Tourists from colder climes flock to Dubai

Even as Dubai’s denizens flew out over the weekend to make it home for the holidays, a new airline survey reveals that the city recorded a higher influx of tourists, as festive cheer brought planeloads of people over for a sunnier Christmas.

British Airways released findings of a recent survey that states customers are flocking to Dubai this festive season to escape the chilly northern hemisphere winter.

The news comes as the city features in the airline’s top five long-haul destinations for Christmas travel.

“Our customers’ favourite long-haul destinations from London this festive season are New York, Miami, Cape Town, Hong Kong and Dubai, which shows that, with the exception of New York, people are looking for a warmer way to spend Christmas and New Year,” said Paolo De Renzis, Area Commercial Manager Middle East and Central Asia, in a statement.

More than 1.9 million people are booked to fly with the British carrier this festive season, including almost 30,000 on Christmas Day.

Also, in a recent poll by the airline, more than 2,660 users nominated the overseas destinations they most want to visit in 2013 and Dubai was named in the top five.

Featured alongside Dubai were New York, Australia, Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro.

De Renzis, said earlier: “This list shows that while travellers are eager to visit well-established destinations such as Las Vegas and Dubai, they are also looking for something off the beaten path.

“Dubai has long been a destination of choice for Europeans looking for sun, sand and shopping, while at the same time, Dubai residents are looking for new cities and countries to discover,” he said.

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