By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Oman and the UAE are the most preferred destinations of Qataris this upcoming Eid al-Adha, according to travel agencies.
Outside the GCC, European countries such as Turkey and Greece attract a large number of visitors from Qatar including expatriates.
A sales agent at Al Watany said many Qataris favour short destinations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi to spend the rest of Eid with their families.
“Eid al-Adha holiday is usually short and so they prefer shorter travel time to maximise their stay in the place,” he noted.
A lot of Qataris also choose Oman since it offers various tourism offerings such as unique adventures, recreation, diverse landscape and scenery, and its rich cultural heritage.
Besides scenery, the presence of Halal food served by restaurants and eateries, and mosques are some of the factors Qataris consider, according to the sales agent.
Turkey, just like UAE, is on top of their list followed by Greece and London, the latter offering visa waiver online which was favourable to Qataris.
“They like Turkey mainly because they find Halal food in most of the restaurants and since Islam is the dominant religion there,” he said. “They hardly travel to countries or places where Halal food is rarely served.”
Other factors include the weather, the presence of high-end hotels, and travel time is only about five hours.
Alpha Travel general manager Khaled Rustom said the UAE is their favourite destination within the GCC due to its proximity to Qatar and the exceptional shopping experience it offers to visitors.
He told Gulf Times that many Qataris and families had earlier booked to Dubai, as well as Oman, for holiday and leisure.
Rustom said Turkey has always been on Qataris’ top list due to its various tourism offerings that suit their taste.
“Greenery is there but changes in the situation in some tourist destinations also prompted visitors from Qatar to go to Turkey,” he pointed out.
Rustom noted that many Qataris also travel to Greece during Eid holidays despite the current financial crisis.
“Tourism was not really affected by the crisis since many Qataris are travelling to Greece every now and then,” he added.
Third on Alpha’s list is Thailand, which attracts a lot of Qatari visitors due to medical tourism and leisure. European countries such as France, Germany and Switzerland have remained their top choices during long holidays.
Rustom said a lot of Qataris travel longer during spring holiday and summer (Eid Al Fitr holidays). Malaysia is also becoming one of the popular tourism destinations for Qataris.