Dubai favourite place
for holidaymakers
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Half of this year's Eid holidaymakers are spending their long breaks in the UAE sampling the offerings of the various emirates while many others are taking extended breaks in long distance destinations such as Europe.
According to travel agents in the Capital, the late announcement of Eid, the last minute rush, steep air fares and hotel rates, non-availability of airline seats, and Eid falling during summer have prompted many residents to stay here and spend their holidays by visiting other emirates.
"Because it is almost the end of the summer (holidays), there are people who have already travelled and have just come back. So they don't want to travel again," said Abdul Hakim Aziz, business development manager of Sama International Holidays.
Many residents also opted to spend their Eid visiting family members in the other emirates such as Dubai and Al Ain. "This year, people are going to Dubai. There was a need for accommodation near or connected to any mall because of the weather. And because of this high demand and last minute bookings, the rates are very high," observed Aziz.
Raed Elhajj, holidays manager at the Abu Dhabi Travel Bureau, said all hotels in Dubai are nearly full due to the high demand. Many families who have specifications now accept any accommodation available. "We were also trying Fujairah, but all the hotels are full," Elhajj said.
For long distance travelling, Europe appears to be a new favourite destination this year with the Far East still remaining to be popular with the Emirati population. "We've seen more people travelling to the West rather than the East this time. Italy and Austria are the main ones and surprisingly to Germany, there's a sudden rush to Germany," observed Ganesh Ullal, marketing director of Omeir Travel Agency in the Capital.
He attributed this to the Far East being "saturated, people have gone there. There are new destinations that have not been explored (yet)."
Aziz said the weather also attracts many travellers to Europe.
"Those who did not travel in the summer because of Ramadan, and got their visa already, they are taking a break in Germany and Austria for a week," Aziz said.
"In Europe the best destination is London and Paris," said Elhajj, adding that Turkey also remains a very important destination during Eid.
In the Far East, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore remain popular."We have a good Far East sector with 90 per cent of the Emiratis opting for the Far East," said Jafar PM, branch manager of Global Holidays. In the Middle East, only Lebanon attracted holidaymakers from Abu Dhabi primarily due to its cool weather.
"The other Arab countries have nothing (booking) at all. We have Beirut but the flights are completely full,"
Elhajj stated.
According to the travel agents, Eid prices have gone up in the last few days mainly due to the increased air fare as a result of limited seats and last minute bookings.
"The hot destinations are a little bit expensive. Because of the demand, the airlines have increased the fare," said Aziz.For six nights and seven days at a 5-star hotel, Sama International Holidays charges Dh4,700 per person to Thailand, Dh5,800 per person to Singapore and between Dh4,900 and Dh5,200 per person to Malaysia.
For a four-star accommodation in Austria and Germany, the cost is Dh6,500 per person. "If they have booked two to three weeks before, there's a reduction of 20 per cent each," explained Aziz. |
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