Agents banking on 'late booking rush' during Eid

Travel agents in Dubai say they are banking on a “late booking rush” during the Eid break to offset the slump in travel that’s set to take place over the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Ramadan begins in peak summer holiday period this year – 1 August – and as most Muslims prefer to stay at home with family, rather than travel during the Holy Month, agents are preparing to take a major hit on holiday sales over this period.

“The local population have postponed their leave [as they] prefer to stay at home during the Holy Month, and this directly impacts our sales,” said William Horsley, general manager, Al Futtaim Travel.

Horsley said he was anticipating a 10 to 15 % loss in revenue over the summer holiday period, but was banking on a  "late Eid bookings rush" to make up for it.

Vik Naidu, general manager, Al Rostamani Travel, agreed: “The arrival of Eid and the great amount of travel done during this period tends to offset any slowdown incurred during the month prior.”

According to Dina Al Herais, vice president – Commercial Operations, Emirates Holidays, “overall revenues will not suffer” due to the appearance of Ramadan in the midst of summer - but the new trend will be for “more trips with shorter durations”.

“This will require a lot of planning and forecasting," she said. "There will be opportunities in some areas and challenges in others. Having said that, it is all manageable and the only one true challenge that remains would be the difficulty to forecast in very late booking markets."