UAE residents are more willing to splash out on getaways for Eid this year, as local sentiment improves despite global economic weakness, travel agents say.
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"The trend is positive," said Sunil D'Souza, the regional travel director at Kanoo Travel. "The economy is steadily improving and business activity has picked up tremendously, in Dubai especially. People feel more comfortable and want to go for short breaks."
The number of bookings was up by about 6 per cent compared with Eid last year, he said. "The Far East has taken a bigger percentage of Eid bookings this year than the traditional Middle Eastern destinations, the reason being that the regional disturbances have caused a bit of a scare in the minds of people."
Singapore and Malaysia are among the favourite destinations for this Eid break. But Thailand, normally one of the most popular destination for UAE residents, is being avoided because of the floods.
"Thailand this time for Eid we have very, very few bookings," said Mr D'Souza. "Hong Kong has picked up."
Sharaf Travel also reported that bookings were up slightly on last year.
"Now the holiday has been declared, there will be a major, last-minute sprint to the finish line," said Premjit Bangara, the travel manager at Sharaf Travel in Dubai. "I can see the phone lines jangling.
"They are booking into Malaysia and Oman is a pretty good draw. We've seen Cyprus, we've seen a little bit of Greece, also Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Those are the very popular ones for Eid short breaks."
Thailand was off the list for Mr Bangara's clients, as well as many of the regional destinations such as Syria and Egypt, which are usually popular options for Eid getaways.
"Thailand is a no-no at this point in time," Mr Bangara said.
Prices generally had not risen on last year with airlines introducing competitive fares on certain routes to stimulate demand, Mr Bangara said.
Turkey has become enormously popular among Middle Eastern residents this year amid instability in other destinations in the region, but the recent earthquake there has deterred some people.
rbundhun@thenational.ae
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
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