The record for the world’s tallest tower is set to be broken yet again… The new skyscraper will measure one kilometre high and will be located in Saudi Arabia.

The tower will outdo Gulf neighbour Dubai, which inaugurated its own record-breaking skyscraper the 828m Burj Khalifa less than two years ago.

The Saudis awarded a more than $1 billion contract for a spire, to be named the Kingdom Tower.

While designers are trying to target Western customers with affordable fashion chain collaborations or diffusion lines, their haute couture branches are almost single-handedly being kept alive by clients in the wealthy Gulf countries.

“I want to be different from others,” a buyer explains. “What I want is unique pieces, extravagant and chic. I do not want to pay 6,000 euros for a dress, as it happened to me with a Pucci outfit recently, and see it on somebody else the same evening.”

Qatar surpassed Luxembourg as the world’s richest nation in 2010 and is set to pull away with wealth that’s almost twice that of the US.

The IMF’s Chart of the Day shows Qatar’s gross domestic product per capita at $88,221 in 2010, beating Luxembourg for the top spot.

The figure may reach $111,963 by 2016, surpassing Luxembourg’s $94,621 and Singapore’s $70,992, the IMF said.

The new Missoni Hotel in Kuwait held its official launch party this week, a timely reminder that when it comes to fashion hotels, travelers just can’t get enough.

Guests have been able to check in at Missoni since the hotel opened its doors in February, but this week’s star-studded launch saw three generations of the Missoni family on hand to launch their second property — and confirm that properties in Oman, Brazil and Turkey are in the pipeline.

The Kuwait property now features the 18th floor Luna restaurant with views of the Gulf, although it’s still not quite complete as the 1,500 Six Senses Spa still isn’t open.

Gulf tourism authorities are lobbying for a new visa which could significantly reduce the cost of cruises in the Middle East, a cruise tourism hotspot which is rapidly growing in popularity.

At the moment, some passengers aboard gulf cruises are forced to apply for a visa for every port stop they wish to take, at a cost of up to $50 per stop.

For tourists from places such as Russia and China, this can add as much as $600 onto the cost of a cruise for a family of four, participants at this week’s Cruise Seminar at the Arabian Travel Market calculated.

The Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai has been voted the best hotel in the Middle East for the eighth year in a row.

The plush property was one of a host of winners at this week’s World Travel Awards‘ Middle East ceremony, the first in a whistlestop World Travel Awards tour which will see further regional ceremonies in Antalya, Turkey; Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt; Bangkok, Thailand and Montego Bay, Jamaica before the year is out.

Also picking up prizes in the competition, billed as “the Oscars of travel,” were Emirates, Etihad and Qatar, the region’s leading airlines.