UAE Holidays: Travel bookings up 25%; top destinations revealed – News

UAE residents expected to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, first long weekend of 2023

Some travel agencies in the UAE have seen a 25% increase in the number of travel bookings made by travelers during Eid 2023 compared to the same period last year. According to dnata Travel, tourists from the UAE choose to stay an average of 4 or 5 nights, with Eid al-Fitr representing a “long weekend” and most prefer Asian destinations.

“At dnata Travel, Indian Ocean destinations and accommodations in Thailand’s largest island, Phuket, are highly sought-after beach holiday destinations,” said Meerah Ketait, Head of Retail and Leisure, dnata Travel. “As part of these beach holiday packages, travelers opt for half-board or all-inclusive meal plans. Meanwhile, city breaks and shopping trips are trending in Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Italy and the UK, with travelers opting for bed and breakfast meal plan for destination dining flexibility.”

According to Meerah, travelers are booking far in advance to secure the type of travel they prefer.

Residents of the UAE are expected to celebrate the first long weekend of 2023 with Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to take place on Friday, April 21, according to the International Astronomical Centre. The Islamic festival is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal – the month after Ramadan in the Hijri calendar.

Other tour operators in the county are seeing similar trends. “People prefer to travel to cooler countries,” says Bharat Aidasani of Pluto Travels. “They want to reduce travel time to six hours or less and expect UAE residents to be able to obtain visas on arrival.”

He said one of the most popular destinations was Baku. “A lot of people have been to Georgia and are now going to Baku, Serbia, etc.,” he said. “Our customers are always looking for family travel packages and the average trip is around 4 or 5 days.”

According to Bharat, Slovenia and Albenia are also popular tourist destinations for Eid.

The official Eid al-Fitr holiday in the UAE is from Ramadan 29 to Shawwal 3. Ramadan 29 falls on April 20 this year. Residents of the UAE will have four days off from April 20 to April 23 if the moon appears that night. If the moon does not appear, they will have another day off on Monday, April 24.

According to Noushad Hassan of Alhind Travels, people are excited about travel this year. “For Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and summer we see very strong demand,” he said. “Demand for closer destinations is highest during Hari Raya.”

Some of their main destinations were Azerbaijan, Serbia and Sri Lanka, the agency said. “Most of our clients are asking about these family holiday destinations and we have some great packages,” he said. “It fills up quickly because this time people are opting to book early.”