Expats pick destinations in region for summer trips

There is still heavy traffic from the UAE to the United States and Canada in the education category despite the fact that leisure traffic to North America has been hit by 9/11 and the subsequent racial profiling of visitors from this region, a travel executive told Gulf News.

The trend has shifted and it is during July and August that the rush to North America starts with expatriate parents exploring the education opportunities there for their children.

"They go and check out the schools and tie that up with their holidays," according to Asim Arshad, General Secretary of the Sharjah Travel Agents Association and General Manager of Orient Travel.

Canada also attracts expat parents because education there is cheaper compared with the U.S., he added.

The executive said there is also this 'big movement' to Canada because of the recent changes announced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) requiring landed immigrants to obtain a permanent resident card.

"You don't get it by post. You have to receive it in person," said Arshad, explaining the large number of people travelling to Canada.

The fool-proof card has been introduced to increase border security and to protect against fraudulent use of immigration documents. By the end of this year all permanent residents returning to Canada from international travel will be required to show the card at entry checkpoints.

Since Air Canada does not fly here, many European airlines have filled in the gap to meet the need.

Mohammed A.A. Qur-aishi, Manager of Sharjah National Travel and Tourist Agency (SNTTA), said the severe acute respiratory syndrome fear has had a huge impact on traffic to the Far East.

"Many people travelling to the Indian sub continent would earlier stop over at Singapore, Thailand, or Hong Kong on their return here. That traffic has stopped."

"A person going to Mumbai would pay a little extra and stop over at Bangkok. Or you had Singapore Airline offering a good deal at around Dh300 extra to Pakistanis going to Karachi, for a stopover," said Arshad.

Reem Salim, a holiday consultant, said she has only a single booking to Thailand so far. The travel agencies are on the Arouba Road here and are busy this time of the year. "It's a seasonal rush."

Quraishi said that business travel to the U.S. has not dropped. He said there are also many green card holders in the UAE who travel back regularly.

Nearer home, Saudi Arabia continues to attract a very large number of residents from the UAE, who tie in their holidays in Abha, the summer resort province in the south of the Kingdom, with Umrah. "This is the second consecutive year there has been a huge demand," said Arshad.

The hotels there are full to capacity during the summer as the resort city also attracts residents from other Gulf states. Saudi Arabia now also gives transit visas up to 12 hours and has attracted a large number of Egyptians going home, who also stop over for Umrah, he added.

Holidaymakers are seeking other destinations besides the U.S., and Brussels, Belgium, seems to the big winner this year with UAE nationals.

This is despite the fact that getting a visit visa to any European destination now takes more time than usual, anything between 10 days and two weeks, noted Salim.

Egypt, Syria and Turkey are other Middle Eastern destinations popular with UAE nationals. "Usually a family group on an average comprises two adults and three children and they spend about Dh25,000 for a trip to Europe."

The same package to Egypt for instance will cost about less than half, at Dh10,000, including air fare, accommodation and transfers.

Since this is the wedding season in the UAE, honeymoon packages to Mauritius are really hot this summer.