Emirates increases weekly schedule to Maldives & Seychelles over Easter holidays as Middle East demand soarsSri Lanka, Cyprus and Greek islands also preparing for summer influx of international arrivals Island resorts around the world will lead the recovery in leisure travel, according to research carried out ahead of Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2021, which will be in a hybrid format, with the in-person event taking place on 16-19 May at the Dubai World Trade Centre and the virtual event to be held the following week, on 24-26 May. Many island economies are dependent on tourism and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives (28% of GDP) and the Seychelles (over 55% of GDP), which are both expecting a bumper Easter holiday period. With both islands less than four hours 30 minutes away, Emirates has added an extra four flights taking its weekly schedule to 28 flights. Meanwhile, Air Seychelles is launching a weekly flight to Dubai to cope with the increased demand, which is in addition to two extra flights a week that Emirates is adding to its existing schedule of five weekly flights to Mahe. “Both islands tick all of the proverbial boxes for tourists,” said Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market. “Even though demand maybe pent-up, visitors will still want direct flights, easy access, reasonable restrictions, low COVID cases, good vaccination rates, open and in some cases isolated resorts, with a natural environment including quiet beaches,” added Curtis.…
Get exclusive access to this story
Subscribe to Nomad Africa and get unlimited access to our exclusive articles on African cultural heritage, travel tips, tourism news updates, industry trends and insights. Your subscription will also help support tourism in Africa. Subscription starts from only R15 ($1 USD) per month.*
Already a subscriber? Login here
*Charged for the first month after which standard rates apply. Cancel anytime.
...
