Visit Britain: UAE and other GCC visitors love shopping, dining, and the sights

Dubai: At just over 7 hours from the emirate, Britain is a much-loved travel destination for travellers from the UAE. Even amid changing COVID restrictions on global travel, Britain remains a top choice for travel from the country and the region.

While many visitors head to the UK for London - a one-stop destination for different categories of travellers - there are many other attractions for tourists headed to the country. Edinburgh, Bath, Stonehenge, Windsor are jut a few other places that appeal to international and regional tourists.

We spoke to the team at Visit Britain to get a better idea of why they see a lot of tourism traffic from the GCC region and UAE in particular.

A spokesperson said, "​We believe that the strong ties between the GCC countries and the UK will always drive travellers to Britain. GCC nationals love UK green spaces, the history, the royalty, shopping and food."

​​​​​​Getting a visa to travel to the UK

If you’re a national of the UAE and you're planning to visit the UK, you may be able to get an electronic visa waiver instead of a visa.  if you are a resident of UAE with a different nationality that requires a visa travellers are advised to get more information.

However, given new COVID guidelines and backed up applications, visit visas may take some time to get processed so bear that in mind when applying and planning your trip.

Travel trends from the region

Speaking about the travel trends seen from Gulf visitors, the spokesperson said, "GCC visitors tend to come to the UK in the summer months; in 2019, just under 4-in-10 visits from the GCC were made between July and September.

"All individual Gulf markets also follow the pattern of a strong third quarter: it is the time of the year when temperatures in the Gulf are at their highest. For this reason, many go on holiday in places where the climate is milder during the summer months.

"63% of visitors from the GCC are male. Visitors from the Gulf markets are younger than average: there are only a handful of visitors over 65 (3% of all visits in 2019), and 32% were under 35."

Why do people visit Britain?

Visit Britain research shows the top 10 activities for Gulf visitors during their visit to the UK pre-Covid:

1. Dining in restaurants

2. Going shopping

3. Sightseeing famous monuments/buildings

4. Visiting parks or gardens

5. Visiting museums or art galleries

6. Socialising with the locals

7. Visiting castles or historic houses

9. Going for a walk, hike or ramble

10. Walking in the countryside

COVID guidelines

All visitors planning a UK trip must stay abreast of the changing COVID guidelines in both countries to ensure smooth and safe travelling. The UK has announced a change in its travel rules which will come into effect starting February 11.

If you qualify as fully vaccinated for travel to England and are not from a red-list country, you:

- will not need to take a COVID-19 test before you travel to England or after you arrive

- will not need to quarantine when you arrive

However, you will need to complete a passenger locator form before you travel to England. In case you're not fully vaccinated as per the UK's guidelines, you will need to take a PCR test prior and after travel, booking the second test before departing for England. All passengers are required to complete a passenger locator form.

These rules only come into effect starting February 11, so visitors travelling before that date will still have to follow the currently active rules.