Qatar sees outbound travel rush for Eid fest

Travel agents expect a surge in travel out of Qatar on Monday evening when those working in the private sector get three labour law-sanctioned days off starting on Tuesday

Outbound travel from Qatar has shot up significantly ahead of the Eid al-Adha holidays with air ticket sales increasing by 60-70% compared to previous months.

Residents are utilising the opportunity to explore nearby popular destinations. “Most of our tickets have been sold to cities in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka followed by Far Eastern destinations,” a travel agent told Gulf Times.

Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in Qatar on November 16, a Tuesday, making it an extended weekend holiday for most residents. The government’s 10-day holiday started yesterday.

It ends on November 21, a Sunday. There has been a big rush for air tickets to Kathmandu earlier this month, with travel agents attributing it to the Diwali festival in Nepal which began on November 5.

“There was also a slight increase in ticket sales to Manila, but it was just a fragment of what we will see next month,” one travel agent said.

Travel to the Philippines increases significantly in December, when thousands of overseas Filipinos travel home in time for Christmas and New Year. Another travel agent said most of the outbound travellers from Doha were Europeans seeking to explore the region’s vacation spots.

“These are mainly employees of oil and gas companies, multinational corporations and of the telecommunication sector,” he said.

“Most of the people began travelling to their destinations on Thursday evening. Flights to many popular destinations are full already,” the general manager of a 25-year-old travel agency said.

“The travelling pattern points to a preference for Middle Eastern and Asian destinations,” he explained. These included Dubai, Muscat and Salalah, Beirut, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. “Tickets to these cities are not available for even QR10,000 now,” he said.

“For Qataris with families, Middle Eastern destinations were the preferred choice, while those looking to party opted for cities like Hong Kong, Bangkok and other cities,” the official said.

He expects another surge in travel out of Qatar on Monday evening when those working in the private sector get three labour law-sanctioned days off starting on Tuesday.

Most private companies resume work after the weekend. Tempting travellers this Eid al-Adha season were host of attractive offers by holiday divisions of travel agencies. “We saw an offer to travel to Istanbul for QR1,999 for five nights and six days on twin-sharing and we couldn’t resist,” said a family of four after purchasing a package tour.

“Last month my wife travelled to Istanbul for business purposes and the ticket alone was QR2,200+. This particular package is very competitive,” the family head said.

The country’s flagship carrier Qatar Airways launched Eid al-Adha special fares starting from QR370 (Dubai), QR1,220 (Beirut), QR1,990 (Bangkok, London) and QR2,380 (Paris) with certain condition.