hotel with an early departure rather than an extended night drive.

Briefing the guest

A one-page note from the office works well: the name of the chauffeur and vehicle once confirmed, the pickup point, a mobile number for the host, the local dress expectations and any courtesy norms at the destination. Pair that with the Dubai, Cape Town or Marrakech city page for local arrival detail, and with the conferences hub when the visit is tied to a trade event.

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Related pages

Use the Middle East directory and Africa directory to browse operators by region. The tourist offices overview explains the account, and the event transportation page covers festival and summit logistics.

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