UAE travel agencies see surge in enquiries after ceasefire announcement

[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran ceasefire for the latest regional developments.]

UAE travel operators saw a rise in the number of travel enquiries and visa applications on Wednesday as the two-week ceasefire for the US-Israel-Iran war went into effect. However, many noted that the real impact the move would have on travel plans will become clear only in the coming days.

“From today morning, I have received a significantly higher number of tourist visa applications as compared to the last few weeks since the regional tensions began,” said Firoz from Tahira Travels. “Many of the applicants asked how quickly they could get their visas processed as they were in a hurry to come to the UAE.”

He added that this was a positive sign for the return of tourists and business travellers. “Many people who had been wanting to travel here for business and leisure were putting their plans on hold because of regional tensions,” he said. “The increase in applications and enquiries is definitely a positive sign, and I am sure the country will see a lot of travellers for as long as the ceasefire holds.”

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In the early hours of Wednesday, both Tehran and Washington agreed to a two-week ceasefire just an hour before President Donald Trump's deadline to obliterate Iran was set to expire. This brought a pause to the war which began when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader on February 28, sparking retaliatory attacks on Gulf nations and Israel.  

Increase in enquiries

Other travel operators added that while there had been an increase in enquiries, many are adopting a wait and watch approach. Safeer Mohammed, General Manager of Smart Travels, said that the company has received several calls since morning when the news of the ceasefire emerged. “A lot of calls have come in asking about whether flights will resume regular schedule now that the ceasefire is in effect."

Raheesh Babu, CEO of musafir.com, said that travel agents are waiting for more information from airlines and airports. “I have spoken to contacts in both airlines and airports, and they are all waiting for more information,” he said. “I think in the next day or so, we will get more clarity on when flights will resume their regular scheduling.”

Since the beginning of the war, many local and international airlines have put in place a revised flight schedule to the region.

Common concerns

According to the experts, there were some common concerns that they were seeing among those wanting to travel. “There are many people who are in the UAE on a visit visa, but their visas have expired,” said Safeer. “As the UAE government has offered them a concession on a humanitarian basis, many of them are waiting for ticket prices to regularise. We have got a lot of calls from such people enquiring about whether the concession has been revoked now that the ceasefire is in place.”

Raheesh added that as April-May was school vacation time in India, many professionals bring their families to the UAE during this time. “This ceasefire comes just in time for such people to reconsider their plans,” he said. “Once the prices stabilise and hopefully the ceasefire stays in place, we are expecting many families to come to the UAE.”