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Residents in the UAE are turning the phrase "fear of the unknown" on its head, as the country is witnessing a new trend when it comes to the holidaymaker's destination of choice.
According to some travel sites and airlines used by UAE residents - including wego.com, Emirates Airlines, Flydubai, and Deira Travel and Tourist Agency - Central Asia and Eastern Europe are proving to be the alternative destinations of choice for many keen travelers today.
Although travel advisories and warnings from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) have influenced many of these choices, price has also played a part in this increase of air traffic to pastures new.
"In the last two years, airline prices have changed a lot," Emirati national, Mohammed Yousuf Al Shaibani told Khaleej Times.
"If we want to travel, we need an airline, so we have no choice but to pay these rising prices for certain destinations. I think this has influenced this change in destinations. People are looking for more affordable options."
In recent years, Dean Wicks, Chief Flights Officer of Wego.com, told Khaleej Times that it has seen more interest in Asia, especially resort destinations such as Thailand and Malaysia, when it comes to UAE travellers.
"The median cost of airfares (from highest to lowest) to the US is $1,900, to Europe $992, to Africa $864, and to Asia $645. With flights becoming more affordable to Asia, it's understandable that family holidays to the region are becoming more popular."
For family man Al Shaibani, lower costs are his driving force when it comes to holidaying abroad.
He said his preferred airline of choice is now charging about Dh13,000 for a Business Class return flight to London.
"But when I checked with a lesser known airline, that price dropped down to Dh8,000 which is fair. Certain airlines are charging far too much."
Popular destinations for 2016 Emirates Airlines - London, Los Angeles, Bangkok, Cairo, Beirut Fly Dubai - Bratislava, Bucharest, Prague, Sofia, Central Asia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Deira Travel and Tourist Agency - Georgia, Thailand, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and India. |
Preferred destinations
Fardan MH works as the Operations Manager for Deira Travel and Tourist Agency in Dubai. Since January this year, his company has noticed a huge change in flight bookings.
"This is mainly due to security reasons. People within this region now prefer destinations such as Georgia, Thailand, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and India."
And he said bookings to destinations such as Turkey, Belgium, and France have decreased.
"This shift is due to the recent unfortunate incidents which has taken various lives."
Connecting flights With price regularly being flagged as the main reason for steering away from popular destinations like Western Europe and the US, are more travellers opting to take connecting flights? According to the Wego.com database, the majority of travellers shopping for flights prefer to go direct, with a ratio of 7:2 opting for a non-stop ticket. More than 70 per cent of Flydubai's passenger flow is point-to-point traffic. And although Deira Travel and Tourist Agency has seen a slight increase in the number of passengers choosing connecting flights to save costs, the majority still book direct routes. |
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