Now, Dubai travel gets cheaper

Your holiday in Dubai just got a little cheaper. Thanks to Dubai World's crash, travel portals and agencies like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Cleartrip and SOTC are offering packages at prices almost 40 per cent lower than a week or two ago.

"There will be some impact on outbound travels. Travel will become more affordable. With hotel occupancies dropping, less frequent business travelers, it's the leisure travelers that will have to be lured," said Tarique Khatri, vice president, business development, Cleartrip.com.

For instance, MakeMyTrip.com charged between Rs 38,000-40,000 per person till early December for three nights and four days, including air tickets, visa, hotel accommodation and sightseeing.

This is now down to Rs 25,000-28,000 in a few days. Yatra is running a 25 per cent cash-back scheme on a companion travel for Dubai. SOTC, too, has brought its price down to Rs 13,800 per head for three nights and four days, from around Rs 15,000 a week earlier.

Travel agencies are happy, since these packages have got a positive response. "We can safely say that bookings have increased by 10 per cent with the new price offering. With the discounts we have managed to get from hotels and airlines, we are passing it on to customers," says Kashmira Commisariat, COO-Outbound Division, SOTC.

This has been possible because agencies are all negotiating harder with airlines to reduce airfare, say sources. Most of these portals have managed to get a 10-15 per cent price cut on airfare and 30-35 per cent cut in hotel accommodations, and so on.

"By mid-December, we will witness prices coming down by almost 20 per cent," said Anand Kandadai, VP-Outbound Tours for MakeMyTrip.

Travel agencies are doing all it takes to lure leisure travellers, who made up for 10-15 per cent of all travellers. According to industry experts, over 70 per cent of the airline travels came from employment traffic to Dubai and another 10-15 per cent from business travellers.

"With business and labour travel reducing, airlines are feeling the pressure. However, now the focus is shifting on to leisure class," said Ashish Kishore, Business Head at Yatra Online.

As for airlines, "There will be more clarity in the days to come. Airlines have been feeling the pressure since a year now. On an average, revenues during April to September this year have dropped by almost 25-30 per cent. Passenger traffic, too, has reduced by 20 per cent," said Pran Dasan, manager-marketing & sales, Indian Subcontinent, Kuwait Airways.

Sources say airlines are considering reducing airfare by 15-20 per cent. "As of now, there is no immediate effect. However, in a month we may have to re-look at capacity and pricing," added a source from Jet Airways.