Business & Finance Club - Dubai: The holiday season has kicked in and while some are still making their minds up about where to go, Emirates reports busy routes.

"We're doing extremely well, an average of 20 per cent growth in passenger numbers versus last summer," said Khalid Bel Jaflah, vice-president of commercial operations.

Many are escaping to cooler climes or are simply venturing further than last year — thanks to new routes such as Amsterdam, Prague, Tokyo and Madrid, the latter starting on the first of next month.

The demand for these routes is pretty high. Both Emiratis and expatriates are showing great interest in travelling to these destinations, Jaflah said.

"Many were anxious for Emirates to start operating to Prague and Madrid, for example. We hope that Madrid will become one of our top routes, especially for the UAE national community by next summer," he added. "Destinations change every summer; last year it was the UK, now Germany is equally popular."

Passengers, he says, are not shying away anymore from long flights such as Boston and Sao Paulo. While Emirates counts UK, Germany, the US, Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Bangkok as well as Australia as top destinations, Irhal.com, a travel information site tailored to GCC residents, shows a slightly different picture.

The portal has two parts, English and Arabic, and preferences clearly differ, said CEO Irfan Ahmad.

"Sao Paulo, for example, is an interesting destination. It has become the number four destination among expatriates. But it is not featured among the Arabs, which is surprising, but I guess it could be the travel distance putting people off."

Whether GCC nationals or expatriate residents, both have kept London in sight this summer and are eyeing Zurich, Dublin and Hong Kong. The English speaking site gets more hits for Australia, Sydney and Melbourne as well as Canada.

And the Arabic site sees Amman, Istanbul, Jakarta and Los Angeles in the top ten. Interest in an African safari, Nairobi at number 14 and 21 respectively, has not disappeared.

Ahmad said the site measures those looking for a holiday rather than just going home and travellers do respond to stimulus, be it a new flight or other reasons. Larnaka and Vienna, the latter busy promoting itself in the region, have become more popular.

"Over the last three months cities have gained in popularity and then faded away. Australia doesn't seem that far away for European expatriates here," said Ahmad.

Zurich, like traditional Geneva, gained in popularity thanks to hotels being conscious of Islam and offering Ramadan meals.

"It seems this information has spread and Zurich may have gained popularity because of this," Ahmad said.

Jakarta and Hong Kong are also going strong but some favourites, like Paris have seen less interest recently.

"Los Angeles remains among the top ten cities for Arab travellers but expatriates shunned the US. Maybe it's the new stricter visa policy," Ahmad said.