UAE travel companies report at least 25% rise in early winter bookings

Earlier reservations and lower costs

Travel companies report that early winter reservations are at least 25% higher than at the same point last year. Residents are arranging trips around school vacations, National Day and New Year rather than waiting until closer to departure, when accommodation choices and discounted packages can be harder to find.

At Tripventura, early bookings have risen 25% to 30% from a year earlier, according to CEO Adil Tanrıverdi. More than 65% of the company's clients have finalized their winter itineraries weeks ahead of departure. He said booking early was reducing overall travel costs by 15% to 20%, helping families maintain the length and comfort of their vacations.

Rashida Zahid, vice president of operations at musafir.com, reported an approximately 43% increase in demand compared with the fourth quarter of 2025. Customers are planning National Day and New Year trips, while families are also using the school break to return to their home countries and visit relatives and friends.

About 28% of travelers are booking early, Zahid said, seeking offers available when packages launch rather than risking those deals selling out before departure.

School breaks shape travel plans

The Ministry of Education's 2026–27 calendar sets the winter school vacation from Monday, December 14, 2026, with classes scheduled to resume Monday, January 4, 2027. According to Which School Advisor, the UAE's 55th National Day, also known as Eid Al Etihad, falls on December 2. The official public holiday covers December 2–3, while the ministry's school calendar marks December 2–4 as the National Day break.

Zahid said announced school dates were helping customers plan ahead. She described the National Day public holiday timing used in their planning as an educated guess.

Snow trips and shorter family vacations

Tripventura's bookings show demand for both experience-focused trips and less expensive family breaks. Tanrıverdi reported a 35% increase in long-haul experiential travel, citing interest in Japan, Finland's Lapland region, Switzerland and Georgia. Shorter, budget-conscious trips to Oman, Türkiye and Azerbaijan make up nearly 40% of the company's holiday package volume this season.

At musafir.com, Zahid identified Switzerland, Germany, Paris, Almaty, Armenia, Baku and Georgia as popular choices. Travelers are seeking festive markets, food trails and snow, including opportunities to ski and snowboard.

Booking figures published by dnata Travel on September 14, 2026 showed a similar appetite for winter destinations. Japan had reached the company's five most-booked international destinations for winter 2026/27 to date. Finland, France, Switzerland and Georgia were moving up its top 20 winter ranking, with some of its strongest year-over-year booking increases.

dnata Travel linked part of the growing demand for Northern Europe and Finland's Arctic regions to Emirates' new Dubai–Helsinki route, which was due to begin service in October 2026.

International visitors drive Dubai holiday-home demand

For bnbme Holiday Homes, international tourists are generating more interest than UAE residents, according to co-founder and managing director Shilpa Mahtani. She reported encouraging demand for the next 90 days and said December reservations were running ahead of the pace recorded at the same point last year.

Mahtani said rates were slightly below year-earlier levels, giving visitors an incentive to reserve accommodation sooner. Resumed airline services had also supported confidence and demand, she said.

Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism reported that Emirates had restored 97% of its global network by September 2026. The department also said Dubai's government had provided an AED 2.5 billion support package for tourism, hospitality and entertainment earlier in the year, amid a regional situation affecting global travel.

The department's figures, released September 13 through the Dubai Government Media Office, put August international overnight arrivals at approximately 869,000, the highest monthly total since February. Dubai received 6.97 million international visitors over the first eight months of 2026. Hotel occupancy rose to 66% in August, continuing its climb from 36% in March.

A change to the events calendar adds another December draw. GITEX 2026 moved from its usual October dates to the second week of December. Speaking to Fast Company Middle East, Mahtani described the move as "like handing us a second high season, back-to-back with New Year's" and predicted that families would extend corporate technology trips into Christmas vacations.

Mahtani expects holiday-home rates to rise through the season as occupancy increases and fewer properties remain available.