Top destinations for vacations during Ramadan 2019 revealed

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Top destinations for vacations during Ramadan 2019 revealed
Marmaris Old Town and Harbour, Mugla, Turkey

Dubai - Many residents are also opting for Umrah packages.

by

Sandhya D'Mello

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Published: Thu 25 Apr 2019, 3:38 PM

With Ramadan around the corner, travel operators are getting busy catering to ever-demanding travel and toursim sector of the UAE. Residents are exploring new destinations be it short-breaks, staycations or planning for Eid holidays, it is busy time for travel sector.  
Lakshmi Anand, operation manager, International Travel Services - Division of Galadari Group, said: "This year during Ramadan our focus is mainly on  Umrah packages, as  compared to last year due to competitive packages extended by the airlines and the hotels , They are  competitive compared when compared to 2018. This year airlines have also extended extremely competitive deals for Eid holidays destinations such as Georgia, Jordan, Egypt and Seychelles are also being anticipated to do well this Eid." 
Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East North Africa (Mena) region, has ranked Egypt number one in terms of the trending flight destinations during Ramadan for Mena travellers followed by India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, USA, Kuwait and Jordan. 
"We have also observed that over 50 per cent of people tend to search their flights using smartphones and we believe this trend will increase in 2019. When it comes to the trip duration, 55 per cent of travellers in 2019 booked a 12+ day flight compared to 39 per cent in 2018," said  Mamoun Hmedan director, MENA, Wego Middle East.
"As for the top searched destinations for hotels, Egypt ranked first followed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE, USA, UK, Malaysia, Kuwait, Thailand and France. So far, 50 per cent of travellers who searched for hotels looked for a 12-day stay compared to 40 per cent in 2018. Over 45 per cent of travellers searched for hotels using smartphones compared to 34 per cent last year. In 2018, the average number of people who searched for flights and hotels was split between 20 per cent families, 25 per cent couples and 55 per cent solos. As for the trend for 2019, the mix is looking like 48 per cent couples, 36 per cent solo and the remaining 15 per cent families." 
The general consensus among the travel operators is the market seems very optimistic with the UAE residents usually taking lead in exploring new places. Himanshu Sampat, business head UAE, Cox & Kings Tours, said: "During Ramadan expats go for short breaks and while a section of travellers start planning for their forthcoming  Eid holidays. This month is one of the busy month keeping us on toes as people walk-in to our office late evening after iftar. This year  to our surprise there has been surge in new destinations like Prague, Belgrade, Baltics whereas conventional packages of Georgia, Azerbaijan has slow movement compared to last year. Europe has been one of the key seller as always  followed by USA  which has picked up so well to our surprise. Europe with wider range of offering and flight deals beginning from Dh2,499  is a steal deal during this holidays thanks to our airline connectivity from UAE." 
Expert insights shared at the 7th annual MICE Arabia and Luxury Travel, the regions' premier B2B platform, organised by Dubai based QNA International, also highlighted the growth of the Halal Tourism market and how an increasing number of destinations are boosting their efforts to attract more Muslim visitors to their countries and are increasingly tailor making their offerings to cater to the unique needs and preferences of Muslim travellers during summer.
Sidh NC, director, QNA International, Organisers of The MICE Arabia & Luxury Travel Congress, said: "Ramadan is a beautiful month and represents a significant cultural shift in the travellers behavior. The Islamic travel market brings tremendous opportunities and with Ramadan set to take place in the winter months from 2020, destinations in the Middle East such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman, Egypt and Kuwait will become an attractive destination for Muslim travellers. However, it's not only in the Middle East, Muslims travelling in Ramadan are becoming a reality and can benefit countries across the globe, through planned destination marketing by the tourism authorities." 
Staycations are ever on the rise with more people booking hotel stays in the UAE. Hotel bookings for Dubai specifically have already increased by 41 per cent compared to bookings in January 2018, with an increased booking window of 51 per cent [10 to 15 days]. People are also venturing into other emirates with bookings to Ras Al Khaimah for instance, increasing by almost 22 per cent from January 2018, according to Tajawal,  Middle East-based flights and hotel booking online travel platform.
Muzzammil Ahussain, executive vice president, Al Tayyar Travel, said: "With Ramadan expected to begin in early May, many travellers booked their pre-Ramadan holidays in advance, with flight bookings increasing almost 45 per cent compared to last year. In terms of trending destinations, a few new contenders for the top destinations have emerged with Baku, Paris, Goa, Riyadh and Vienna being amongst the top searched destinations." 
Raed Kai, director of sales and marketing, The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai, said: "Ramadan 2019 is looking positive and it has already started generating bookings and interest. A lot of our guests from last year want to return hoping for a similar exceptional and intimate experience that they had in 2018. We are seeing that our international guests are more aware about the month of Ramadan than ever before and are choosing to travel to our city to witness the various traditions and rituals that form an integral part of the Holy Month. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) in Dubai puts in a lot of efforts to position the city as a must visit during Ramadan and their initiatives are indeed very fruitful in generating more footfall. Guests are ahead of the game in preparing their travel plans and are making an informed decision when it comes to choosing the right place to stay and experience the observances."
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com 
 


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