RIYADH: Gulf countries should expect to see an influx of European travelers this winter as holiday-makers seek out economically stable destinations, according to a senior executive of an online travel platform.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mamoun Hmedan, chief commercial officer and managing director for the Middle East and North Africa and India at Wego, also said around 1.2 million tourists are expected to flock to the region to attend the World Cup in Qatar from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.
The combination of the factors will see Gulf countries experience a boom this winter, said Hmedan, adding: “The economic recession, of course, constitutes a great concern, but we expect that there is also a kind of new travel pattern, many travelers from Europe will come to the Gulf, and they will come to other places, which are considered more stable and this is what we began to see and notice in general.
The FIFA World Cup has led to an increase in demand for hotels, which resulted in an increase in prices.
Hmedan stressed that the biggest beneficiary after Qatar will be the surrounding countries in the region, pointing out that occupancy rates in Dubai began to approach 100 percent before the actual launch of the World Cup.
He also noted that there is an improvement in occupancy rates in Abu Dhabi and Oman.
While the month of September witnessed a lull in the travel movement, Hmedan pointed out that a return of improvement is expected to begin in mid-October and beyond.