With citizens and residents travelling out of the country for their summer vacations, banks and foreign exchange bureaus are doing brisk business exchanging the local currency for foreign currencies and handing out travel vouchers.
Tourists from the Gulf are among the most generous in the world as they spend between 20 days and two months every year visiting many destinations across the world and they spend millions of dollars in those places.
During the Ramadan ‘majlis’ gatherings this year, a question frequently asked was: “Where will people spend their summer vacations this year?”
Every year, 80 to 100 percent of the seats available on flights from Doha to popular destinations are booked.
The holy cities in Saudi Arabia are at the top of the preferred destinations. When summer approaches, Europe becomes the favourite destination for many. East Asia and Australia come next in the list, followed by some Arab countries, which are preferred by some families.
But the prices of air tickets are an issue few people discussed. As temperatures rise in summer, so do the prices of air tickets.
Vacation offers have also been affected by this price rise. Some people point accusing fingers at airlines, which sometimes capitalise on demand by raising the prices of their tickets.
This happens particularly in summer, when prices of air tickets go up by almost 100 percent. Tourism experts say airlines close booking of economy class seats to oblige travellers to buy business class and first class tickets.
This makes it necessary for the agencies concerned to increase supervision of airlines so that travellers are not exploited. In the local market, airlines raise the prices of their tickets too much during summer.
What is the role of the Consumer Protection Department and why is it limited to specific areas? People expect this authority to stop this violation of rights.
Hamad International Airport, which was inaugurated recently, will be an important travel hub. Doha will become an important destination in the Middle East in the coming years. The implementation of the World Cup 2022 projects is expected to boost air travel and the Qatari market.
The World Cup projects will also attract a large number of technicians and workers who are needed for their implementation. Still, airlines want to drain people’s wallets and fill their cash boxes at the expense of their passengers.
The early Ramadan this year curtailed the vacation, which in turn had its effect on the prices of air tickets.
The shorter vacation makes it necessary for Qatar Tourism Authority to organise activities and festivals that will attract families. These activities can also attract people from other GCC countries.
Airlines do not care about people’s complaints about ticket prices and are determined to raise prices. This is happening at a time when the market is growing and travel is increasing, including travel for performing Umra and Haj, in addition to people travelling to spend their summer vacations abroad.
Is there anything that can be done to control the greed of the travel agencies and to protect travellers?
