UAE’s 6-day Eid al-Adha holiday: Do more residents choose to stay at home or travel abroad? – information

Residents across the country are preparing for the long holiday ahead of most schools this year

This year’s Eid al-Adha holiday is considered the best time for UAE residents to travel abroad, with four in five preferring the holiday and one in five opting to stay at home, according to travel experts.

The number of inquiries travel agents have received so far suggests that people are more inclined to travel abroad this year than opting for a luxury local experience.

This time, the reason was attributed to the six-day Eid al-Fitr holiday before most school summer holidays.

Rashida Zayed, vice president of operations at musafir.com, said: “Summer in the UAE is a big draw for inbound tourists due to the many events organized by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), but UAE residents want to travel the country outdoors because is an opportunity to reunite with family members living in their own country, or to explore new destinations with the kids during the long summer holidays.About 20% of our total demand is for home vacations[s] Within the UAE, 80% of demand was for holidays abroad. “

“Summer is usually the best time for UAE residents to travel to destinations to experience the difference in climate and weather, so most of them choose to escape the heat abroad instead of holidaying at home. In terms of holidays abroad, we receive requests from many countries,” said Zayer De added.

Travel agencies from the European region are receiving requests from countries such as Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and the Balkan countries, especially Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia and Bosnia.

Reena Philip, managing director of Airtravel Enterprises, said: “At the moment we have inquiries about accommodation and holidays. There are inquiries from the Far East and even Europe. Sometimes, we do have some appointments in between. People are also keen on going to Eastern European destinations . People mostly ask for places that don’t require a visa.”

In the Far East and Southeast Asia region, travel agencies are seeing continued demand for Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Among the CIS countries, applications from Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia continued to flow.

“But the stay-at-home requests are popping in and more inquiries are expected for the upcoming Hari Raya holidays. Weekend inquiries are actually all year round,” Philip added.

The travel agency highlighted that Schengen visa appointments still seemed to be challenging as “No Slots Available” was continuously displayed. “We don’t have bookings from France, Italy or Portugal. So people choose destinations that have visas on arrival. Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, is a hot destination this year. Signed in Kazakhstan and vigorously promoted in Kazakhstan.

Vietnam has [an] e-Visa; Kenya is another destination people want to visit, [and] Kyrgyzstan, Georgia and Armenia are other popular choices. Understandably, the holiday season seems to be a bit longer than usual this year,” added Lakshmi Anand, Managing Partner, S&T Travels & Tours.