A 3-day weekend in the UAE: Travel demand peaks as more destinations open-News

UAE residents increasingly want to go abroad for vacation, people’s confidence in travel continues to increase, and concerns about the Covid-10 pandemic have diminished, thanks to the increase in vaccination, the decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases, and the Chinese tourists have opened many destinations. United Arab Emirates.

Tourism executives said that the upcoming three-day holiday next week and the four-day holiday before the UAE Memorial Day and National Day holiday are in strong demand for holidays.

Galadari International Travel Services Exhibition and Holiday Manager Mir Wasim Raja said that there is good demand for the upcoming Diwali in November and the three-day holiday on October 21 to commemorate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

“Holiday demand is strong. For Diwali, many residents are taking vacations and planning to travel for three or four days. They are mainly vacationing in Georgia, Armenia, Serbia and other countries. We have received many inquiries from UAE residents who plan to spend their leisure time during the National Day holiday. Travel,” he said.

Many countries have recently opened their borders to vaccinated tourists. Since the UAE is a world leader in vaccination, most countries now welcome tourists from the UAE, including the United States, Asia, Europe and Africa.

Although European destinations are open to UAE residents, Raja said that obtaining visa appointments is a challenge.

With the growth in demand for leisure travel in the UAE, all local airlines of Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai and Arab Airlines have launched special packages for UAE tourists. To reflect the increase in passenger traffic, Emirates, Etihad Airport, Dubai and Abu Dhabi Airports have issued peak travel advisories. Emirates expects more than 190,000 passengers to pass through Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport this weekend.

According to a survey conducted by the mobile satellite communications company Inmarsat, passengers in the UAE are among the most confident passengers in the world to fly again. In fact, since the outbreak of Covid-19, only people from China are more likely to have taken a short or long-haul flight, with 79% of them doing so, compared with 75% in the UAE.

When asked about the main concerns of upcoming air travel, the response rate of UAE passengers was in line with the global. Nearly half (49%) said they were quarantined, and 43% said they were infected with the virus.

Interestingly, 49% of people surveyed in the UAE believe that public toilets have a higher risk of contracting Covid-19 than on a plane, followed by public transport (36%) and sporting events (30%).

Approximately 41% of UAE passengers believe that the Covid-19 vaccine passport should be implemented, and 40% said it should be implemented after everyone has received the vaccine.

Approximately 56% of UAE passengers stated that they have traveled to international destinations and stated that their overall confidence in air travel has not diminished. Approximately 42% of people are confident of taking the next flight within six months.

Mamoun Hmedan, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa and India of Wego, a travel and hotel booking website, said that international travel is still far from the pre-Covid level. However, it is recovering at a faster rate than originally expected.

“Today, travel volume is slightly higher than 50% of pre-Covid levels and is expected to increase by more than 60% by the end of this year. By 2021, people are more eager to travel than the previous year to make up for lost time,” he said, adding Said that since the beginning of the Covid lockdown, many people have not had a proper holiday for more than a year.

“This has led to a lot of pent-up demand for leisure travel experiences, and if you are making up for lost time, you are more likely to do anything at all costs. As a result, we have seen an increase in demand for flight searches and hotel accommodations this year.”

He pointed out that for most travelers in the UAE and the Middle East and North Africa, visa-free or visa-free destinations, such as Montenegro, Azerbaijan, Georgia, etc., will become one of the most searched and booked destinations in 2021. one. “

According to Wego data, the five fastest-growing markets in Europe are France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands.

Mir Wasim Raja hopes that the trip will reach the pre-Covid-19 level by the end of next year or early 2023. “Currently, the tourism industry of residents is very positive. We hope that next year the market will reach the level before the epidemic.”

He pointed out that UAE families accompanied by elderly people are very concerned about their health. “Confidence has rebounded sharply, but it has not yet reached the pre-pandemic level.”

Wahid Abbas