With the festive season and the long National Day weekend fast approaching, UAE residents are out in force planning their winter getaways, accounting for a remarkable 56pc boost in advance travel bookings compared to last year. As travelers snap up early bird deals before peak travel times, air fares have also gained a near 11pc increase, with round-trip fares to popular destinations now exceeding Dh2,800.
Rikant Pittie, co-founder EaseMyTrip says, “Advance bookings for the winter season are full throttle. There is high demand seen for destinations close like Istanbul, Tbilisi, Baku and Amman known for their rich cultural experiences just hours away. Approximately 30% of travelers chose destinations that required a visa, a trend by residents to plan ahead in growing order.”.
A lot of our clients approach us for deals well in advance of their travel. They do not want to miss traveling whether it’s winter or summer,” said Pavan Poojary, a travel expert at Luxury Travels in Abu Dhabi, explaining that the winter months are the busiest season of the year for travel agencies.
Most UAE residents who have snowfall as one of the top choices for a desired winter destination tend to prefer budget-friendly alternatives such as Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Travelers having Schengen visas prefer Finland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, while those without opt for Turkey or destinations in the Balkans.
However, to meet the peak demand for these holidays, several travel platforms, like Holiday Factory, have well presented their scores of packages for these National Day holidays. Many of these have sold out, of course, like Uzbekistan, Rome, Greece, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan, whose residents look forward to making the best of their holiday plans.
