"Wego" records 114 thousand searches ... and "Cleartrip" is witnessing an increase in reservations by 18%

Agencies: Family visits and tourism drive demand for spring travel

• Global tourism is witnessing a remarkable improvement after some countries open their doors to those who have received the vaccine.

  Archives

picture

Agencies and companies specializing in travel reservations confirmed that the demand for travel is witnessing an increase of up to 18% during the spring break, pointing out that part of this demand is concentrated for the purpose of tourism and entertainment, in exchange for a greater percentage for the purpose of visiting family and relatives, especially to regional destinations.

Emirates Today expects that the spring and summer seasons of this year will witness a remarkable turnout for trips, while the website "Wego" recorded about 114,000 searches from the UAE abroad during the spring break, and the "Cleartrip" website witnessed an increase of about Between 17 and 18% of bookings during the first week of March, compared to the first week of February 2021.

Gradual recovery

In detail, Mamoun Hamidan, the general manager of the company "Wego", which specializes in the travel services sector and online reservations for the Middle East, North Africa and India, said that tourism is gradually recovering in the country, especially with the intensification of the state's efforts to secure the anti-Coronavirus vaccine, and work to provide it. For the largest possible number before the end of this year, pointing out that global tourism is witnessing a remarkable improvement, especially after some countries have opened their doors to travelers who have received the vaccine, such as the Maldives and Seychelles, in addition to the intensification of the number of trips to these countries from the UAE.

Humaidan added that statistics and opinion polls showed that all tourists around the world have a strong desire to travel again, stressing the importance of adopting checks in the air transport sector, instead of quarantine policies.

He mentioned that the numbers indicate that the majority of the population of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will be vaccinated by next summer, and they will be ready to travel again, expressing his belief that many people will make up for lost time, similar to the "retaliatory travel" that happened in China after the closures ended. Long there.

Humaidan expected that the spring and summer seasons of the current year would witness a remarkable turnout of trips, saying: “Through our website, we see that about 114,000 searches have been carried out from the UAE to abroad during the upcoming spring vacation, and searches will increase in the coming weeks as the holiday approaches. », Indicating that the most prominent areas in the Middle East to be searched are Egypt, followed by Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.

An increase in bookings

In a related context, Amit Tanega, the operations manager at the company "Cleartrip", which specializes in travel and hotel reservations, confirmed an increase in reservations for the spring break from the UAE market, pointing out that Cleartrip witnessed an increase of between 17 and 18% in bookings during The first week of March, compared to the first week of February 2021.

He added that according to a survey conducted by the company in the UAE and Saudi markets, 72% of the respondents are ready to travel within the next six months, while 16% of the respondents expressed their satisfaction with traveling after receiving the vaccine.

Acceptable indications

For his part, the general manager of the "Belhasa Tourism Company", Narrows Sarkis, said that airline ticket reservations have witnessed an increase in recent days with regard to reservations for the spring break period, pointing out that initial estimates indicate an increase of between 10 and 12% compared to February 2021.

Sarkis explained that the demand is still well below pre-pandemic levels, but the current indicators are acceptable under the current circumstances due to travel restrictions, pointing out that part of the demand is concentrated in travel for the purpose of tourism and entertainment, in exchange for a larger percentage for the purpose of visiting relatives and relatives.

He continued, "There is still caution towards tourist travel, given the ever-changing travel restrictions and the requirements imposed by some destinations," indicating that more tourist destinations have resorted to easing restrictions, at a time when airlines have offered promotional travel packages for travel to these stations.

He pointed out that the bulk of reservations for airline tickets or travel packages take place in the last days leading up to the flight date, while expectations indicate a continuous improvement in travel demand during the coming period.

Al Rais: The trust factor is at its highest

The executive vice president of "Al Rayes Travel Company", Muhammad Jassim Al Rayes, said that the demand for travel is witnessing a noticeable increase during the spring vacation compared to the past few weeks, pointing out that the demand is focused on visiting family and relatives, as well as leisure tourism.

He stressed that easing travel restrictions in some destinations has a prominent role in increasing this movement, noting that some airlines have raised their operational capacity to specific destinations, with the high demand for them.

He stressed that the confidence factor of dealers is at its highest level since the start of the pandemic, indicating that there is a greater willingness of people to travel again.

He explained that travel requirements are constantly changing, and travelers should make sure and check them constantly.

Altoys: easy access to Seychelles

The CEO of "Air Seychelles", Remco Altoys, said that the demand for travel during the pandemic is closely related to the requirements for entry to the concerned destinations, and the level of vaccination at that destination.

He added that with Seychelles easing the restrictions imposed on visitors, due to the high level of vaccination in it, access to it has now become easy, as visitors will not need to enter a quarantine upon arrival, regardless of vaccination status.

He added, "We expect that many travelers from the UAE will benefit from this situation in the spring break, especially with the attractive prices that we offer them. We also expect a tangible improvement in demand from the third quarter onwards."

• Current indicators are acceptable under current conditions and travel restrictions.

Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news