The managers and senior officials of local travel agencies have confirmed that the current season (January to November) has witnessed about 40 percent surge in the volume of reservations, with Dubai being the most preferred destination of citizens followed by Turkey and other European countries. They noted that due to lack of security in other neighbouring destinations, Dubai ranked first as the most attractive place for citizens at the end of 2012 due to tourism and recreational facilities enjoyed by the emirate. In addition, the geographical proximity of the city allows people to spend short vacations. “The current season is witnessing a high demand for booking as there is active movement of people travelling outside Doha. It has been noted that citizens are travelling to Dubai and Turkey frequently indicating that Dubai occupies the first rank in the list of travel destinations for this season. While the Arab residents prefer to stay in Qatar and non-Arab expatriates travelling to their home countries,” Hannan Qaura, Director of Public Relations and Tourism at Trans Orient Travel and Tourism Centre was quoted by local daily Al Arab. Qaura also noted that the current season has witnessed record reservations with 30 percent to 40 percent growth as compared to last year (2011). He added that the demand for Dubai as a tourist destination is high due to security disturbances in other neighbouring destinations such as Bahrain which are no longer safe destinations from a tourism point of view. This is the reason that Dubai has emerged as the most favourite place for citizens and expatriates. Tariq Abdul Lateef, CEO of Travel Regency was quoted as saying: “This season has witnessed about a 30 percent growth in the number of tourists travelling abroad, mostly going to Dubai. Some families are also travelling to Europe, especially London on the eve of the New Year.” The Peninsula

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar