Dubai is forecast to be the second most popular location among young Brits next year and over a quarter are expected to visit the emirate over the next decade, according to a report by a UK travel group.
STA Travel, which advises young travelers on over 90 countries and has 400 branches worldwide, has released its ‘Future of Independent Travel’ report and has included Dubai among its top destinations for 2010.
“Despite the recent controversy and discussions surrounding Dubai it seems that young people still place it high up on the list as a must-see destination,” the report said.
Its research also claims that Dubai will attract 26 percent of British 18-35-year-old travelers over the coming decade.
"Dubai has been growing rapidly over the last three to four years and has everything - the beaches, restaurants, bars, shops, compact size and guarantee of warm weather. No longer just the haunt of the rich and famous, the opening of affordable hotels and the availability of cheap flights mean Dubai is becoming an ideal weekend destination and stopover of choice," said Chris Norris, STA Travel’s Middle East expert.
The research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of STA Global, found that Los Angeles was the most popular location and was favoured by 29.4 percent of those surveyed, followed by Dubai (25.8 percent), Hong Kong (24.2 percent), Mexico (16.1 percent), Capetown (15.8 percent), Berlin (14.9 percent), Tokyo (14.7 percent), Beijing (14.2 percent), Buenos Aires (11.2 percent) and Lisbon (7.7 percent).
This follows a report by the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) which also highlighted Dubai as one of its top travel hotspots for 2010.
“If you are after a bargain, Dubai will be a place to go in 2010. The state-backed Dubai World debt announcement at the end of November, has triggered a price war in hotel room rates to stimulate demand and a currency which is losing its value,” the ABTA said.
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