General Manager of Milano Travel, Ali Thabet.
Bouncing back from the shock of COVID-19, Qatar’s resilient travel industry has begun to witness strong recovery. Travel agencies are now getting busier with phone calls of residents demanding to book flight tickets.
“We have seen around 25 percent rise in the sale of flight tickets in October compared to the previous month. November has also started on a very positive note as demand for tickets is high,” General Manager of Milano Travel, Ali Thabet (pictured) told The Peninsula. “People are mostly travelling to Turkey and it is a mix of business and family trips. People are opting for Turkey because it has made it very easy for travellers to visit the country. The requirements related to COVID-19 are easy to follow for visitors,” he added.
Easing of travel restrictions by governments has played a crucial role in boosting the confidence of travellers. Several countries have eased requirements related to COVID-19 restrictions which have encouraged travellers to pack their bags.
The revival in demand for travel began to pick up from September when travelling became easier for visitors. Many workers who were stuck in their home countries have started coming back.
“Apart from Turkey, a lot of travel is happening from The Philippines and India, but the travellers are mainly workers like housemaids, drivers, cooks and other people working for households. They had gone to their home country before COVID-19 outbreak on vacation and were stuck their due to travel restrictions. They are now coming back due to easing of travel restrictions,” said Thabet.
Travel agents say that ticket bookings are set to rise in coming weeks because December is considered as a busy season for the travel industry. Schools have winter vacations and people want to fly to home countries to celebrate Christmas.
“We have bookings from the second week of December to the first week of January. There are also enquiries for some destinations in Europe, but travellers are still not sure about going to Europe,” a Marketing Manager of a travel agency told The Peninsula. “Business had come to halt for us during the peak of COVID-19, but now the momentum has started again. Now we are seeing calls for tickets booking for Turkey in December. The recovery in the travel industry has started to gain traction from September onwards because of gradual easing of restrictions the government,” he added.
Announcements by drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna about successfull vaccine trials have further boosted the sentiments in travel industry.
