(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
The ease of getting visas for travellers from Qatar and the Gulf region continues to boost the tourism sector of eastern European countries such as Georgia and Armenia, an industry expert has said.
“Georgia and Armenia are really booming when it comes to visa facility for all Qataris and residents,” Tawfeeq Travel Group CEO Rehan Ali Syed told Gulf Times, stressing that there is a huge interest from Doha to visit eastern and other European countries, especially during the current period.
The main reason, he pointed out, is easing visa access as it enticed a huge number of nationals and expatriates from Gulf countries to visit these countries, especially during holidays like Eid.
According to Syed, travellers from the region get visa-on-arrival to these increasingly popular destinations –“a very good feature for anybody who wants to plan and do not want to spend time and going to queue, particularly at a very busy season for getting visas.”
Visa-on-arrival also serves as a quick fix for travellers who plan to either go solo or pick a group, and join fixed departures, he added.
Syed noted that countries like Turkey, which also offers easy visa access for those who have travelled to destinations such as the US and Europe, remained to be favourite destinations for Qataris and nationals from the Middle East.
“These are all beautiful countries and apart from that they have fantastic weather and nature,” he said, noting that travellers can experience these places at a lesser cost compared“to other big places”.
“That is a big value add, everybody wants to jump on a plane to go on a vacation, this is the first summer after all the pandemic and everything.
“It is a good opportunity for people and nobody wants to let it go whether it is going for a short trip or going back home, they are all intending to travel so it is good news for the travel industry,” Syed said, noting that they witnessed huge bookings coming in.
Tawfeeq saw group departures are sold out despite airfares are soaring high, seeing many people travelling and enjoying short vacations.
Apart from Georgia and Armenia, Syed noted that Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and other eastern European places, as well as South East Asian countries like Thailand, are picking up well and have become more lucrative due to visa-on-arrival facilities.
“Thailand is getting a lot of demands again, either for young generation or families. It has always been a very strong destination in the entire GCC, along with Qatar. We feel that going forward as more countries open up borders and ease out restrictions,” he added.
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