ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER 27 July 2013 18 Ramadan 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5773 Price: QR2 ON SATURDAY Two state-owned warehouses in the Industrial Area caught fire yesterday. It was not known until going to press if there were any casualties and what caused the blaze. Report on page 3 Dusty and windy day, humid night forecast DOHA: It is going to be a windy and dusty day today with humidity levels ris- ing from 35 percent during the daytime hours to as high as 80 percent in the night, the weather bureau has said. Day temperatures have been forecast at 42 degrees Celsius in Doha, inching up to 44 degrees in places like Dukhan and Abu Samra. FLYING The direction of the wind will be north- westerly and would gradually turn into HIGH northeasterly, with the speed ranging from 15 to 25 knots and eventually decreasing to THE ISSUE three to 12 knots. The mercury would dip to between 32 and 33 degrees Celsius when night falls but Qataris remain the largest Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia are the “Seeking a bank loan for leisure travel is nor- humidity would be very high. spenders on leisure travel but, of favourite holiday destinations of most Asian mal in our community. Nobody feels odd about families since it is easier to get entry visas, said it,” said the woman matter-of-factly. Egyptians stage rival late, the number of Asian and Arab a representative of another travel agency, asking Tour and travel trade sources, while confirm- expatriate families in higher income not to be identified. ing that Qataris mostly travel business class, said rallies; five killed It is not easy for them to get entry visas for Asian expatriates, on the other hand, look for brackets buying package tours has the United States and Britain, he added. “Some budget packages even if they are well off. CAIRO: Hundreds of thousands of been on the rise, local travel and 22 Sri Lankan families applied or visas for these Prominent Qatari psychologist Dr Moza Al Egyptians took to the streets yesterday tour operators say. countries recently and only a dozen of them Malki, speaking from Kuwait by telephone, said in rival mass rallies for and against the succeeded.” Qatari families liked vacationing every year army’s overthrow of Islamist president So, many Asian families travel to France and unlike Westerners, who take a break of two to Mohammed Mursi, who state media hanging demographics and people’s Germany because it is easier to enter those coun- three years after a trip. said was under investigation for charges increasing purchasing power are set- tries for tourism, and from there they apply for “Also, Qataris don’t plan their travel in including murder. ting in a new trend whereby not all well visas for America and Britain. advance and don’t realise they are spending so Five people were killed and more than 50 Coff expatriate families make their way According to an official from Sri Lankan lavishly on luxury, which is a waste.” injured during fighting in the second city of to their home country for vacationing like before. Airlines, many Indian families now prefer to Some families even sell properties and other Alexandria. A total of more than 200 were These are mostly families that have been travel home via Colombo, holidaying for a few assets like shares to mobilise money for holiday- hurt in scattered confrontations nation- based here for long, and those whose breadwin- days in the island country. making overseas during the summer break. wide, the health ministry said, with fears ners are working in ‘Q companies’ (a reference Leisure travel continues to be a craze among Al Malki didn’t agree with the suggestion of more bloodshed as night fell. to companies in the high-paying energy sector), Qatari families, and this year’s dream destina- that since most Qatari families were rich they See also page 9 tour operators say. tion, according to sources in the community, is could afford to splurge on expensive holiday THE PENINSULA & REUTERS “Indian families dominate the Asian pack and California. packages. the Lebanese are top among the Arab expatriate “I am going to Turkey after Eid Al Fitr, but While it was true that Qatari public servants holidaymakers,” an official from a travel agency many families I know are travelling to California were given enormous pay hikes in late 2011, that said. this year,” a working Qatari woman not wanting had not helped increase the income of families RAMADAN TIMING They mostly prefer destinations in south-east her name in print said. due to galloping inflation, she said. Asia, but some of them do buy European pack- Leisure travel during long vacations is a The cost of living has been rising alarmingly, ages as well, added the official. long-standing tradition of Qatari families, eating into the income of families. “So they are Today’s Iftar Generally, many among Qatari and Asian she said. “Many families take bank loans for back to square one.” vacationers bound for Europe buy round- holidaymaking.” The psychologist said there was a need to 6:24pm trip tickets. Citing an example, a sales man- Most Qataris travel first or business class increase awareness in the community about the ager from City Travels, Sayed Rizan, said: and prefer to stay in luxury hotels overseas, importance of savings and cutting back on things “If a family is going to Paris from here, and that is how they end up spending beyond like leisure travel. Tomorrow’s Imsak they would return to Doha from Geneva”. their means. See also page 2 03:24am www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 JULY 27, 2013 ON SATURDAY 02 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com Home Soaring fares not a deterrent Residents queue up to fly to dream destinations though rates up by almost 60 percent DOHA: With less than two senior supervisor at Ali bin Ali weeks to go for the Eid Al Fitr Travels and Cargo. “The flights holidays, leisure travellers face are full. We do not have seats in long queues, online as well as any sectors between August 7 and offline, and high fares. With August 12. The fares have gone flights to much sought-after up 60 percent against the normal destinations all chock-a-block, fares this time”. airfares this festive season Sources in Emirates said the have gone up almost 60 percent. airline had already closed booking Despite airlines enhancing their on the Doha-Dubai sector for the capacity by 30 to 40 percent, peak days of the Eid break. Those virtually no seats are avail- travelling to Turkey are also fac- able for outbound travellers for ing long queues. seven straight days starting on “The Vienna-London pack- August 7, close to the expected age of Emirates is a huge hit. first day of Eid. A large number of Arab fami- A number of officials repre- lies have booked seats to dif- senting various travel agencies ferent European sectors in reported “heavy booking action” tailor-made Emirates packages for Eid, with both European — meant for large families. As we particularly London and Paris have increased capacity on almost — and Far East destinations in all sectors, we will be operating heavy demand. To cope with the bigger aircraft during the sea- higher-than-expected booking, son…. Compared to the previous airlines are expected to operate year, there is a huge demand for either bigger aircraft or addi- first class and business class”, a tional flights during the initial source said. days of the holiday. Airfares “would increase fur- The holiday bonanza for the ther and we are clueless on what travel and tourism sector comes prices airlines will charge for the with a “good luck charm” this last batch of tickets on the most year. The industry is already popular sectors. We believe a enjoying high passenger volumes huge number of families are still since the last week of June, when working on their schedules before schools closed for their summer booking tickets. The last-minute vacation, and the Eid holiday rush would push prices up three business comes as an extra boost. times the normal fare”, an indus- Some families have returned from try source told The Peninsula. a short holiday and are now glee- “Until last week, the momen- fully packing for another trip. tum of booking was very slow This season, Qatar’s travel compared to the previous sea- industry is seeing a change in the son. But it has picked up sud- preferred destinations of travel- denly since. If you compare the lers. While European destinations current fares with early May, they remain popular, especially among have gone up 40-60 percent on the 2013. The 11-day offers range families, youngsters are largely East Asian and European sectors. from “exotic and thrilling travelling to the Far East. Asian They are likely to go up further African adventure” to “world- expatriates are set to fly in large if you wait for another two-three class shopping and fashion, arts numbers to various destinations days”, said A P Manikantan, gen- and food scenes in London” and in Asia, either to take a dip in eral manager of Fal Travel Mart. While European Mediterranean cruises. The tai- the blue waters of Maldives or Political instability in some lor-made packages, which tar- visit favoured getaways such as of the traditional destinations destinations remain get large families and individual Bangkok. of Arab travellers is putting off travellers, range from QR1,447 to Another new trend is of a large many.