Demand for overseas holiday trips from the UAE during the forthcoming winter and National Day holiday periods is seeing an unprecedented surge this year, with airline bookings for outbound travel for the period already reporting a whopping 56 per cent jump compared to last year.
Industry players said they expect a further spike in bookings in the coming days and weeks, considering the rising customer queries on holiday packages during the year-end vacation period, rated as the peak season for the tourism industry.
Short trips seem to be in vogue this year for UAE travellers, with nearby tourist destinations such as Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku and Amman seeing maximum bookings.
The rush for holiday travel, however, is pushing up airfares to stratospheric levels, with industry insiders hinting at a 50-60 per cent spike in fares for travel to the high-in-demand destinations during the winter and National Day holiday period, compared to regular times.
Executives at online travel portals said that, unlike previous years, advance bookings for the winter season holiday trips are already in full swing currently.
“This shift shows a growing trend of travellers planning ahead, with about 30 per cent opting for destinations that require visas,” Rikant Pittie, Co-Founder of EaseMyTrip, a leading online travel firm operating in GCC and India, told Arabian Business.
“High demand is seen for nearby destinations like Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku and Amman, known for their cultural experiences just hours away,” he said.
UAE residents gear for travel
Senior executives at other city-based travel and tourism firms also said though winter is traditionally a peak holiday season, the demand this year is much more as families and travellers in large numbers seem to gear up for vacations.
They said as airfare rises, many travellers are still securing early deals, particularly with the UAE National Day holidays approaching.
The UAE National Day is celebrated on December 2 to mark the formal nationalisation and the start of the federal unification of the emirates.
“Spanning four days from December 2 to 3 and combined with the weekend, the extended break has encouraged early travel planning among residents,” a travel firm executive said.
“We often see a significant increase in flight fares during this period,” the executive said.
Surge in outbound and inbound travel
The travel and tourism players in the country are particularly upbeat this year as the rising demand for winter, National Day and year-end outbound travel from the country follows a massive surge in inbound travel to the country from countries like India during the festive season.
A further spike in inbound travel to the UAE is expected during the Christmas and New Year period as, similar to the trend in the UAE this year, tourists from India and other countries are also seen to be opting for short-distance destinations for their overseas holiday trips due to a host of factors, high inflation being a major one.
Arabian Business has recently reported that the surge in festive season travel from India to the UAE led to a 30 per cent to 50 per cent jump in airfares to sought-after destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The noticeable increase in transit travel bookings from India through Gulf routes also added to the spike in airfares.
Industry players said the trend of Indian travellers preferring transit travel through leading Gulf airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman has seen a significant rise of late, on the back of major Gulf carriers like Emirates and Qatar Airways offering competitive airfares, besides providing expanded connectivity through network expansion and partnerships with other international carriers.
The Gulf airlines are capitalising on their central geographical position, connecting Indian travellers to key destinations in Europe, the US and Africa.
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