ABU DHABI, DUBAI // For those suffering amid the relentless heat and rising humidity, Eid and the school holidays came at just the right time with tens of thousands heading to the airports for a summer break.
Today is likely to be one of the busiest days of the year at Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports, and the queues are expected to stretch through the terminal as families head off.
Ritesh Chauhan, 38, from the UK, was making the final preparations before his flight back home to see his family this afternoon.
“I’d booked it a while ago as I knew I was going to be in the UK to attend a friend’s wedding so the fact it’s coincided with the Eid holidays was a happy coincidence,” said the IT professional, who works in Dubai.
“We booked in advance so managed to get some good rates. We’ll combine this with our normal summer holidays as usually we have stayed in the UAE for Eid.
“The main thing for us was that our two children will also be starting their summer holidays.”
For those that booked long ago the fares were likely manageable – less so for anyone booking a last minute break.
Flights between Dubai and London Heathrow today (Friday) with Emirates Airline, returning in three weeks’ time, were listed as Dh4,870.
And for a last minute Eid getaway to Colombo – one of the most popular destinations – flights were almost Dhs3,800.
Travel agents said the most popular destinations are Indian Ocean islands including Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius, with some going slightly further afield to Bali.
For August, Europe - as always - remains a popular destination, with other destinations such as Georgia and Sri Lanka up on the list.
Helen Griffiths is going to spend the long weekend in the Seychelles, less than a five hour flight away.
“It’s so close, and much closer than if we were living back home in Ireland,” she said. “It’s weekends like this that we can make the most of these destinations which aren’t too far away as we wouldn’t necessarily go if it was from Ireland, cost and time wise.”
Passengers are being warned to arrive in plenty of time for flights, with Dubai International even incentivising passengers with discounts for those arriving early.
Extra staff and facilities will be made available at the country’s major airports this weekend to allow for the summer exodus.
Dubai International Airport has extra staff on hand to manage an estimated 1.9 million travellers expected through the airport in the coming week.
They expect the busiest period to be today (Friday) with over 76,000 departing passengers.
The busiest day for total traffic – departing, arriving and connecting – will be June 30 with over 262,000 passengers.
“Due to the heavy passenger loads we want to remind passengers to give themselves a bit of extra time to get to and through the airport,” said Anita Mehra, senior vice president of communication at operator Dubai Airports.
It is a similar story at Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Ahmed Al Shamsi, acting chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airport, said “we are coordinating with police, immigration and customs to ensure the airport has a sufficient number of employees to cater for the needs of the passenger numbers that have been forecast.”
The two peak periods are expected to be from June 20 to July 15 for departing passengers, and from August 15 to September 10 returning residents.
The number of passengers is expected to increase by five to eight per cent during the summer months compared to the same period last year, with around seven million passengers traveling through terminals.
Dubai resident Anthony Newland wasted no time in leaving for Canada as soon as his two children finished school yesterday. He was due to fly early this morning.
“We always book to fly as soon is summer is out,” he said.
“It’s just too hot to keep them entertained here and they’re really ready to leave and get to play outdoors when we’re back in Canada.”
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The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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