Soaring demand for summer getaways abroad

Demand for travel to various countries has considerably increased over the past few weeks as a large number of people prefer to spend the summer holidays abroad.

A number of specialists in the field of tourism told local Arabic daily Arrayah that the top destinations this season include Turkiye, London, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Thailand and Malaysia. Besides, demand is high for some Arab and GCC countries including Abha in Saudi Arabia, Muscat in Oman, Egypt and Jordan.

Faisal al-Timtam pointed out that most Qataris prefer to travel to the countries that have moderate to cold weather to enjoy the summer holidays, mostly Turkiye with all its cities and towns, followed by London in UK and other European countries. Accordingly, he advised travellers and tourists going to European cities to take extra care and avoid going alone to the areas away from the city centres or venturing into certain neighbourhoods. They should also avoid any display of wealth such as wearing very expensive clothes, luxury watches and jewellery as this would attract thieves and could put them in difficult situations. Further, tourists should not carry big amounts of cash with them and instead use various bank cards.

Tariq Abdulatif said major sports tournaments and championships that take place at different European cities have seen considerably high demand for travel and pushed up hotel prices. So, some families have decided to avoid these destinations this summer and instead opted to go to Thailand, Malaysia, the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt. He advised travellers to plan as early as possible for their trip abroad and make early booking to save more on potential travel expenses.

Saleh al-Taweel sees Turkiye as the number one destination by families this season followed by Thailand, Jordan, Cairo, London, Austria, Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia. However, he noted that Maldives is considered the preferred destination for newlywed couples for their honeymoon. Accordingly, he stressed that travellers should not deal with strangers while abroad, especially those offering them car rentals or apartment rentals at low prices as usually this category of people would be trying to cheat them. He said the most secure way is to deal with well-known companies and tourism and travel agents within Qatar for pre-booking accommodation, hotels and to rent a car. Alternatively, travellers should use trusted websites.