Manila, Cairo and Amman are most popular summer destinations for UAE travellers

With the school year ending and Eid Al Adha holidays in sight, travellers are planning to get away this summer.

And, the most popular destination for travel from the UAE is Manila, according to the latest data from online travel agency Skyscanner.

The Eid Al Adha long weekend is scheduled to start on Friday, July 8, and end on Monday, July 11, giving travellers a four-day weekend.

Families are preparing for global travel after two years of disruption owing to Covid-19. AFP

In line with the coming holiday, the week beginning July 4 is the most popular for travel from the UAE.

The capital of the Philippines is the most popular destination for summer holidays, with destinations in Egypt, Jordan, India and Turkey rounding out the top five.

Top destinations for UAE travellers

1. Manila, Philippines

2. Cairo, Egypt

3. Amman, Jordan

4. Mumbai, India

5. Istanbul, Turkey

Skyscanner reveals UAE bookings in May, for July and August travel, were up by 156 per cent compared to the previous month.

It’s a similar story in Saudi Arabia where bookings increased by 325 per cent for the same period.

Travellers from the kingdom prefer Egypt over the Philippines for travel this year, with Cairo the most popular destination from Saudi Arabia on Skyscanner. London is the second most-booked destination, followed by Bangkok, Baku and Hyderabad.

“As travel restrictions have eased and traveller confidence returns, we’ve witnessed a travel revival with pent-up demand turning into millions of travellers enjoying their much longed for trips again,” said Skyscanner travel expert, Ayoub El Mamoun.

Despite the popularity of some destinations, El Mamoun says summer flights don’t have to be expensive and advised travellers to set up flight alerts to track price drops.

“Flights to popular summer destinations don’t have to cost a fortune if you know how to search for the best prices,” he added.

Thailand is top summer holiday destination

Waves break on the empty tourist beach of Patong on Phuket, southern Thailand. AP Photo

Travellers are also heading to more traditional holiday destinations this summer, according to data from dnata Travel.

The travel agency last week said Thailand is the most popular destination for holidays from the UAE this summer.

The South-East Asian country removed all Covid-19-related entry rules in June, when it scrapped the need for incoming travellers to hold a Thailand Pass.

Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui are the most popular destinations in Thailand for UAE travellers.

Dnata Travel also said 64 per cent of customers had booked holidays abroad, while 34 per cent had opted for UAE staycations this summer.

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The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

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