UK tourists are heading to the UAE and other safe regional destinations because some of their traditional winter holiday grounds such as Turkey and Egypt remain off limits because of security fears.
The UK was Dubai’s third- largest source market last year with 1.24 million tourists, a 5 per cent uptick from 2015. In Abu Dhabi, the UK was the second-largest source market with more than 238,000 hotel guests, a 3 per cent increase on 2015.
UK tourists are still flocking to the UAE, although the pound has shed over 16 per cent of its value against the US dollar since the June referendum to leave the European Union. The strong US dollar, to which the dirham is pegged, is making the UAE an expensive travel destination for UK visitors.
Abu Dhabi expects to receive a similar number of UK tourists this year compared to last year, despite a tough period ahead given currency fluctuations and regional competition, according to Nabeel Mahmoud Al Zarouni, the UK country manager for Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi).
On the Palm Jumeirah, Atlantis reported a 20 per cent increase in the number of room nights for UK travellers in the last quarter of 2016 compared to a year earlier.
“This year we will continue to maintain our strong positioning in the UK market and so far see the upward trend to continue,” said Ravini Perera, a spokeswoman for Atlantis.
Given the weak sterling, four-star hotels in Dubai are expecting to tap into the market and attract guests away from luxury properties this year, said Wajeed Bagwan, the general manager of Royal Continental Hotel Deira.
“Dubai has always been an attractive destination for the UK market and we are expecting it to remain steady this year,” Mr Bagwan said. The halal property ties up with UK travel agents and receives guests from Scotland and Ireland besides the UK.
The British luxury travel agent Abercrombie and Kent reported an increase in interest in the Middle East during the last quarter, to countries such as Jordan, Oman, and Morocco.
“We are expecting to grow the business by 10 per cent in the number of tourists [to the Middle East] during the first half compared to the first half [of] last year,” said Debbie Duncan-Studart, the general manager of Abercrombie and Kent in Dubai.
“Since September last year we have seen an upsurge in interest for travel to Jordan, Oman [and] Morocco.”
Outside these areas, Africa, particularly Botswana and Tanzania, are popular, as well as China and Japan. Farther afield, Peru and Chile have also attracted increased levels of business, she said.
Earlier this month, British tour operator Thomas Cook and German travel agent TUI both reported an uptick in holidays to Greece and smaller European destinations for the upcoming summer season, and to Spain, Cyprus and long-haul destinations such as the Dominican Republic, the Canaries, western Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and Cape Verde for the current winter season as demand for Egypt and Turkey remained weak.
“Bookings to Greece are currently up by over 40 per cent, while demand for destinations such as Cyprus, Bulgaria, Portugal and Croatia is also strong,” according to Peter Fankhauser, the chief executive of Thomas Cook. “These positive trends are making up for continued weak demand for Turkey.”
Demand for Turkey and Egypt is expected to remain low this year owing to lingering security fears in these countries, according to the travel agents.
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