UAE travel: Cheaper tourist packages prompt residents to choose African destinations

UAE travel: Cheaper tourist packages prompt residents to choose African destinations

African destinations such as Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles, Tanzania and Morocco are increasingly becoming more popular among UAE travellers for multiple reasons including ease of visa process, more services by local airlines and cost efficiency. Travel industry executives say that residents are also keen to explore new destinations as many of them have already experienced the traditionally popular tourist countries such as Georgia, Azerbaijan etc. In addition, Dubai tour operators are also aggressively introducing new packages for residents who are looking to explore the African continent. Mir Wasim Raja, manager for MICE and holidays at Galadari Brothers International Travel Services, said Morocco, Tanzania, Kenya and South Africa are getting a good number of inquiries as more people are looking to fly to these destinations. “People want hassle-free travel and visa is not an issue for UAE travellers to Kenya and Tanzania. It’s a challenge to travel to some Western countries due to visa issues,” said Raja, adding that Tanzania and Zanzibar are quite popular among UAE nationals as well. As reported by Khaleej Times earlier, UAE residents have to wait till September-October for Schengen visa appointments due to a spike in demand. In addition, he pointed out that African countries