UAE travelers choose Europe to see the New Year with Switzerland and Georgia being in high demand
Dubai: European travel destinations are the preferred choice for UAE residents for the New Year, with Switzerland and Greece among the top addresses.
In fact, these two popular travel destinations, plus Italy, top the list as the visa appointment times are relatively shorter. Travel to the UK, a major source market for UAE airlines, is also seeing a large number of bookings, travel agent sources confirm.
Ticket prices for two of the other popular hotspots preferred by UAE travelers this time of year are also rising.
“Georgia and Armenia are seeing high fares,” said a Regal Tours spokesman. “In comparison, the ticket prices for Schengen countries have remained largely stable.”
A flight from Dubai to Tbilisi in Georgia costs between 1,000 and 1,400 Dh and to Armenia (Yerevan) around 900 Dh. This is quite high compared to the Dh600-Dh700 tariffs usually found in the off-season. At the same time, a Wizz Air flight from Abu Dhabi to Athens costs from 309 Dh.
Demand pattern
If they can help, UAE travelers won’t be put off by the latest Omicron version of the virus outbreak. “As soon as people have the opportunity to travel, they will do so immediately if there is flight capacity and safe travel (possibility)”, says Ralf Ostendorf, Director of Market Management at VisitBerlin. “With the restrictions, everything is totally unpredictable and cannot be compared with times before Covid.”
Germany, which added the United Arab Emirates to its “safe” list at the beginning of October, wants to attract tourists from the Gulf and is in talks about expanding flight services. “With a new government taking over the lead in Germany, we can start talks about more traffic rights between the United Arab Emirates and Germany so that the Emirates airline can fly directly between Dubai and Berlin,” said Ostendorf. “We have an airline that flies between Dubai and Berlin on a charter basis and these flights are fully booked.”
Simplified input
The processing of a German visa usually takes about 6–12 weeks from the time you talk to the German consulate. This means that passengers should start the process of their visa application approximately 4-5 months before their trip to the country.
COVID-19 has further complicated the process by adding an additional layer of requirements. “It makes little sense to travel to a country if entry is too complicated,” said Ostendorf. “If you have flights to destinations that have an easy entry process, people just go and we have to work on that.”
Travel rules for the UAE-Switzerland
Passengers traveling from the UAE can enter Switzerland under the following conditions:
* Present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate for a test at least 72 hours before departure. Passengers who present a test certificate prior to departure must undergo another test within 4-7 days of arrival. This applies to vaccinated and non-vaccinated passengers.
* All passengers must complete an electronic passenger locator form.
* Children under the age of 16 are exempt from the COVID-19 PCR test or vaccination.
Better access
The European Commission recently announced that residents of Cabo Verde, Lebanon and the UAE who have been vaccinated with both required doses and have a vaccination card issued by their country’s competent authorities will soon be able to travel to EU Member States without restrictions.
The umbrella organization has recognized the vaccination certificates issued by the UAE as equivalent to the region’s digital Covid certificate. However, it is up to the Member States when they want to accept these three countries’ certificates.
“The EU’s digital Covid certificate is unique and therefore 55 countries and territories on five continents with more than 750 million certificates issued have so far joined the system,” said Didier Reynders, EU Commissioner for Justice, in a statement. “Even if we struggle with COVID-19 variants, we need the certificate; it has served in the past and will continue to serve to help people travel safely. “
passport
Flying to Europe should be much easier with Emirates’ latest move to link the UAE’s Alhosn app with the IATA Travel Pass digital health platform. Emirates airline said that passengers traveling to EU countries can upload their negative PCR test results and vaccination certificates carried out anywhere in the country without going to special laboratories.
Passengers only need to download the IATA Travel Pass, scan the Travel Pass QR code of the Alhosn app and reload the results into the app. UAE citizens and residents can also upload their negative PCR test results and certificates of vaccination performed anywhere in the country without having to go to a specific laboratory.