‘Hotel, flight searches for FIFA WC go up’

to the World Cup travellers. The VKXWWOH ÁLJKWV EHWZHHQ 'XEDL DQG 'RKD ZLWK DURXQG WR ÁLJKWV per day, make it easier for travellers to commute. In addition, the multi entry visa scheme, which was rolled out recently, will drive more footfall to the country. “The KRWHO DQG ÁLJKW VHDUFKHV WR WKH UAE, around the period of the event (November 20 to December 18) recorded over 268,000 searches on our platform, and we expect to see an increase in searches and bookings as we get closer to the event date,” he says.

“Internationally, we have seen the KLJKHVW GHPDQG LQ WHUPV RI ÁLJKW searches to the UAE around the World Cup period from Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, Germany, USA,” he adds.

Winter travel

“As with the summer travel, we see a lot of travellers searching for ÁLJKWV DQG KRWHOV LQ WKH ZLQWHU VHDson, despite the spike in airfares to some destinations. Travellers still want to make up for the lost time and spend the holidays with their families and enjoy the magic of the winter season. Through our data, we are observing a new travel pattern. The Gulf countries will see DQ LQÁX[ RI (XURSHDQ WUDYHOOHUV WKLV winter as they look for more economically stable destinations,” he further adds.

A lot of countries and tourism boards are working on special winter packages and preparing unforgettable winter experiences. “We also observe that a lot of GCC travellers tend to book in advance for the winter holidays,” Hmedan says.

The top winter destinations globally, between October and December 2022 are: India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia. “Through our data, we see that the average airfare globally will cost approximate $415 between October until December 2022. The average trip duration ranges between 3 to 7 days. And the top hotels in demand are 5-star hotels with 36 per cent, followed by 4-star hotels 28 per cent, 3- star hotels 22 per cent.

The hotel and flight searches to the UAE, around the period of the event (November 20 to December 18) recorded over 268,000 searches on our platform