The UAE's yearly leave policy and additional statutory occasion-driven holidays allow residents to take up to three vacations each year. This year, employees receive at least 13 days off in addition to the 30-day annual vacation that they are entitled to each year.
Long weekends are observed for four of these holidays; the longest break, a nine-day vacation for Eid Al Fitr, just concluded. They will have another five-day respite for Eid Al Adha in a few months.
they strategically arrange their vacations, using long weekends for a brief break or a staycation and their yearly leave to travel home.
Syrian expat Rawan Lutfi discussed how she plans her vacations. She divides her yearly leave, using some time to travel to her husband's native Lebanon and the rest to see new places. In terms of quick getaways, she prefers staycations, particularly when they combine weekends with brief public holidays.
She said "I have especially enjoyed exploring nearby destinations during short official holidays, like beach resorts or cultural landmarks within the UAE."
combining trips
Rend Alsaigh is a pharmacist from Sudan who enjoys mixing up her holidays. She spends short Eid vacations traveling to Georgia to see her brother, who is a student there, so she gets to spend time with relatives and see a new place. "My younger brother lives in Georgia, and it's usually difficult for him to join us for Eid, so I fly to him instead of him spending it alone," Rend remarked.
She makes an effort to plan her yearly leave so that she can spend as much time as possible seeing her brother and then traveling to Egypt, where the rest of her family is located. She uses her time back in the United Arab Emirates to recuperate and rest before getting back to her daily schedule.
Aligning holidays
When it comes to scheduling, some locals are utilizing official holidays to travel while saving their yearly vacation for leisure. Dubai-based Emirati Sharifa Al Sharyani likes to use her official vacation time for travel, and she especially likes to visit Europe.
She added, "For my annual leave, I can control the timing, so I mostly rest at home." She explained that she always attempts to choose her leaves when she feels like she needs a vacation from work. I make use of the time to rest, rejuvenate, and tend to my family."
Similar to how Emirati mother Fatima Al Jallaf plans her yearly leave around her kids' school breaks so that she may spend more time with them at home or on the road. She said, "We always prefer to spend official holidays at home." in reference to public holidays.
Summertime and short-term vacation demand
Official holidays and summer vacations are in equal demand, according to Raheesh Babu, COO of Musafir.com.
Summer travel is a common way for people to see relatives and return to their own countries. It is frequently taken during annual leaves. Travel to India and the subcontinent is the most popular destination, with the US and Europe coming in second and third.
Departures also rise significantly during short breaks. The CEO anticipates a sharp increase in demand for air travel during the Eid Al Adha break because the holiday falls right before summer vacation.
He outlined a number of variables that affect decisions about quick getaways. Raheesh continued, "The primary determining factor is price, which is followed by the number of days of leave that people can receive. Another deciding factor is how quickly they can obtain a visa to their destination." "Travelers' decisions for their quick trips are heavily influenced by these factors.”
