Budget breaks on the rise as travellers from Oman head east

Muscat: Cost-conscious travellers are turning to budget tourism this Eid, travel agents and senior airline officials have confirmed to Times of Oman.
Joe Rajadurai, Qatar Airways country manager for Oman, said travellers from Oman were showing more interest in emerging destinations such as Tbilisi, Zagreb and Baku, while places like Colombo, Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta and Phuket had retained their popularity. “This clearly shows that people are cost-conscious while travelling,” he told Times of Oman.
“We’ve seen a huge rise in bookings for Tbilisi and other eastern parts of Europe. That is one of the reasons why we have increased our services to the Georgian capital,” admitted Sudhir Sreedharan, Senior Vice President, Commercial (GCC, Subcontinent and Africa), for flydubai.
He also noted that they were witnessing cost-conscious travellers moving from full-service airlines to budget airlines to cut down on their costs. “There are other options available whenever there is a crisis, but luckily, people don’t stop travelling. Only their patterns change,” he remarked.
Travel agents say people want to see something new every time they travel and seek out places where visas are either available on arrival or where the processing time is quick. “A direct flight and a streamlined visa process contribute greatly to the popularity of a destination. Eastern Europe is popular among the locals, while the Asians expats are still opting for Asian destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka,” a travel agent in Ruwi stated.
Then, there are people who are flying back home for the holidays.
Continuing to keep his annual Eid tradition alive, Mohammed Ali said he was going back home for a family reunion. “My destination is Hyderabad---the same as every year. I am going there to spend some time with my family and enjoy some authentic and delicious homemade food,” he told Times of Oman.
“Also, Eid is in July this year, and it gets very hot here, so I am glad that I will be escaping some of the summer heat,” he added.
While some residents choose to travel back to their home countries during Eid, others find it more convenient to spend the holiday with their loved ones here. “The holidays are declared very late, so even if we want to, we can’t plan anything major,” remarked Ratul, an Indian expat.
As Eid coincides with the summer holidays again this year, travellers will likely combine the two. “Many people sent their families home as soon as schools closed before Eid. They will now join the rest of their family during this period.”
However, many travel agents in the Sultanate have suffered losses as a result. “It is not at all a busy season (this year), as the Eid holidays have coincided with the Indian school holidays, so a large chunk of people are already out of the country,” stated a travel agent who has offices in Ruwi and Ghubrah.