Thailand emerges on top for summer holidays with UAE travellers as bookings soar

dnata Travel, the UAE’s longest-standing travel provider, is revealing that Thailand is the most popular destination for UAE travellers for summer holidays in 2022.

Experts at the UAE-based travel brand are recording a 185% increase in the total number of travel bookings made for summer 2022 so far compared to the same time period in 2021.

A total 64% of hotel bookings are for international properties, while 34% represent UAE staycations across the country. The top ten destinations for UAE travellers to book a holiday package, including flights and hotels, with dnata Travel at the time of publishing, are: Thailand, Maldives, Turkey, Mauritius, UK, Indonesia, Italy, USA, Spain and France, respectively.

Flight-only leisure travel bookings are also proving popular to visit friends and relatives, with top destinations including India, Egypt, Philippines, Turkey, and the UK, most concentrated during the time of the anticipated Eid al-Adha break in July.

Meerah Ketait, Head of Retail and Leisure UAE at dnata Travel, commented: "The top five holiday destinations for UAE travellers in 2022 have typically made up our top locations for international travel bookings pre-pandemic. With more locations opening up to travellers this year and with eased restrictions, we have witnessed our 2021 summer holiday hotspots the Maldives and Turkey joined once again by ever-popular destinations Thailand, Mauritius and the UK.

"Thailand has risen quickly to become the top-choice international holiday destination for UAE travellers in summer 2022 since it reopened for tourism. Alongside the world-class resorts, experiences, food and abundance of natural attractions that the country has to offer, cost-effective holiday offers across its cities and islands are extremely popular."

The top locations of choice for UAE travellers to Thailand this summer with dnata Travel are Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui. Its popular Thailand holiday packages for 2022, inclusive of seven nights in a four or five star hotel, meal plans, return flights and more, start from AED3,480 per person.

As more of Asia opens for tourism, Indonesia is close to reaching the top five most popular holiday destinations from the UAE, with direct flights recently resuming to the island of Bali, one of dnata Travel’s most searched-for international destinations during the pandemic. Singapore sits close to the top ten, offering travellers an attractive and safe city break.

Meanwhile, witnessing notable growth this summer and climbing the overall list at the fastest rate for holiday bookings from the UAE include Oman, Canada, Germany and Austria, as mountain resorts remain popular with travellers seeking an escape amidst nature.