BAHRAINI families are choosing not to travel this Eid Al Fitr due to school examinations and rising costs.
Travel agents and hospitality experts are reporting that the number of people travelling this year for the holiday has been lower than what was expected, especially when compared to last year.
“The numbers are much lower than what we thought they would be,” said Bahrain International Travel general manager C D Singh.
“Schools are still open, and students have exams, so families do not want to travel and are instead waiting for Eid Al Adha, which is alongside summer holidays this year,” he said.
“Many expats usually travel back to their country to visit relatives, but that is not the case this year.
“Business is down even for popular destinations such as Türkiye and Georgia,” he added.
He said that the lower numbers could also be attributed to the fact that the Eid Al Fitr holiday is comparatively shorter than the Eid Al Adha holiday.
Popular Eid packages for Türkiye and Georgia, especially for destinations like Istanbul and Trabzon, last about eight days on an average.
“People just do not want to travel short term anymore, they want to travel longer, especially with pent-up demand post-pandemic,” said Mr Singh.
His sentiments were echoed by Dadabhai Travel director Adnan Gilitwala who attributed the lack of travel due to rising cost of flights.
“The numbers are definitely much lower than what we had anticipated,” said the 29-year-old.
“The main reason for that has been the rising cost of plane tickets and higher accommodation costs.
“We believe that the demand is there, especially as the world has finally opened up, but travel has become expensive for a lot of families,” he said.
Mr Gilitwala noted that while Türkiye remains by far the most popular destination among Bahrainis, as was reported by the GDN in June last year, other destinations have dropped off.
“Türkiye is still easily the most popular destination, but the overall trend has definitely been shifting towards Europe, especially the UK, which require more days of travel,” said Mr Gilitwala.
The GDN reported last month that over a thousand electronic visa applications to the UK were submitted by Bahrainis since the introduction of the streamlined visa process in June last year.
“European destinations with direct flights from Gulf Air, especially London, are usually very popular during this time, but people are waiting for Eid Al Adha, as they will have a longer holiday then,” said Mr Gilitwala.
Despite the lower numbers, he expects to see travel recover to pre-pandemic levels sometime around summer, from June to August.
“The market is recovering,” he said.
“The prices are unfortunately out of our control, but we are optimistic things will pick up very soon.”
Bahrainis have also opted against a ‘staycation’ and are choosing to stay at home this Eid, according to leading hospitality expert Hameed Al Halwachi.
“The number of Bahrainis doing a ‘staycation’ this year especially is very limited,” said the 62-year-old.
“That may change because people don’t know when Eid is exactly, and they don’t know when to book, but even then, it depends on the packages.
“Bahraini clients know what they want, they will not just settle for any ‘staycation’ deal, it will have to be a good one.
“The numbers will be very limited and I do not think many Bahrainis want to spend money to stay at a hotel in their own country,” he said.
Even though Bahrainis have chosen to delay travel plans for now, other GCC citizens will still be travelling, and quite a few of them will be coming to Bahrain for the holidays, with the GDN reporting that occupancy rates have already exceeded 80 per cent, a number which Mr Al Halwachi expects will increase even further.
“We are expecting occupancy to exceed 90pc, especially with relaxed rules at the causeway,” he said.
“Beach hotels will be fully booked, I think, with most of the guests coming from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, and maybe Qatar as well.
“Hopefully there will be a lot of business this time around,” he added.
nader@gdnmedia.bh
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