Tony Thomas, 32, a driver from Kerala in India, has aspired to travel to Dubai for many years.
Mr Thomas thinks that now the trip might almost be within his grasp.
"Dubai's actually a nice place," he says.
"You've got some cheap hotels, cheap flights. The shopping festival would be the best time."
More and more cost-conscious Indians on a budget are travelling to the UAE, once largely considered a destination for the super-rich, as they take advantage of cheaper air fares amid an increase in the number of flights, as well as a wider variety of hotels.
In some cases, it is actually cheaper to fly to Dubai than it is to fly within India.
"Budget travellers who have not visited Dubai are eager to do so," says Iqbal Mulla, the president of the Travel Agents Association of India.
"Some do compare the rates between domestic destinations and Dubai and opt for the latter. There seems to be a good growth."
A total of 702,142 Indian guests stayed in Dubai's hotels in 2011, meaning it overtook the United Kingdom in terms of the number of tourists it provided, and it was in second place only to Saudi Arabia, according to figures from the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing.
This compared with about 529,500 Indian travellers staying in Dubai's hotels in 2009 and 638,100 Indian guests in 2010.
The number of tourists travelling abroad from India is expected to reach 50 million by 2020, according to the UN world tourism organisation.
With a population of more than 1.2 billion, rising spending power among the middle classes and a rapidly growing appetite for travel, UAE hotels and authorities have increasingly targeted India as a source market for tourists.
A surge in the number of flights and low-cost carriers flying into Dubai has fuelled this demand.
"We have seen the low-cost carriers actually expand their reach to a lot of close by destinations such as Dubai," says Tarique Khatri, a senior vice president at Cleartrip, an online travel company in India.
"Last year, we had SpiceJet, which started their operations in [June]. Indigo added frequency to Dubai. We also had Jet Airways increasing another daily flight to Dubai," he says.
"Capacity increased a lot and because of a surge of capacity you've seen a little bit of pressure on the average ticket value. The average ticket price, which used to be at around 21,000 [Dh1,421] to 22,000 rupees has been averaging at around 17,000 to 18,000."
The fact that Kingfisher Airlines' flights have been grounded since the beginning of October has also played a role in pushing up the cost of travel within India by air, making jetting off abroad seem more attractive.
"One of the factors was there was a withdrawal from Kingfisher," says Mr Khatri.
"There was a capacity crunch, so the prices went up. It really more made sense for people to look at nearby destinations which had an excess capacity and the pricing was within their reach of taking that trip abroad."
He says Dubai is often a popular option for Indians venturing abroad for the first time.
"Budget travellers will normally be single-city travellers who would go for single destinations and, for that, Dubai would be an ideal destination for them to go to.
"It's one of the closest international destinations for somebody travelling from India," he says.
"Secondly, it's got the familiarity for any Indian who goes there - you see a lot of Indians, which means that the communication barriers are pretty low."
Still, visas, which are required for Indians, as well as a refundable deposit of Dh1,000, add to the cost of a trip to Dubai.
Gaurav Sinha is the managing director of Insignia, a branding firm that specialises in travel. He points out budget travellers come from a wide variety of backgrounds.
"These 'value-seekers' are not just defined by socio-demographic profiling, they could come from higher-income groups too," he says.
"This segment is growing fast in India with airlines offering reasonably attractive value for people to travel overseas and hotels in Dubai have recognised the need to cater to this segment.
"We have more mid-segment hotels in the pipeline than luxury resorts and that's addressing the value proposition and making Dubai more accessible to inbound tourism from India and Asia," he adds.
"Somebody may have been travelling once in every two years or once in a year but now, with the budget travel options available, he can travel maybe two or three times a year," says Promoth Manghat, the vice president of global operations for UAE Exchange.
"Sometimes the deals which the airlines are offering are very compelling."
It is not only tourists from India but business travellers as well who are increasingly opting for cheaper travel solutions, Mr Manghat adds.
"The option for airlines like flydubai were not in the picture not so long ago. Five years back we didn't have these airlines," he says.
"The traveller has now got plenty of choice."
business@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Company%20Profile
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The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
Price: From Dh39,500
Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Four-speed auto
Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Results
- Brock Lesnar retained the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns
- Braun Strowman and Nicolas won the Raw Tag Team titles against Sheamus and Cesaro
- AJ Styles retained the WWE World Heavyweight title against Shinsuke Nakamura
- Nia Jax won the Raw Women’s title against Alexa Bliss
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon beat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- The Undertaker beat John Cena
- The Bludgeon Brothers won the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos and New Day
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle beat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
- Jinder Mahal won the United States title against Randy Orton, Rusev and Bobby Roode
- Charlotte retained the SmackDown Women’s title against Asuka
- Seth Rollins won the Intercontinental title against The Miz and Finn Balor
- Naomi won the first WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
- Cedric Alexander won the vacant Cruiserweight title against Mustafa Ali
- Matt Hardy won the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
UAE%20Warriors%2045%20Results
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
MOTHER%20OF%20STRANGERS
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Company%20profile
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
