Many financially solvent people nowadays prefer enjoying the Eid vacation abroad rather than at home. This trend has been increasing over the past few years as this section of people wants to spend leisure time outside the country. People whose relatives live in different foreign lands want to celebrate the greatest festival like Eid in those places.
On the other hand, a large number of people along with family members choose the countries enriched with natural beauties like sea, mountains etc, to spend their vacation. Tour operators said people make their tours abroad mostly during Eid vacation, as all sections of people, including government jobholders are on holiday.
Around 5-6 lakh people, this year, are set to go abroad to celebrate Eid festival, they said. According to data, Bangladeshis in the recent years are getting pleasure spending Eid in countries like India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. In addition, new countries in the Middle-east region, mainly the United Arab Emirates, have become popular destinations this year, mainly for easy visa process.
Tour operator sources said, people this year still prefer countries like Nepal, Bhutan, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore to celebrate Eid. However, a section of higher and higher-middle class people have booked their tickets for the UAE, Egypt, Turkey, and European countries this time. Iftekhar Alam, CEO of New Discovery Tours and Logistics, a tour management agency, said people on a large scale are going to foreign countries for Eid vacation this year.
India is the best destination this year while many people have bought tickets for other countries also. Sources said due to competition, many airline companies have offered lucrative travel packages to attract passengers and that is why, tour management agencies can also offer tour packages at reasonable prices.
Director of Tour Operator Association Bangladesh (TOAB) Taslim Amin said, different tourism fairs make good relations between tourists and tour management agencies, and that is why tourists keep prior information about best tour packages the year round. “Besides, internet and social networking sites also let them know about different countries, encouraging them to make tours,” he said.
“Tour operators this year got more bookings than expectations from tourism fairs,” he added. Regent Airways, a private boarding agency, at the last tourism fair held in April, sold tickets at even 20 percent discount. Regent Holidays, another company with different lucrative packages, offered 20 percent discount on business, and premium economy class tickets on all routes excluding Doha and Muscat.
Sohel Mojid, director (sales and marketing) of Regent Airways said, the number of foreign tours increases during Eid as people get week-long vacations at the time. “Many people travel to local tourism spots while many travel abroad. But people this year are found set to travel more to foreign-countries, and that is why, many tickets on local routes have still remained unsold,” he said.
