Europe, a must visit for GCC travellers

Travellers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are now able to visit their favoured destinations this summer. Sapna Aidasani, Director, Marketing, Pluto Travels Dubai, shares with TRAVTALK the most popular destinations their customers would like to choose after more than two years of hiatus.

TT Bureau

What are the most favoured summer destinations by UAE/GCC?

European destinations. People are looking to travel to cooler destinations, as for the last two years European destinations were closed for tourists, and because of that we are getting bulk requirements for Schengen Visa. Most travelled destinations for summer 2022 are Turkey, Switzerland, Paris and Amsterdam. People are also looking to travel to Paris, Bali and Thailand. They are looking to travel during Eid, which is second week of July and during summer, which is July and August.

How important is indulging in local culture to travellers?

Travellers generally want to experience the authentic local culture and heritage, so they prefer to buy semi-luxury, which provides an overall experience and true taste of the country.

Is it important to have insurance especially post pandemic?

As a travel consultant, our role is not just to part with knowledge, but to provide an end-to-end service to our customers. Hence, we provide our clients insurance with a Covid cover and keep the customers informed of any Covid cancellation.

Do travellers plan their holidays based on the visa process?

The advantage of being a resident in the UAE is that there is evisa or visa on arrival offered. This makes the process smooth as travellers can plan their holidays a week before the departure and they save on hefty visa cost.

In your opinion, has there been a demand in travel afer the Covid intensity come under control?

I would say travel, especially holiday travel, has increased manyfold since the year 2019 because people could not travel for the last two years and they realised the value of travelling.