Dubai: The residents of UAE are all set to travel this year’s Eid occasion, and those destinations offering minimum visa processing are ruling the charts.
According to Subair Valappil, Senior Manager of Outbound Operations at Regal Tours, there is a lot of interest in Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Maldives and Seychelles.
However, Oman is particularly a favourite because it is accessible by road, and a visa for Omar takes less than 30 minutes to issue in most cases.
Industry sources express the pent-up demand for travel has led to a spike in airfares, with airlines scaling back on the steep discounts that were the norm during the Eid holidays last year.
In the first week of May, a flight from Dubai to Tbilisi, Georgia, costs around Dh1,000. Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, comes to more than Dh3,000. Most flights heading to the Maldives are at least Dh3,200.
Baku (Azerbaijan) could be a good option for those looking at more economical getaways with fares from Dh885. Given the geographical proximity, flights to Muscat start from Dh695.
According to a flydubai spokesperson, “We have seen demand for travel returning as more countries lift travel restrictions.”
As per the Dubai-based airline, they set a very popular holiday package; these schemes allow customers to pick a hotel along with an activity, which in most cases is a tour of select landmarks.
A one-night Tbilisi package, which contains a hotel stay and a nearby tourist spot tour, will cost more than Dh4,000. A similar package for Yerevan is also Dh4,400.
Europe’s challenging to get through:
It is shocking that despite a global relaxation of travel restrictions, UAE’s holidaymakers are finding it difficult in order to get through to western Europe, and there is a reason for that.
“Visa appointments for Europe are simply not available anymore. Those booking tickets already have a Schengen visa,” said Valappil.
According to one of an ex-pat, Some found out this is so relatively late, I was also planning to do a Euro trip this Eid break, and even I had the tickets, but when I enquired about the visa, I found out the next appointment was on the day of my departure.