Muscat: The demand for air tickets to Asian destinations is high, and some airlines have already closed their bookings for the Eid Al Adha holidays, travel agents said.
"The demand for tickets to destinations in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand is high. Some of the carriers have even closed their bookings as flights are full," Raji DeMonte, general MANAGER at Universal Travel and Tourism Agencies, said.
According to media reports quoting Mohammed Shawkat Awda, the chairman of Islamic Crescent Observation Project (ICOP), Eid Al Adha may fall on Sunday, October 5, 2014, in countries which strictly follow the sighting of the crescent moon.
"The outbound travel bookings are quite high. Many had started booking their tickets during the Eid Al Fitr holidays itself. As it would be cold in Europe, many in Oman are opting for Asian destinations where the weather is pleasant. Some Indian carriers and Lankan carriers are already full," Raji added.
Destination SalalahDuring the Eid Al Fitr holidays which also coincided with the Salalah Khareef Festival, most tourists preferred to travel to Salalah because of the cool weather rather than opt for outbound destinations.
Lack of interest in foreign destinations due to lesser number of holidays and unavailability of tickets to outbound destinations had forced travellers to opt for Salalah.
The number of visitors to the Dhofar Governorate between June 21, 2014 and August 17, 2014, reached 327,748, an increase of 24.1 per cent as compared to the same period last year.
However, the situation has changed for the Eid Al Adha holidays.
Meanwhile, the recent travel sector reports claimed that Sri Lanka has become the most-sought after travel destinations for Omanis.
"Lanka has become the most desired destination for Omanis. If we check the VISA issuing data for the last few months, we can see that there is an exponential growth in the numbers. Moreover, facilities available in Lanka are affordable when compared to other tourist destinations," Deepal Pallegangoda, country MANAGER for SriLankan Airlines, told Times of Oman.
"Our flights are already full," the country MANAGER added.
However, another travel agent said that the volatile situation in some of the countries in the Middle East is compelling Omanis and residents to opt for Asian destinations.
Preferred destinations
"Tourists are reluctant to travel to some of the Middle East hotspots due to unrest, so they are preferring Asian destinations," the travel agent said while adding that Dubai may witness an increase in the number of tourists from Oman as it is the closest location during the holidays.
In 2013, Omanis and Sultanate-based expatriates spent about OMR42 million on shopping while visiting the UAE, official statistics reported.
The figures are based on the annual exchange of the UAE dirham in MONEYexchange companies and banks by individuals as recorded by the Central Bank of Oman.
However, these numbers do not include transactions of cross border businesses.
Enquiries for travelThe travel agents also claimed that they are getting more and more enquiries for travel to Muscat from other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and from Europe.
"Already the HOTELS AT mountain locations and especially Muscat seashores have got numerous enquiries. We are seeing an increase in bookings on flights from there to Oman," the travel agents added.
Last year, according to official figures, more than 2.1 million tourists visited the Sultanate, up by 7.8 per cent compared to the previous year.
Tourism has made a direct contribution of $2.5 billion to the economy in 2013, equivalent to three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report released in April by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
The council's Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2014 report about Oman said that it expected the figure to rise by 10.2 per cent this year, after which it anticipated an average annual increase of 5.4 per cent throughout the following decade.
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