Spike in travel demand from UK

As soon as the announcement came in that the UK has moved the UAE to the amber list, there was a spike in bookings for travel to the UAE from UK. It sends in a positive vibe for the tourism industry, some professionals shared their insights with TRAVTALK.

Sofia Santos, Country Manager – GCC, Visit Britain
The UAE is a very important inbound visitor market for us and we know there is pent-up demand for travel. We are working closely with our partners in the UAE to promote the very best of destination Britain to drive future trips being able to welcome more international visitors back by safely reducing barriers to travel is a crucial step on tourism’s road to rebuilding.

Nasir Jamal Khan, CEO, Al Naboodah Travel
The UK is one of the top travel destinations in the list for both inbound and outbound travel from/to UAE. We are delighted that the UAE is now moved to UK’s amber list, t announcement will provide a major boost to tourism and family travel. Each step that leads to restore normality is appreciated. The safety of the visitors had always been the main priority of the region.

Manu Mehrotra, General Manager, Al Tayer Travel
The UK is an important market, both for leisure and business travel. I am sure the placing of UAE in the amber list of countries will have a positive impact. Emirates has already announced the addition of more flights to UK as well as increasing frequency, so I am sure the other airlines too are planning expansion of services to cater to the pent-up demand.

Mamoun Hmedan, Managing Director, MENA and India, Wego
The United Kingdom’s decision to move UAE from the red list to amber list is a great step towards reviving the tourism between the two countries, especially since the UK is one of the most preferred destinations for UAE travellers and vice versa. Following the announcement, we saw an increase of 110% in the searches from the UAE to the UK and the biggest spike was on the date of the announcement between August 4-5. We also saw a remarkable growth in the family trip searches with around 255% followed by couples with 95% increase and solos with 91%.

Stewart Smith, Managing Director – MEA, Sojern
After the announcement in the UK, we saw a huge increase (275% increase week on week) in travellers looking to travel into the UAE from the UK, mostly to Dubai. The positive trend is probably because of the convenience that travellers have to take a PCR test at the airport and subsequently enjoy their holidays. Although it is summer it is still good to see the pent-up demand for travel into the UAE. Looking at travellers from the UAE to the UK there was a 47% increase, possibly because there are still quarantine restrictions in place.

Inputs by Shehara Rizly