Top 5 Must See Middle East Destinations During Eid Holidays

With Eid around the corner, residents have already started planning a short getaway to make the best of their Eid Break. Travel agents and tour companies have started advertising their all inclusive packages and flight deals on offer for the long weekend. Short haul regional destinations like Salalah are very popular during the Eid break but the availability of three airport terminals, wide range of flights, and Dubai’s global strategic location makes any destination  just a flight away for residents. Residents will be spoilt for choice during the long weekend with various options that suit all budgets from value holiday destinations to ultra luxury.   

Below are the top 5 regional destinations where residents can travel during Eid:

Amman, Jordan:

Amman is one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a unique blend of modern and ancient culture

• Flights: Fly Dubai, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Royal Jordanian, Qatar Airways, Air Arabia
• Weather:  Max - 27 degrees; Min - 19 degrees
• Flight time: 3 hours
• Budget: Ibis Amman 
• Luxury: Four Seasons Amman
• Sightseeing: Roman Theater, Cultural district, The Nymphaeum, Citadel with its Roman Temple of Herakles, 5^th Century Byzantine Church,  Ummayad Palace, Cantaloupe, Balad District, Nightlife, Shopping, and Souk Jara. 

Beirut, Lebanon:

Beirut is often referred to as the Paris of the Middle East. Its famous for its Nightlife, history and scenery.

• Flights: Fly Dubai, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Middle East Airlines, Air Arabia
• Weather:  Max - 30 degrees; Min - 23 degrees
• Flight time: 3 hours 20 mints
• Budget: Gefinor Rotana 
• Luxury: Phoenicia Hotel
• Sightseeing: Jumayzeh district - Famous for its nightlife, Zaytouna Bay, Ashrafeey eh, Riviera Beach Club, The Corniche, West Beirut, Solidere, Beirut Souks, Roman Baths, and Bliss Street.

Salalah, Oman:

Head to Oman’s second city to escape the summer heat and experience the cool temperature, lush green plant life, mountains, Leopards and Hyenas.

• Flights: Oman Air
• Weather:  Max - 29 degrees; Min - 25 degrees
• Flight time: 2 hours
• Budget: SalalahPlaza Hotel 
• Luxury: SalalahRotana Resort
• Sightseeing: Al Husn Souk, Museum of Franckincense Land, Marneef Cave, Salalah0 Gardens Mall, Wadi Darbat, Al Mughasyl beach, Water Springs at AinSahnawat, Greenery, Beaches, Waterfalls and wildlife.

Muscat, Oman:

The capital city of Oman with rich history, ancient forts, souks, and wadi’s all set against the mountain backdrop.

• Flights: Oman Air, Emirates, Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Etihad Airways
• Weather:  Max – 33 degrees; Min – 29 degrees
• Flight time: 1 hour; or 6 hours by car.
• Budget: Samara Hotel  
• Luxury: The Chedi Muscat
• Sightseeing and activities: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, Bayt Al Zubair, Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum, Ancient Mutrah Souk, Scuba diving, Snorkeling, Natural History Museum, Wadi Al Arbaeieen, Planetarium

Musandam, Oman:

Musandam is a picturesque region separated from the rest of Oman with its scenery being quite attractive to tourists.

• Travel:  2 hours by car
• Weather: Max - 43 deg. ; Min - 31 deg.
• Budget: Atana Khasab
• Luxury: Six Senses Zighy Bay 
• Sightseeing and activities: Oman Fjords, diving, Dolphin experience, Bimmah Sink hole, Dhow cruises, Snorkeling, Kayaking, and Water sport.

Picture credit: Creative Commons - http://nomadic-me.com,  Imbabah22 (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported), Jerash Jordan. Author Jan Smith. Licensed under the creative commons Attribution, http://www.omantripper.com, austinevans.

Dubai ranked 5th most popular destination in the World

Dubai has been recognized as the 5th most popular city in the World according to Master Card Global Destination Cities Index released on 9th July 2014. London retained its position on number one for the third time in four years followed by Bangkok, Paris, Singapore and Dubai. Dubai was ranked ahead of New York and Istanbul - both of which were ranked higher last year. This index provides a ranking of the 132 most travelled cities from around the world.

The increasing popularity of Dubai is due to the increasing international travel due to the expanding middle class income, the innovation in travel and the availability of Dubai international airport as the Middle East airline hub. The Real Estate boom in the region has opened up the gateway for companies to set up their MENA headquarters in the emirate, which in turn has facilitated increasing business travel. Dubai’s global strategic location, investment friendly economy and rising infrastructure will play a great role in driving visitors to the emirate. Dubai is doing its best to attract both leisure and business tourists which has fuelled the need for more hotel rooms in the country.

According to the study, Dubai is projected to receive 12.47 million visitors, an increase of 7.5 percent since 2013. Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and is expected to overtake Paris and Singapore within 5 years. Dubai also generates more international visitor expenditure per resident than any other city. It was also ranked as the fourth air hub in the world by international connectivity. In fact, Dubai is only city among from Middle East and Africa to be ranked among the top ten air hubs lists.

The MasterCard index ranks cities based on the total international visitor’s arrivals and cross-border spending by a visitor in each of the 132 destination cities using custom made algorithms.

Picture credit: Copyright Jan Michael Pfeiffer (Creative Commons)