Dubai: Snowstorms in Eur-ope and the northeast US have driven holidaymakers from the UAE to warmer lands in the Far East, while others craving the cold will head to Europe.
Travel agents and holiday package experts say most New Year's bookings are for destinations like Col-ombo as well as Bangkok and Phuket.
European expatriates headed homeward before Christmas, many going to the UK, Amsterdam, Germany and Netherlands as airlines provided extra flights to clear the backlog caused by bad weather.
"Asian expatriates are also going back home, mainly to Mumbai and other places in India. Some have also gone back to Pakistan. People chose to go over the Christmas period while adding extra time for a vacation also," said Premjit Bangara, travel manager at Sharaf Travel.
He said that a few holidaymakers are leaving to sunnier lands like Sri Lanka and Thailand, which are popular draws. "Colombo I can see slowly picking up because the political situation is better. It is sorting itself out and Sri Lanka offers good value. The people are nice, there is lots of sun and sand and many cultural sites as well," he said.
Rui Sequeira, regional manager for commercial operations at Emirates Holidays, said the hot-selling destinations in December and two weeks into January are Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Maldives, Egypt, Singapore and Kenya, as well as Europe's usual busy spots: the UK, France and Germany.
"People are generally used to these destinations because of value for money," Sequeira said, referring to destinations such as the Far East and Turkey. The holidays expert has special packages for all popular destinations with the option to customise.
Global hub
Dubai's aviation sector's position as a global hub is connecting traffic from across the world and filling seats on flights leaving from local airports. Traffic generated locally remains much lower, with the majority flying to the Far East for upcoming holidays, travel agents say.
Edris Taher, deputy managing director of Al Rais Travel, said that while the Indian subcontinent and Far East traffic is mostly expatriates returning home to see family, new tourist traffic is heading out to Europe, as usual and also to North America. "Outbound traffic to Europe, Thailand and Malaysia and especially the UK is great. The high season in the UK is showing flights going full with no reduction in rates," Taher said. Al Rais Travel experts say China, Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States are showing a "good demand" for the UAE's attractions.
