Citizens and residents of Kuwait are facing a crisis in obtaining a European travel visa (Schengen), as the dates for applying for visas in some European offices and embassies are not available for months to come, in addition to the short period granted by some European embassies to those wishing to travel to it, which prompted many to change their travel destination during this summer, preferring to spend it in countries where travel does not require a visa.
Specialists in the travel and tourism market confirm that the majority of visa-issuing offices for European Union countries do not currently have available appointment slots, and there are a few countries that have appointments available in July, which made some apply for a Schengen visa from those countries that they did not plan to visit in the first place, the reason being that they need to enter the country that issued their visas and then travel to their intended destination, which has greatly increased the financial costs of their trip.
Iin light of the suffering from the long deadlines for the issuance of Schengen visas, it prompted many to search and prefer other travel destinations, led by Turkey, Dubai, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, London, India and Azerbaijan
They added that some citizens suffered financial losses because they had already booked hotels and airline tickets to Europe, but they were surprised that there were no dates for submitting visa applications.
High turnout
The head of the Federation of Travel and Tourism Offices, Muhammad Al-Mutairi, revealed that despite the high rate of travel demand during this summer compared to previous years, it has not reached levels before the Corona pandemic so far.
He explained that the current travel rates are 20% lower than the travel rates in 2019, and he expects that these numbers will rise during the coming period, especially with the start of the travel season, the end of the school year, and the parliamentary elections.
He continued: The great competition in the tourism and travel services market in Kuwait has contributed greatly to maintaining reasonable rates for trip prices, which are within everyone’s reach.
He said that the most important tourist destinations are still London, Istanbul, Dubai and Cairo. As for the new tourist destinations in eastern European countries, they are still very natural and have not witnessed a high demand for them.
Long holidays
For his part, the CEO of Bash Travel and Tourism Company, Suleiman Al-Abdullah, said that the current travel season is the strongest among the past years, especially with the very high demand from citizens to spend the summer vacation abroad.
He pointed out that what distinguishes the current travel season is the preference of the vast majority of travelers to book long vacations and increase the number of vacation days to escape from the pressures of work and study that they went through during the recent months.
He continued: Many Kuwaitis tend to spend their holidays in countries where travel does not require obtaining a Schengen visa, led by Turkey, Dubai, Malaysia and Thailand, where those wishing to obtain a “Schengen” suffer from the long deadlines of embassies, in addition to the short period granted by embassies. for those wishing to travel there.
And about the prices of travel and holidays during the current season, Suleiman Al-Abdullah confirmed the increase in the prices of trips due to the great demand for spending the summer vacation abroad this year, as prices witnessed an increase at the beginning of this month, ranging from 350 to 400 dinars.
Türkiye is a preferred destination despite the earthquake
Al-Mutairi said that the earthquake in Turkey and the unfortunate events that followed greatly affected the reservation rate to Turkey, but it is still a favorite destination for Kuwaitis during this summer as well.