Optimism spurs Eid travel plans in UAE

UAE residents are more willing to splash out on getaways for Eid this year, as local sentiment improves despite global economic weakness, travel agents say. "The trend is positive," said Sunil D'Souza, the regional travel director at Kanoo Travel. "The economy is steadily improving and business activity has picked up tremendously, in Dubai especially. People feel more comfortable and want to go for short breaks." The number of bookings was up by about 6 per cent compared with Eid last year, he said. "The Far East has taken a bigger percentage of Eid bookings this year than the traditional Middle Eastern destinations, the reason being that the regional disturbances have caused a bit of a scare in the minds of people." Singapore and Malaysia are among the favourite destinations for this Eid break. But Thailand, normally one of the most popular destination for UAE residents, is being avoided because of the floods. "Thailand this time for Eid we have very, very few bookings," said Mr D'Souza. "Hong Kong has picked up." Sharaf Travel also reported that bookings were up slightly on last year. "Now the holiday has been declared, there will be a major, last-minute sprint to the finish line," said Premjit Bangara, the travel manager at Sharaf Travel in Dubai. "I can see the phone lines jangling. "They are booking into Malaysia and Oman is a pretty good draw. We've seen Cyprus, we've seen a little bit of Greece, also Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Those are the very popular ones for Eid short breaks." Thailand was off the list for Mr Bangara's clients, as well as many of the regional destinations such as Syria and Egypt, which are usually popular options for Eid getaways. "Thailand is a no-no at this point in time," Mr Bangara said. Prices generally had not risen on last year with airlines introducing competitive fares on certain routes to stimulate demand, Mr Bangara said. Turkey has become enormously popular among Middle Eastern residents this year amid instability in other destinations in the region, but the recent earthquake there has deterred some people.