Wego, the number 1 travel app and the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), reports that UAE outbound travel plans in the coming months show a clear two‑track pattern as residents settle into the new school term: essential reunions on core diaspora corridors and short-haul flights suitable for quick family getaways.
Wego highlights that overall flight searches are up 15% YoY, with average fares up 9% YoY for post‑summer trips departing from the UAE.
Diaspora & essential corridors
Diaspora travel shapes one of the term-time travel narratives from the UAE, with Cairo, Kathmandu, and Damascus on top of the list of most popular global destinations.
The Egyptian capital is a reliable anchor, growing +24.9 YoY in flight searches. Kathmandu, powered by demand from the UAE’s Nepali community, saw an increase of 50.8% YoY searches despite higher fares (+31.0% YoY).
Meanwhile, dramatic growth in searches to Damascus (+194.6% YoY) can be attributed to last year’s restart of flights on the route, which restored capacity and easier connections, and released pent‑up demand.
Europe highlights
School‑calendar‑friendly escapes skew short‑haul, value‑conscious, and visa-easy in Europe. Baku shows modest growth at +3.8% YoY, while Tbilisi recorded +11.4% YoY flight searches.
The greatest momentum among top European destinations, however, is led by Yerevan with searches up 137.9% YoY, likely boosted by Armenia’s new visa‑free policy introduced a few months ago, allowing UAE residents to enter without a visa.
